Mrs. Cavanaugh’s Chocolate Story

The Mrs. Cavanaugh’s chocolate story has two parts – the history of chocolate and how the Cavanaughs used family recipes to grow their own business. However, their story is an extension of one that goes back thousands of years to the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultures.

The Olmec, one of the earliest civilizations that lived in the southern part of Mexico, was the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate. They drank this bitter ancient chocolate drink during rituals and used it as medicine. Olmecs used it as a mood enhancer and it was reserved for upper-class rulers, priests, and warriors. The Maya considered chocolate to be the food of the gods, held the cacao tree to be sacred, and buried dignitaries with bowls of chocolate.

The word “chocolate” is traced back to the Aztec word “xocoatl.” The name for the cacao plant, Theobroma cacao, means “food of the gods.” But before chocolate became the sweet worldwide phenomenon we know today, Mesoamerican cultures made bitter drinks with the cacao bean.

By the 15th century, the Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency. A donkey, for example, might be bought for 50 cacao beans. They believed that chocolate was a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl, and drank it as a refreshing beverage, an aphrodisiac, and even to prepare for war.

Spanish Conquistadors discovered chocolate while seeking gold in the early 1500s and brought it to Europe. Montezuma shared some chocolate with Cortez when they met. It is reported that Montezuma kept a large store of chocolate and drank as many as 50 cups a day from a gold drinking cup.

Cortez brought chocolate back with him and it became popular among the wealthy classes in Spain. Although still used as a drink, it was mixed with sugar and honey to dilute the bitter taste and to make Spanish chocolates.

In a marriage between King Louis XIII of France and Anna, the daughter of Spanish King Phillip III in 1615, samples of chocolate were brought to the wedding feast. The taste for chocolate soon spread throughout Europe and countries set up their own plantations along the equator.

Cocoa beans have only been successfully grown in a tropical belt within 20 degrees on either side of the equator. 90 percent of the world’s cacao is grown on small family farms.

Chocolate in Europe was still being produced by hand in these early days, which was a slow and laborious process. In 1828, the invention of the chocolate press revolutionized chocolate making. This innovative device could squeeze cocoa butter from roasted cacao beans, leaving a fine cocoa powder behind. Cocoa powder is an unsweetened chocolate product that adds deep chocolate flavor to desserts and beverages.

The creation of the first modern chocolate bar is credited to Dutchman Joseph Fry, who in 1847 discovered that he could make a moldable chocolate paste by adding melted cacao butter back into Dutch cocoa.

At this point, it is important to understand the difference between cacao butter and cocoa butter. Cacao butter is obtained by cold-pressing raw cacao beans while cocoa butter is obtained from roasted cacao beans. Temperature is also the difference between cacao powder and cocoa powder.

In 1868 boxed chocolates were being sold by a little company called Cadbury. Milk chocolate came into being from the work of a Swiss chocolatier, Daniel Peters in 1876.

Today chocolate manufacturing is more than a 4-billion-dollar industry in the United States, and the average American eats at least half a pound of chocolate in its various forms per month. It is obvious that the world’s love of chocolate will keep the industry alive and well.

The history of chocolate brings us to the beginning of the story of Mrs. Cavanaugh’s chocolate. George lived on a ranch in South Dakota and Marie lived in Wayne County, Utah. It took the opportunity of higher education offered by Brigham Young University to bring these two people together. They met, married, and moved to George Cavanaugh’s home on the ranch in Gettysburg, South Dakota.

In 1964 there was a need to raise funds for their church. Marie experimented with a family recipe for a pecan roll she thought she could sell. The results were amazing and the fundraiser was a success.

When the fundraiser ended, the desire people had for Mrs. Cavanaugh’s pecan rolls didn’t. While her success started with the pecan roll, she soon branched out into a variety of hand-dipped chocolates.

