Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civilization, and later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of English and food labeling standards, the term chocolate bar is reserved for bars of solid chocolate, with candy bar used for products with additional ingredients.
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, where its main factory and museum are located. Lindt is one of the largest Swiss chocolate manufacturers.
Godiva Chocolatier is a Belgian-based international chocolate maker which is owned by Turkish conglomerate Yıldız Holding.
Michel Cluizel is a bean-to-bar chocolate making company that was founded in the French town of Damville in Normandy in 1948 by Marc Cluizel.
A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectioneries from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. They are pastry chefs or confectioners who specialize in chocolate and making chocolate candies. Chocolatiers work artisanally with ready-made chocolate mass and are therefore distinct from industrial chocolate makers.
Callebaut is a chocolate brand, owner of the company is Barry Callebaut group, and based in Belgium. It was founded in 1911 by Octaaf Callebaut in Belgium.
Fannie May Confection Brands, Inc. is an American chocolate manufacturer headquartered in Chicago and currently owned by multinational company Ferrero SpA. Fannie May manufactures a broad variety of products including enrobed, barks, caramels, squares, berries, twist wrapped, molded, flow wrapped, and boxed chocolates. In attempt to reach all consumers, Fannie May became allergy conscious, carrying candy without gluten, milk, honey, oil(s), wheat, eggs, etc. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America certified many of Fannie May's products to be kosher as well.
A Konditorei is a business that typically offers a wide variety of pastries and typically also serves as a café. Konditoreien (plural) are found in many countries including but not limited to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. In French-speaking countries, similar businesses are referred to as pâtisseries.
Altmann & Kühne is a confiserie and chocolaterie in Vienna, Austria, established in 1928. It produces handmade chocolates and bonbons with a special packaging designed by Wiener Werkstätte. It is located in the Innere Stadt, at Graben 30.
Swiss chocolate is chocolate produced in Switzerland. While cacao beans and other ingredients such as sugar cane originate from outside Switzerland, the actual production of the chocolate must take place in Switzerland. Switzerland's chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality with many famous international chocolate brands.
Barry Callebaut AG is a Swiss-Belgian cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, with an average annual production of 2.3 million tonnes of cocoa & chocolate . It was created in 1996 through the merging of the French company Cacao Barry and the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut. It is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland, and operates in over 30 countries worldwide. It was created in its present form by Klaus Johann Jacobs.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero.
Candy making or candymaking is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, dragées, fudge, caramel candy, and toffee.
Chocolaterie Robert is the first commercial producer of locally produced chocolate in Madagascar. Bars of chocolate are the company's most widespread product and are sold under the name Chocolat Robert. The company was established in 1940 by the French-Reunionais Robert family in Toamasina and changed hands several times before being sold to a Malagasy business group run by the Ramanandraibe family, among the major Malagasy leaders driving economic development of the island in the post-colonial period.
Rockwood & Company was a New York City-based chocolatier which operated from 1886 until 1957. It coordinated the industry's first resale price contracts, operated the largest chocolate factory in New York, and was the second largest producer of chocolate in the United States, after the Hershey Company. Founded in the borough of Manhattan, it moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Wallabout, gradually expanding its footprint to occupy most of a city block. In 1919, a fire led to a flood of chocolate in the street, attracting a crowd of children. Rockwood & Company sold the factory to the Sweets Company of America in 1957, who used it to produce Tootsie Rolls until it closed in 1967. The Rockwood & Company factory complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, which was later merged into the Wallabout Industrial Historic District. It was converted to luxury apartments in 1996.
