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How candy appeared. Sweet Life History of Chocolates

17.08.2015 09.07.2019

Chocolates have become a favorite treat for many people regardless of their gender or age. They are a symbol of a carefree childhood. Candy is often used as a gift to relatives, friends and colleagues. They surprisingly always improve mood: I ate a candy, and everything in life gets better as if by itself.

Historical facts

When telling the story of chocolates, it is worth starting from the moment chocolate was created. The sweet was brought to Europe from America in the 16th century by the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortes, who was the first to appreciate it. This happened during the landing of Cortes ashore. On the American continent, native peoples actively used in their life (especially religious) a certain drink that they prepared from cocoa beans. According to their beliefs, this drink had various healing properties.

For a long time chocolate was known only at the Spanish court, but in the 17th century its fame spread to other European states of that time. France has been particularly successful in this area. The popularity of sweets grew so quickly that even the church turned its eyes to it. There was a controversy about chocolate, but by pure chance, chocolate products were not banned, since Pope Pius V did not like them. Chocolate seemed too bitter to him, and he decided that such a "muck" could not corrupt a person. Since that time, sweet products began to gain more and more popularity.

The first chocolate sweets appeared only in the middle of the 19th century. They were created by the Brussels pharmacist John Neuhaus in 1857. It all happened quite by accident: during the invention of cough medicine, he managed to create what as a result is called chocolates. They went on sale through the son of a pharmacist in 1912. But the packaging for sweets was developed by his wife - these were gold-colored wrappers familiar to everyone. After that, the sweets went like hot cakes.

Excursion to the chocolate factory

The process of making chocolate is very complicated. The sweetness is made from cocoa beans, the fruits of the chocolate tree, which grows mainly in South America, southern North America and West Africa. There are several varieties of cocoa beans. They differ in price and quality.

Cocoa beans are harvested and sent for fermentation. They are then sorted and sent to factories where they are roasted and ground. The subsequent palatability of chocolate depends on the size of the crushed fruits. In other words, it turns out grated cocoa, which contains cocoa butter.

Then the cocoa liquor is heated to the desired temperature and pressurized. As a result of the procedure, 2 products are obtained: cocoa butter and cake, from which cocoa powder is obtained. After that, the chocolate mass goes through the stage of conching, that is, thorough kneading at high temperatures. The process takes either a few hours or a few days. High temperatures remove excess moisture and bitterness from chocolate.

Any sweet tooth is interested in the question of how chocolates are made. It is after this stage that the production of chocolate sweets begins. The resulting and already frozen chocolate is sent to special bunker machines, where, under the influence of temperature, the mass begins to melt. At this time, the process of creating the filling for the future candy is actively going on in the neighboring workshop.

At the next stage, the molds with cells for sweets are heated. Melted chocolate is poured into warmed molds so that the cell is filled only by a third. The filled form is sent to a special cabinet where it is cooled and the chocolate hardens. After that, a certain filling is added to the cells and covered with a chocolate film.

And only after such a procedure, the surface of the future candy is completely filled with chocolate. The remains of the sweet mass are removed with a special knife, and the sweets are sent to the cooling cabinet for the second time. Finished chocolate products are sent for packaging.

In modern factories, all processes for the production of chocolate products are fully automated. People exercise only control over all actions.

Making sweets at home

You can also make these delicious treats at home. This is not at all difficult to do. As a rule, the manufacture will require either chocolate or cocoa powder.

Do-it-yourself recipes for delicious sweets are affordable even for a non-professional confectioner. You can come up with original recipes yourself and always have your own personal branded chocolate on hand.

Experts identify two of the easiest ways to make sweets at home. For the first recipe you will need:

65 g butter;
8 art. l. Sahara;
6 art. l. milk;
6 art. l. cocoa powder;
1.5 tsp wheat flour.

For the filling: walnuts, raisins and fruits to taste. The molds are either purchased or removed from the candy box. In the process of cooking, it is necessary to mix cocoa powder with sugar, heat the milk (do not bring to a boil). Pour the mixture into milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for several minutes, until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

Then add flour and boil for a few minutes. With the resulting mixture, fill the molds by a third, add the filling and pour over the rest of the chocolate. Remove the workpiece in the cold until completely hardened. Finished products are removed from molds and packed in foil.

For the second recipe, you need to prepare:

250-300 g roasted peanuts;
150 g wheat flour;
cookies "For tea" - 4 pcs.;
3.5 st. l. honey;
2.5 tsp butter;
1-2 bars of any chocolate.

