National Bittersweet Chocolate Day Date in the current year: January 10, 2024

Chocolate was discovered by the Aztec who used grounded cocoa beans with corn and pepper for cooking a bitter beverage. This beverage doesn't have much in common with modern chocolate but exactly it gave the name to the treat. The Aztec word “xocolatl” is the name for that bitter beverage and also the origin of term “chocolate”.

Europeans didn't like bitter and frothy Aztec beverage and added sugar in it. Once cane sugar was added, a worldwide craze for chocolate was born. The beverage became popular, but there was a long way ahead for the first chocolate bar. It was produced by Catbury in England only in 1842.

Bittersweet chocolate tastes exactly as its name implies. It is often used in baking because its taste helps keep pastry from being too sweet. Next time when you bake, add mixture of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate. This will make your pastry better.