There is a dish that the world loves that speaks of deep richness – a thick creamy substance composed of that most decadent of flavors, chocolate. This is the day dedicated to this most delicious of desserts. This isn’t a day for delicacy though, this is the day to completely immerse oneself in this dedication to culinary debauchery with a smooth, creamy texture.
- 1615 – The words mousse and chocolate are derived from the French language, so it isn’t difficult to believe France is where to begin looking for the beginnings of this versatile creation. While we have no exact point in time when this might have been, we do know that chocolate was introduced to the French around the year 1615, and they fell in love.
- 1715 – A century later, the French developed a method for making a mousse.
- 1750 – Mousses, including those chocolate-flavored, originated in the 1700s, with the first known recipe for chocolate mousse documented by Menon, a French writer, in 1750, in his book La science du maître d’hôtel confiseur (loosely translated as ‘The science of a master confectioner’).
- 1800s – After years of savory mousse being a thing, dessert mousse is given a chance, and (our dearest) chocolate mousse comes into existence.
- 1800s – Famous French post-Impressionist painter, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, is credited as creating a chocolate mousse recipe and calling it “mayonnaise de chocolat”.
- 1887 – In the United States, an advertisement in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1887 included classes on how to make chocolate mousse offered by Miss Parloa. She also advised how to make potato soup, larded grouse, potato timbale, and corn muffins.
- 1892 – The earliest written record of chocolate mousse in the United States comes from a Food Exposition held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- 1897 – The recipe first started appearing in a “Housekeepers Column” in the 1897 edition of the Boston Globe. The recipe actually produced a dish far more like chocolate pudding than the more familiar foamy treat of today.
- 1930s – Chocolate mousse came into the public eye in the U.S. in the 1930’s, about the time as chocolate pudding mixes were introduced.
- 1977 – New York chef Michel Fitoussi created a white chocolate mousse that was very popular for a time, but dark chocolate remains the classic choice.
- In French, the word Mousse means ‘foam’, and this is an apt description of this dessert, being light and frothy, or creamy and thick, it all depends on how you prepare this scrumptious treat.
- At first, this delicacy was known under the name of ‘mayonnaise de chocolat.’
- Savory mousses are often made with poultry, foie gras, fish, or shellfish and served as a first course or light entrée. They may be stabilized by adding gelatin. Chocolate and mocha mousses are sometimes made with a custard base. For a fruit mousse, pureed fruit or juice replaces the milk in the custard.
- Chocolate Mousse is a dessert that is made from only a few ingredients, none of which contain gluten
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