chocolate was probably the coarse, crumbly texture of the chocolate paste The suave confections that are so popular today were made possible by several innovations, the first of which came in 1828 Conrad van Houten, whose family ran a chocolate business in Amsterdam, was trying to find a way to make chocolate less oily so that the drink would be less heavy and filling The weight of the cacao bean is better than half fat, or “cocoa butter.” Van Houten developed a screw press that removed most of the cocoa butter from the ground bean — in itself, not a novelty — and then sold the defatted cocoa powder, which carries nearly all the flavor, for making hot chocolate Cocoa powder was a long-lasting success, though recently there has been a revival of interest in richer versions of hot chocolate full of cocoa butter At first, the pure cocoa butter extracted by Van Houten’s screw press was a mere byproduct But it turned out to be the key to the development of modern chocolate candy This was cocoa butter that could be added to a paste of ordinary ground cocoa beans and sugar to provide a rich, melting matrix for the dry particles, and make the paste seem less pasty The first solid “eating chocolate” was introduced by the English firm of Fry and Sons in 1847, and soon inspired many imitations throughout Europe and the United States Swiss Innovations: Milk Chocolate and Refined Texture In 1917, Alice Bradley’s Candy Cook Book devoted an entire chapter to “assorted Chocolates,” and noted that” more than one hundred different chocolates may be found in the price lists of some manufacturers.” The South American bean had come of age as a major ingredient in confectionery Two technical developments had helped expand chocolate’s appeal In 1876, a Swiss ... pasty The first solid “eating chocolate” was introduced by the English firm of Fry and Sons in 1847, and soon inspired many imitations throughout Europe and the United States Swiss Innovations:...development of modern chocolate candy This was cocoa butter that could be added to a paste of ordinary ground cocoa beans and sugar to provide a rich, melting matrix for the dry particles, and make the paste seem less... found in the price lists of some manufacturers.” The South American bean had come of age as a major ingredient in confectionery Two technical developments had helped expand chocolate’s appeal In 1876, a Swiss