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There was never an ingredient with the power to touch the emotions of the world as chocolate does. Have you ever wondered about the history of that prized and coveted quality ingredient? How were the qualities we so enjoy today discovered? Christopher Columbus not only discovered America he was also the first to import cocoa, cinnamon, aniseed and cornmeal. He returned with some beans to the Spanish Court who dismissed them, as Columbus originally had, as a strange tribal custom. The Spanish continued to explore the Americas and it was some 20 years later that an improved recipe for the drink was imported to Spain but this time it was greeted differently. Sugar and vanilla had now been added and the Spaniards so loved this concoction they decided to keep the new found delicacy a secret. Cortes was the next to have a role in the history of chocolate. Whilst seeking gold and riches in Mexico, he enjoyed the delights of "xocolati" a cold savoury drink with cocoa beans, chillies, cinnamon and cloves with the addition of cornmeal to act as a type of emulsifier binding the fat from the cocoa beans and the water. It certainly sounds a far cry from the sumptuous hot chocolate drinks enjoyed around the world today. Cortes also witnessed the use of cocoa beans as currency, even a means of paying taxes, such was its value at the time. He decided that perhaps this was the way to become rich and so began to develop cocoa plantations around the Caribbean. Before long plantations had spread throughout the world, bringing with them their share of trials and tribulations but that is another story. Benzoni was the first to give accounts of the Indian preparation of cocoa. He watched them drying and roasting beans over a fire then grinding them, as they did flour for bread, between stones. This paste was then mixed with water and cornmeal. The cornmeal was often added in large quantities to increase profit margins – an age-old custom still not lost to the world! In the 16th century, Thomas Gage detailed the formation of primitive blocks of chocolate which was used in the making of drinks. The recipe in common usage throughout Europe in the 17th century was cocoa beans, sugar, cinnamon, red pepper, cloves, logwood and aniseed. The first mention of chocolate bars was also around this time. |
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