Why does Switzerland make so much chocolate?

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Beachologist

As a Swiss I got interested in your question. The fundamental reason for Switzerland to become so well known for chocolate is that the quality of chocolate was awful until Swiss researchers found a method to refine the process and on top of that they were successful in adding milk.

More info below which is from...
http://www.chocosuisse.ch/page/2_1_geschichte-en.html
Here's an excerpt:

The years between 1890 and 1920 saw a real blossoming of the Swiss chocolate industry, coinciding with the golden age of Swiss tourism. Members of the top echelons of society throughout the world who spent their holidays in Switzerland came to know and appreciate Swiss chocolate, and took its reputation home with them. The initiative of Swiss chocolate producers conquered the world chocolate market between 1900 and 1918. Up to three quarters of Swiss chocolate was exported. Thus "little Switzerland" became a world power in chocolate. Of course, "Swiss chocolate" owed its global reputation not just to the quantities exported, but above all to its quality, which made it stand out above the great amount of chocolate produced in other countries.

dardekkis

They have to keep all those cows busy somehow!

kitten

To keep us English happy, we love chocolate

they like chocolate.

chocolate, as in the beans has been exported from the americas for a few hundred years now.

trade with south america has been going on since at least the 1500's. that's long enough for something to become a tradition in a country.
i mean the Italians eat pasta, which is noodles, which the Chinese invented. And tomato sauce, comes from tomatoes, also from the Americas. Loads of produce we eat is from the Americas. Potatoes, sugar cane, turkey, cranberries. etc.

UK ppl like chocolate too, and so do the Germans, and lots of Western Countries. I think we like the milk and sugar a lot for one thing. And maybe need a lot of sugar and fat in cold countries, plus the little 'lift' the chocolate gives you.

One thing about it, is it doesn't 'go off' so you can carry it with you on expeditions. any food that doesn't go bad, and has some nutritional value has to be a good thing.

jizzumonkey

its a conspiracy , they want to make the rest of the world fat so they can take over .. muhahahaha

doodlebug

Because they have lots of cows, and so, lots of milk.

Servette

hmmmmmmm!, can I have some PLEASE!

artlogical

Chocalate came to Europe in the 16th century. By the 17th century it was produced in Switzerland. In the 18th century only a few chocolate-makers were well known, such as Tessin and Bassin LÃ©manique.

From the 19th century until the the First World War and throughout the second world war the Swiss chocolate industry was very export orientated. After the Second World War Switzerland began to outsource production due to commercial restrictions.

Today most Swiss chocolate is consumed by the Swiss themselves (54% in 2000), and Switzerland has the highest per capita rate of chocolate consumption world wide (11.6 kg per capita per annum).

In 2004 148 270 tonnes of chocolate were produced in Switzerland. 53% of this was exported (20% to Germany, 11% to France and Great Britain and 13% to North America). The gross income of the Swiss chocolate industry in 2004 was 1 365 million CHF (814 million from the local market, 551 million from exports).

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