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Why Is Devil’s Food Cake One Of The Greatest Chocolate Cakes?

On May 19th we celebrate National Devil’s Food Cake Day, perhaps our favorite type of chocolate layer cake.

This tasty article shares:

> How is Devil’s Food Cake different from other chocolate cakes?

> The history of Devil’s Food Cake.

> The top 12 iconic chocolate cakes from the U.S. and Europe.

Plus, links to:

> The history of cake and a photo glossary parade of cakes.

> The 55 cake holidays in the U.S.A.
 
 
WHAT MAKES DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE DIFFERENT

A specific combination of characteristics give Devil’s Food Cake (photos #1 and #2) its specialness.

  • Chocolate intensity: Devil’s Food has a more intense chocolate flavor than other chocolate layer cakes, often achieved by using both cocoa powder and melted chocolate, or by adding coffee which enhances the chocolate flavors.
  • Moisture: It contains more fat than conventional chocolate layer cakes, usually from additional butter and/or egg yolks, which contribute to its signature moistness and richness.
  • Texture: Devil’s Food typically uses a combination of baking soda (leavening) and acidic ingredients (buttermilk, sour cream) that creates more carbon dioxide during baking. This creates a lighter texture.
  • Balance: The cake isn’t too rich. Rather, it has both airiness from the carbon dioxide and a subtle tanginess from the acidic ingredients that balance the sweetness.
  •  
    So from whence did this magnificent chocolate cake arrive? And is it related to Angel Cake?
     
     
    THE HISTORY OF DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

    Angel Food Cake had been around for three decades when Devil’s Food Cake debuted at the turn of the 20th century. It was developed as a richer, more indulgent chocolate cake and named as a contrast to the lovely but lean Angel Food Cake.

    The contrasting names reflect their opposite characteristics.

  • Angel Food Cake is “heavenly”: light (airy), white (color), and fat-free (lean).
  • Devil’s Food Cake is “sinful”: buttery (rich), dark (color), and chocolaty (indulgent).
  •  
    The first printed reference to Devil’s Food Cake is a recipe that appeared in Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book, published in 1902.

    The cake was created during a time when cocoa powder was becoming more accessible to average American households, thanks to improved processing methods developed in the late 19th century (the history of cocoa powder).

    Cocoa powder imparts a more intense and concentrated chocolate flavor than chocolate, often leading to a richer and darker cake. It also influences the texture, delivering a moister and more tender crumb.

    Mrs. Rorer’s recipe used chocolate and had a less intense chocolate flavor than cocoa-powder-centric modern versions, but it established the name and concept.

    She also used boiled icing (photo #11 and footnote*), rather than the chocolate frosting and ganache that have since replaced it.

    The name itself seems to have been deliberately created (presumably by Mrs. Rorer) as a counterpoint to the already popular Angel Food Cake, which had been around since the 1870s.

    Food historians have uncovered pre-1902 recipes for chocolate cakes with similar ingredients, but they weren’t specifically called Devil’s Food Cake.

    Around the same time as the cookbook was published, Devil’s Food recipes began appearing in women’s magazines and community cookbooks across America.

    Within a couple of years (1905-1906), the cake had gained significant traction. By the 1920s, it was firmly established in the repertoire of American cakes.
     
     
    The Earliest Devil’s Food Recipes

    Original recipes often used melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder.

  • Many early versions included coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor—a technique that continues in chocolate cakes.
  • The recipes also used baking soda, activated by buttermilk or sour milk, creating a distinctive reddish hue (our mother did this, making a recipe called Red Devil’s Food Cake that frankly is a more devilish hue than cakes made without it).
  • Early recipes were less sweet than modern versions, which highlighted the complex flavors of the chocolate. With the varieties of single origin chocolate available today, chocolate connoisseurs are encouraged to try this.
  •  
     
    Devil’s Food Cake Evolves

    Over the decades, home economists at companies like General Mills and Pillsbury refined recipes to work reliably with their flours and other ingredients to generate consumer excitement.

    Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake Mix was introduced in 1956, helping to standardize what Americans expected Devil’s Food Cake to taste like—and making it easy to bake one any time.

    Devil’s Food became a popular birthday cake choice (it certainly was ours!), and a featured dessert at restaurants across America.

    It became a classic American dessert.
     
     
    Devil’s Food In The 21st Century

    Recipes have adapted to different dietary interests: gluten-free versions using almond flour, alternative sweeteners, plant-based egg substitutes, and alternative fats instead of butter (avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil).

    Connoisseurs have sought more complex chocolate flavors, using single-origin cacao and higher-percentage cacaco chocolate. Some bakers add miso or tahini can for an umami hit that complements the chocolate flavor profile.

    Flavor enhancements have turned the traditional hint of coffee into pronounced espresso; or added spices (cardamom, chile, cinnamon) or finishing salt (sea salt, smoked salt).

    Alcohol has been worked into recipes, from spirits (Bourbon, rum, Tequila) to liqueur (Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Kahlúa), to red wine.

    Some replace the traditional chocolate filling with trending flavors like lavender, matcha, and salted caramel—and even mousse and black cherry (shades of Mousse Cake and Black Forest Cake!).

    Similarly, the chocolate frosting has been replaced with other flavors. (Personally, we replaced the chocolate frosting with shiny chocolate ganache or glaze a decade ago.)

    Finally, there’s the fun of added crunch. But that’s food for another article.

     
     
    THE ICONIC CHOCOLATE CAKES

    What are the must-try chocolate cakes in addition to Devil’s Food Cake?

    For this selection, the cake itself has to be chocolate, not a yellow cake with chocolate filling/icing such as Dobos(h) Torte, Opera Cake, and Smith Island Cake.

    American Classics

  • Chocolate Cheesecake: Chocolate variations of cheesecake began appearing in the 1930s, first swirls and then cocoa-infused fillings. A 1949 issue of Better Homes & Gardens contains a chocolate cheesecake recipe made with cocoa and cream cheese, baked in a graham cracker crust, like today’s popular versions (photo #3).
  • German Chocolate Cake: This is a lighter-in-flavor chocolate cake with coconut-pecan frosting (photo #4). “German” is not its origin; Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate was created by in Massachusetts by Sam German.
  • Mississippi Mud Cake: A rich, dense chocolate cake topped with mini marshmallows and chocolate frosting (photo #5).
  • Red Velvet Cake: Only lightly chocolate-flavored from cocoa, its distinctive red color originally came from beets (photo #6). Most recipes now use red food color. Cream cheese is the frosting of choice.
  • Texas Sheet Cake: A “short” chocolate cake baked (about 2″ high) baked in a sheet pan, it’s topped with warm poured chocolate frosting, and often garnished with pecans.
  •  
    European Classics

  • Black Forest Cake (Germany): Layers of chocolate sponge filled whipped cream dotted with Kirsch-marinated cherries, usually with a white frosting garnished with shaved chocolate and more cherries on top (photo #7).
  • Chocolate Génoise (France): This light and airy French-style sponge cake is used to create layer cakes. It’s often soaked in flavored syrups or liqueurs, and frosted with buttercream.
  • Chocolate Guinness Cake (U.K.): Popularized by British food writer Nigella Lawson, this rich, moist chocolate cake is made with Guinness stout. The beer adds moisture, depth of flavor, and a slight malty, almost coffee-like taste to the cake. It’s often frosted with cream cheese or chocolate ganache.
  • Chocolate Lava Cake (France†): Typically individual-size chocolate cakes baked in a ramekin with a molten chocolate center that “erupts” when cut into (photo #8).
  • Chocolate Mousse Cake (France): A chocolate cake layer is topped with dark, milk, and/or white chocolate mousse, delivering lots of rich chocolate flavor and the contrast of dense cake with airy mousse.
  • Chocolate Olive Oil Cake (Greek-inspired): This chocolate cake uses olive oil instead of butter, which makes it moister.
  • Flourless Chocolate Cake (Middle European): This dense, fudgy cake is made without flour, often substituting ground nuts flour (photo #9 and footnote‡). It evolved from traditional European tortes. Sachertorte (created in 1832) uses very little flour and is considered a precursor.
  • Sachertorte (Austria): This famous Viennese chocolate cake has an apricot jam filling and dark chocolate glaze (photo #10).
  •  
     
    __________

    *Boiled icing, also called boiled frosting or Italian meringue, is a cake frosting made by slowly pouring hot sugar syrup over stiffly beaten egg whites. This creates a fluffy, silky, and stable frosting (photo #11). It’s also called 7-minute frosting due to its quick preparation time.

