(above) Cherished from the start, high quality artisanal chocolates are still a greatly appreciated
hostess or holiday gift today.
THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
It’s the holiday season and the perfect time to write about one of the most festive and popular treats in the world, chocolate.
The story of humans and chocolate began well over two thousand years ago in ‘Mesoamerica’, the regions now known as Mexico and Central America. It is hard for historians to pin down when chocolate was first introduced, but it is clear that it was cherished from the start. The Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means “food of the gods.” The cacao tree is native to the North American tropics.
Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean was magical and even held divine properties, suitable for sacred rituals of birth, marriage and death. Aztec sacrifice victims who were feeling melancholy were given a gourd of the chocolate cocktail. This was to cheer them up enough so they could join in the ritual dancing required to make them worthy to the gods before their death.
The cacao beans were so important in these great ancient empires that they were used as currency and could buy food and fowl.
For many centuries, chocolate was a bitter drink. The pulp of the cacao fruit which surrounds the beans was fermented into an alcoholic beverage of the time.
When the Spaniards arrived, the famous king of the Aztec’s, Montezuma, mistaking the conquistadors on horses for reincarnated gods of ancient lore, hosted a banquet for the explorer Hernando Cortes that included the chocolate drink. Unsuitable to the European taste they described it as “a bitter drink for pigs.” In spite of this Cortes did bring the chocolate drink back to Europe where after being mixed with honey or cane sugar, chocolate quickly became popular throughout Spain.
In Spain chocolate quickly found disapproval by the Catholic Church. In spite of church preaching chocolate as the “drink of the devil” it continued to gain popularity in Spain.
By the 17th century chocolate was a fashionable drink throughout Europe believed to have nutritional, medicinal and even aphrodisiac properties. It was rumored to be the favorite drink of Casanova. In spite of its popularity, chocolate was too expensive for the masses until the invention of the steam engine which made mass production possible in the late 1700’s. During the Revolutionary War in America, chocolate was highly valued and it was included in soldier’s rations and used in lieu of payment.
In 1828, a Dutch chemist discovered a way to make powered chocolate by removing half the coco butter from the liquor, pulverizing it and adding alkaline salts to cut the bitter taste. This became known as “Dutch cocoa” and soon after the creation of the first solid chocolate bar.
A man by the name of Joseph Fry is credited for the first modern day chocolate bar in 1847 when he discovered he could make a moldable chocolate bar by adding melted cacao butter back into Dutch Chocolate. By 1868 the Cadbury Company was selling boxes of chocolate in England. Milk chocolate was soon after introduced to the public by now well known Nestle Company.
Today chocolate is a 4-billion-dollar-a year industry in the United States and the average American eats at least a half pound of chocolate every month.
Although chocolate should be eaten in moderation, research shows “dark chocolate” is a rich source of antioxidants and minerals, and it generally contains less sugar than milk chocolate. Some research suggests that dark chocolate may help lower the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation and insulin resistance, and improve brain function. People who are interested in adding dark chocolate to their diet should keep in mind that it is high in fat and calories, so moderation is key. Many people believe dark chocolate is a mood enhancer and take it to fight the blues.
Happy Holidays,
James
Thanks to Smithsonian.com (Amanda Fiegl) for the historical information in this article.
