Coenraad Johannes van Houten facts for kids
Coenraad Johannes van Houten (born March 15, 1801, in Amsterdam; died May 27, 1887, in Weesp) was a Dutch chemist and chocolate maker. He is famous for creating "Dutch process" chocolate. This special method uses alkaline salts to make cocoa less bitter. It also helps cocoa mix better with water. His family also invented a way to press fat (cocoa butter) from cocoa beans. This invention changed how chocolate was made forever.
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The Van Houten Family and Chocolate
Casparus van Houten (1770-1858) was Coenraad's father. He opened a chocolate factory in Amsterdam in 1815. At that time, cocoa beans were ground into a thick paste. This paste could be mixed with milk to make a chocolate drink. Sometimes, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla were added to make cookies.
The Cocoa Press Invention
In 1828, Casparus van Houten Sr. received a patent for a new machine. This machine could press fat, called cocoa butter, out of roasted cocoa beans. The center of a cocoa bean, called the "nib," has about 54 percent cocoa butter. Van Houten's machine, a hydraulic press, cut the cocoa butter content by almost half.
This process created a "cake" that could be ground into cocoa powder. Cocoa powder became the main ingredient for all chocolate products. It made making chocolate drinks much easier. It also allowed people to mix chocolate with sugar and cocoa butter. This created a solid chocolate that was very similar to the chocolate bars we eat today.
In 1838, the patent ended. This meant other chocolate makers could use Van Houten's method. They began to make their own cocoa powder and create new chocolate products. For example, in 1847, the English company J. S. Fry & Sons made what many consider the first chocolate bar. Later, in Switzerland, Daniel Peter introduced milk chocolate in 1875. Rodolphe Lindt made chocolate smoother using a process called conching in 1879.
What is Dutch Process Chocolate?
Coenraad van Houten made another important improvement. He treated the cocoa powder with alkaline salts. These salts, like potassium or sodium carbonates, helped the powder mix better with water. Today, this method is known as "Dutching". The chocolate made this way is called Dutch chocolate. It has a darker color and a milder taste.
Coenraad's Later Life and Business
In 1835, Coenraad van Houten married Hermina van Houten. In 1850, he moved his chocolate production. He went from a windmill in Leiden to a steam-powered factory in Weesp. By then, he was selling chocolate to England, France, and Germany. In 1866, John Cadbury visited Weesp to buy a Van Houten press. However, Cadbury did not use it in his own factory until 1875.
Coenraad’s son, Casparus Jr. (born around 1844, died 1901), started working for the company in 1865. He was very good at marketing. He helped the company grow a lot. You could see advertisements for Van Houten chocolate on trams across Europe and the United States. In 1899, Van Houten even made a short film. It showed a sleepy clerk who felt much better after eating some chocolate. The factory helped the town of Weesp grow. Its population doubled in the second half of the 1800s.
The Van Houten company was sold in 1962 to W.R. Grace. The factories in Weesp closed in 1971. The Van Houten brand name is still used today. It has been sold to different companies over the years. Currently, the brand is part of the Stollwerck chocolate company. This company is owned by the Baronie Group, which is a Belgian company.
The Impact of Dutch Process Cocoa
Many people agree that Dutch process cocoa is better than cocoa not treated this way. The inventions by both father and son van Houten changed chocolate forever. They led to the mass production of chocolate in the 1800s. Some people call this the "democratization" of chocolate. It meant more people could enjoy chocolate than ever before.
Images for kids
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Dutch process cocoa (left) compared to natural cocoa (right)
See also
In Spanish: Coenraad Johannes van Houten para niños