    > Here’s the recipe.

    > The difference between frosting, icing, and glaze.

    Is lava cake American or French? It’s complicated! The cake called lava cake, molten chocolate cake, or molten lava cake was introduced to America by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the famous French-American chef who claims to have invented it in 1987 at his New York City restaurant JoJo. He explained that he accidentally undercooked some chocolate sponge cakes, and when he cut into them, they had a liquid center. He refined his “mistake” into a wildly popular international hit.

    However, in 1981 Michel Bras, another world-famous French chef whose restaurant Laguiole in southern France has received three Michelin stars since 1999, had created a similar dessert in 1981 called coulant au chocolat (“flowing chocolate). It featured a ganache center that would melt when the cake was heated.

    Jacques Torres, the renowned French pastry chef, maintains that the lava cake is simply a new presentation of fondant au chocolat, a classic French dessert that has existed for much longer.

    Fondant au chocolat (“chocolate fondant”) dates to the 1950s or earlier. It’s a dense, moist chocolate cake with a soft, almost fudge-like interior—though not necessarily molten.

    The word fondant in French means melting or melt-in-the-mouth, but this refers to the soft texture and not a runny center.

    But outside of France, some restaurants and recipes misuse the term to describe lava cakes.

    Regardless of who deserves credit for the original invention, lava cake became extremely popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, spreading from high-end restaurants to chain restaurants and even frozen food sections of grocery stores. Today, it’s considered a classic chocolate dessert worldwide.

    As of this writing, all three chefs are still hard at work. Maybe a Zoom call to talk it out? The Nibble will be happy to moderate.

    Alternatives to flour in flourless cake: Ground nuts are most common, but otheringredients can provide the structure in flourless cakes, starting with additional chocolate (or cocoa powder) and eggs (very rich!) or whipped egg whites (for the most classic result). Small amounts of arrowroot or cornstarch can also stabilize the cake’s texture.

    Ground seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower) can replace ground nuts, as can desiccated coconut or coconut flour. Chickpea flour or black bean purée create dense, fudgy textures.

    Additional options include breadcrumbs, ground dried dates or other dried fruits, ground rolled oats, and seed butters (pumpkin, sesame/tahini, sunflower).

     

    Devil's Food Cake
    [1] We celebrated by baking this Devil Food’s Cake recipe from Ashley, the Baker By Nature extraordinaire. We deemed it “as good as Mom’s (photos #1, #2, and #3 © Baker By Nature).

    A Slice Of Devil's Food Cake
    [2] Yes, it’s rich. Pour yourself a glass of milk!

    Slice Of Chocolate Cheesecake
    [3] Also try Ashley’s chocolate cheesecake. Here’s the recipe.

    German Chocolate Cake
    [4] German Chocolate Cake is made with a special kind of chocolate invented at Baker’s Chocolate Company by Sam German in 1852. It has more sugar than semi-sweet chocolate, and the goal was to simplify baking by providing the chocolate and sugar in one. The German Chocolate Cake recipe didn’t appear until 1957, submitted to the Dallas Morning News by a Mrs. George Clay. (photo © Kraft).

    Slices Of Mississippi Mud Cake
    [5] Mississippi Mud Cake is a fudgy chocolate cake that’s baked, topped with mini marshmallows, and then baked again to help them adhere. A generous dose of chocolate frosting is poured over to coat the marshmallows. Here’s the recipe. Not to be confused with Missippi Mud Pie, a chocolate cookie crust layered with brownie and chocolate mousse or custard, served with whipped cream or ice cream(photo © Tastes Better From Scratch).

    A Slice Of Red Velvet Cake
    [6] Red velvet cake has been around since the start of the 20th century, but it didn’t become a national craze until 1989, when the groom’s cake in the film “Steel Magnolias” was red velvet—and shaped like an armadillo! (photo © King Arthur Baking)

    Black Forest Cake
    [7] Black Forest Cake, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte in its original German, incorporates the Morello cherries and brandy made from them (Kirsch) from the Black Forest region of Germany. Here’s the recipe (photo © Kitchen Stories).

    Chocolate Lava Cake
    [8] Chocolate Lava Cake, with the “lava flow” (photo © Stock Cake).

    Flourless Chocolate Cake
    [9] Flourless Chocolate Cake, dense, delicious, and gluten-free (photo © Harry & David).

    A Slice Of Sacher Torte Chocolate Cake
    [10] Sachertorte, the toast of Vienna. Here’s the recipe (photo © Jernej Kitchen).

    Angel Cake With Boiled Icing
    [11] Boiled icing, also called Italian meringue and 7-minute frosting. Here’s the recipe (photo © Sweet and Savoury).

     

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    Chopped Salad Sandwich Recipes & History For National Salad Month

    May is National Salad Month, and if you haven’t yet tried a chopped salad sandwich, this is the time!

    How would our culture evolve at seemingly warp speed if not for TikTok? One of the foods that has viraled into our lives is the chopped salad sandwich, which appeared a couple of years ago and quickly became a thing.

    Just as with a conventional chopped salad, each bite delivers a delightful blend of flavors and textures.

    You don’t have to start with a conventional salad—say, a Chef Salad or a Greek Salad.

    If you prefer, you can take many popular sandwich fillings—BLT, club, falafel, ham and cheese, hoagie, po’ boy, Reuben, turkey and Swiss—add enough veggies, chop the ingredients, and bind with your favorite dressing.
     
     
    THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS AN EXTRA-FINE DICE

    Dressing serves as the binding agent, but if you use a thin dressing (e.g. vinaigrette instead of mayo), you need a stronger bread.

    The viral sandwiches are on hero rolls, but we prefer ours on crusty baguette or rustic loaves (for crunch), focaccia or naan (for sturdiness).

    While we enjoy pita pockets, be had to search for thicker ones so the dressing different drip through.

    > The history of the chopped salad is below.

    > The history of salad.

    > The history of the sandwich.

    > The different types of sandwiches: a photo glossary.

    > The 25+ sandwich holidays.

    > The 40+ salad holidays.
     
     
    WHAT WE’VE MADE SO FAR

    It’s easy to turn your favorite salad into a chopped salad sandwich. Finely dice your favorite ingredients—largely veggies and proteins, but nuts and fruits (dried or fresh) and other crunch (e.g. Chinese noodles) work, too.

    Thus far, we’ve turned these salads into chopped salad sandwiches (we use a mezzaluna rocker, photo #8):

  • Asian Chicken Salad
  • Cobb Salad or Chef Salad (see the differences below)
  • Greek Salad
  • Salmon Caesar Salad
  • Falafel Salad—chopping the balls of falafel instead of placing them whole inside the pita is an improvement, adding falafel flavor to each bite.
  • Next up we’re planning a Mexican chicken salad with tomatoes, bean, corn, and tortilla strips, using the Cheesecake Factory’s recipe.
     
    Allow us to note that all of the traditional “salad” sandwiches—chicken salad, crab salad, egg salad, shrimp salad, tuna salad—can be chopified by adding more vegetables—the ones you’d receive if you ordered the salad on a platter instead of a sandwich.

