http://www.chocorific.com/chocolate/european-chocolate/dutch-chocolate/ Dutch chocolate isn't the same as other types of chocolate. Learn a little something about Dutch chocolate here. en-us Fri, 09 Sep 2005 17:57:17 EDT Fri, 09 Sep 2005 17:57:17 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 The History of Dutch Chocolate You've heard of Swiss chocolate and German chocolate, and you might wonder how they are different from Dutch chocolate. German chocolate doesn't actually have anything to do with Germany. It was created in the late 1800s by a man named Sam German who added sugar to chocolate for the Baker's Chocolate Company, and it was originally called Baker's German's chocolate. Over the years, the apostrophe s was dropped, however, and it's now known as German chocolate. (Sorry Germany!) Milk chocolate was invented by the Swiss, and it's also known as Swiss chocolate. This kind of chocolate typically melts nicely and has a smooth texture. Plus, the Swiss (as well as most European countries) have made candy making an art with this sort of chocolate. But Dutch chocolate is different. Dutch chocolate is actually the name for a process known as "dutching," which is the removal of cocoa butter from cocoa beans. A Dutch chocolatier named Conrad J. Van Houten actually created a hydraulic machine in 1828 called the cocoa press that made the process easier, hence the term "dutching" and the name, Dutch chocolate. Part of the process of dutching is that after the cocoa butter is removed from the beans, it's treated with an alkalizing agent to give it a more mild flavor and change the color. (Extreme alkalizing products can effect the color of the cocoa so much that it can even appear to be black.) Dutch chocolate forms the basis for a lot of chocolate candy, ice cream, and baking cocoa. In addition, the alkalizing agent makes it easier to disperse in milk and other drinks. Knowing the difference between these three types of chocolate may not change your life, but it might make you win trivia games. If nothing else, you're just a little bit wiser about chocolate than you were two minutes ago. How Chocorific is that? Fri, 09 Sep 2005 17:57:17 EDT