Her success fueled her dream of opening a candy store. With a one-pound box of assorted chocolates, she and George went to the bank to apply for a loan. During the loan application, the banker was sampling the chocolates. He was so impressed with her product that not only did he give them a $15,000 loan to start the business – he gave them an order for 200 boxes of chocolates with the same assortment as the box they brought to the bank to use for collateral. They left the bank with a loan and an empty box.

Their first store was in their little town of Gettysburg, but outlying business and Marie’s desire to return to Utah brought them to Bountiful in 1972 where they opened a store on Orchard Drive.

They now have a chocolate factory in North Salt Lake. Anyone who has taken Interstate 215 to the airport from where it begins on the north end will have seen the big Mrs. Cavanaugh’s Chocolate Factory sign on the north near the Redwood Road exit. It is still a family-owned and operated business now in its third generation of Cavanaugh’s.

Walking into the store in front of the chocolate factory is like leaving the outside world and all its cares and once again being a kid in a candy store. There are chocolate delights displayed in a tantalizing array and in a wide variety. Each kind of treat demands a minute of attention as you move from one to the next making the decisions that much more difficult to make. Don’t be surprised if a sample is offered for you to try.

In the store, there is a large window to the side of the display case. You can watch the nut cups being made. Two chocolatiers sit opposite each other at a thick marble table with a vat of chocolate heated to 110 degrees in a square hole in the middle. A portion of the chocolate is scooped out onto the marble slab. The person works with it as the marble cools the chocolate to 84 degrees in a process called tempering.

I was fascinated as I watched the people work the chocolate. They would smooth it around on the marble, take a handful, raise it up, and let fall from their closed fist. When it falls as a ribbon it is getting close to the right temperature. The ribbons of chocolate falling to the table were the best part of this experience. After checking the chocolate with a temperature gun, nuts were added. I watched as the right amount of chocolate and nuts were scooped up and dropped into a little paper cup. This takes practice because the chocolate nut cups were amazingly consistent.

I pulled myself away from this mesmerizing experience with some difficulty to meet Mike Wall. Mike married into the Cavanaugh family by marrying Colene, Marie’s daughter. Colene was born the year the first store was opened in Gettysburg.

Mike is a wealth of information on all things chocolate. Here are some things I learned:

• Chocolate is purchased in ten-pound blocks and only from select vendors for the purpose of having the finest ingredients
• Temperature is an important aspect of making chocolate. It is slowly heated to a liquid state at 110 degrees and then tempered to 84 degrees to form the chocolates
• Open copper kettles are used to heat the chocolate because the copper heats very evenly with no hot spots
• If the chocolate is too cold when the candy is formed, it will have a dull finish. Too hot and it will have a white chalky look
• The enrobers are the only mechanical part of making Mrs. Cavanagh’s chocolates. The nougats, creams, caramels, and other treats are conveyed through an enrober that has a ribbon of tempered chocolate falling to coat each individual piece.
• The marking of each piece and packaging is done by hand
• Small batches are a part of quality control. Each type of treat offered has a different batch size to insure consistent quality
• Each kind of chocolate has a separate enrober – milk, dark, white, and sugar-free.
• The big days for chocolates are Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day. I haven’t figured out why Father’s Day isn’t on the list.

Mike’s grandfather was a chocolatier and had graduate degrees in chocolate and ice cream. He cooked at the Bluebird Creamery and because of his expertise – ice cream was added to the menu in all of Mrs. Cavanaugh’s stores in 2013. This offering quickly became a hit with customers. I think their variety of flavors is amazing, however, I personally can’t see a reason for the bubble gum flavor.

Their factory in North Salt Lake offers tours to the public. Call (801) 677-8888 and schedule your own chocolate experience. There is a fee of $5, which includes a $4 coupon for use in the store.

Mrs. Cavanaugh’s chocolates and ice cream can also be found in Bountiful, Layton, North Ogden, Orem, and Spokane, Washington. Try some of Mrs. Cavanaugh’s chocolate. It just might make you a nicer person.