Earlier on in the worlds history, back before America was established, and even hundreds of years before the new world was discovered, cocoa trees were being cultivated by the Maya Indians, the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico. Chocolate was the national drink of the Aztecs. The Emperor, Montezuma, liked his flavored with vanilla, but many of the people added different kinds of spices to it.

When Cortez conquered Mexico in 1519 chocolate was introduced to Spain and was a huge hit, it soon became a favorite drink in Spain. As a result, this popular drink soon spread to most of Europe. Chocolate was considered to be a gourmet drink, and was extremely expensive, costing fifteen shillings a pound, which was quite a lot in those days. However it costs a lot for a good reason. Cocoa trees only grow on the equator and ten degrees north or south. Also each tree only grows a few pods, making the annual yield only about one pound of cocoa powder per tree. Because of the high cost of chocolate, when the first chocolate drinking house was opened in London, England in 1657, it was mostly visited by the very wealthy and upper-class people.

The drinking chocolate that was very popular in those days is quite different from the drinking chocolate we buy in stores today. It was very thick and very rich, it was either spiced or sweet, and was made from whole bean with its full butter content. As far as eating chocolate goes, it was usually sold by the block. Eating chocolate was also made very different in those days then it is created today. The old way was to balance the cocoa butter with farinaceous additives such as arrowroot, and was made in blocks so that the desired amount could be scraped into a saucepan.

In1828, Van Houten of Holland introduced a method of pressing the cocoa butter out of the cocoa bean, which was the first time anything resembling modern day chocolate could be produced. When Cadbury’s brought out their cocoa essence in 1866, pure cocoa was available for the first time. Even after van Houten introduced his new method, most manufactures still followed the old way of adding in arrowroot to counter the fattiness of the cocoa butter.

The now world-famous Cadbury Brothers started from a young man named John Cadbury who started a tea and coffee shop. He began to experiment with cocoa beans and eventually started selling his own chocolate. He was so successful that he rented a small factory to enlarge his manufacturing capacity and took his brother into partnership and founded he world famous Cadbury Brothers.
Throughout history, chocolate has risen in popularity and continues today as it is often used in gourmet dishes or simply as a casual snack.

Tyler F.

We have all heard the famous saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. Well, if I wrote this saying, I’d say, “The way to a man or woman’s heart”, because being a woman; I know that women are at least as food-oriented as men, if not more. For me eating food can be extremely pleasurable. In fact, eating is one of my favorite things to do. I am not crazy about fast food, but I love anything gourmet. I seem to have expensive tastes or taste buds is more like it. And one of my favorite surprises is an invitation to dinner! I’d rather have a nice box of chocolates than a bottle of fancy perfume.

Giving the gift of food has always been popular, from greeting the new neighbor with a basket of cookies, to bringing chicken soup to your sick friend. Even throughout history, food has been a common gift. In ancient Rome, food was often given for the New Years celebration and continuing to our day elaborate feasts are often provided for the same occasion. Whether chocolate at Valentines Day, or Christmas cookies, whatever the occasion, food has a way of comforting the soul.

Often times the term “gift” is used synonymously with “present” However, It has been said, that a gift is something you give to someone because you want him or her to have it, but a present is something you give someone that you know they want. Do you know what foods your loved ones enjoy? Pay careful attention to what they say about food while eating. When you give food as a gift, consider choosing one that is specially suited to the recipient. This makes the gift become more of a present. For instance, if you guy is a beer fanatic, show him you care about what he likes by giving a Belgium, Beer & Chocolates gift. For the wine lover, consider A Perfect Pairing of Wine & Cheese. Both are available at Susan’s Basket Store.

Sometimes, it’s the presentation of the food delivery that sets the mood for the occasion. A beautifully wrapped basket filled with European cheeses, delectable chocolates, and a bottle of Le Brut de Charmis sparkling wine delivered as a wonderful surprise gift for your special someone is almost sure to provide a romantic conclusion to your evening.

Whatever your occasion, Susan’s Basket Store has a wide variety of food gifts that can be the perfect avenue to your lovers heart. From Gourmet Gift Baskets to sweet Cookie Bouquets, you will find an abundance of mouth-watering treats; perfect for that special someone in your life.

Birthday parties are so much fun but at the same time can be so much work, and when you have 5 children, it's 5 times the work, 5 times a year. Even still, I love to have lots of baked goodies for my kid's parties. I guess I just want to make sure that when they grow up they remember more than lots of gifts to open. I want them to remember all the special treats that Mom made for their birthday. Somehow, I know that it's an unrealistic expectation. That is probably why each birthday celebration I photograph the table full of goodies and include the picture in the scrapbook memories I create.

Sometimes I go all out and make my own special creations. Being an artist, looking at a frosted sheet cake is like looking at a blank canvas. There is so much room for creativity. I can pick up writable frosting from the grocery store or if I'm feeling lucky try my hand at whipping up my own. There are so many cute plastic toys to choose from that can fit any of the kids interests and work perfect as cake toppers. For my oldest, it was always trying to find musical instruments or creating music notes on the cake, as she is the singer in the family. Then there are my two dancing daughters ballerina's, dancing princesses or any girly theme will do. With my son, it's easy, as long as it has to do with electronic gaming.

My latest creation I stole from a woman's magazine. For my daughters 20th birthday, I decided to go with a scrabble theme since our last match she won "again" and was very quick to make sure that we all knew that she is the best there is at scrabble and can't be beat. I baked a large sheet of brownies only 1 inch thick and cut them into cubes. I then frosted each brownie with dark chocolate frosting and used the writing frosting in white to put letters on each of the cubes to spell out the words "Happy, Birthday, Jena" and the word "Twenty". Since they were arranged as if you were playing scrabble, some of the letters were used for more than one word. Lucky for me, it took exactly 20 letters convenient for 20 candles.

It seems that as the kids get older and there are more and more schedules to keep up with, from dance classes, sporting events, competitions, teachers conference's not to mention my own hectic schedule of events, I seem to have less and less time to plan for those special parties. Although I still love to try and have at least one special food that was created especially by me, I'm very thankful that there are places I can buy already prepared cakes and cookies. The best thing is that even though I'm giving in a bit by not preparing gourmet dishes I don't have to give up the gourmet, only the preparation.

At Susan's Basket Store, you can find all kinds of gourmet gift baskets for special occasions, including birthday parties. Try the "Birthday Party Box" which includes a choice of the Miss Grace Lemon Cake or the Mrs. Beasley's Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake as well as 2 party hats, 2 blowers, 12 candles and 2 balloons. What an exciting birthday gift for birthday kids from ages 1 to 99. Ok, maybe you'll need to add a few candles for those beyond the age of 12 but hey, the delicious homemade cake will be sure to put a smile on the recipients face. If you are as swamped as I am with family routine, try ordering the "Birthday Party Box" for your own child's birthday and instead of slaving in the kitchen, spend the time you save reading to your child or even better, taking a relaxing bubble bath.