Chocolate Calendar in AugustChocolate is the most popular sweet treat in the world. Help us National traditions, public holidays and notable observances for 2024-2025 yearAugust 2024September 2024October 2024November 2024December 2024January 2025February 2025March 2025April 2025May 2025June 2025July 2025About chocolate and chocolate traditions“Cacao” is how you say “cocoa” in Spanish. Flavonoids found in cocoa products have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting effects that can reduce the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity.
In November, Germans celebrate St. Martin–a knight who shared his cloak with a beggar–with a lantern-lit parade, sweets and steaming hot chocolate. The French celebrate April Fool’s Day with chocolate-shaped fish, or “Poisson d’Avril.”
Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his print shop in Philadelphia.
Research to date supports that chocolate can be enjoyed as part of a balanced, heart-healthy diet and lifestyle. Dark chocolate has more cacao (the beans that chocolate are made from) and less sugar than other chocolates, so it is considered healthier than milk and white chocolate.
Some cacao trees are more than 200 years old, but most give marketable cocoa beans for only the first 25 years.
Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans and it takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate. It takes two to four days to make a single-serving chocolate bar.
Eating dark chocolate widens arteries and promotes healthy blood flow that can prevent the buildup of plaque that can block arteries.
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