Having been a connoisseur of fine chocolate in almost any form since very early childhood, I find as much delight in a good chocolate bar now as I did as a kid. Recently, I was surprised to learn that chocolate is not widely consumed in the tropics, even though that is where most of the cocoa is produced.
The reason is simple, the tropics is to hot and we all know what happens to fine chocolate when it gets to warm, it has a tendency to melt. This problem first came to light during World War II, when our military forces were in tropical places such as Australia, Philippines and other locations in the south Pacific. Chocolate was a mainstay in the old K-Rations used by the military, but it most cases by the time the G.I. got to his desert, it was melted. The War Department commissioned a research project to develop a chocolate that had a lower melting point. Conseguently, the Chocolate M&M, that we enjoy today was developed, the hard candy coating kept the chocolate from melting and the slogan "Melt In Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand" was adopted.
It was only recently that two food scientists in Nigeria believe they have come close to achieving the holy grail among chocolate manufacturers, a heat resistant chocolate that actually tastes like chocolate. Most brands of chocolate melt at temperatures between 77 to about 91 degrees Fahenheit. The new concoction which has been developed in Nigeria stays firm up to 122 degrees, utilizing cornstarch as the secret ingredient.
During Operation Desert Storm, Hershey's Chocolate tested a high temperature candy capable of withstanding 140 degrees, however the reaction to it was mixed as it would not melt in your mouth, as you have to chew it and leads to a waxy or chewy characteristic.
I find all of this very interesting, because I vividly remember as a child that my mother, although one of the finest cooks that I ever ate after, would occasionally make fudge when her fixens were limited to Hershey Cocoa in a can, milk and sugar. This particular fudge would have surpassed the "melt test" of any study group, typically it would be a about a quarter inch thick and we would have to break out the old hatchet to cut it. Most likely, it was the first fudge brittle ever invented, but bless her, it was good and today, I would trade the biggest Cadbury Bar in the world, for just one more piece on mamma's fudge.