Chocolate Button Fever

By: Boya Hu

Chocolate is a popular treat eaten all around the world. According to BBC, King Edward III hired people to make a giant chocolate button, which went on display and is edible. This is part of a celebration to tell everyone that it has been 650 years since he rewarded the city of Bristol with its royal order.

The immense, colossal sculpture has a diameter of 1 meter, or 3.2 feet. The massive button is part of the Edible Histories project and the button weighs 18 kg or about 2.8 stone! That is about the weight of a medium-sized dog! Although it is big, it is one of the smallest items in the Glenside Hospital Museum, where the button is displayed at.

According to BBC, the chocolate button is one of five items on display, which are sculpted in the Fairtrade chocolate that have been choosing to stand for the city’s trading history. The other sculptures are a ship’s wheel and a 2-meter replica of Concorde, the high-speed plane. The chocolate Concorde will be displayed at the wonderful Aerospace Museum in Filton. Two more amazing chocolate objects will be displayed later in the year.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, chocolate buttons are made of milk, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, vegetable fats, emulsifier, and flavorings. The first giant chocolate button was made in 1999. Over 250,000 Chocolate buttons are made in each minute! That would mean 15,000,000 per hour and 400,000,000 every day!

It is a real piece of artwork and should be handled very carefully. It may be edible, but museum-goers should not try to eat it!