# Chocolate chemistry – a food scientist explains how the beloved treat gets its flavor, texture and tricky reputation as an ingredient

- Link: https://www.widthness.com/chocolate-chemistry-a-food-scientist-explains-how-the-beloved-treat-gets-its-flavor-texture-and-tricky-reputation-as-an-ingredient/
- Published: 2023-02-21T09:15:44-06:00
- Author: Curated by Theresa Wysocki

Photo caption: There’s a lot of processing that happens between cacao beans in a pod and the chocolate at your table. Photo credit: Gustavo Ramirez / Moment via Getty Images. Article by Sheryl Barringer. The Conversation – February 6, 2023. Whether it is enjoyed as creamy milk chocolate truffles, baked in a devilishly dark chocolate cake or even poured as hot cocoa, Americans on average consume almost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of chocolate in a year. People have been enjoying chocolate for at least 4,000 years, starting with Mesoamericans who brewed a drink from the seeds of cacao trees. In the 16th and 17th centuries, both the trees and the beverage spread across the world, and chocolate today is a trillion-dollar global industry. […] Click here to view original web page at theconversation.com