National Chocolate Covered Anything Day on Friday
Every year on Dec. 16, National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, chocoholics can celebrate their favorite treat and today’s festivities have already begun.
The holiday encourages observers to cover anything and everything in chocolate. The 150-year-old tradition dates back to the mid-1800’s, according to the official National Chocolate Covered Anything Day website.
“In the cold north of Minnesota, Swedish colonizers were rushing to settle in America after the Homestead Act of 1862. The ever innovative Swedes […] had discovered a method for covering anything in chocolate that today we know as chocolate fondue,” said the website.
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There are many different types of chocolate that can be used on this occasion, including sweetened, unsweetened, bittersweet, semisweet, milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and cocoa, along with many more.
Those observing National Chocolate Covered Anything Day often cover various food items with the sweet treat. Recipes for melting chocolate are available online, and can be used with foods such as cakes, pies, fruits, nuts, and even more savory food items like bacon can be combined with chocolate.
In Minnesota, where the first Chocolate Covered Anything Day was celebrated, the small town had chocolate-dipped strips of ham, chocolate covered pinecones, and chocolate covered meatballs.
The site for the holiday also includes many ideas for items to use chocolate with today, including edible and non-edible items. According to the site, chocolate can be combined with potato chips, cheese, sushi, and hotdogs.
In the U.S., chocolate remains a very popular dessert item that comes in many forms. There are many different gourmet chocolate companies found in the U.S. as well as Hershey’s and Ghirardelli.
Derived from the seed of the tropical cacao tree, chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world, and is a popular gift around holidays. Said to have been cultivated in South America for over hundreds of years, most of the chocolate consumed today has sugar, milk, and butter added to it.
