CHOCOLATE HISTORY

Lyceum № 15B grade

Denishchik Milana

Where did it come from?

The tasty secret of the cacao (kah kow / meaning God Food) tree was discovered 2000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of America. The pods of this tree contain seeds that can become chocolate. The story of how chocolate grew from a local Mesoamerican drink into a global sweet unites many cultures and continents.

The first people known to have made chocolate were ancient cultures of Mexico and Central

America.

These people, including the Maya and Aztec, mixed ground cacao seeds with hot water, chili pepper, cornmeal, flowers and other ingredients to make a spicy drink.

Maya indian man

Aztec man

Sacred chocolate drink• Many people in Maya society could rarely drink

chocolate, though it was a common drink for kings.

• But in Aztec society rulers, priests, soldiers, and honored sellers could have this sacred drink.

The Mayan Cacao God Ek Chuah who protected their cacao tree fields.

The Maya also used chocolate in religious rituals; it sometimes took the place of blood (заменял кровь). Chocolate was used in marriage ceremonies, where it was exchanged by the bride and groom and in baptisms. They even had a cacao god.

Used as currency

The cacao beans were used as currency. 10 beans would buy you a rabbit. 100 beans would buy you a slave (раб). The beans were still used as currency in parts of Latin America until the 19th century!

About Cacao Trees

• The seed pods of the cacao tree do not grow on branches but directly on the trunk.

• Each pod is about the size of a pineapple and holds thirty to fifty seeds – enough to make about seven milk chocolate or two dark chocolate bars.

• Cacao seeds are not sweet. They contain the chemicals caffeine and theobromine, which give them a bitter taste.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus…

• It is believed that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover the existence of a cacao tree. It was in 1502.

• In 1528 a Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez presented the Spanish King, Charles V cacao beans from the New World and the necessary toоls (орудия) for its preparation.

Cacao seeds grinder used by the Mayans and Aztecs

The cacao seeds grinder used later in Spain

The Spaniards (Spanish people) mixed the beans with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg (мускатный орех),allspice (гвоздика) and cinnamon (корица). The chocolate bitter drink became sweet. Chocolate soon made its way to the rest of Europe. It became very popular with rich people.

The first chocolate house

In 1657, the first chocolate house was opened in London. You could go to the chocolate house, have a drink, play some cards, talk politics, that sort of thing.

The first chocolate bar was born

• In the early 1800s Coenraad Van Houten, a Dutchman, created the cacao press.

• In the 1850s, Englishman Joseph Fry added more cacao butter, rather than hot water, to cacao powder and sugar. The world's first solid (твёрдый) chocolate was born.

• In 1875, Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle added condensed milk (сгущённое молоко) to solid chocolate, creating a milk chocolate bar.

Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere

Сhocolate became very popular. Chocolate candy bars, brownies (пирожные), truffles, doughnuts (пончики), chocolate milk - if it has chocolate in it, we eat it. Hot, cold, solid, liquid, over ice cream...even over meat?! Yes, a Mexican sauce called "mole" uses unsweetened chocolate in a sauce that is served over meat. It's a versatile flavour (универсальный вкус), chocolate!

There are different kinds of chocolate: white and dark chocolate, salty chocolate.

The Swiss, Belgians, French, Italians, Germans are the best Chocolate manufacturers.

Chocolate is used in cosmetics for masks or massage and pleasure. A lot of people eat it for joy (emotional euphoria). It raises blood pressure and gives food for your brain.

Do you know that...

• you need 900 cacao beans to make 1 kilo chocolate

• according to Guinness Book of records the largest bar of chocolate weighs 2400 kilos. It was made in Italy in March, 2000

Making chocolate at home

Do you want to make your own chocolate?

One table-spoon full of cacao powder, 2 teaspoons of sugar, a bit vanilla, salt, some nuts; blend the ingredients with 100 g butter and a teaspoon of cognac; put it into a fridge for 24 hours.