The History of Chocolate Bars

It’s estimated that chocolate has been around for over 2,000 years. You may be surprised to learn that for most of that time, chocolate was consumed in drink form. Chocolate bars are a relatively new creation. In 1828, a Dutch chemist first created powered chocolate by removing approximately half the fat from chocolate liquor, pulverizing the remaining substance, and adding alkaline salts to lessen the bitterness; his product was called Dutch cocoa. The first modern chocolate bar was made by Joseph Fry in 1847, when he successfully created a moldable chocolate paste by combining melted cacao butter with Dutch cocoa. Around 1868, Cadbury began selling boxes of chocolate candies in England. A few years later, Nestle introduced milk chocolate to the world. And the rest, as they say, is history! Today, chocolate bars and candies continue to be incredibly popular – in fact, the average American eats a half a pound of chocolate each month.