Place honey and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour this liquid over crushed peanuts and biscuits. When the mass thickens somewhat, small balls can be downloaded from it. Melt chocolate in any convenient way (in a water bath, in a microwave, in a double boiler).

Using a pair of forks, dip the balls in chocolate and put on foil, let it freeze in a cold place. Sweets are ready.

A few cooking tips:

Molds should be perfectly dry without a drop of moisture.
Cooking should be done in a cool place (up to 22 degrees).
When melting chocolate, you can add liquid in the form of liquor or cognac.

The composition of sweet products

The calorie content of sweets directly depends on the composition of the confectionery. Of course, this figure will be significantly higher for chocolates than for caramel products. Often unscrupulous manufacturers replace cocoa butter in chocolate with heavier palm or coconut oil. Chocolate candy can have various high-calorie fillings, so it’s better not to get carried away with such sweets.

List of delicious sweets and their calorie content (100 g of product):

marmalade in chocolate - 437 kcal;
truffle - 347 kcal;
cherry in chocolate - 399 kcal;
cherry in chocolate with liquor - 490 kcal;
assorted dark chocolate - 540 kcal;
chocolate candy with filling - 455 kcal;
milk chocolate - 555 kcal;
white chocolate - 580 kcal;
dried fruits in chocolate - 345 kcal;
waffles in chocolate - 575 kcal;
walnut praline products - 530 kcal.

Harmful or helpful?

So what is more in sweets - harm or benefit? There is no definite answer to this question. The main advantage of the products is the content of "fast" carbohydrates, which allows a person to renew the energy supply in a short time.

Thanks to chocolate, the so-called "happiness hormone" - endorphin - is produced in the body.

Harm in most cases can only bring excessive and uncontrolled use of these delicacies, especially by children. Not only can overweight appear, teeth deteriorate from them, diathesis and diabetes mellitus appear. Various dyes, preservatives and flavor enhancers that are so often added to the composition of sweets can cause severe allergic reactions in some people. In this case, it is better to make chocolates at home in order to be completely sure of the naturalness of all the ingredients. You can and should eat sweets, but you should do it wisely.

Sweets accompany us all our lives. For many, they are the "hormone" of happiness and joy. Eat and your soul is easier, troubles recede away. The history of Russian sweets is full of curious episodes and unknown pages - you can learn about it at the Museum of Russian Dessert in Zelenograd near Moscow. And at the same time admire the artifacts of Russian "sweet" cuisine.

"Lady's Confection"

"Confection Shop" Sounds weird? It’s just that the current word “candy” is derived from the Latin “confectum” - a prepared drug. In dictionaries of the 18th century, this word was masculine. And even on the boxes of the 19th century, you can read "Lady's Confection". In the first place was the meaning "confection - a medicine prepared from boiled fruits or herbs." And only then - sweetness.

In today's dictionaries, candy is a sugar-based product prepared with the addition of various types of raw materials, flavoring and aromatic additives.

The first candy comes from Egypt
The candy has a history much longer than we can imagine. Its past covers the geography of the whole world. They say that the first candy is three thousand years old. She was born in ancient Egypt and was a simple ball rolled from finely chopped dates, honey and nuts. In the ancient East, sweets were made from figs, almonds, honey and the same nuts. In ancient Rome, they were rolled in poppy seeds, sesame seeds.

The forerunner of sweets in Russia - candied fruit

In the 17th century, this word came to us from the German language - “candied fruits”. And so it remained with us for many centuries. Before a similar product was called "dry Kiev jam": pieces of fruit boiled many times in sugar syrup until almost amber-coloured. The first mention of it dates back to the 14th century.

The annals tell how this “dry” jam was brought to the wedding table to the Lithuanian prince Jagiello. Subsequently, Catherine II became a fan of delicacy. Even her special decree was issued so that in the autumn they would deliver it to St. Petersburg and serve it to the royal table. Dignitaries and close associates followed the example of the autocrat. And so stagecoaches and carts with this sweetness from Kyiv went.

Lollipop - 500 years old

By 1489, the first mentions of the familiar candy belong to us. For more than five centuries, this product made from molasses or honey has delighted children and adults. When they learned to make lollipops is not known for certain. The idea is so simple that, most likely, it was born more than once and in many cities. Then she forgot and came again. At first, these were not even “cockerels”, but “houses”, “squirrels”, “bears”. The syrup with molasses was poured into a special mold, a long sliver was inserted from the side, it solidified there. Then the form was “disassembled” and the same lollipop familiar to us was obtained. Our great-grandmothers added ginger root to the candy, due to which a spicy taste was obtained.

