A History of Chocolate
January 10th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
I find the best way to consider the history of chocolate is to actually eat some while I’m reading! We can thank the Mayan Indians for discovering and planting the first cocoa plants in 1500 BC, when the Olmec Indians began to grow them. They used to dry out the beans and then grind it up and use as the base of a watery drink just like we do with tea or coffee today. This was such a delicacy that only the social elite were able to afford such luxury by the time of the Mayans. When Columbus first began to explore the new world he was introduced to the coco bean as cargo a Mayan trader was carrying.
Europeans Invent the First Chocolate Drink
Cacao beans were not very popular after Columbus brought back the first supplies. In fact it took some laterally minded monks to try the drink as a hot beverage. This immediately became popular throughout Spain. Soon Chocolate Houses opened throughout Europe. In the 1700’s the first steam mechanized coco grinders which lead to a price drop in coco production that made chocolate available for all.
At Last – Solid Eating Chocolate
As the hot drink spread as a favorite drink, people became more adventurous and experimented with using the cacao beans differently. Soon the powder was being used in cakes and desserts. It became obvious that the combination with sugar was a vital developmental step. Around the time of the American Revolutionary War, Bakers Chocolate Company began large scale manufacturing.
The Chocolate Revolution Begins
Whilst the Bakers Chocolate Company was influential in North America, the Dutch were quickly moving to widespread use of Cocoa powder produced by a process named after the country, the “Dutching” method. This process produced a fine grained powder which is still a favorite with chocolate connoisseurs.
Chocolate Spreads its Wings
Soon chocolate began to be used to make candies of varyoing types. The “Dutched” method lent itself to multiple uses and when combined with cocoa butter the modern chocolate styles began to emerge. This was especially evident with the production of moldable treats which we call chocolate truffles.
The history of chocolate in America features a rich diversity of baked goods and candies. One of the baked goods beloved by Americans are brownies, the first published recipe for this now classic treat was published in the Sears Roebuck Catalogue back at the end of the 19th century. The Hershey Company and the Nestle Company were making so much money in the United States, that a Belgian confection maker opened Godiva Chocolate Company in 1926; all three companies are still popular chocolate manufacturers today.
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This is The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
January 10th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
I know it’s a big call but I think I’ve got this right. You want to know it don’t you? If your answer is yes then you can classify yourself as a self confessed chocolate chip cookie addict. A real life cookie monster. OK here it is:
The Recipe
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup butter
1/8 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 banana, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5/8 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 cup oat bran
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, honey, butter and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in the banana and vanilla. Combine the whole wheat flour, oat bran, oats, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a separate bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until it forms a smooth dough. Mix in the cranberries, chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are lightly browned at the edges.
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Although this chocolate chip cookie recipe is not the most basic, I have tried an awful lot before I settled on this one as my favorite. Try it I know you’ll agree. Drop me a line if you want to let me know how you found it. I’m always ready to consider improvements! You will note that I have used dark chocolate chips because I really have a preference for dark chocolate. My kids prefer a sweeter version but I reserve the above recipe as a secret adult one! Once I even made my own dark chocolate by using the very best ingredients I could find. I took a special chocolate making class where I learned the basics. (Yes I’m a real freak!), and then concocted the most exquisite chocolate imaginable then promptly ate most of them just keeping a few pieces which I used in the cookie mix above. It really complemented the cranberries. I have left out the chocolate making part as I think you will find equally good chips in the right stores.
Good luck and I hope you will join the ever increasing crowds of fans of this soon to be famous recipe.
Hot Chocolate - A Drink From Long Ago
January 10th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Can you imagine a better way to warm up than with a big mug of hot chocolate on a cold windy winter’s night? Things sure have changed from the xocolatl as it was known by the Mayans.
The Origins of Hot Chocolate
Xocolatl when it was transported to Europe by the conquistadors, was the reserve of the rich who first called the drink itself chocolate. Later, when solid bars of chocolate became more common, the term “hot chocolate” was used to avoid confusion. In fact at first the beverage was consumed cold and had a spicy flavor and was valued as much for its healing properties as much as an exclusive treat.
