You may wonder: how did chocolate help define American Jews? Through chocolate, we see that Jews were part of America since its earliest days.

Well, since 1701 at least, Jews in the Colonies made part of their living through chocolate. Several Sephardim, leaders of their New York and Newport Jewish and secular communities, participated in the chocolate business–retail, wholesale, trading, and manufacturing.

Some of this story may be found here. And, some of the story about the first Jewish woman in the chocolate business in the American colonies, may be found here. And, for children, here’s a historical fiction about early Jewish chocolate interests, here. And, all the stories that I researched about Jews dipping into chocolate in the colonial period, may be found in a full chapter in On the Chocolate Trail.