氣質姐與可愛可

　　How do companies like Hersey get their chocolate? It all starts with the cacao tree1. Cacao trees grow fruit, and there are 20 to 40 seeds inside each one. These seeds are cocoa beans and give chocolate its flavor. After the beans are harvested, they are left in piles for about a week to ferment. The beans get darker and develop a rich flavor. Then, they are dried, shipped to a chocolate factory, and roasted at high temperatures. Without the roasting, the cocoa beans would not reach their full chocolate flavor.
　　Once the shells are removed, the beans are ground into a thick paste. To get the chocolate we love to eat, sugar and maybe some milk is added. There are many different types of and recipes for chocolate. Belgian chocolates are legendary and viewed as the best in the world. Many other parts of the world have their own special chocolates. Some are creamy, some are bitter, and different ingredients may be added. 　　Some people mistakenly believe that chocolate truffles2 contain the expensive and rare fungus3 that is used in gourmet4 cooking. In fact, these goodies have creamy chocolate fillings5 that are coated in chocolate or cocoa powder, which makes them look similar to the fungus. Another common mistake is thinking that white chocolate is chocolate. Actuall y, it is mostly milk, sugar, and vanilla6. In all its forms, the world loves chocolate!

　不過像賀喜這樣的公司是如何生產出他們的巧克力呢？一切全是從可可樹開始的。可可樹會孕育出果實，每一顆果實裡會有二十到四十粒種子。這些種子就是可可豆，也是巧克力風味的來源。這些可可豆在採收完畢後就會被分成一堆一堆地放著，進行為期一週左右的發酵過程。這些豆子的顏色會變得更深，而且會培育出濃郁的風味。接下來，可可豆會經過乾燥，然後被運送到巧克力工廠，再以高溫來進行烘焙。少了烘焙這個步驟的話，可可豆就沒辦法散發出百分之百的巧克力風味。
　　可可豆在去殼過後就會被搗碎成濃稠的糊狀。要變成我們愛吃的巧克力，還要再添加糖分，也許還要加入一些牛奶。巧克力的種類及配方繁多。其中最為出名也被視為世界之最的當屬比利時巧克力。世界上其它許多地方也有當地特殊的巧克力。有些口感綿密，有些較為苦口，當中或許還會加入各種不同的食材。
　　有些人會誤以為松露巧克力裡面含有這種用於美食烹飪的昂貴稀有真菌。事實上，這些美味的甜食內含濃滑的巧克力內餡，外頭則裹以巧克力或可可粉，這使得它們狀似松露這種菌類。另一個常見的誤解就是認為白巧克力是巧克力。事實上，它的主要成分是牛奶、糖還有香草。不論是以何種形式呈現，世人都愛巧克力！