Now, those numbers reflect quite an achievement for a food that originated in one of the most remote parts of the globe and is harvested from a plant that is notoriously difficult to cultivate.Ĭhocolate has a long and fascinating history.
With those numbers, I think that definitely makes chocolate one of the world’s favorite sweet treats. In 2018, people like you and me consumed around 7.7 million tons of chocolate in various forms across the globe. As I said earlier, the chocolate industry is a huge business, selling around $98 billion worth of chocolate in 2016. However, I will admit to a fondness for a really good piece of dark chocolate to eat with my afternoon cup of tea, and to seeking out one of those deliciously rich and thick cups of Spanish hot chocolate – in which, of course, it’s obligatory to dip a piping hot churro – when I am in my favorite city in the world, Madrid. Now, I actually don’t have a particularly sweet tooth and I’m not a great one for desserts, often re-ordering something from the savory menu that really appealed if I need something to round off a meal. Yes folks, today we’re going to talk about the history of chocolate. But, a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” It’s a food whose about 500 to maybe 700 compounds are claimed to aid against depression, harbor aphrodisiac properties, and it’s a food whose existence has almost become synonymous with romance.Īs the author of “Peanuts” Charles Schultz once put it: A food whose history has taken it from the Ancient Americas, through Europe to Africa and around the world and is now responsible for an industry that generates billions of dollars globally each year. And, on today’s episode we’re going to look at the history of one of the most popular foods in the world. Hi everybody, I’m Simon Majumdar and welcome to the latest episode of EAT MY GLOBE, a podcast about things you didn’t know you didn’t know about food. EAT MY GLOBE: THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT FOOD