CHOCOLATE RICH IN HISTORY, RECIPE CONTEST UNDER WAY

Chocolate is not just rich and creamy -- it is rich in history.

Its revered place across the ages makes it the perfect prime ingredient for the Southeast Missourian's first-ever Devilish Dessert contest.

Recipe entries will be accepted through Jan. 27. Desserts can be in the form of cakes, cookies, candy or other sumptuous treats.

The first use of chocolate dates back to the Aztecs of ancient Mexico, who ritually gathered the purplish-yellow pods from the cacao tree to make a cold and bitter drink.

Christopher Columbus may be best known for discovering the New World. But many Europeans may have been more impressed that he brought back chocolate. Europeans added sugar or honey to the Aztec recipe.

Columbus introduced this taste treat -- then in the form of a beverage -- to the Court of King Ferdinand in 1502.

But it was Spain's Princess Maria Theresa who made chocolate the rage of Europe when she presented cocoa beans as an engagement gift to Louis XIV.

In 1657, the first of many English chocolate houses was established to serve the drink to the general public, said Susan Smith with the Chocolate Manufacturers Association in McLean, Va.

Solid chocolate wasn't introduced until 1847 by the British firm Fry and Sons. Shortly after, the Swiss then took the chocolate bar one step further, with their creation of milk chocolate, said Smith.

Chocolate is associated with many historic figures. Thomas Jefferson extolled chocolate's virtues as he praised "the superiority of chocolate for both health and nourishment."

Both Casanova and Madame DuBarry believed that chocolate was conducive to romance, said Smith. It is a notion that remains today. An estimated 35 million heart-shaped boxes of candy will be sold this Valentine's Day.

"In the 1800s, physicians commonly advised their young, lovelorn patients to eat a bit of chocolate to help calm their pining," said Smith.

"Even if the ingredients in chocolate have no observable effect, perhaps there is still some psychological basis for the link between chocolate and bliss," said Smith. "Its status is pure indulgence -- something that is eaten with reverence and delight. It's no wonder we associate such a pleasure with love."

The tradition of candy and romance in America dates back to the Pilgrims.

"They sent their betrothed gifts of sugar wafers, sweetmeats, marzipans and sugar plums," said Smith. "Great value was placed on these confections because they were made with sugar, which was very scarce."

But it wasn't until 1765 that chocolate drinking arrived in America, when the first chocolate factory opened in New England, said Smith.

Since the Civil War, chocolate has been carried into the battlefields by U.S. soldiers. and it has even been on the menu of astronauts in space.

Despite the emphasis on healthy living, chocolate sales and consumption continue to rise in America.

Dessert graphic:

Desserts can be in the form of cakes, cookies, candy or other sumptuous treats. The only requirement is that chocolate must be prominent in the list of ingredients.

To enter, send your chocolate recipe to: Devilish Desserts, Southeast Missourian, Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699. The deadline is Jan. 27.

Two specialists with the University of Missouri Extension Service will narrowing down the recipes to the top five. All those who submit a recipe will receive a certificate of appreciation, and all recipes will be published on the Feb. 12 Home Page of the Southeast Missourian.

The five semi-finalists will be asked to bake up their desserts and bring them to the Southeast Missourian on Saturday, Feb. 8 for a taste test by a community panel of chocolate and cooking experts.

The winner will receive a year's subscription to the Southeast Missourian a $137.50 value. The four runners-up will win their choice of a Southeast Missourian comic-strip umbrella or the "Images of the Past in the City of Roses" hard-bound pictorial history book.

All finalists will be photographed and interviewed about their devilish desserts.

Types of chocolate

Chocolate liquor

Produced by grinding the cocoa bean center to a smooth, liquid state. It can then be cooled and molded into blocks also known as unsweetened baking chocolate.

Semi-sweet (bittersweet) chocolate

Sweeteners and cocoa butter are added to chocolate liquor. Also known as dark chocolate. Its fat content averages 27 percent.

Milk chocolate

Cocoa butter, milk, sweeteners and flavorings are added to chocolate liquor. All milk chocolate made in the U.S. contains at least 10 percent chocolate liquor and 12 percent whole milk.

Sweet chocolate

Contains more sweeteners that semi-sweet chocolate and at least 15 percent chocolate liquor. Sweet chocolate is used mostly for decorating and garnishing.

White chocolate

Although there is not yet a formal definition, white chocolate contains cocoa butter but no non-fat cocoa solids. Mostly used as a coating, it contains sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids and flavorings.

Source: Chocolate Manufacturers Association