Chocolate in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

GENINT 721.753

Osher (50+). In this course, we explore three regions where chocolate is grown and/or produced: Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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About this course:

In this course, we explore chocolate’s history, culture and economics from its origins to the present in three world regions: Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We begin with where it is produced in two of those regions: Europe, where chocolate arrived in the 1500s and the Middle East, which started its chocolate industry in 1895. We also look at the chocolate producing region of Africa, where increasing demand for chocolate led in part to the colonization of Africa in the late 1800s as a place to grow more cacao and which now accounts for 70% of the world’s crop. Tastings include bars from Friis-Holm (Denmark); Al Nassma (UAE), which uses camel milk; and Bonnat (France), among others.