Chocolate, Macaroni, to tell the Truth, I love them both. July 7th, 2025 370 words

Today, I looked to the calendar for celebrations for inspiration. It is World Chocolate Day, National Macaroni Day and Tell the Truth Day. I will address all three events.
First, there is World Chocolate Day, one of several days honoring this sweet confection. There is an excellent history of this delight in the book “Beyond the Wrapper a Delicious Journey Through the History of Chocolate” by Barrett Williams. The fruit or seeds grow in pods surrounded by fleshy growth on the Theobroma cocoa tree. The plant name means “fruit of the gods” . It seeds were ground, mixed with water, spices and chilies to produce a bitter beverage, an acquired taste. This drink is very different from what we know as sweetened chocolate. Milk and sugar were added to the drink in the seventeen hundreds. The first chocolate bar was produced in 1844, by Joseph Fry, who added coco butter into a molded bar. In 1937 Hershey developed a chocolate bar that could withstand higher temperatures for mailing. During WWII, many servicemen and women received packages with the treat.
Today Hershey chocolate bars have about 11% cocoa. The Ghirardelli chocolate bars have 86% cocoa giving them a rich intense flavor.
Macaroni is another ancient food. It was produced in Greece ,between 2000 and 1000 BC. It is believed the first macaroni may have resembled small balls. The mixture resembled dumplings more that the present day noodles. The first elbow macaroni was invented in Switzerland in 1872. In addition to cheese, the dish had scallions and chives. The American version of Mac and cheese is attributed to Thomas Jefferson’s chef, James Hemings. He learned to cook pasta when Jefferson was the ambassador to France. This dish is served on many tables on Thanksgiving.
Finally the difficult task of telling the truth for one day. We often tell white lies, to politely not hurt another’s feelings. Don’t make up a lie. Find another topic or stay quiet. If you must tell the truth , do it in a humble and kind manner, or offer the person a chocolate.
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Chocolate Pasta
186 calories per serving.
cholesterol free,
tree nut free,
low protein,
sugar free,
… so why eat it?
carolaspot@aol.com
7/7/25 copyrighted