The History of Chocolate

NONFICTION/HISTORY
The
History
Chocolote
can dy treat
THREE
READING
LEVELS!
Vocabulary
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delectable: delicious
calonies: areas settled and controlled by people fronn
another country, as Europeans settled in the Americas
immigrants: people who move to a new country to live there
flocked: gathered in a crowd; went in large numbers
captivated: delighted, fascinated, charmed
It all started with

a smellsweet and
delicious.
The year was 1893.
Milton Hershey was
visiting a big fair in
Chicago. Part of the fair
was an exhibit of new and
amazing inventions from
around the world.
From the moment
Hershey entered the exhibit
hall, he was struck by a
delectable scent. It filled
the air. In a back corner
of the hall, men from a
German company were
making chocolate.
The men had machines
that changed bitter cocoa
beans into sweet chocolate
candies. Hershey watched
with amazement.
Hershey was already a
leading candy maker. He
had created the largest
caramel factory in the
country. But he became
convinced that the
future of his business
would be chocolate.
Chocolate History
Inside a cacao fruit are
bitter little seeds. Around 400
B.c., Indians living in today's
central Mexico found
that the seeds could be

roasted, ground, and eaten.
By the year 400 A.D.,
Maya Indians had created
a chocolate drink. They
mixed cocoa powder with
water and spices. Over the
centuries, chocolate drinks
spread to Europe and the
colonies in America.
sweets sold from large

jars. Recipes for many
of these treats had
come from European
immigrants.
Italians were known
for making hard candies,
like jawbreakers. Germans
specialized in candies made
from almond paste and
spun sugar.
America's first candy
makers worked in tiny
home kitchens. But by 1893,
there were dozens of large
companies, like Hershey's.
Treat Trends
Hershey built his caramel
company in the 1880s.
Back then, there was plenty
of candy in the U.S. But it
was expensive and hard
to make. Plus, the quality
wasn't always great.
America's most popular
treats at that time were
"penny candies." These
were peppermints, lemon
drops, and other small
www.scholastic.com/actionmag { May 6, 2013 1 5
Made in the U.S.A.

At the fair in Chicago,
Hershey bought chocolatemaking equipment. He
had it shipped back to
his caramel factory in
Pennsylvania. Then he
hired two chocolate makers.
Soon the company was
churning out chocolate
candies in more than
100 shapes.
Still, Hershey wasn't
satisfied. Yes, his chocolates
were tasty. But he wanted to
make a chocolate that was
lighter and creamier.
The trick, he knew,
was to add milk. Swiss
companies were making
milk chocolate. But their
recipes were secrets. If
Hershey wanted to sell milk
chocolate, he would have
to figure out how to make
it first.
Marvelous Milk
Finding a way to mix
chocolate and milk was
very difficult. Hershey's
team worked 16 hours a
day, month after month.
Milk, which is 90 percent
water, and cocoa butter,
which is mostly oil, don't
blend together easily. Time
after time, Hershey's milk
chocolate experiments
ended in oily messes.
But finally, in 1900,
Hershey succeeded.
He sold his caramel
business. Then he
bought 1,200 acres of
land in Pennsylvania.
There, he built the
world's biggest chocolate
factory. He also built a town,
named Hershey, for his
workers and their families.
By 1915, Hershey's milk
chocolate bars were the
No. 1 candy in the nation.
Visitors flocked to
Hershey, Pennsylvania.
They admired the tidy
streets and giant factory.
But what made the town
really special was its
smella chocolaty breeze
that filled the air. It was the
same heavenly scent that
had captivated Milton
Hershey many years before.
Lauren Tarshis
11
Making a Candy Hit

How a little alien helped Reese's Pieces socir
It was the late 1970s. The Hershey
chocolate company was hungry for a new
hit. The company had fierce competition
from Mars. That's the company that makes
Milky Way, Snickers, and M&M's.
Hershey's leaders decided to build on the
success of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Their
idea was to create a candy like the M&M.
Instead of chocolate in the center, they would
use peanut butter. It was hard to get the
recipe right. Atfirst,the oily peanut butter
caused the candy shell to become greasy.
Finally, Hershey's scientists created the
perfect mix of peanuts and sugar. It was
smooth and tasty and stayed put within
a thin candy covering. Hershey came out
with the new candy, Reese's Pieces, in 1978.
Sales were strong at first but soon sagged.
Would Hershey's newest candy fail?
Then came an offer from Hollywood. A
film company needed a candy for a new
movie about an adorably odd-looking alien
named "E.T." An 8-year-old boy gives the

candy to the alien and they become friends.
In the original script, that candy was
M&M's. But Mars would not let its candy
be used in the movie. So the filmmakers
called Hershey. They offered the chance to
have Reese's Pieces star in the 1982 movie.
Hershey's leaders didn't know v\^hat to do.
If the movie flopped, Reese's Pieces might
flop too. The candy might never recover.
In the end, Hershey said yes. The movie
was a smash hit. Almost overnight, Reese's
Pieces became America's most famous
candy. Today, it is one of the top-10 bestselling candies in America. And for that,
Hershey can thank a delicious recipeand
a cute little alien.
Compare and Contrast

Use the story on this page and the article
"The History of Chocolate" to answer
the question. Write your answer on a
separate piece of paper.
Milton Hershey believed that a person had
to be willing to fail in order to succeed. How
do the stories of Hershey's nnilk chocolate
and Reese's Pieces show that this
can be true? Use three details from
each story in your explanation of
what happened.
Answers are in
The stars of
the movie E.T.:
Reese's Pieces
and an alien.
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NONFICTION/HISTORY

It all started with

that the seeds could be

sweets sold from large

Made in the U.S.A.

Making a Candy Hit

named "E.T." An 8-year-old boy gives the

Compare and Contrast

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