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| In a room full of students, faculty, and locals, Dr. Peggy Biser collected tickets from attendees for the drawing to win the 10-lb. bar of chocolate. |
Enthusiastically introduced by Dr. Don Weser, professor
emeritus of chemistry at Frostburg State University was chocolate connoisseur
Dr. Howard Peters. Weser provided the audience with an overview of Peterses
impressive educational and professional career. Peters obtained a doctorate in
organic chemistry from Stanford University, along with a J.D. from Santa Clara
University. As a chemist, he dealt mainly with high-explosives and holds quite
a few patents in the field. Working as a patent lawyer, he deals mainly with chemical
patents.
Dr. Howard Peterses love for chocolate began in his
childhood. He grew up just 80 miles from Hershey, Pennsylvania where chocolate
was a staple. With such a deep-rooted connection to chocolate, it is no
surprise that today he and his wife, Sally Peters, tour the country in
affiliation with the American Chemical Society informing the public of the
history of and chemistry behind chocolate. The presentation began with the
history of chocolate in ancient cultures and then continued with modern history
and the chemistry and biochemistry behind taste and production. Peters gives no
time for his audience to be anything less than entertained. He constantly
cracked jokes and kept his audience focused and interested. His blunt delivery
not only added to the comedy of his jokes but allowed them to come as a
shock—you just never knew when another one was coming.
The technical information was interesting but judging by
audience reactions, they were most interested in the samples of different
chocolates along with the trivia that was shared throughout the presentation. To
complement the topics discussed that pertained to the production of chocolate,
edible samples of chocolate in a variety of different forms were passed around.
These forms included milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet, and white chocolate chips,
along with whole cacao beans, fermented cacao beans, and cacao nibs. The trivia
that was most crowd-pleasing pertained to the movie “E.T,” Snickers, and how
chocolate is responsible for the microwave. The product placement of Reese’s
Pieces was originally offered to Mars candy for the M&M. Mars candy pulled
out of the deal at the last minute because at the time Stephen Spielberg was
unknown to the masses and the company did not believe it was worth their while.
Consequently, the offer was extended to Reese’s and ironically the sales of
Reese’s Pieces quadrupled after the release of the movie. As a fun fact, the Snickers
candy was named after the family horse. The microwave was discovered by Percy
Spencer by way of a chocolate bar that was in his pocket. The experiment he was
working on involved the use of magnetrons. While working, the chocolate bar in
his pocket melted. He came to the conclusion that magnetrons could be used to
cook food.
Dr. Weser indicated that he had been trying to get Peters to
come to Frostburg State University and speak to the students for some time now.
Peters definitely did not disappoint. Senior chemistry major Elizabeth Nelson
said, “I thought it was pretty interesting…It was better than expected. I
actually thought it was going to be really boring.” Peggy Biser shared her
thoughts after the presentation saying, “I think the turnout was very good,
perhaps one of the biggest turnouts we’ve ever had. I thought the made a real
effort to address a lot of people from a variety of backgrounds which is hard
to do.”
Dr. Howard Peters says that, “The best tasting chocolate is
shared chocolate,” and he exemplifies this by sharing his love for chocolate
with his wife. He stated that his purpose for visiting was to make the members
of the audience view chocolate in a different light. Peters undoubtedly
accomplished this task and did so through his willingness to share and
eagerness to inform.
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