Chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten was born in 1801 under circumstances, that some would consider, to be very fortunate. He was heir to his father’s Dutch chocolate factory. Living in Amsterdam, he was situated in a city that was once the heart of the world’s chocolate industry. Merchants from across the globe visited the Netherlands’ capital city to possess such a delicacy. But chocolate of the time was rather distinct from how it’s enjoyed today. Cocoa beans were milled to a fine mass, and simply mixed with milk and sugar to create a sweet and delicate drink. It was in 1828 that Coenraad’s father, Casparus van Houten Sr., patented a method for expelling the fat from cocoa nibs. It resulted in both cocoa butter and powder, the basis for nearly all modern chocolate products. The patent expired ten years later, enabling dozens of other chocolatiers to build on Van Houten’s success. Thus was the birth of the world’s first chocolate bar.
Coenraad also wanted to take his father’s work one step further.
He hoped to lower cocoas acidity, which is partly responsible for giving natural cocoa some tart and bitter notes. He decided to alkalize the cocoa by washing it in a potassium carbonate solution, neutralizing the product to a pH of 7. The new “Dutched cocoa” was deeper in color, with red hues, and its flavor was refined to a smooth, earthy flavor. The Van Houten family’s inventions led to the nineteenth century’s mass production and consumption of chocolate, and forever altered the use of chocolate in the culinary arts.
It was around this time Coenraad married, and moved his family to Weesp. Here they owned a steam powered factory, importing chocolate all across Europe. The lineage of chocolate lovers continued when Coenraad gave birth to a son, Casparus Johannes. Casparus grew up to have a knack for marketing, and the company greatly expanded under his direction. Ads for Van Houten cocoa could be found on public transport all over Europe, and by the 20th century they boasted a commercial film. Van Houten cocoa powder can still be enjoyed today, in its raw form, in decadent cookies, or in milk chocolate bars.
