The Joy of Chocolate Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mexico

The Olmec people lived in what is now south-central Mexico. Traces of chocolate have been found in Olmec vessels dating back to at least 1700 BC. They are believed to have used it as either a medicine or in religious rituals, rather than as a part of their daily diet.

Other middle-American people, such as the Mayans and Aztecs, are also known to have imbibed chocolate over 3000 years ago.

Answer: Spain

The Spanish conquistadors probably brought the first cocoa beans back to Spain, having discovered how to sweeten the bitter chocolate drink by the addition of sugar made from sugar cane. Other records refer to Benedictine and Dominican monks playing an important role in popularizing it in Spain.

In 1544, Dominican monks certainly served a form of chocolate drink to Prince Philip of Spain (later King Philip II - pictured here). Once it became popular at the Spanish Court, noble families sought to emulate royalty, and spread its use more widely.

Answer: Christians fasting were allowed to drink it

By the sixteenth century, chocolate was becoming a popular beverage throughout Europe. At that time, however, there were strict rules about what foodstuffs could and could not be consumed during Lent, and there were arguments between different Catholic denominations about whether chocolate was permitted or not. The Pope, naturally, was the ultimate arbiter of such matters, and in 1569 the then pontiff, Pius V, declared that it was allowed.

Some accounts suggest that the chocolate which he was given to taste hadn't been artificially sweetened, and thus tasted bitter and unpleasant. On this basis, he decided it was acceptable for consumption during times of penitential fasting!

Answer: Kisses

The Hershey Chocolate Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 in the Pennsylvania town of Derry Church. So important did the business become that the town actually changed its name to Hershey. The famous "Hershey's Kisses" are small individually-wrapped conical chocolates, first manufactured in 1907.

Rather than give you a picture of an actual "Hershey's Kiss", I thought you might enjoy this gorgeous marble statue by Antonio Canova (1757-1822), entitled "Psyche Revived by the Kiss of Love". You can see the original in Paris's Louvre Museum.

Answer: Fry's

The company that eventually became J. S. Fry and Sons was founded in 1761, and throughout the nineteenth century was one of the largest confectionery businesses in the UK. Although the company merged with Cadbury's as long ago as 1919, its name is still associated with such classic products as "Fry's Chocolate Cream" and "Fry's Turkish Delight".

Until Fry's came up with its revolutionary process, chocolate had largely been consumed in the form of a drink or used as a flavouring for other forms of dessert. But once it became available as a bar that could be chewed, its popularity took off in a whole new way.

I hope the picture of a fried breakfast gave you a bit of a clue.

Answer: Lindt

Lindt (founded in 1879) is a chocolate company based in Switzerland, another European country with a long history of quality chocolate manufacturing. The others are all well-established and internationally-known Belgian companies. Côte d'Or is the oldest, having been founded in 1883, with Leonidas (1913) and Godiva (1926) dating from the early 20th century.

Answer: Ivory Coast

By the 2010s, the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) was the world's leading producer and exporter of cocoa beans - around 1.8 million tonnes in 2017. This made up almost a third of the world's production, with the rest of West Africa (including the other countries listed) making up a further third between them. Most of the beans are purchased by large chocolate manufacturing companies, to feed the insatiable desire of the world's population for their delicious products.

Answer: Australia

Ernest Hillier was born in England, and learned the chocolate-making trade in San Francisco. However, when his business was destroyed in the infamous 1906 earthquake, he and his wife moved to Sydney, Australia, where they ran several successful businesses before starting the chocolate company in 1914. in 1934, they relocated from Sydney to Melbourne, Victoria.

Despite suffering financial problems in the 21st century, it survived to celebrate its centenary in 2014.

Answer: Nuts

There are a variety of different chocolate confectioneries from around the world that can be referred to as "pralines", but nuts are the key ingredient; usually ground up with sugar and boiled to a paste used as a filling for individual chocolates. The individual chocolates are often referred to as "pralines".

It is believed that the name is derived from the Marshal de Plessis-Praslin, an 18th-century French military officer whose cook is usually credited with its invention. Typically, the cook's own name is forgotten.

Answer: Orange

The business that became Terry's was founded in 1767 in the English city of York, as a shop selling general confectionery. It took its name from Joseph Terry, who joined the business in around 1823 and was largely responsible for expanding it into a nationally successful company.

The famous "Chocolate Orange" was first marketed in 1932, and in its original form consists of 20 segments of orange-flavoured chocolate arranged in the form of a sphere, similar to the original fruit. There have been apple and lemon flavoured versions (among others), but it's safe to say that the orange is the most famous.