Today is National Chocolate Candy Day. Which is convenient timing since we all got some form of candy for Christmas. Well, today you can feel free to polish it off without guilt. And if it’s already gone, go get some more!
Las Vegas has a lot of everything, it seems. And candy stores are no exception. Of course, we have to keep locals and tourists alike happy. And candy puts a smile on everyone’s face. Can you imagine a world without candy? I don’t want to. But it was reality for many people not that long ago.
Before the 1800s, chocolate was only consumed in liquid form. And even then mostly as a medicinal drink. It was a scientist who turned it into solid form. In 1828, a Dutch inventor named Coenraad Van Houten used a hydraulic press to remove cocoa butter from the cacao bean. Why there are no statues erected for the man who literally invented chocolate the way we love it today, is beyond me.
Van Houten paved the way for chocolate makers down the line to create confectionary masterpieces. In 1842, Whitman came out with their first box of chocolate. The first edible chocolate bar came soon after, in 1847, courtesy of J.S. Fry & Sons. It wasn’t until 1875 that John Cadbury made his first chocolate egg. Rodolphe Lindt started making his delectable truffles in 1879.
And here’s an interesting fact: the Hershey bar we all know and love was designed to be part of an emergency ration pack for U.S. soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day (nationalcalendarday.com).
Of course, there are people who prefer the non-chocolate type of candy (weirdos). So where do you go in Las Vegas for really really good candy, chocolate or otherwise? This list is a tasty place to start. – Wendy Rush