    You can invent your own chopped salad sandwich too, and that’s the fun of it. We had the remnants of a Mediterranean dinner in the fridge, so created our own Mediterranean chopped salad sandwich with:

  • Proteins: lamb, graviera (a sheep’s milk cheese).
  • Veggies: fennel, fresh basil, pickled red onions, purple cauliflower, radicchio.
  • Fruits: figs, Halkidiki and Kalamata olives†, pepperoncini.
  • Dressing: yogurt, EVOO, pomegranate balsamic vinegar.
  • Bread: ciabatta.
  •  
     
    THE HISTORY OF THE CHOPPED SALAD

    The ancient Romans made a forerunner of the modern chopped salad called acetaria (their word for salad, derived from acetum, Latin for vinegar). An assortment of raw vegetables were cut into small pieces and dressed with vinegar, oil, and herbs.
     
     
    The Modern Chopped Salad: Born In The U.S.A.

    The modern chopped salad began to appear in the early 20th century. Beginning in the 1920s, versions of the Italian Antipasto Salad (photo #4) began to appear on menus of Italian-American restaurants in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, cities with large Italian immigrant populations.

    Taking the ingredients off the antipasto platter, as it were, the Antipasto Salad was (and is) a mix of cured meats, cheeses, and vegetables, all cut into bite-sized pieces and dressed with olive oil and vinegar.

    But it was a Beverly Hills restaurateur who created the dish that engendered the spread of chopped salads nationwide, helping to establish chopped salad as a restaurant staple.

    It was created by Jean Leon (né Lluís Ferreny Anguera), the founder of La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. The eponymous La Scala Salad (photo #5) was on the menu when he opened the original La Scala restaurant in 1956 (it’s still there, in a different location).

    Leon had emmigrated from Aragon, Spain. His restaurant quickly became famous among Hollywood celebrities and elites, and the La Scala chopped salad became one of his signature dishes.

    It was its own version of the antipasto salad, featuring finely diced lettuce, salami, mozzarella cheese, and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) with a distinctive vinaigrette dressing.

    It was chopped so finely that it could be eaten with a spoon, which was part of its appeal: It allowed celebrities to eat salad neatly without worrying about being photographed with lettuce hanging from their mouths.

    The salad was widely copied in restaurants across the country and is considered one of the pioneering versions of the modern chopped salad.

    The Cobb salad, debuting in 1937, certainly is a chopped salad (photo #7) although it was never marketed in those terms. Still, it contributed to the format’s popularity with its aesthetic appeal of rows of finely diced ingredients.

    By the 1980s and 1990s, chopped salads had become increasingly popular in American restaurants, particularly in delis and Italian-American establishments.

    The early 2000s saw a major boom in chopped salad chains like Chopt and Sweetgreen, which made customizable chopped salads. Thusly, the chopped salad became lunch staple.

    What’s next? With today’s global cuisine influences and the availability of specialty ingredients, there’s no stopping the opportunity to create vibrant variations.
     
     
    Predecessor Sandwich Inspiration

    We don’t want to close without a shout-out to sandos that appeared long before chopped salad sandwiches (and long before the word sando, for that matter, which first appeared in print in the U.S. in 1965):

  • Bánh mì (Vietnam): All the veggies and meats of choice, but sliced instead of chopped.
  • Chopped cheese sandwich (New York City): chopped ground beef and onions with melted cheese, served on a hero roll.
  • Grinder/hero/hoagie/sub (U.S.): different layers of bold bold flavors, sliced.
  • Muffuletta (New Orleans): chopped olive salad atop layers of meats and cheeses.
  • Shawarma/döner kebab: veggies are wrapped in flatbread with shaved meat.
  •  
     
    ________________

    *The difference between Chef Salad and Cobb Salad: They have more similarities than differences. For starters, both include lettuce (usually iceberg or romaine), tomato, and hard-boiled eggs. The meats, cheeses, other veggies, and dressings differ. Both are plated with the other ingredients on top of the greens. Chef salad is sometimes tossed.

    > Meats: Chef has ham, turkey, and/or roast beef; Cobb has grilled/roasted chicken and bacon.

    > Cheese: Chef has Swiss or Cheddar), Cobb has blue cheese.

    > Other Veggies: Chef has cucumbers, Cobb has avocado.

    > Dressing: Chef has Thousand Island, Ranch, or vinaigrette; Cobb has blue cheese, Ranch, or vinaigrette.

    Yes, olives are fruits, not vegetables. They are the fruit of the olive tree. Not all fruits are sweet: Chiles are also fruits.
     
     

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    Chopped Chicken Salad Sandwich
    [1] This Chopped Chicken Salad Sandwich has bacon and ranch dressing—a nice switch from mayo. Here’s the recipe (photo © Eat Like Erin).

    Italian Chopped Salad Sandwich
    [2] An Italian Chopped Salad Sandwich can be your version of a chopped hoagie Here’s the recipe (photo © Bellyful).

    Chopped Cuban Sandwich
    [3] A Chopped Cuban Sandwich. Here’s the recipe (photo © I Am Homesteader).

    Antipasto Salad Platter
    [4] One of the early chopped salads was the antipasto salad. Here’s a recipe (photo © DeLallo).

    La Scala Chopped Salad
    [5] Dating to 1956, the La Scala Salad from Los Angeles spread the popularity of chopped salads. Here’s the recipe (photo © Cucina By Elena).

    Classic Chef Salad
    [6] The classic Chef Salad. Here’s the recipe (photo © The Stay At Home Chef).

    Cobb Salad Platter
    [7] The classic Cobb Salad. Here’s the recipe (photo © Ain’t Too Proud to Meg).

    Chopped Salad
    [8] If you don’t use a mezzaluna, it’s an eye opener. Be sure to get one with a double blade (photo © Chef Master | Amazon).

     
     
     
      

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    Dandelion Gourmet Chocolate Chips & Chocolate Chips History

    A Bowl Of Chocolate Chips
    [1] A bowl of top-quality chocolate chips from Callebaut. See all the ways to use them here (photo © Coco Dolce).

    Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream
    [2a] Chocolate chip ice cream is one of our favorite ways to use chocolate chips, whether the ice cream is chocolate, coffee, cherry, mint, raspberry, or vanilla. Here’s the recipe for this mint chip ice cream (photo © McCormick).

    Blondies With Chocolate Chips
    [2b] Another of our favorite ways to enjoy chocolate chips: in blondies (photo © King Arthur Baking | Instagram).

    A Slice Of Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
    [3] It’s a definite yes to chocolate chip cheesecake (photo © Kelly Cline | iStock Photo).

    Pistachio Chocolate Chip Pound Cake In Bundt Form
    [4] Ditto for pistachio chocolate chip pound cake, in graceful Bundt form (photo © King Arthur Baking).

    Chocolate Chip Pancakes
    [5] It’s a classic: chocolate chip pancakes (photo ChatGPT).

    Peanut Butter, Banana & Chocolate Chip Sandwich
    [6] What makes a peanut butter and banana sandwich better? Chocolate chips (photo ChatGPT)!

    Tiramisu Parfait
    [7] Use chocolate chips to garnish any dessert. Here, it’s tiramisu pudding parfait (photo © Julia Hartbeck | Taste Of Home).

    Chocolate Chip Muffins
    [8] Chocolate makes muffins and scones that much more delicious (photo ChatGPT).

    A Bag Of Dandelion Chocolate Chips
    [9] Are these large pyramids chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or a hybrid category? An innovation from Dandelion Chocolate, we’ll give you the skinny below (photo © Rachel Askinisi | Business Insider).

    Bowls of Chocolate Chips & Chocolate Chunks
    [10] Chocolate chips vs. chocolate chunks. See which you should use depending on what you’re making (photo ChatGPT).

    Scoop Of White Chocolate Chips
    [11] White chocolate chips from Callebaut (photo Lake Champlain Chocolates).

    Ruby Chocolate Chips
    [12] Ruby chocolate chips from Callebaut (photo Lake Champlain Chocolates).
    Valrhona Dulcey Baking Chips

    [13] Dulcey disks from Valrhona. Callebaut makes similar product, which they call Gold, and also a Caramel disk(photo © Valrhona).


    [14] The original Toll House Inn cookbook, still available (photo © Dover Publications).

     

    May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day. Not National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day—that’s August 4th.

