The tasty secret of the cacao (kah KOW) tree was discovered 2,000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of the Americas. The pods of this tree contain seeds that can be processed into chocolate. The story of how chocolate grew from a local Mesoamerican beverage into a global sweet encompasses many cultures and continents.
The first people known to have made chocolate were the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America. These people, including the Maya and Aztec, mixed ground cacao seeds with various seasonings to make a spicy, frothy drink.
Later, the Spanish conquistadors brought the seeds back home to Spain, where new recipes were created. Eventually, and the drink’s popularity spread throughout Europe. Since then, new technologies and innovations have changed the texture and taste of chocolate, but it still remains one of the world’s favorite flavors.
Chocolate’s History at a Glance:
Chocolate’s Roots in Ancient Mesoamerica
We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage.
For these people, chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food—it also played an important role in their religious and social lives.
The ancient Maya grew cacao and made it into a beverage.
The first people clearly known to have discovered the secret of cacao were the Classic Period Maya (250-900 C.E. [A.D.]). The Maya and their ancestors in Mesoamerica took the tree from the rainforest and grew it in their own backyards, where they harvested, fermented, roasted, and ground the seeds into a paste.
When mixed with water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients, this paste made a frothy, spicy chocolate drink.
The Aztecs adopted cacao.
By 1400, the Aztec empire dominated a sizeable segment of Mesoamerica. The Aztecs traded with Maya and other peoples for cacao and often required that citizens and conquered peoples pay their tribute in cacao seeds—a form of Aztec money.
Like the earlier Maya, the Aztecs also consumed their bitter chocolate drink seasoned with spices—sugar was an agricultural product unavailable to the ancient Mesoamericans.
Drinking chocolate was an important part of Maya and Aztec life.
Many people in Classic Period Maya society could drink chocolate at least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored beverage for royalty. But in Aztec society, primarily rulers, priests, decorated soldiers, and honored merchants could partake of this sacred brew.
Chocolate also played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies.
A Mesoamerican Luxury:
Before chocolate was a sweet candy, it was a spicy drink. Some of the earliest known chocolate drinkers were the ancient Maya and Aztecs of Mesoamerica.
They ground cacao seeds into a paste that, when mixed with water, made a frothy, rather bitter beverage. Drinking chocolate was an important part of life for the Classic Period Maya and the Aztecs.
Take a more detailed look below at the different ways the Maya and Aztec people obtained, made, and used cacao.
A European Sweet:
Until the 1500s, no one in Europe knew anything at all about the delicious drink that would later become a huge hit worldwide. Spain’s search for a route to riches led its explorers to the Americas and introduced them to chocolate’s delicious flavor.
Eventually, the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs made it possible to import chocolate back home, where it quickly became a court favorite. And within 100 years, the love of chocolate spread throughout the rest of Europe.
Take a more detailed look below at the different ways Spain and the rest of Europe obtained, made, and used cacao.
Growing chocolate:
Chocolate-making begins in the field, not the factory. Cacao trees supply the seeds that will be processed into the delicious sweet loved ’round the world.
The cacao tree grows in the shade of tropical rainforests near the equator. Its particular adaptations and interdependence with other rainforest dwellers have been a subject of study for many years.
Now, as rainforests dwindle and the demand for chocolate increases, scientists and researchers are looking into new ways to better manage cacao farms and preserve the environment.
Manufacturing Chocolate from Seed to Sweet:
Did you know that your favorite candy bar comes from a plant? It’s true—chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao (kah KOW) tree. Chocolate-making companies purchase these seeds and then crush, mix, roll, and mold them in machines to make candy bars.
Eating and Using Chocolate:
Chocolate as a Food
We tend to think of chocolate as a rich, creamy food—a favorite ingredient in many dishes and a luscious indulgence in its own right.
But until recently in fact, (for 90% of its history), people drank chocolate; they didn’t eat it.
Peoples of Mesoamerica liked their chocolate drink frothy and spicy.
The Classic Period Maya (250-900 C.E. [A.D.]) and Aztecs (1250-1521) were early connoisseurs of chocolate’s flavorful properties. They made chocolate by mixing crushed cacao seeds with water. The result was a tepid, foamy, and quite bitter beverage.
The Aztec people spiced their drink with chile peppers, thickened it with cornmeal, or flavored it with honey, vanilla, or flower petals. Sugar wasn’t yet available as a sweetener in the Americas.
Europeans liked their chocolate drink sweet and hot.
When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, they found the native chocolate drink too bitter for their tastes. To sweeten and flavor it, the Spanish added sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and other spices.
The Spanish managed to keep their delicious drink a secret from others for almost 100 years. But eventually versions of the brew spread like wildfire throughout Europe, becoming the popular drink of the continent’s rich and elite.
Today, people worldwide love sweetened chocolate as a drink and as a food.
During the mid-1800s, new machines made it possible to inexpensively mass-produce solid chocolate candy. No longer had a rich person’s treat, chocolate become affordable to a much wider audience.
Today, chefs in many countries have incorporated chocolate into specialty dishes, desserts, and drinks so that this sweet can now be found in some form on most menus around the world.
Quick Health Facts:-
Chocolate and its reported therapeutic properties have made recent media headlines. In fact, several different medical studies performed by reputable universities, organizations, and institutions cite the possible benefits of eating chocolate.
The following is meant to be a fun, quick-reference guide to chocolate and your health. It gives a brief overview of research results as related by a variety of resources and publications.
However, scientists are constantly uncovering new information about the more than 300 chemicals contained in chocolate. . . so keep your eyes on the news for the latest updates and changes in chocolate health.
Conclusion:-
That was everything about chocolate and its history. I hope that you enjoyed reading it and knowing more about chocolate.
Reverence: –
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Chocolate/.htm
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