{"id":34172,"date":"2022-07-18T17:04:07","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T14:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/lets-celebrate-world-chocolate-day-introducing-the-worlds-favorite-flavor-chocolate\/"},"modified":"2022-07-27T15:17:48","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T12:17:48","slug":"lets-celebrate-world-chocolate-day-introducing-the-worlds-favorite-flavor-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/lets-celebrate-world-chocolate-day-introducing-the-worlds-favorite-flavor-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s celebrate World Chocolate Day: Introducing the world\u2019s favorite flavor \u2013 chocolate!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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World Chocolate Day<\/b><\/p><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\"when
Chocolate Day is celebrated in Europe every year on July 7th. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the precise date of the cocoa bean\u2019s arrival from the Americas to Europe is still under discussion, various research has traced it to July 7, 1550. Europe has long celebrated July 7 as its annual Chocolate Day. We\u2019ll defer to the Europeans as, according to the data of the International Cocoa Organization, half of the world\u2019s current chocolate consumption takes place in Europe. While World Chocolate Day is generally considered July 7, the United States and other regions commemorate this magical bean on other days as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The history of chocolate<\/b><\/p><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\"cocoa
A female farmer growing cocoa in Bahia, Brazil. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cultivation of the cocoa bean \u2013 the raw material of chocolate \u2013 in Mexico and South and Central America dates to at least 1250 BC, according to archaeologists, while archaeological studies of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in the Ecuador region indicate that the consumption of a cocoa-like food dates to 3300 BC. Other research shows that hot brewed chocolate drinks were consumed for ceremonial and other purposes in Aztec and Mayan societies; the Aztecs also used the valuable cocoa bean as currency. Chocolate was believed to have spiritual, medicinal and energy-boosting properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The etymology of chocolate   <\/b><\/p><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The scientific name for the cocoa tree is Theobroma cacao; \u2018theobroma\u2019 is derived from Greek \u2013 theos is \u2018god\u2019, while broma is \u2018food\u2019. The word \u2018chocolate\u2019 originated from \u2018cacahuatl (or xocolatl)\u2019, a word from the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, referring to the bean of the cocoa tree and meaning \u2018bitter water\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chocolate comes to Europe<\/b><\/p><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Spanish explorers brought cocoa beans \u2013 and chocolate \u2013 to Spain in the 1500s but the delicious bean didn\u2019t reach France and England until the mid-1600s. In T\u00fcrkiye, we have Italian adventurer Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri to thank for chocolate: Careri, among the first Europeans to travel via cargo ship, brought cocoa beans to Izmir in 1693. He served warm chocolate drinks to his new acquaintances in T\u00fcrkiye and word of this magical brew quickly reached the Ottoman Palace. In the Ottoman Empire, as in Europe, access to chocolate was limited to the aristocracy and the wealthy: Fortunately for the rest of us, in the early 1900s, one of the world\u2019s largest chocolate manufacturers opened its first store in Istanbul\u2019s Karak\u00f6y neighborhood. In 1927, T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s first chocolate factory was established in Bomonti, Istanbul, followed by another chocolate factory in Ordu. In 1992, the Turkish Standards Institute set the country\u2019s chocolate standards: bitter, milky, white, plain, flavored and filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Worth the trip: The world\u2019s top chocolate shops <\/b><\/p><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\"world's
Professionals say the secret to premium chocolate is a high content of cocoa butter. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now that we\u2019ve touched on the history and etymology of chocolate, let\u2019s visit the world\u2019s finest chocolate shops. If you are in these cities, consider adding these addresses to your route! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Soma Chocolate, Toronto (Canada)<\/li>
  • Paul A. Young, London (UK)<\/li>
  • Spr\u00fcngli, Zurich (Switzerland)<\/li>
  • Roselen Chocolatier, Lima (Peru)<\/li>
  • Mary, Brussels (Belgium)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    To note: <\/b>Chocolate facts<\/b><\/p><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    \"about
    Research shows that milk chocolate is consistently ranked as the world\u2019s most popular chocolate variety. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    • The cocoa tree thrives in slightly elevated areas (between 30 and 300 meters above sea level) and at temperatures ranging between 20 \u00b0C and 28 \u00b0C. It is considered a tropical plant and is rather delicate. <\/li>
    • According to Euromonitor, the highest annual per capita expenditures on chocolate are in Switzerland. <\/li>
    • Milk chocolate is consistently ranked as the most popular chocolate variety in the world. <\/li>
    • In Israel and Iran, more than 50% of the chocolate consumed is bitter chocolate. In the UK, consumption of bitter chocolate is rapidly increasing \u2013 a trend that can be attributed to the fact that dark chocolate contains less sugar.<\/li>
    • <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      References:<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      National Geographic<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Necmiye U\u00e7ansoy, HT Gastro<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The Guardian<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Travel and Leisure<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      World Chocolate Day While the precise date of the cocoa bean\u2019s arrival from the Americas to Europe is still under discussion, various research has traced it to July 7, 1550. Europe has long celebrated July 7 as its annual Chocolate Day. We\u2019ll defer to the Europeans as, according to the data of the International Cocoa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":33799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[321,147],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eating-drinking","8":"category-trip-ideas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}