    You can do many things with chocolate chips in addition to baking cookies. We have a bunch of suggestions for you.

    And we’re going to introduce you to a very special type of chocolate chip from Dandelion Chocolate (photos #9 and #15), and tell you the history of the chocolate chip, and the differernce between chocolate chips and chocolate chunks.

    First, a little Chocolate 101:
     
    > Chocolate terms: a photo glossary.

    > The history of chocolate.

    > The history of white chocolate (photo #11).

    >The history of ruby chocolate (photo #12).

    > The history of Dulcey (blonde) chocolate (photo #13).
     
     
    Dandelion Chocolate Chips
    [15] A specially engineered chocolate chip from Dandelion Chocolate. Read all about them below (photo © Dandelion Chocolate).
     
     
    SOME OF THE MANY WAYS TO USE CHOCOLATE CHIPS

    Chocolate chips are delightfully versatile. Here are just some ways to use them:

    Baking

  • Brownies, blondies, granola bars, and other bars: Fold into the batter (photo #2b).
  • Cakes: Mix into the batter, into the filling, or as a garnish atop the icing (photo #4).
  • Cheesecakes and cupcakes: Mix into the batter and/or use for garnishing (photo #3).
  • Cookies—not just the classic chocolate chip cookie, but variations like oatmeal chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip.
  • Inclusions in muffins (photo #8), scones, quick breads (banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, etc.), bagels, breads, croissants, and breakfast pastries.
  •  
    Candy

  • Chocolate bark and bonbons: garnish (especially with mini chips) along with nuts, fruits, seeds, etc.
  • Coating and dipping: Melt chips to dip fruit, pretzels, or marshmallows.
  • Any chocolate candy, e.g. fudge and truffles: Mix into fudge, or melt the chips for the base.
  • Trail mix.
  •  
    Frozen Desserts

  • Ice cream: Stir into homemade or softened store-bought ice cream (photo #2a).
  • Ice cream sandwiches: Press into the sides of ice cream and other cookie sandwiches.
  • Frozen yogurt and ice pops: Mix in mini chips, especially into cherry, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla flavors.
  •  
    Breakfast

  • French toast: Make stuffed French toast with a cream cheese, mascarpone, or ricotta filling studded with chocolate chips.
  • Granola and other cold cereals: add in.
  • Oatmeal and other hot porridge: Stir in while hot for melted chocolate swirls, or use as a garnish.
  • Pancakes and waffles: Fold into the batter or sprinkle on top as a garnish (photo #5).
  • Smoothie bowl: Garnish the top.
  •  
    Beverages

  • Hot beverages: Melt chips into hot chocolate, add them to hot mocha or coffee, sprinkle atop a whipped cream garnish.
  • Milkshakes: Stir chips into a thick shake for bites of chocolate.
  •  
    More

  • Desserts: Melt into fondue, use as a garnish for any dessert, mix into ricotta for cannoli filling (you can just eat the filling), mix into mascarpone for a sinfully rich pudding (photo #7).
  • Sandwiches: peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips (photo #6); or a cream cheese or mascarpone sandwich with chocolate chips.
  • Chocolate fix: Eat a tablespoon of chips for a quick chocolate fix.
  • Cheese: Roll a goat cheese log in mini chips. Serve with graham crackers, wheatmeal (digestive), or other sweet biscuits.
  •  
     
    CHOCOLATE CHIPS VS. CHOCOLATE CHUNKS: THE DIFFERENCE

    Is there a difference to using chocolate chips versus chocolate chunks? Yes!

    Aside from shape, the main differences between chocolate chips and chocolate chunks come down to:

  • Melting: Chocolate chunks are larger and rectangular, so provide a larger pop of chocolate. However, unlike the teardrop-shaped chips which are designed to hold their shape when baking, the chunks may create pockets instead of holding their shape (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).
  • Ingredients: Chocolate chips contain stabilizers like soy lecithin or added emulsifiers. They may contain less cocoa butter so they keep their shape when baked—but this also gives them a waxier texture compared to higher-end chunks.
  • Quality: Chocolate chunks are often made of better quality couverture, with a higher cocoa butter content and fewer stabilizers. This gives them a better melt and flavor.
     
    Why Bakers chose one over the other:

  • Cookies: chips have more structure, chunks are more gooey.
  • Brownies, blondies, and other bars: Chunks provide a better melt and flavor distribution.
  • Cakes and muffins: Chips offer less sinkage and more even flavor distribution.
  • Dipping or coating: Chunks melt evenly.
     
    Check the package label to see that you’re buying real chocolate chips. Imitation chocolate chips have vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter (and are less expensive).

    When you want the best:

  • The top brands of chocolate chunks are Callebaut, Guittard, and Valrhona. They also make chips.
  • Trader Joe’s High-End Private Label also has quality chocolate chunks, believed to be from Callebaut.
  • For a good semisweet chunk without soy lecithin, try Enjoy Life Mega Chocolate Chunks.
  • The best brands of chocolate chips include Callebaut, Guittard, Michel Cluizel, Scharffen Berger, Scharffen Berger, Trader Joe’s, and Valrhona, and an honorable mention to Ghirardelli.
  •  
    Except when we need a chips that isn’t made in chunk form (e.g. peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips—photo #11), we prefer chocolate chunks in cookies for a simple reason: more chocolate in each bite!
     
     
    PRODUCT FOCUS: DANDELION CHOCOLATE CHIPS

    If they look large in the photo (#9, #15) they are! At one-inch square, from Dandelion Chocolate of San Francisco, they weigh in at a substantial 3.5 grams each.

    In comparison, a single Nestlé chocolate morsel typically weighs about 1.4 grams/0.05 ounces. (The mini chocolate chips are smaller and their chocolate chunks are larger and weigh more per piece.)

    To appreciate what Dandelion has achieved. you have to brush up on is origin chocolate: the term used to specify chocolate made from beans from a single origin. In the case of Dandelion, those origins include Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Tanzania, and Uganda.

    Like all agricultural products, each displays the flavors of its terroir. Just like coffee beans, wine grapes, olive oil, etc.

    So do you prefer the cacao flavors of South America—fruity and floral—or the flavors of Africa—richer, darker flavors, with notes of cinnamon, fig, and berries? Check the options and decide.

    > Here’s what you need to know about single origin chocolate.
     
     
    Why Was A Special Pyramid/Diamond Shape Created?

    These custom-made pyramid chips were modeled after the hand-piped chips the Dandelion kitchen team would make for the giant cookies sold in their cafés.

    They used to use chocolate chunks, but one customer, a Tesla engineer named Remy Labesque thought he could come up with something better. In 2020, he shared his idea for a better shape that would function perfectly in a large cookie.

    He worked with Dandelion to create their signature chip: one inches square at the flat bottom, rising to a peak in the center, that reminds one of a pyramid or diamond.

    As you can see in photos #9, it’s quite different from the traditional teardrop-shaped chips/morsels. Labesque created a unique pyramid-like structure featuring two tapered edges and a flat bottom.

    Two of the bottom edges are thin and taper off while the other two are slightly thicker. The engineer explains that this is how the big chips are able to melt evenly. The design wasn’t an aesthetic choice, it was functional.

  • The flat bottom was engineered to melt more evenly on the tongue, providing a better tasting experience.
  • The sharp edges were designed to offer an initial intense flavor hit, while the thicker center provided a more substantial chocolate experience.
  •  
    Get Your Dandelion Chocolate Chips

    > Head to the company website and do a search, so you can see all five varieties.
     
     
    THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE CHIPS

    Chocolate chips were invented by accident in 1937 by Ruth Graves Wakefield, who owned the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.

    She was making Butter Drop Do cookies—a simple butter cookie recipe that dates to colonial times. She wanted to add chocolate.

    She cut a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar into small pieces, expecting the pieces to melt in the oven and create chocolate cookies. Instead, the pieces retained their shape, creating the first chocolate chip cookies—or Toll House cookies, as she named them.

