Bakers Chocolate
Old Fashioned Goodness
Kraft Foods owns the well-known brand called Baker’s Chocolate. But, they didn’t always own it. In 1927, it was purchased by General Foods. It wasn’t until 1989 that General Foods merged with Kraft to become Kraft Foods, Inc., the company now recognized as owning the brand.
Despite the name, it doesn’t necessarily have to be used during the baking process. You may not be aware of this, but Baker’s chocolate is actually the oldest chocolate with a trademark found in stores today.
The history of this sweet treat dates back to 1765, a time prior to the American Revolution, when a Massachusetts-based doctor by the name of Baker partnered with Irish chocolate maker, John Hannon. Through their partnership, they were able to form the first chocolate mill in the United States. In 1780, they began creating their chocolate that is known today as Baker’s chocolate.
By the time the 1920s rolled around, Baker’s chocolate could be found in various flavors including German’s Sweet and unsweetened. Today, the two flavors are still the most popular.
It was in 1852 that German’s Sweet was invented by Sam German, an Englishman who created it especially for Baker’s. It wasn’t until 1957 that the flavor became popular. At that time, a German chocolate cake recipe began making waves in households throughout the country. Because of this, sales of German chocolate skyrocketed up 73 percent.
Today, Baker’s chocolate can be found in a variety of outlets, as well as in a variety of flavors and forms. The most well-known are Baker’s Chocolate Baking Squares. The squares, which are available in 5 different flavors, are ideal for making chocolate chunk cookies, or melted for making cakes, fudge, and brownies. If you don’t want to bake with the chocolate, Baker’s offers dipping chocolate in a bowl that can easily be microwaved for use with cake pieces, cookies, pretzels, strawberries, or anything else you may desire.