History Of Chocolates
When we hear a word chocolate the first thing that comes in our mind is sweet candy bars, a box of bonbons and luscious truffles, but today's chocolates are a bit like past chocolates.
"I often call chocolate the best-known food that nobody knows anything about," said Alexandra Leaf-chocolate educator, New York.
How Chocolates are founded?
Chocolate first existed in a Mesoamerica in a form quite different from what we know today.
By 1900 BCE, peoples of that zone had learned to prepare the beans of the native cacao tree/cacao plants.
The initial studies tell us the cacao seeds were ground and mixed with cornmeal and chili peppers to create a drink. It is not only a comfortable cup of hot cocoa but also has a bitter, healthy, and vigorous purpose that is packed with foam.
Mesoamericans consider that cacao was a food of the gods that was gifted to humans by a feathered serpent god, known as Maya Kukulkan and Aztecs Quetzalcoatl.
How did the Aztecs use chocolates?
Aztec took chocolate appreciation to another level. They used to be entertained by a caffeinated kick of cold, spicy, or hot chocolate drinks in a decorative container.
Aztecs used cacao beans as currency, drink chocolate at royal festivals, for rewarding soldiers for success in the war, and used it in rituals. In Aztec culture, cacao beans were considered more valuable than gold.
The mighty Aztec ruler Montezuma II was the most notorious Aztec chocolate lover, as he used to drink a large volume of chocolate daily for energy. It is also said that he reserved some cocoa beans for his military.
The first transatlantic chocolate encounter took place in 1519 when Hernan Cortes, who visited Moktzuma's court at Tenochtitlan, reported as Cortez Lieutenant, brought 50 jugs to the king and poured them into the golden cup.
When the colonists returned with a strange new pulse ship, the missionary's salute account of the original customers gave it as an aphrodisiac.
Chocolate Taste
Initially, its bitter taste made it akin to an upset stomach, but chocolate sweetened with honey, sugar, or vanilla quickly became a popular delicacy in the Spanish court. And soon, no culinary house was complete without dedicated chocolate ware. Fashionable drinks are time-consuming and difficult to mass-produce.
Van Houston's invention
These include the use of plantation and import slave labor in the Caribbean and on the islands off the coast of Africa.
With the starting of Cocoa Press by Conrad Van Houston of Amsterdam, the world of chocolate changed forever in 1828.
Van Houston's invention can apart cocoa's natural fat or cocoa butter. This left a cocoa powder that could be mixed into a potable solution or reassembled with cocoa butter to make the solid chocolate we know today. After some period, a Swiss chocolatier named Daniel Peter added powdered milk to the solid chocolates, so milk chocolate was invented.
Chocolates of 20th century
By the 20th century, chocolate was a no more elite luxury, but it had become a treat for people.
To cope with the huge demand, further cultivation of cocoa is necessary, which can only develop near the equator.
Now, instead of sending African slaves to South America's cocoa plantations, cocoa production itself migrated to West Africa with Côte d'Ivoire providing 30% of the cocoa beans for the world chocolate market.
Yet with the development of the industry, many plantations in West Africa are suffering from horrific human rights violations, which Western companies use to enslave and child labor, affecting more than 20 million children, a complex problem that continues, despite attempts by large chocolate companies to partner with African countries to decrease child labor practices.
How are Today's Chocolates?
Today, chocolate had established itself in the rituals of our present culture due to its colonial relationship with native cultures.
Most modern chocolates are very refined and mass-produced, though some chocolate creators still make their chocolate by hand and keep the ingredients as clean as feasible.
Chocolate is available to drink but is more often enjoyed in food confections or sweets and baked goods.
Dark chocolate products (Contains more cocoa than usual milk chocolates or white chocolates) have been considered as a heart-healthy, antioxidant-rich treat, While the normal sweet milk chocolate bars aren't considered healthy.
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