    The Toll House cookies became popular at the inn, and the recipe began to spread. She published it in a cookbook called “Toll House Tried and True Recipes” in 1936 (you can get a paperback version on Amazon-—photo #14).

    As the cookies gained popularity, sales of Nestlé’s semi-sweet chocolate bars increased significantly in the New England area.

    Recognizing the business opportunity, Nestlé approached Wakefield in 1939 to strike a deal. They purchased the rights to use her recipe and the Toll House name on their packaging. In exchange, Wakefield reportedly received:

  • A lifetime supply of Nestlé chocolate.
  • A consulting fee (some sources indicate it was a symbolic $1—she clearly didn’t consult a lawyer).
  •  
    Nestlé’s Morsels Arrive

    After concluding the deal, Nestlé began producing chocolate chips specifically designed for baking, eliminating the need for consumers to chop chocolate bars themselves. In 1940, they introduced Nestlé Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels.

    Nestlé’s decision to make chocolate chips in a teardrop or morsel shape rather than the pieces obtained from chopping a chocolate bar was driven by practical considerations:

  • Manufacturing efficiency: The teardrop shape could be more easily mass-produced in a consistent size using industrial equipment.
  • Melting properties: The teardrop shape, with its tapered end and rounded bottom, creates an optimal balance for chocolate chips in baking. They partially melt but maintain their general shape and distribution throughout the cookie.
  • Performance: The teardrop shape has a higher surface-to-volume ratio than simple cubes or rectangles, affecting how the chocolate interacts with dough and melts in the mouth when eating the baked product.
  • Brand identity: The special shape helped establish to establish chocolate morsels/chips as a specific ingredient.
  • Convenience: The consistent size and shape meant bakers could count on uniform distribution and reliable results in their recipes, unlike hand-chopped chocolate pieces which varied in size.
  •  
     
    The Evolution Of Chocolate Chips

    Chocolate chunks, as a distinct square or rectangular product, were first marketed to consumers in the early 1940s to avoid manual chopping.

    Chunks delivered a more substantial taste and a change from the uniformity of traditional chips. Within a decade or so, chocolate chunks had become a staple in baking aisles

    In the 1950s and 1960s, chocolate chips and chunks became a staple in American pantries.

    By the 1970s, Americans were chip-happy enough to market numerous options. Currently, you can find:

  • Chocolate chips: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, mint chocolate, semisweet chocolate (the original), white chocolate, and peanut butter (a mix of PB and milk chocolate), mini chips, jumbo chips, and chocolate chunks.
  • Flavors that don’t contain chocolate: butterscotch, caramel, funfetti.
  • Different limited edition and seasonal flavors from Nestlé and others: Bailey’s Irish Cream, maple, mint, pumpkin spice, salted caramel, s’mores.
  •  
    In fact, you can make any flavor of chip your heart desires. Here’s how.

    (Note: Always read the ingredients label. If it contains cocoa butter, it’s chocolate, even if there are no cocoa solids (e.g., white chocolate).

    Nestlé deliberately called their product morsels. Early recipes, including Wakefield’s original, often described the process as adding “chocolate broken into bits” or “pieces of chocolate.”

    (By the way, you can get her cookbook—see photo #14.)

    So who was first to call them “chocolate chips?”

    There is no aha! moment. The term emerged gradually in popular usage, likely developing organically among home bakers.

    By the mid-1940s, the term “chocolate chip cookies” was becoming commonplace in cookbooks and newspaper recipe columns. This suggests the term was already in the vernacular.

    By the 1950s, “chocolate chip cookies” was standard, regardless of whether Nestlé’s Morsels or another brand was used.

    The second decade of the 21st century saw the introduction of ruby chocolate (photo #12), created by Barry Callebaut in 2017. The pink-hued chocolate is made from specially processed ruby cocoa beans. It has a fruity, slightly tart flavor.

    Ruby is the first new chocolate category since white chocolate was introduced in the 1930s. (The first dark chocolate bar was introduced in 1847, and milk chocolate in 1875 or 1876.) Here’s more about ruby.

    Dulcey (photo #13 or blonde, chocolate came earlier, in 2012—an accident caused when a chocolatier left the heater on under white chocolate for too long.

    See the footnote† for why Dulcey/blonde/gold chocolate isn’t its own category.

    The new product produces caramel notes, and is so delicious that we wonder what’s next! In the interim, here’s more about Dulcey.

    It isn’t yet made in chips, but you can purchase the baking disks.

     
    ________________
     
    *Chocolate from Colombia and Ecuador often exhibits fruity, floral, and subtly sweet flavors, with a focus on Nacional/Arriba cacao beans. In contrast, Ugandan and Tanzanian chocolates tend to be more intense and full-bodied, with richer, darker flavors, including notes of cinnamon, fig, and berries.

    Why Ruby chocolate is a 4th category of chocolate but Dulcey isn’t a new category: For almost a century, three categories of chocolate have been recognized: dark, milk, and white chocolate. To be classified as a new category of chocolate, a product must be derived from cacao beans and contain cacao solids and/or cocoa butter and have naturally occurring color and flavor. Both Ruby and Dulcey do that.

    But Dulcey is essentially caramelized white chocolate, made by heating to develop the flavor. It is not a new bean or extraction method. Dulcey is like toasted white chocolate—delicious and unique, but not a new structure. Thus, it’s a flavor variation of white chocolate, not a new category.

    One might ask: Isn’t milk chocolate just dark chocolate with milk added—yet milk chocolate is its own category? No, milk chococolate i’s an entirely new structure, not a blend of finished dark chocolate with milk added. In fact, if you added milk to finished dark chocolate, it would seize—it’s chemically incompatible unless emulsified during conching and tempering. So, structurally and legally, milk chocolate is a distinct formulation, and its own category.
     
     

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    History Of Craft Beer & Top Brews For American Craft Beer Week

    A Bottle Of Allagash White Beer
    [1] Allagash is known for its Belgian White Beer (photo © Allagash Brewery).

    Bell's Two-Hearted Ale
    [2] Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale (photo © The Electric Brewery).

    Brooklyn Lager Beer
    [3] When we discovered Brooklyn Lager, we moved on from Sam Adams (photo © Brooklyn Brewery).

    Samuel Adams Boston Lager
    [4] Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams Boston Lager was the first big hit craft beer on the East Coast (photo © Boston Beer Co.).

    Can Of Dogfish Head Beer
    [5] Dogfish Head Beer (photo © Dogfish Head Brewery).

    Bottle Of Founders Brewing KBS
    [6] Founders Brewing KBS (originally Kentucky Breakfast Stout) is a bold imperial stout is brewed with premium chocolate and coffee. It’s then aged in bourbon barrels that introduce notes of vanilla, cocoa (photo © Founders Brewing).

    Jai Alai Beer
    [7] Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City (photo © Get Ollie).

    Bottle Of Lagunitas IPA
    [8] Lagunitas IPA (photo © Pinoyed | Flickr).

    New Belgium Fat Tire Ale
    [9] New Belgium Fat Tire Ale (photo © Imbibe Magazine).

    Pliny The Elder Beer
    [10] Pliny The Elder from Russian River Brewing Company. We’re a bit disappointed that, having appropriated the name of the Roman historian, they gave the eponymous bottle a generic label (photo © Good Eggs ).

    Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
    [11] Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale was one of the American craft brew pioneers (photo © Sierra Nevada Brewing Company).

    Zombie Dust Pale Ale
    [12] Could we overlook Zombie Dust Undead Pale Ale from Three Floyds of Munster, Indiana? (photo © Shangy’s…The Beer Authority)

     

    American Craft Beer Week is held the second full week of May; this year, May 12-18.

    Its founders call it the “Official Start of Beer Season.” Does beer need a season, much less an official start?

    We think not, but we are taking the opportunity to explain the craft beer movement in the U.S.: How, since 1980, we went from being a nation of large national brewers and regional brewers to one with nearly 10,000 craft brewers.

