Show Chocolate Now Goes To War For Taste and Tonic Washington DC D.C. Chocolate is once again at the battlefront as asa asa asa a diet charger super for the American soldier fighting in win win- ter-bound ter North Korea The popular energy food is considered considered considered con con- so so important to the GI that it is now included in m every operational ration issued by the I Department of Defense Food Packet Survival Arctic for example provides no less than four chocolate bars two bars two with almonds al al- al- al monds per monds-per per man per day Soldiers Soldiers Soldiers Sol Sol- diers going to the front lines for eight to ten hours are issued two ounce one-ounce bars in their Food Packet Individual Assault Ration C the C-the the basic canned operational ration ration offers offers both chocolate and cocoa disks Three-fourths Three of the candy component component component com com- in the in 5 Ration d de designed designed de- de signed for group use contains chocolate while the Ration Supplement Supplement Supplement Sup Sup- Sundries Pack for m men e n includes two-ounce two chocolate chocola te and 48 two-ounce two choco choco- late-covered late bars The fighting man in Korea is not only getting a dose of energy with his chocolate but something tasty as well This was not entirely entire entire- ly y true during World War II de de- de- de spite the fact that millions of chocolate bars were consumed across the globe in the form of Emergency Ration D. D This ration containing four ounces of chocolate chocolate chocolate choco choco- late and some calories was calories was designed especially to taste faste no better than an unsalted baked potato in order to keep the GI from eating it as candy Today the army's new chocolate policy is to give the men the nourishing food in the form of sweets they have eaten and enjoyed enjoyed enjoyed en en- joyed since they were kids In encouraging encouraging encouraging en en- the use of chocolate the military may well be remembering remembering remembering bering the words of the Spanish explorer Cortez who wrote in the century A CIA single cup of this rich drink gives a man sufficient strength to march all day Although Cortez was quick to recognize the energy value of chocolate chocolate-a a product of the native American cacao tree tree tree-he he did not appreciate its taste as prepared by the Aztec Indians When he introduced introduced introduced in in- the food into Spain in 1528 it was used primarily as a medicine and was far too expensive expensive expensive sive for anyone except the rich An unknown genius added sugar to give chocolate its first wide taste appeal but it was not until the century that the price fell low enough to make it a popular popular popular lar beverage with all classes In Inthe Inthe Inthe the United States alone raw cacao imports leaped from pounds in 1780 to more than million pounds by 1946 |