Artisan Foods Delivered

Ancient citizens of Mesoamerica created chocolate, which was once a bitter drink. The drink had both social and more formal religious aspects to it, and dated back as far as the Classic Period, known as the time period between 250-900 AD. The large Mayan cities allowed easy access to the rainforests around them, where the beans were harvested. The English translation of the Mayan word for chocolate (”xocoatl”) means “bitter water”. A process of fermenting and roasting was necessary in order to create the paste for their beverage. Water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and various other spices were added to the paste in order to create the spicy chocolate beverage.

Once the Aztecs began taking over Mesoamerica, cocoa became very important, as it was used as a type of currency. Due to this integration, chocolate became an integrated part of the Aztec culture. For the Mayans, the drink was typically reserved as royalty, while for the Aztecs, it was reserved for rulers, priests, honored merchants, and decorated soldiers.

Fruit and beans were items that that the Aztecs believed would give you wisdom and power. With cocoa beans, many people believed that aphrodisiac qualities followed. In 1492, Columbus brought cocoa beans back from his trip, but they didn’t attract much attention at that point. That the beans could be used as a type of currency did catch on once the Europeans began to take additional trips to the Americas.

By this stage, the Aztecs had changed the old Maya name “xocoatl”, into their name “chocolatl”, translated “warm liquid”. In the year 1519, Hernando Cortex Begin stared up the first plantation of cocoa trees. Spicy chocolate found it’s way to Spain – for whom the plantation was created – and to Charles V, the king, in 1928. The new food gained a delicacy status that was further encouraged once Hernando began adding sugar to the beans through experimentation. Soon nutmeg, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon, become part of the variations.

The Spanish nobility alone were granted access to the indulgence of this drink, and neither its lower class citizens nor other countries were allowed access. The Spanish monks – who were cultivating the beans – eventually spared the secret with the rest of the world. Chocolate then became popular all over Europe, mostly as a delicacy, though in some spots the beans continued to have use as a currency.

Today, decades and centuries of growth later, chocolate continues to enjoy immense popularity. No longer is the item constricted only to religious or royal members of society, and that change has allowed it to grow into a much tastier combination. It is still debatable whether chocolate is an aphrodisiac – however recent research does prove that the dark cocoa does have beneficial qualities which are healthy for the body.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 11:32 am and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.