Today Special : National Chocolate Caramel Day
National Chocolate Caramel Day falls on March 19 and is a fun way to enjoy mouthwatering sugary treats. From cookies to brownies, ice creams, and milkshakes, the irresistible combination of chocolate and caramel never fails to impress those with a sweet tooth. While chocolate has been around since ancient times, the invention of caramel had to wait until the European settlers emigrated to the New World. The combination of the two flavors by a clever confectioner gave us delicious chocolate caramel candy.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CARAMEL DAY
Chocolate has a long history and was used widely across pre-Columbian America since the ancient Central Americans established a thriving culture and grew different crops. Through contact with the European explorers, chocolate found its way to Europe and eventually to the rest of the world. The early European settlers began making candies in their homes in the latter decades of the 17th century. The earlier forms of these candies were made simply with water and sugar derived from beetroot juice. Later, fat and milk were added to produce the rich and creamy texture of caramel. Thus, the invention of chocolate caramel seems to have been an event just waiting for the two civilizations on different sides of the Atlantic to come together.
It was only a matter of time before some genius mind would come up with the idea of combining the two. That lucky person was Milton Hershey. Today, the name ‘Hershey’s’ is synonymous with quality chocolate products, but few know the brain behind this company who singlehandedly made chocolate caramel famous throughout the United States.
During the 1800s, when all major candy manufacturers in America were making traditional hard candies, Milton Hershey’s Lancaster Caramel Company was one of the few companies that focused on making chocolate-covered caramels instead of hard candies. But it was in 1893 when these chocolate-covered caramels really became popular. Hershey was so greatly influenced by the machines used by the Germans for making chocolate bars that he adapted the same technology and started mass producing caramel-covered chocolates.
HOW TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CARAMEL DAY
- Make a customized chocolate bouquet : No one can resist a good old caramel-filled chocolate bar with nuts and gooey nougat. You can send a nice chocolate bouquet to cheer up your loved ones. Just go to your local grocery shop, pick up some caramel-filled chocolate bars, drop some caramel cookies in the mix and wrap them in see-through cellophane using a fancy ribbon or glitter tape.
- Whip up some instant homemade ice cream : There is no better way to welcome the summer than a bowl of homemade chocolate and caramel ice cream. All you need to do is blend some heavy whipping cream with chocolate chips, caramel sauce, and powdered sugar together in a blender. Pour the mix into an air-tight box and freeze it overnight. Drizzle some more chocolate chips with caramel sauce on top and enjoy!
- Give a choco-caramel twist to your morning coffee : This is probably one of the simplest ways to celebrate National Chocolate Caramel Day. All you need to do is grab a coffee mug and stir in your favorite instant coffee mix with half a teaspoon of warm water, caramel, and chocolate sauce. Boil a cup of full cream milk and pour it over your coffee mix. To take that perfect coffee picture for Instagram, you can top it with a dollop of whipping cream.
FACTS ABOUT HERSHEY’S KISSES THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND
- Americans are obsessed with it : More than 20,000 Kisses are made every single minute at Hershey’s plant in Pennsylvania.
- It gives you an instant dose of energy : There are more than 25 calories in a single Hershey Kiss.
- It is available in various flavors : Earlier, Hershey Miniatures was not sold as a separate product but was used for sampling the flavors of its upcoming chocolate bars.
- Chocolate for the wealthy : Early Hershey’s chocolate bars were so expensive that only very wealthy people could afford them.
- Hershey’s makes millions of chocolate Kisses every day : These chocolates are so popular that Hershey’s makes nearly 80 million of them alone every day.
WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CARAMEL DAY
- It is a versatile and lovable flavor : You can make many types of desserts with chocolate caramel. It is known to enhance the taste of even the blandest foods. From pancakes and brownies to coffee and cookies, chocolate and caramel go well with all types of hot and cold desserts. You can also use it as a topping on your drinks or mix it inside your cookie or cake batter.
- Bakers and chocolatiers love to experiment with caramel sauce : Making dessert art can be a fun way to celebrate this holiday. Caramel sauce can be spread on a baking sheet and baked until it hardens. Then it can be used to decorate cakes and brownies. It sets very easily and can be molded into artistic shapes. Working in a cool environment delivers the best results.
- You can make other alternatives for sweeteners : There are many ways to prepare chocolate caramel in your home. You can make homemade chocolate and caramel sauce with various types of sweeteners. Instead of using refined sugar, you can make it with honey, condensed milk, brown sugar, and sugarcane juice. These products contain fewer calories and add a unique taste to the finished product.