Sweets would have remained piece goods for a long time if it were not for sugar. The first mention of it also dates back to the 13th century. He was brought as a spice, sold expensively. And not everyone could afford it. In Russia, for example, drinking tea with sugar has become a common habit only since the 18th century.. That old sugar was made, of course, from cane.

Peter I also tried to curb foreign adversaries and ordered to make sugar in Russia. In 1718, he even established a sugar chamber. However, at that time sugar was made from imported sugar cane. Beets as a raw material began to be used much later. And the first truly domestic sugar factories appeared in our country at the beginning of the 19th century. It was then that numerous confectionery workshops were opened in Russia, and then mass “industrial” production of sweets.

candy kleptomania

They say that back in the early 19th century, at receptions, lunches and dinners, it was considered not at all shameful if some rich and luxuriously dressed lady pulled a candy from the table and hid it in a reticule. Such "obscene" behavior was explained simply: the candy was a rare, tempting product. So society forgave such transgressions.

Naturally, the confectionery of the Imperial Court was an example of quality. Here they really made unique and "piece" products.

In all aristocratic houses, after a dinner party, a dessert table was laid. It was called "sugar grounds". Even the architect Rastrelli is involved in the design of such "tables", which in essence are whole pyramids and sugar shelves. According to his sketches, fanciful vases, castles, bouquets were created - they were all made of chocolate, marzipans, mastic and caramel.

It must be admitted that domestic masters have achieved amazing skill in the production of caramel flowers. Entire cascades of sweets descended from the very top almost to the floor. There were trees decorated with marzipan fruit. Real luxury. But she must not disappear! That is why it was customary after the reception to disassemble all of it into "royal gifts." Since the time of Alexander I, the budget of the imperial court had a corresponding article for these gifts.

Count Sollogub recalled how, as a child, he was waiting for his grandmother from these balls. A huge carriage drove up to the entrance, and a grandmother, exhausted by the ball, got out of it. Ahead of her, a servant was climbing the stairs, carrying two huge dishes filled with marzipans, sugar crackers, gingerbread, cakes, sweets. And all because after the ball, grandmother, without hesitation, with the help of her neighbors, filled the dishes from the common table and took them home. Shakos, pockets, handbags - everything was full of these goodies. And then everyone in the manor house - from kids to the cook - got sweets.

Who invented the candy wrapper

Mass production of sweets used sugar syrup with the addition of chocolate, eggs, milk, fruits. In Europe, they appeared earlier. In 1659, the French confectioner David Shelley opened his factory in Paris and began to make products that are very similar to modern candies.

Another person who contributed to the candy industry was… Thomas Edison. A talented engineer, it seems, did not ignore any of the many branches of science and industry. Confectioners owe him the invention of waxed paper, which is still used for candy wrappers.

Nougat, marzipan, cake and chocolates - only four types of sweets were produced in our country at the beginning of the 19th century. But since the middle of the century, lollipops have appeared. The discoverer of this era was the Landrin factory. The official version says that the factory was founded in 1848 by businessman Georg (Georges) Landrin - he opened his workshop for the production of candy caramel on the Peterhof highway. Later, the workshop began to produce chocolate and biscuits.

The history of mankind's love for sweets began about three millennia ago. The first confectionery appeared in ancient Egypt. Prototypes of modern sweets were made from boiled honey with the addition of dates. It was customary to throw sweets into the crowd during the solemn departures of the pharaohs.
The recipes of the first sweets were not very diverse; the inhabitants of Ancient Greece and the Middle East enjoyed similar confectionery products. At that time, people did not know how to produce sugar, the basis of all sweets is honey with the addition of dried apricots, nuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and spices.

The first sweets appeared in Europe

At the dawn of our era, brown sugar made from cane was imported to Europe from India. Subsequently, the sweet product was replaced by a cheaper American counterpart, which led to the rapid development of confectionery production in the countries of the Old World.
Sweets in a form more familiar to us appeared in Italy in the 16th century. The confectioners of this European country melted lump sugar on fire, mixed the resulting mass with fruit and berry syrups and poured it into various forms. The forerunners of modern caramel in medieval Italy were sold only in, as it was believed that sweets had healing properties. It is interesting that initially only adults could buy a tasty medicine.

The first chocolates appeared in ... Europe!

