American-made chocolate and cocoa products number in the hundreds. There is a fascinating story behind these wonderful products. To tell that story and to provide a better understanding of the chocolate industry and its long-standing traditions is the purpose of this booklet.
美国制造的巧克力和可可食品以数百计。在这些奇妙产品的背后蕴藏了一个美丽的故事。这篇文章的主要目的就是为了告诉你这个故事，让你对巧克力工业和它长久以来的传统有更好的理解。
The Story of Chocolate is essentially a layman's introduction to the subject. It will provide readers an opportunity to view the industry as a whole.
这个故事其实是外行人士对巧克力的介绍。它给了读者一个了解巧克力工业的机会。
Chocolate through the Years the story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of America. Until 1492, the Old World knew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor that was to become the favorite of millions.
据这个故事介绍，巧克力最早始源于美国。直到1492年，在巧克力成为百万人的最爱之前，东半球的国家对这种美味根本一无所知。
The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America and laid before the Spanish throne a treasure trove of many strange and wonderful things. Among these were a few dark brown beans that looked like almonds and seemed most unpromising. They were cocoa beans, today's source of all our chocolate and cocoa.
在哥伦布从美国凯旋而归，并将他带回来的新奇而奇妙的珍宝敬献给西班牙君王的时候，弗帝纳德国王和伊莎贝拉皇后才首次认识了巧克力的主要成份。其中有一些类似杏仁，看似不起眼的咖啡色豆子。这就是可可豆，现今的巧克力和可可食品的来源。
The King and Queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be, and it remained for Hernando Cortez, the great Spanish explorer, to grasp the commercial possibilities of the New World offerings.
国王和皇后从不清楚可可豆的重要性，并把它留给了西班牙探险家的埃尔南多·科尔特斯, 从此开启了新大陆的商机。
Food of the Gods During his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the realm, "chocolate," meaning warm liquid. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma, who reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily, served chocolate to his Spanish guests in great golden goblets, treating it like a food for the gods.
科尔特斯在墨西哥苦心研究期间，发现阿芝台克的印度人用可可豆来制作他们皇室饮料“巧克力”，被称为热饮。据说在1519年，蒙犬祖玛君王每天都要饮用50杯以上的热巧克力，并将其盛在金色高脚玻璃杯里用来款待西班牙贵客以示对他们的尊重。来自作文地带。
For all its regal importance, however, Montezuma's chocolate was very bitter, and the Spaniards did not find it to their taste. To make the concoction more agreeable to Europeans, Cortez and his countrymen conceived the idea of sweetening it with cane sugar.
尽管巧克力有着帝王之气，但蒙犬祖玛时期的巧克力却非常苦，西班牙人觉得并不合他们的口味。为了让巧克力更符合欧洲人的口味，科尔特斯和他的同伴们想到用蔗糖来调味。
While they took chocolate back to Spain, the idea found favor and the drink underwent several more changes with newly discovered spices, such as cinnamon and vanilla. Ultimately, someone decided the drink would taste better if served hot.
当他们把巧克力带回西班牙的时候，他们的想法受到喜爱，并在饮料中加入最新的香料调配，比如桂皮和香草。后来一些人想如果将巧克力饮料加热，那么口感可能会更好些。
The new drink quickly won friends, especially among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain wisely proceeded to plant cacao in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. Remarkably enough, the Spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years. From Joozone.com.
这种新的饮品受到人们极大的喜爱，尤其是西班牙贵族。西班牙人开始在他们的海外殖民地种植可可树，这一聪明的举动为他们赢得了很好的商机。值得一提的是，西班牙可可工业的发展竟然能瞒着欧洲其他国家达百年之久。
Chocolate Spreads to Europe Spanish monks, who had been consigned to process the cocoa beans, finally let the secret out. It did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed throughout Europe as a delicious, health-giving food. For a while it reigned as the drink at the fashionable Court of France. Chocolate drinking spread across the Channel to Great Britain, and in 1657 the first of many famous English Chocolate Houses appeared.
直到巧克力传到被派遣到欧洲种植可可豆的西班牙僧侣那里后，秘密才逐渐被公开。不久后，巧克力作为一种美味而有益健康的食品传入欧洲并得到喜爱。而后，巧克力饮品成为法国王室的时尚标志。巧克力饮品经由海峡传到英国，由此，第一家著名的英国巧克力制造厂在1657年建成。
The hand methods of manufacture used by small shops gave way in time to the mass production of chocolate. The transition was hastened by the advent of a perfected steam engine, which mechanized the cocoa grinding process. By 1730, chocolate had dropped in price from three dollars or more per pound to within financial reach of all. The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 reduced the prices even further and helped to improve the quality of the beverage by squeezing out part of the cocoa butter, the fat that occurs naturally in cocoa beans. From then on, drinking chocolate had more of the smooth consistency and the pleasing flavor it has today.
以往那些巧克力小型手工制造商都纷纷及时并入大规模制造商。能让可可豆碾磨过程机械化的理想蒸汽机的出现加速了这种转变。1730年，巧克力的价格从每磅3美元以上降至最低价。1828年，压榨可可豆的发明更是降低了巧克力的价格，这种做法既可压榨出部分可可油又能脂肪残留在可可豆里，因此促进了饮料质量的改进。从那以后，巧克力饮料才有了像现今这样柔滑质感和美味的口感。
The 19th Century marked two more revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. In 1847, an English company introduced solid "eating chocolate" through the development of fondant chocolate, a smooth and velvety variety that has almost completely replaced the old coarse grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. The second development occurred in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, when Daniel Peter devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.
巧克力的发展在19世纪时经历了两次革命性的发展。1847年，一个英国公司引进了经由软糖巧克力发展而来的固体巧克力，柔滑多样的巧克力完全取代了曾占领世界市场一时的老式巧克力。1876年，在瑞士发生了巧克力的第二次改革。丹尼尔·彼特将牛奶添入巧克力并制造出了产品，也就是今天的牛奶巧克力。
Chocolate comes to America in the United States of America, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. It was in pre-Revolutionary New England-1765, to be exact-that the first chocolate factory was established in this country.
巧克力被引进美国，在那里，它的生产速度是世界最快的。1765年，在新英格兰革命开始时，英国第一家巧克力工厂建立成功。
Chocolate has gained so much importance since that time, that any interruption in its supply would be keenly felt.
从那时起，巧克力就大受欢迎，以致于任何供给不足都能被敏锐地捕捉到。
During World War II, the U.S. government recognized chocolate's role in the nourishment and group spirit of the Allied Armed Forces, so much so that it allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans. Many soldiers were thankful for the pocket chocolate bars which gave them the strength to carry on until more food rations could be obtained. Today, the U.S. Army D-rations include three 4-ounce chocolate bars. Chocolate has even been taken into space as part of the diet of U.S.astronauts.
世界二战中，美国政府认识到巧克力在营养和海陆空三军联盟团队中的重要性，因此美国政府预留了那时被视为很珍贵的舱位用于可可豆的运输。许多士兵都非常感谢小型巧克力块能在他们拿到配给粮食前让他们维持能量。现今，美国军队食物配给中包括了三块四盎司的巧克力块。巧克力甚至被列位美国宇航员指定饮食的一部分。 |
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