Awesome & Weird Chocolate, Part 2

"QUANTUM SHOT" #836 Link - article by Avi Abrams If it's sweetness you crave, then sweetness you will have... and much, much more The story of chocolate starts from the deep antiquity: Mayan and Aztec civilization used chocolate as a highly desirable offering to the gods, and had a special character (looking like a cute fish) to write the word "Kakaw" - cocoa: (image via) Interestingly, the fish characters make sense, as the word "chocolatl" consists of "chokol" meaning "hot", and the Nahuatl "atl" meaning "water". By the way, this is what the cocoa fruit (from which chocolate is made) looks like: (image via) Interplanetary Travel: just by using your taste buds: These are "Out of This World" Chocolates! Available from White Rabbit company from Japan (made by chocolatier L’éclat of the Righa Royal Hotel Japan), this heavenly set will appeal to any red-blooded geek who likes chocolate and LOTS of space to go with it: (images credit: L’éclat, via) Remember the (sort-of) hilarious song by R.E.M. "It's the End of the World (and I Like It)"? Well, with this set of chocolates you can swallow the Earth, the Moon, etc. etc. and entirely like this process. They also make some "sugary asteroids"... (image via) The Chocolate Express (inside a concrete station) A part of the Carl Warner's "Foodscapes", this is one sweet train to catch! See the rest of his incredible foodscapes here: (image credit: Carl Warner, via) Another chocolate train was created by Julia Ferguson as a one-off project, and it looks great! - (image credit: Julia Ferguson, J. J. Miller) However, the LONGEST chocolate train was revealed at Brussels Chocolate Week, made by Maltese chocolate artist Andrew Farrugia - this sculpture is 112-feet (34.05 meters) long and weighs over 2,755 pounds (1250 kilos) - more info: (images via) "Three days before the event, Farrugia transported the chocolate train by truck in 25 wooden boxes from Malta to Belgium. The train incurred considerable damage during the move and several of the train’s walls had completely collapsed. The chocolate artist was able to fix all the damages before presenting the train to the public." Many other locations offer chocolate sculptures on display, for example this one: (original unknown) Salon du Chocolat Here are some of the designs seen at the 15th World Chocolate Fair in Paris: (image via) Yet another fashion show impresses with these (fake?) chocolate dresses: (images credit: Alexandra Beier/Getty Images, via) Here are some strange chocolate head accessories, seen at the 2011 World Chocolate Wonderland in Shanghai: (images credit: Reuters, via) From the classic (and pretty tame) chocolate art - to some wild and wondrous examples: Chocolate art indeed can be sensuous and evocative: (images via) On the right is part of the chocolate shoe "Forever Art" collection by Gerhard Petzl (see more here): (top right image via) Here is a Japanese manga strip slice, already half-eaten... and a tribal mask, hollow inside: (images via 1, 2) Careful, there is a chocolate nail inside! (one of the projects made during a workshop with Florence Doléac, Olivier Sidet and Ronan Bouroullec): (image via) Chocolate nails will go great with the chocolate tool box (left image below). On the right is the Chocolate Scrabble: (image via) This is the whole room full of edible Godiva chocolate creations, by Larry Abel and Raymond McCallister - more info: (image via) These chocolate pencils (or rather crayons) is the work of artist Oki Sato and patissier Tsujiguchi Hironobu: it even comes with a "pencil sharpener" to grate the chocolate unto your dessert! - more info: (image via) Delicious Chocolate... Couch?? Yes! Do not sit on it - scoop it up: (image via) By now, you have probably seen chocolate keyboard in one form, or another. This is definitely a classic: (image via) And how about this "Choco-clock" which lets you regulate your chocolate consumption: it gives out a treat only once an hour. You will have to be patient (or you will have to break the clock open): (image via) Chocolate Art Gone Nuts Chocolate Russian Roulette can be seen on the left (we do not need to add anything, but rather just gaze at it in wonderment and trying to imagine buying it for daily entertainment). On the right are the Sugar Skulls! You can make them yourself, here is the full process. This sort of candy is called Mexican Skull Candy and is made specifically for the Day of the Dead Festival. (images via) "Chocolate Skulls Gone Nuts"? "Edible Brain Candy"? Any of these titles will do. You can buy these delightful crazy desserts here: (image via) Make chocolate, not war! - And if you do get hurt eating such aggressive chocolates, here is a chocolate Band Aid to soothe your wounds: (image credit: Motosuki Fukuma) Daniel Craig Lollipop. 'Nough said. (image via) Even more repulsive: human organs and such... sculpted from chocolate by Stephen J. Shanabrook: see a lot more here: (images via) Edible Insects for the Adventurous The Hotlix company is responsible for this gourmet abomination: real insects dipped in chocolate.... They've been making these beasties for twenty years, putting some inside tasty chocolate and some inside lollipop candy: (images via) "It is said, "Everything tastes better with chocolate." The initial sensory sensation of a flavorful insect covered with chocolate results in a mouthwatering experience you won’t soon forget." "Our insect candy below covers a wide range, from chocolate insects to worms in lollipops. Some of our edible insects are novelties, like the Edible Ant Farm and Scorpion Lollipops, but others are true delicacies in some countries, like chocolate dipped grasshoppers and BBQ worm snacks." Yet another breed of repulsive chocolate bugs is actually not that authentic - they do not have real bugs inside, just yummy chocolate. Namco’s Chocolate Bugs can still creep you out, just by looks alone - (image via) "I do not like Valentine's Day, and I'm not afraid to say it" These Japanese chocolate plates, done in the style of manga characters, proclaim some blasphemous things, like: "I hate Valentine's!" "Valentine's has been canceled this year" More manga slices here, and the resulting cake: (images credit: ) Article by Avi Abrams, Dark Roasted Blend. CONTINUE TO "CHOCOLATE & CANDY ART"! -> READ THE REST OF OUR AMAZING "FOOD" CATEGORY ->