Chocolate

Chocolate is one of our most remarkable foods. It is made from the astringent, bitter, and otherwise bland seeds of a tropical tree, yet its flavor is exceptionally rich, complex, and versatile, the product of both fermentation and roasting. Its consistency is like no other food’s: hard and dry at room temperature, melting and creamy in the warmth of the mouth. It can be sculpted into almost any shape, and its surface can be made as glossy as glass. And chocolate is one of the few examples of a food whose full potential was first revealed in industrial manufacturing. The chocolate that we know and love, a dense, smooth, sweet solid, has existed for only a tiny fraction of chocolate’s full history.