The first chocolate dessert, which is a mixture of grated nuts, candied honey, cocoa lumps, filled with melted sugar, was made by the Duke of Plessy ─ Praline. This is in 1671 in Belgium, where the nobleman served as the French ambassador. Before the advent of real chocolates, there were still 186 years.
Belgian pharmacist John Neuhaus in 1857 worked on the invention of cough. Quite by chance, he managed to get a product that today is called "chocolates". Since 1912, the son of a pharmacist introduced them to mass sale. The real excitement began after the pharmacist's wife came up with the idea of wrapping sweets in golden wrappers.
The candy owes its name to the same pharmacists. The Latin word confectum as a term was used by medieval pharmacists. In ancient times, this was the name of processed fruits prepared for further use for medicinal purposes.

The history of sweets covers the geography of the entire globe. The word "candy" itself is translated from Latin as "cooked potion". The first confectioners appeared in Ancient Egypt, where noble citizens have always been distinguished by their love for culinary delights: since sugar was not yet known at that time, they cooked sweets from honey and dates, in the East, sweets were made from almonds and figs. In ancient Rome, the recipe for sweets made from nuts, poppy seeds, honey and sesame seeds was kept in the strictest confidence, and in Ancient Russia, sweets were made from maple syrup, molasses and honey.

The French chronicles tell of how sweets played a role of national importance at court. In 1715, the chancellor won the favor of the French king Louis XV, presenting him in gratitude for the throne speech delivered in parliament ... a huge dish of sweets! However, what else could win the heart of the monarch, who was then only five years old?!

In general, this sweet delicacy has been popular throughout the ages among all segments of the population. True, for a long time it was absolutely inaccessible to ordinary people and was the privilege of the rich and noble class.

The most unfairly accused sweets are chocolates. In the 16th century, in Europe, during the craze for chocolate, special magical and healing properties were attributed to it. Naturally, the expectations were not justified, and then they began to consider him the source of literally all troubles. Here is a letter from a young lady to a friend: "I advise you to no longer eat chocolate. My friend ate it during pregnancy and gave birth to a completely black child."

At the beginning of the 19th century, even the richest and noblest Russian ladies, being at receptions, tried to discreetly hide sweets in redicules. Such obscene behavior was explained simply: in Russia there were no confectionery factories, and each confectioner prepared sweets for each dinner party according to his own recipe, which was kept in the strictest confidence.

The most romantic sweets are those with strawberry filling. This is what German psychologists think. By the way, it is believed that taste preferences directly depend on the character of a person: decisive people, for example, prefer cherry filling, shy people prefer nut filling, and creative people prefer coconut filling.

The most famous sweets are pralines. Pralines were invented in 1663 and prepared especially for the French ambassador to Germany. Pralines still hold the sales record in Germany and Switzerland.

According to many experts, the best chocolates today are made in France and Switzerland.

website today I prepared top 10 interesting facts about the most favorite female delicacy - sweets.

How the first sweets appeared, when this scourge of female figures was invented and why women stole sweets, read on.

1. The word "sweets" was invented by pharmacists, this is how candied fruits, which were prescribed for medicinal purposes, were called in the 16th century.

2. At the beginning of the 19th century, even the richest and noblest Russian young ladies stole sweets at social receptions.

The explanation for such obscene behavior is very simple: there were no confectionery factories then, for each candy reception the confectioner made his own recipe, which was kept in the strictest confidence.

3. The first sweets were invented in antiquity. In Egypt, they were prepared from dates and honey, in the East - from almonds and figs, in ancient Rome, nuts and poppy seeds were boiled with honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds. In ancient Russia, sweets were made from maple syrup, molasses and honey.

4. The most "persecuted" sweets are chocolate. In the Middle Ages in Europe, they were considered the source of almost all troubles. One young lady wrote to her friend: "I advise you not to eat chocolates. One of my friends ate them during pregnancy and gave birth to a completely black child."

5. The most romantic sweets are with strawberry filling, this is exactly the conclusion German psychologists came to. They also found that decisive people like cherry, shy people like walnut, and creative people like coconut.

6. The first candy girl was the German model Alena Gerber. In January 2010, she presented the first chocolate dress in Munich.

7. The largest box of chocolates was created by Master Food for an international culinary show. A box one and a half meters wide and 2.5 meters long included 800 kg of chocolates.

8. The biggest candy in the world is a bear nicknamed Hagi-Boy, 1.68 meters high and weighing 633 kg. To cast the bear, they made a special mold weighing 4 tons. The fruit mass poured into the mold dried for almost 2 weeks, then it was taken out and polished to a shine.

9. The only legal candy in space is lollipop. In 1995, Russian cosmonauts at the Mir station demanded a sweet. The Central Mission Control decided that the safest candy in zero gravity is just lollipops. So there was a commercial for Chupa Chups with astronauts.

10. The most unusual sweets in the world are Finnish, because they can be sour and salty with beer.