    Craft beer sales currently make up nearly a quarter of the $117 billion U.S. beer market ((24.7%), it’s clear that what started as a niche movement in 1978 has exploded into a full-blown economic (and cultural) force.

    The history of the American craft beer movement follows along with America’s top craft beer cities and a “Top 20” list of suggested beers to try. But first:

    > The history of beer.

    > The history of craft beer (below).

    > Craft beer vs. indie beer (below).

    > The different types of beer: a photo glossary.

    > All the beer holidays (there are 38 so far).

    > The difference between beer and ale.
     
     
    THE TOP 20 CRAFT BEER BRANDS

    We have chosen not to structure the list in terms of size or industry influence, but in alphabetical order. It makes it easier for us to pick out which ones we still need to try!

  • Allagash Brewing Company, known for Allagash White and Belgian styles (photo #1).
  • Ballast Point Brewing, known for Sculpin IPA and fruit-infused variations.
  • Bell’s Brewery, known for Two Hearted Ale and Oberon wheat ale (photo #3).
  • Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams), known for Boston Lager and seasonal varieties (photo #4).
  • Brooklyn Brewery, known for Brooklyn Lager and diverse portfolio (photo #3).
  • Cigar City Brewing, known for Jai Alai IPA and Florida-inspired brews (photo #7).
  • Deschutes Brewery – Famous for Black Butte Porter and Fresh Squeezed IPA.
  • Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, known for experimental beers like 60/90/120 Minute IPAs (photo #5).
  • Firestone Walker Brewing Company, known for barrel-aged beers and Union Jack IPA.
  • Founders Brewing Company, known for KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) and All Day IPA (photo #6).
  • Great Lakes Brewing Company, known for Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Christmas Ale.
  • Lagunitas Brewing Company, known for IPA and innovative styles (photo #8).
  • Left Hand Brewing, known for Milk Stout Nitro and innovative techniques.
  • New Belgium Brewing, known for Fat Tire Amber Ale and Voodoo Ranger IPA series (photo #9).
  • Odell Brewing Co., known for 90 Shilling and IPA innovations.
  • Oskar Blues Brewery, known for pioneering craft beer in cans with Dale’s Pale Ale.
  • Russian River Brewing, known for Pliny the Elder and Belgian-inspired sours (photo #10).
  • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., known for their Pale Ale, pioneering craft beer since 1980 (photo #11).
  • Stone Brewing, known for Arrogant Bastard Ale and aggressive IPAs.
  • Three Floyds Brewing, known for Zombie Dust and Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout (photo #12).
  •  
    Who’s the biggest craft brewer? See the Top 10 in the footnote‡‡ below.
     
     
    THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT

    The roots of the modern* craft brewing movement began in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed a bill that legalized homebrewing at the federal level. Americans began to experiment with brewing small batches of beer at home, and retailers sprouted up to provide the supplies they needed.

    The pioneering craft breweries faced significant challenges, from sourcing ingredients to creating distribution networks.

    And then, how to educate consumers about many styles of beer styles beyond light lagers Americans had been drinking for decades (Budweiser, Coors, Miller, etc).

    Also note that in the first decades of craft brewing, there was limited distribution outside of the breweries’ region.

    Their persistence laid the groundwork for the 10,000 craft breweries operating in the U.S. today, so let’s give them a shout-out:

    1965: Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco. Anchor actually was founded in 1896 in San Francisco. But by the 1960s it was a languishing regional brewer, in dire financial straits and on the verge of closing, when Fritz Maytag (heir to the appliance fortune) purchased and revitalized it. Maytag is often credited as the grandfather of American craft brewing. The quality of his flagship Anchor Steam lager was the superior alternative to mass-produced lagers and jump-started the interest in craft beer. Alas, it finally did close in 2023. See photo #13, at the bottom of the page.

    1976: New Albion Brewing Company, Sonoma, California by Jack McAuliffe. Widely considered America’s first modern microbrewery, it was short-lived (closing 1982) but created the template for small-scale commercial brewing.

    1979: Boulder Beer Company (Boulder, Colorado), was Colorado’s first microbrewery (it initially operated as Boulder Brewing Company).

    1980: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, California) was founded by Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi. They pioneered the use of American-grown hops, which provide a distinctly different flavor profile than European hops. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale helped to define American craft beer (photo #11).

    1981: Redhook Ale Brewery (Seattle, Washington), was one of the Pacific Northwest’s earliest craft breweries.

    1983: Mendocino Brewing Company (Hopland, CA, 1983) was America’s first brewpub to be established since Prohibition. (The original town, Sanel, was renamed Hopland when from the 1870s to the mid-1950s, much of the region’s economy was based on growing hops.)

    1984: Boston Beer Company (Boston, Massachusetts) was founded by Jim Koch. His Samuel Adams Boston Lager helped to bring craft beer to national prominence (photo #4).

    1986: Geary Brewing Company (Portland, Maine), founded by David and Karen Geary, was Maine’s first craft brewery to open after Prohibition.
     
     
    THE CRAFT BEER CENTERS OF THE U.S.

    Some cities and states have crafted impressive reputations as home to the best breweries in the country. Not only do they make great beer that delivers hometown pride, but their success has boosting local economies and attracted tourism.

    Researchers at Homebase analyzed 70 top beer cities by comparing brewery counts (sourced from Homebase, BeerAdvocate, Brewers Association, and CraftBeer.com) against each city’s 21+ population to find the highest brewery density.

    They then scored all 50 states using five brewery-related metrics†. The results:

    The Biggest Craft Beer Cities in the U.S.

    The five top craft beer cities, based on brewery density, are,in order:
    1. Portland, Maine
    2. Asheville, North Carolina
    3. Burlington, Vermont
    4. Bend, Oregon
    5. Wilmington, Delaware

    The States Where Craft Beer is Thriving

    Based on five industry factors (see the †footnote):
    1. Alaska
    2. Maine
    3. Vermont
    4. Wyoming
    5. Montana

    > You can read the whole study here.
     
     
    INDIE BEER VS. CRAFT BEER

    The craft beer industry has seen significant consolidation in recent years, with many formerly independent breweries now owned by larger corporations or investment groups.

    The terms indie beer and craft beer are often used interchangeably, but they have a major distinction: ownership.
     
     
    Craft Beer

    The Brewers Association defines craft beer as that produced by breweries that producing under 6 million barrels annually, with some exceptions (see third bullet). The brewery:

  • Must be majority independently owned, with less than 25% owned by a non-craft brewer.
  • Must use traditional brewing methods and ingredients with an emphasis on quality and flavor.
  • Can include larger regional breweries that have scaled up but maintain craft principles.
  •  
    Some seeming craft beers are large enough to be publicly traded. Besides Boston Beer Company (maker of Samuel Adams and parent company of Dogfish Head), other notable publicly traded craft brewing companies include:

  • Kona Brewing Company (part of Tilray Brands)
  • SweetWater Brewing Company (part of Tilray Brands)
  • Stone Brewing (majority stake owned by Sapporo)
  •  
    In addition, the Craft Brew Alliance (2008 to 2019) was a brewing company that comprised five privately-held beer and cider brands: Kona Brewing Company, Omission Beer, Redhook Ale Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewery, and Square Mile Cider. It was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2020, becoming the Brewers Collective.
     
     
    Indie Beer

    Indie brewers emphasize complete independence from corporate ownership. The term has gained in popularity as many craft breweries have been purchased by major brewing conglomerates and practice “craft washing,” marketing the craft brands as if they’re still small independent operations.

    Thus, indie brewers:

  • Are 100% independently owned.
  • May be smaller, more local, or more experimental operations.
  •  
    While all indie beers qualify as craft beers, not all craft beers qualify as indie beers.

    A toast for all beer:

    While “Cheers!” is the most common toast with drinks, “Prost,” in German, is specifically a toast for beer.
     
     
    FIND YOUR CLOSEST CRAFT BREWERY / BREWPUB

    Most Americans live within 10 miles of a craft brewery. Check the brewfinder to find what’s nearest to you.

