Trivia

Mrs O'Malley's Trivia Page

Sweet toothed UK

In the UK each person eats an average of 9.4kg of chocolate and 4.4kg of sugar sweets each year - £6 Billion in total!

The UK eats more confectionery per head of population than any other country in Europe.

If you have any interesting stories or facts to add, the we would love to hear from you, email us at trivia@mrsomalleys.co.uk

Sweet facts

The idea of a sweet treat was first invented by cavemen who ate honey from bee hives.

During ancient times the Egyptians, the Arabs and the Chinese prepared confections of fruit and nuts candied in honey. (Might they have stuck a stick in this confection, creating the first lollypop?)

In Europe during the Middle Ages, the high cost of sugar made sugar candy a delicacy available only to the wealthy. (And if you want to stretch your sugar budget, what better way than making lollipops? Not only can a lollipop be consumed more slowly, it is far less messy to put aside for a while to stretch the enjoyment even longer!)

Boiled sugar candies were enjoyed in the seventeenth century in England and in the American colonies.

Sweet-making developed rapidly into an industry during the early nineteenth century through the discovery of sugar beet juice and the advance of mechanical appliances. Homemade hard candies, such as peppermints and lemon drops became popular during that time.

In the early part of the 20th century, automated lollipop machines increased the productivity of lolly making dramatically.

Chocolate history

Did you know that chocolate was first cultivated and consumed by the Mayans and Aztecs? By the year 1000 A.D. the beans were being used as currency. The Aztecs believed that drinking chocolate, which was the undiluted, unsweetened liquor from the fermented cacao beans, would bring great wisdom, understanding and energy. Its use was reserved for the ruling and priestly classes.

In 1492 Columbus was given some of the cacao beans and took them back to Spain, but he didn't know how to process and ferment them. In 1519 Cortez descended upon the Aztecs and eventually destroyed Montezuma's armies and his capital. The Aztecs were convinced that Quetzacoatl had returned as prophesied and they tried to get him to leave by once again plying him with chocolate.

It didn't work very well, as Cortez organized the area as a Spanish colony, but it did introduce Cortez to not only the consumption but the processing of chocolate.

He took the beans and the process back to Spain. The Spaniards added sugar and honey to the bitter liquid and then fell in love with it. As in the Americas, its use was reserved for members of the court. Chocolate was kept a secret by the Spanish court for almost a hundred years.

Chocolate trivia

Chocolate contains calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, sodium,carbohydrate, protein, fat, starch, thiamine, vitamin A and riboflavin.

Chocolate contains high levels of phenol, a chemical that can help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Chocolate contains easily digested carbohydrates and is a high energy food. It is often recommended for walkers and sportsmen.

Chocolate stimulates the release of endorphins in the body. Endorphins generate feelings of euphoria and block pain and are usually produced during strenuous physical exercise.

Cocoa butter is a triglyceride which begins to soften at 75 F., and melts at 97 F. It is a highly saturated fat which consists principally of the fatty acid stearic acid, which is found in higher concentration in chocolate that in any other food. Stearic acid is rapidly converted by the liver into oleic acid, a monounsaturated that neither raises nor lowers serum cholesterol. Oleic acid is also present in olive and canola oils.

Chocolate does contain caffeine, but not much. One ounce of milk chocolate usually contains 5 mg of caffeine, one ounce of semi-sweet usually has 5-10 mg, and a six-ounce cup of cocoa usually has 10 mg. For comparison, a six-ounce cup of coffee contains 100-150 mg. Chocolate does not cause acne. It does contain a protein that inhibits bacterial growth on teeth, and since it melts at body temperature and melts off one's teeth, the sugar in chocolate does not cling to one's teeth.

The best thing about chocolate, andthe thing that makes us all so HAPPY when we eat it, is that it contains the highest concentration in any food of phenylethylamine, which is the chemical produced in the brain when a person is in love!!