Coenraad J. van Houten

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coenraad J. van Houten

Coenraad Johannes van Houten (born March 15, 1801 - † May 27, 1887 in Weesp ) was a Dutch pharmacist and chemist . He is considered to be the inventor of cocoa powder , which he and his father developed using a new process to remove oil from cocoa beans and improve their solubility in water.

Life and the Chocolate Factory

Van Houten chocolate (1899).

Coenraad's father Casparus van Houten had opened the Van Houten chocolate factory in Amsterdam in 1815 , which his son joined. There, the father invented a hydraulic press, by means of which the fat content of the cocoa mass could be reduced by half from 54% cocoa butter . Coenraad and Casparus patented this process in 1828 . The less fatty mass that remains after pressing is easier to dry into powder. By mixing it with sodium carbonate ( soda ), Coenraad achieved better solubility in water, while at the same time the pH value rose and the color and taste improved. In addition to the alkali carbonates soda and potash , other alkaline substances such as ammonium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide or magnesium oxide are currently used. The process was named Dutch Process or Dutching after its home country . In addition to being used as powdered drinks , cocoa powder is the most important intermediate product in drinking chocolate production .

Coenraad married Hermina van Houten, who had the same surname and was not related to him, in 1835. In 1844 the son Casparus van Houten Jr. was born. In 1850, Coenraad moved his chocolate factory, which until then had been located in a windmill in Leiden , to a factory in Weesp . From here he soon exported chocolate and chocolate powder to England, France and Germany. In 1865 Casparus Jr. joined the factory, which he took over in 1887 after the death of his father.

literature

  • Elizabeth Field: Van Houten, Coenraad Johannes . In: Darra Goldstein (ed.): Oxford companion to sugar and sweets . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6 , pp. 762-763.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Coenraad Johannes van Houten at theobroma-cacao.de, accessed on August 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ Entry on cocoa. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on April 20, 2011.
  3. ^ Chocolate Glossary - Chocolate Dictionary, Terms and Definitions
  4. ↑ 180 Years of History , accessed August 30, 2013.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Houten, Coenraad J. van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Houten, Conrad Johannes van
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch pharmacist and chemist, inventor of cocoa powder
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH Weesp
DATE OF DEATH May 27, 1887
Place of death Weesp