     
    Anchor Steam Beer
    [13] Anchor Brewing Company, the San Francisco-based brewery founded in 1896 and known for its iconic Anchor Steam beer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2023 and ceased operations. However, there may be a rebirth: Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani, acquired Anchor Brewing in May 2024 with plans to revive the historic brewery.

    ________________
     
    *In colonial America, brewing was initially small-scale and local, at home or in a pub. While a commercial brewery was established in New Amsterdam in 1612, and others opened by the late 1700s: Yuengling, established in 1829, is still operating. By the mid-1800s, German immigrants established larger lager breweries (Anheuser-Busch was founded in 1852). By the late 1800s, national shipping networks, pasteurization, and refrigeration enabled the first truly large-scale commercial operations.

    The 1960s saw the tail end of major regional brewers, before massive consolidation took hold in the 1970s and 1980s. During this decade, there were still around 150 brewing companies operating in the US, down from thousands before Prohibition but far more than would exist by the late 1970s when the number dropped to about 40. The industry was already characterized by light lagers with minimal flavor differentiation, setting the stage for the later craft beer reaction.

    The major players in the 1960s, before consolidation began, were Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser, St. Louis), Carling (Canada), Coors (Golden, Colorado), Falstaff (St. Louis), Miller (Milwaukee), Pabst (Milwaukee), Rheingold (Brooklyn, New York), Schaefer (New York), and Schlitz (Milwaukee).

    State rankings are based on five industry-specified ranking factors: (1) the number of breweries per 100,000 drinking-age residents, (2) the gallons of craft beer produced annually per drinking-age resident, (3) the economic impact (per resident), (4) the % year-over-year in the number of brewery employees, and (5) the % year-over–change in hours worked by brewery employees.

    ††The largest craft brewers by production volume, as of the end of 2024, are (1) D.G. Yuengling & Son [Pottsville, PA], (2) Boston Beer Co. [Boston, MA], (3) Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. [Chico, CA], (4) Duvel Moortgat USA [Brewery Ommegang, Firestone Walker, Boulevard]. (5) CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective [Oskar Blues, Cigar City, etc.], (6) New Belgium Brewing Co. [now owned by Lion Little World Beverages, a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings], (7) Artisanal Brewing Ventures [Victory, Southern Tier, Sixpoint]. (8) Bell’s Brewery [also owned by Lion Little World Beverages], (9) Stone Brewing Co. [Escondido, CA – now majority owned by Sapporo], and Deschutes Brewery [Bend, OR].
     
     

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    Witbier: Would You Be Seen Drinking Nitwit White Ale?

    It may have won five gold medals in prestigious beer competitions, but do we want to get posted to social media drinking a glass emblazoned with a Nitwit decal (photo #1)?

    This writer is just not of the right generation to want to be associated with “nitwit.” A nitwit is a stupid, incompetent person: a dimwit, doofus, half-wit. No thanks!

    > Here’s how the ale got its name.

    We’ll tell you more about Nitwit ale in a second, but we also want you to check out:

    > The history of beer.

    > The history of witbier (below).

    > The difference between beer and ale (below).

    > The different types of beer: a photo glossary.

    > All the beer holidays (there are 38).

    > The second week in May is American Craft Beer Week!
     
     
    WHAT IS WITBIER

    Witbier is a traditional Belgian-style wheat beer that’s pale, cloudy (unfiltered and thus cloudy from suspended yeast and wheat proteins), pale, and subtly flavored with spices—typically coriander and Curaçao orange peel.

    The name means white beer in Dutch*.

    Light-bodied, it’s brewed for easy drinking in warmer weather—nothing too bitter, heavy, or sour. (Some contemporary brewers make it in the winter.)

    It’s also a session beer, brewed at lower alcohol levels (typically 4% to 5% A.B.V. or less) so that one can drink more of it in a single drinking session without becoming overly intoxicated or palate-fatigued.

    Session beers were initially made so workingmen could have a few at lunch and return to work unimpaired. In those days, the water supply could be unsafe, there were no soft drinks, and no iced drinks in warm weather, except for the wealthy (the history of ice for iced drinks).

    So if a light, refreshing, citrussy beer appeals, this beer’s for you. It can be an ale, a subcategory of beer, as well.

    > The difference between beer and ale is below.
     
     
    ABOUT NITWIT® WHITE ALE

    It may be a nitwit, but it won a gold medal in the Belgian-Style Wit category at the North American Beer Awards.
    BJ’s Restaurants

    The most awarded seasonal beer brewed by BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Nitwit® White Ale, returned last month.

    It’s a spring special, so if you’re a witbier lover, head to your nearest BJ’s.

    This 5-time gold medal-winning Belgian-style witbier is brewed with coriander and orange peel, delivering a refreshing citrus aroma, a smooth wheat character, and a crisp, dry finish.

    Light on the palate with a 4.7% A.B.V. and just 9 I.B.U.s (i.e., very low bitterness), you can enjoy it with just about any dish. (Or with no dish whatsoever—it’s a session beer.)

    Available nationwide at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Nit Wit® White Ale is on tap in a 16-ounce pour and cans (where legally available) while supplies last.

    It’s earned top honors from the Great American Beer Festival and North American Beer Awards, so maybe we do have to head out for a glass.
     
     
    BJ’s CRAFT BEERS

    BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, founded in 1978 in Santa Ana, California, became is own brewer in 1998. In 27 years, it’s created 11 award-winning signature beers and cider, which are served on tap.

    In addition to the core line, the restaurant releases some 10 rotating seasonal beers throughout the year, so craft beer fans can enjoy a refreshing change of pace.

    BJ’s operates six breweries in five different states. Their Boulder, Colorado brewery is the mother ship for ingenuity—their experimental brewhouse.

    More than 150 beers are created and tested each year, and only a select few are released nationally.

    Ever wonder which beers would pair best with your food?

    Each BJ’s restaurant is staffed with a BJ’s Brew Genius, a beer expert who leads the restaurant team in learning about the beers they serve.

    Like a sommelier, the Beer Genius can make recommendations for the best beer-and-food pairings, tell you about BJ’s brewing process, and even discuss other popular beers and brewers in the craft beer industry. Wow!
     
     
    THE HISTORY OF WITBIER

    Witbier originated in the Middle Ages in the region that is now Belgium, particularly around the town of Hoegaarden in the Flemish Brabant area.

    The village was founded in 981, and beer was brewed from the onset. But the witbier style appeared in the 1300s (if not earlier), when brewers began creating beers using wheat, herbs, and spices rather than barley and hops†.

    The use of these botanicals predated the widespread adoption of hops as a preservative in beer, and gave witbier a very distinctive flavor profile.

    Hoegaarden brewers weren’t the first to make beer with wheat and spices. Wheat has been used in brewing since ancient times by the Egyptians, Babylonians, and other early civilizations.

    In medieval Europe, brewing with wheat was common in several regions, particularly in what is now Germany, where weissbier (another wheat beer style, also meaning white beer) has an equally long history.

    Brewing with spices was standard practice throughout Europe before the widespread adoption of hops†. Roughly from medieval times until the 15th-16th centuries, gruit beers were the standard.

    Gruit was a mixture of herbs and spices used both for flavoring and as a preservative. Common gruit ingredients included bog myrtle, caraway, heather, ginger, juniper berries, and yarrow, among many others.

    What made the Hoegaarden witbier distinct from other Belgian beers of the time was their specific combination of ingredients, particularly the coriander and orange peel (plus optional botanicals added by the particular brewer), and the continuation of medieval brewing methods that while other region moved toward hopped beer styles.

    These early wheat beers were cloudy or “white” in appearance, giving them their name. The cloudiness comes from the high protein content of wheat and the yeast remaining in suspension in the unfiltered beer.
     
     
    The Near Extinction and Revival Of Witbier

    Tastes change, and by the mid-20th century, witbier had almost completely disappeared from production. The last traditional witbier brewer in Hoegaarden closed in 1957, and the style seemed headed for extinction.

