The Katywompus Journal Observing Life's Little Quirks by Diane Moody |
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Entry #65: Pass the Chocolate!
I'll bet you didn't know that next week is American Chocolate Week, did you? Chocolate lovers across the fruited plain are elated to indulge freely as we honor America's favorite flavor. Recently, it dawned on me that I am indeed a chocoholic. I'm not sure when I crossed the line from mere enjoyment to Admitted Chocolate Fanatic, but this disease came on with a vengeance. Don't get me wrong. I've always liked the stuff. I have fond childhood memories of rattling cartons of Boppers to make sure I didn't miss a single one of those chocolate covered malt balls. I'm pretty sure the first cookie I ever tasted was chocolate chip. Is there anything better than one of those soft, warm cookies washed down with a glass of icy cold milk? And what's a birthday without candles on a chocolate cake? It's a little scary, this addiction. While many consider it an essential Food Group, logic tells me otherwise. It's bad for the teeth. Bad for the weight. Bad for the cholesterol. And have I mentioned it's addictive? Hubby and I started a funny little habit about a year ago. After lunch and dinner, I leave one of those individually wrapped miniature Dove chocolates on his keyboard. Sometimes he beats me to it, leaving one on my keyboard. Love notes, chocolate style. Grab a mocha latte and let's stroll down Chocolate Lane to see what we find. In America, the Hershey name is synonymous with chocolate. But Milton Hershey knew the taste of failure several times over before getting it right. With no formal education and several failed attempts to start a candy-making business, Hershey was almost bankrupt by the time he was 30. Eventually he got it right. His Lancaster Caramel Company in Pennsylvania was a huge success. But his taste switched to chocolate in 1893 after he attended the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Fascinated by the process of making chocolate, he began the Hershey Chocolate Company to mass-produce milk chocolate. Suddenly, the luxury of chocolate - once enjoyed only by the wealthy - was now affordable to the masses. Hershey moved his chocolate company to south-central Pennsylvania where he was born, to a town that would eventually carry his name. But it was more than a "company town." Hershey believed that "workers who were treated fairly and who lived in a comfortable, pleasant environment would be better workers." He took care of his people. His model community provided for their every need with churches, parks, and excellent schools. His generosity also extended to local orphans, and even today, the Milton Hershey School provides housing and education to hundreds of boys and girls. A philanthropic chocolatier. What a sweetheart. Makes you just want to reach for a Hershey Kiss, doesn't it? But this is the South. And no self-respecting southerner can talk about chocolate without a discussion of the infamous MoonPie. Supposedly, the MoonPie was created back in the early 1900s after Earl Mitchell Sr. asked some coal miners what kind of snack they would enjoy. They said they wanted something for their lunch pails - "something solid and filling." It was evening and the moon was rising on the horizon. When Mr. Mitchell asked them how big, one of the miners "held out his big hands, framing the moon, and said, 'About that big!'" And so it was that the Chattanooga Bakery developed a graham cracker dipped in marshmallow, sandwiched with another graham cracker and covered in a generous chocolate coating. By the late 50s, the MoonPie was so popular that the Chattanooga Bakery made nothing else. The catch-phrase "RC Cola and a MoonPie" still reckons the "delicious, bargain-priced combination" across the South. [www.moonpie.com] When the Mayan Indians of Central America first discovered the cocoa bean over 2000 years ago, little did they know the enormous future of their find. Once called "the food of the gods," chocolate evolved through magnificent changes as it made its way across Europe then to the United States. From the heated splendor of hot chocolate to the delectable taste of milk chocolate, people across the globe have a love affair with all things chocolate. In fact, 52% of Americans now claim chocolate as their favorite flavor. Count me in! And so it is, in honor of American Chocolate Week, I do hereby beseech you to show your patriotism by the purchase, consumption, and full-blown indulgence of chocolate - be it brownies, cookies, ice cream, candy bars, fudge, cakes, pies, or all of the above. And don't worry. The week after next, we'll break out the chocolate Slim-Fast bars. Click HERE to send Diane an email. She welcomes your comments and suggestions. She's Flying the Coop Blessed are the poor... Back to School It All Started With Eve It's Almost Here! 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