Chocolate Bits & Pieces
Not too long ago the very generous Jennifer (jenerous? Sorry, too much BB8) over at Offbeat Homes sent me a document about chocolate that she had created for a class. I gleaned a few tidbits and present you with bits and pieces of chocolate history:
- The botanical name for the cacao tree is “Theobroma Cacao” which means “the food of the Gods”. Cacao trees have also been discovered in Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific.
- Inside of the green pods are purple seeds surrounded by white cushiony pulp. Chocolate is made from the purple seeds, more commonly known as cacao beans. The white pulp can be eaten but doesn’t taste like chocolate — according to Market Manila they taste like a fruit called mangosteen.
- The Mayan Indians were the first known group of individuals to utilize the cacao bean: They traded the beans for jade, cloth, and feathers, and they ground up cacao beans with chili peppers to create a new beverage.
- The Aztecs also created a cold beverage they called Chocolatl by combining the cacoa powder with chile water, vanilla, flowers, and honey. They also used the beans as a form of money. In 1502, not knowing what or how valuable they were, Christopher Columbus dumped an entire canoe of beans overboard to lighten his load. He later found out how valuable they were after one was dropped by a sailor and then reverently picked up by members of the tribe. Columbus brought chests of them back to Spain but the Spanish king was not convinced of their worth.
- 20 years after Columbus, Hernando Cortez also brought back chests of beans to Europe and was able to popularize them among the people, who developed a taste for them. “The Dutch, English, and French started growing cacao in their own colonies. In England, teahouses became chocolate houses. At first, sugar cost so much that the drink was expensive. Than a Spanish chef substituted chili for sugar and then even ordinary people could afford a hot chocolate.”
Huge thanks again to Jennifer!
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POSTED IN: Chocolate, Chocolate History, Chocolate Trivia
6 opinions for Chocolate Bits & Pieces
Me
Aug 24, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Your email address, heather@b5media.com doesn’t work.
Heather
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Hi Me - I know, it’s being worked on. Did you have something you needed to send me?
Jennifer
Aug 25, 2007 at 1:27 am
Well, jenerous here… ha ha. That sounds like a joke this guy I know would say I love the guy but his jokes not too funny ;) Glad you could use some of it. It’s old school. Before I got web savvy.
You know what though. That pod (the first picture) is a little creepy. It looks a little like an alien pod creature don’t you think. Like it could sprout lil’ chocolate legs and scamper after you. Yup folks, that’s what I think about at 1am and after a pot of coffee. Sad.
Heather
Aug 26, 2007 at 8:25 am
It is, isn’t it? I don’t know if I could bring myself to try it. I’ll stick with what’s made from it :D
Chef Jules
Aug 27, 2007 at 5:57 am
LOL! I had the same thoughts when I saw that little pod guy. Interesting stuff, though, and to think the popularity has endured this long — I wonder why? :)
The chocolate pots the Aztecs then later the French popularized resulted in an entire industry unto itself. There are antique ones which sell for thousands are are really fanciful. I often see them in antique stores.
I think the true measure of “jenerosity” is how “jenerous” one is with chocolate. :)
Great stuff, as always, Heather!
Heather
Aug 27, 2007 at 10:45 am
Thanks, Jules! :D
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