    Enter a milkman named Pierre Celis (photo #12), a Hoegaarden resident who had worked at the last remaining witbier brewery as a young man. In 1965, he decided to revive the style.

    He established a small brewery in town and began brewing witbier according to traditional methods. His Hoegaarden Wit became immensely popular and was singlehandedly responsible for saving the style from vanishing. Here’s more about it.

    In the 1980s, Celis sold his brewery to a group that would eventually become Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

    Later, Celis moved to Austin, Texas where he founded Celis Brewery and introduced witbier to American audiences. Here’s more about him.

    In 2000 the brewery was sold to Miller Brewing Company and eventually shut down. Some 20 years later, in a strong craft beer market, his daughter Christine chose to preserve her father’s legacy.

    Several years after her father’s passing, in 2017, she opened a new Celis Brewery in Austin, Texas, using Pierre’s original recipes, yeast strains, and brewing techniques.
     
     
    The Growth Of Witbier

    The craft beer revolution of the late 20th and early 21st centuries has seen a significant resurgence in witbier’s popularity. Today, numerous breweries around the world produce versions of witbier. Many add their own twists to the traditional recipe.

    Witbier remains an important part of Belgian brewing culture and has influenced wheat beer styles globally. Its refreshing character and approachable flavor profile have made it particularly popular as a summer beverage.

    The story of witbier demonstrates how traditional beer styles can nearly disappear but be revived through the passion of dedicated individuals, ultimately finding new audiences around the world.

    Several American breweries have created successful interpretations of the Belgian witbier style. Some examples:

  • National Brands: Allagash White, brewed since 1995 (photo #2); Blue Moon Belgian White, created in 1995 (photo #5); and Samuel Adams Cold Snap, so named because it’s sold in January through March, created in 2014 (photo #4).
  • Regional Brands: Avery White Rascal (Colorado), Bell’s Winter White Ale (Michigan, a winter seasonal), Celis White, the heritage brand (Texas, photos #10 and #11), Lost Coast Great White (California), and Ommegang White Ale (New York).
  •  
     
    THE WITBIER GLASS

    The witbier glass (photo #6), tall and curvy, traces its roots to Belgium and Germany. The shape was specifically designed to enhance the drinking experience of wheat beers like Belgian witbier and German Hefeweizen.

    The shape is an adaptation of French and Belgian café tumblers, often made of thick glass and used for a variety of beverages. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the style found its way to Belgium’s witbier regions, Brabant and Wallonia.

    As mentioned above, witbier was almost extinct In the mid-20th century. With the revival by Pierre Celis of Hoegaarden in the 1960s, people sought a glass shape to better highlight the beer’s cloudy appearance and aromatic qualities.

    The witbier glass was made tall to showcase the hazy, pale color and effervescence, yet wide enough to support a thick head of foam. Its model was the German Weizenbier glass—even taller and more curvaceous.
     
     
    THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEER & ALE

    The terms beer and ale are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to different things. In brief:

  • Beer is the broad category that includes all fermented grain-based alcoholic beverages made primarily with malted barley, hops, yeast, and water.
  • Ale is a subcategory of beer, defined by the type of yeast and fermentation process used.
  •  
    Beer

    Beer is one of the oldest of alcoholic beverages, with archaeological evidence dating to about 3000 B.C.E. The ancient Egyptians were good home-brewers.

    Beer is made by brewing and fermenting cereals (the Egyptians used wheat; today malted barley is most commonly used), usually with the addition of hops as both a flavoring agent and stabilizer).

    For much of its history, beer was a home brew or was brewed for sale at monasteries. Not until late medieval times did it become a commercial product.

    Beer is now made by large-scale manufacturers in almost every industrialized country (though today’s beers are lower in alcohol content than their predecessors). The craft beer movement began in the U.S. in the early 1980s.

    The word beer comes from Middle English ber, from Old English beor, and probably from Latin bibere, to drink.

    Ale

    Ale is a beer made in a cask or bottle with top-fermenting yeast (the same way Champagne is carbonated), which gives the beer a fruitiness. Because of the living yeast, ales are sometimes cloudy and have a slightly yeasty character.

    Ales are easier and less expensive to brew than lager beers, which require precision in the brewing plus cold storage before they are ready to sell.

    They are produced in a wide variety of colors, palates and strengths: Bitter, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, Light Ale, Red Ale, etc.

    The state liquor authorities of some American states wrongly apply the term “ale” to indicate brews of more than 4% alcohol.

     

    A Glass Of Nitwit White Ale
    [1] BJ’s award-winning Nitwit White Ale.

    A Bottle Of Allagash White Beer
    [2] Among store brands, Allagash white beer is considered the gold standard for American witbier (photo © Allagash Brewing Company).

    A Bottle Of Ommegang White Ale
    [3] Ommegang White Ale is faithful to traditional Belgian witbier style (photo © Brewery Ommegang).

    A Bottle Of Samuel Adams Cold Snap
    [4] Samuel Adams Cold Snap is a strategic seasonal release designed to bridge the winter-to-spring transition. Unlike traditional witbiers that focus on coriander and orange peel, Cold Snap uses a blend of 10 spices, including anise, nutmeg, and plum, which gives it a warmer, spiced character suited to cooler weather (photo © Boston Beer Company).

    Bottle & Can Of Blue Moon Belgian White
    [5] Blue Moon Belgian White, a national brand owned by Molson Coors, helped popularize the style in the U.S. and remains a “gateway” witbier. It’s made in the original Belgian White plus Blue Moon Extra (higher alcohol), Blue Moon Light, and Blue Moon Non-Alcoholic Belgian White (photo © Blue Moon Brewing Company).

    Libbey Witbier Glass
    [6] The specially-shaped witbier glass was designed in the early 20th century, to accentuate the beer’s signature flavors and aromas (photo © Libbey Glass).

    Coriander Seeds
    [7] In beer brewing, whole coriander, the seeds of the cilantro herb, are used to impart a citrusy, slightly spicy flavor. Also shown, ground coriander seeds (photo © Silk Road Spices).

    Curacao Orange Peel
    [8] The peel of the Curaçao orange (a.k.a. laraha) is green before drying but is gray when dried (photos #8 and #9 © Senior & Co.).

    Curacao Orange Peel
    [9] The dried orange peel is what goes into the vat.

    A Bottle Of Celis Beer
    [10] A bottle of Celis white beer, brewed in Austin, Texas (photo © Craft Beer And Brewing).

    Celis Beer 6-Pack
    [11] A Celis six-pack rolling down the assembly line.

    Christine & Pierre Celis
    [12] Pierre Celis and daughter Christine: Thank you! (photo © Austin American-Statesman).

     
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    *Why is a Belgian beer named in Dutch? Belgium has three official languages based on its history: Dutch, spoken in the northern part of Belgium (Flanders) where Hoengaarten lies, and often called Flemish when spoken in Belgium; French and German are spoken in the southern part (Wallonia), where the beer is called by its french name, bière blanche.

    Hops became widespread in European brewing between the 13th and 16th centuries, though the transition occurred at different rates across regions. Before then, European brewers primarily used gruit, a mixture of herbs and spices, for flavoring and preservation.

    There were a number of reasons preventing faster adoption of hops. Of major significance was that local authorities and churches held monopolies on gruit production and sales, generating significant tax revenue. Understandibly, they actively resisted the use of hops.

    The growing of hops required specialized knowledge and infrastructure, and different brewing techniques than traditional herbs. Knowledge spread slowly in medieval Europe.

    Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the bitter flavor profile of hopped beer was initially unpopular in regions that were accustomed to sweeter, spiced profiles, which in turn were ingrained in the culture and family brewing traditions. Plus, the herbs used in gruit herbs were believed to have various health benefits that people were reluctant to abandon.

    But finally, hops became dominant due to their superior preservative properties, which allowed beer to be transported and stored much longer than gruit ales. This made them commercially advantageous both for local profits and as transportation and trading expanded in the late medieval and early modern periods.

     
     

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