Originally, chili was a key ingredient of the drink hence the spicy overtones. It is only today that chili is making reappearance in chocolate as an enhancer of the cacao bean base of all good chocolate.
The xocolatl was first boiled then allowed to rest and was later drunk cold as a frothy but bitter concoction. The Europeans initially did not find the drink in its original from to suit their palate and made numerous changes, including using milk instead of water and adding sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. The Europeans also preferred their drink hot instead of cold, leading to what we now know as hot chocolate.
Varieties Available Today
Hot chocolate or hot cocoa, which came first? The Europeans were the first to melt chocolate bars in milk and called it hot chocolate. Cocoa powder became the base of a very different drink with a more bitter flavor. But the two drinks eventually malted into each other and the term hot chocolate was adopted as a generic term for both methods. The only real common ingredient however was milk and at least one form of a cacao bean!
You will quickly find a shop that will make your chocolate drink “just right”. You can take the same ingredients for every drink but it’s how you use them that matters. A little bit like coffee. If you don’t treat the ingredients right, you’ll ruin the drink. Of course there are a thousand and one varieties open to you, from frozen hot chocolate to fruit and herb infused varieties. It seems that there is no end in sight.
You can look at online services and find plenty of home delivery services. Several pre mixed powdered versions of all the latest drinks are just waiting for your pleasure!
Treat Yourself With Gourmet Chocolates
January 10th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
You know the world is changing when the cognoscenti start to talk about gourmet chocolate in the same way other connoisseurs talk about wine. It used to be the norm that wine critics held sway using terms like gravel, blackberry, sweaty saddle and honey peach to describe a particular wine. These days a similar practice is being adopted by gourmet chocolate connoisseurs. There are top line producers of chocolates who are actively encouraging this trend by sponsoring chocolate tastings. At my local wine shop I have seen Shiraz filled chocolates at outrageous prices. The peculiar terminology or terroir that used to be the preserve of the wine industry is definitely changing and so are chocolate prices.
It will come as no surprise that some Italian chocolate manufacturers like Amadei, which makes the Porcelana and Chuao ranges of gourmet chocolates, are leading this push. Terroir is the terminology that describes the peculiar taste characteristics of a particular wine region. Prices can be as high as $100 a pound.
When prices go this high the comparison with wine is well and truly justified.
What if it’s Just Too Expensive?
Luckily there is a large range to choose from. You don’t need to go straight to the top. Also, it’s a matter of taste. Just because a chocolate is the most expensive does it really mean it is the best? Well it depends on what you like. Remember when a block of Cadbury plain milk chocolate was the standard? Now there are so many alternatives I guess the only way to see what you really like is to go ahead and try them all!
You could start with Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, and possibly small local producers. This is where it gets exciting. As this new breed of chocolatiers begins to grow, you may find a local one producing well priced high quality gourmet chocolates.
You can even try to make some yourself. Imagine bringing out your own specially developed chocolates at your next dinner party! You’ll need the best ingredients and maybe have to take a course but can you imagine a better way to spend a few hours. The rewards are out of this world!
You can find most of what you need online, and remember, tasting the products that are available to you can be a wonderful past-time. You will soon develop your own preferences and you can buy as much or as little as you want when testing new gourmet chocolates out. Soon you will be in chocolate heaven.
Chocolate: Manna From Heaven
January 10th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Chocolate, the exquisitely rich, dark sweet treat loved by billions all over the world, was originally discovered in the Amazonian jungles many thousands of years ago the precious Cacao plant from which the secret was eventually prised, was believed by the Mayans to have been created by the god Quetzalcoatl.
Because the food was given to them by a god, then it truly was food from the gods! The beans were highly prized, and became even more so after the Spanish conquistadors transported them back to Europe. There it became the treat only available to the rich, in fact in England only royalty were allowed to consume the precious chocolate drink produced from the beans. It was at that time a bitter treat with what was believed to be a healthy beverage.
How Chocolate Became a Treat For the Masses!
It was not until the early 1900’s that Chocolate in its modern form really took off in North America. Prior to this period, chocolate was an extremely expensive commodity limited to those who were well-off, similar to the royal exclusiveness in England. It took the Henry Ford of the chocolate world, Milton Hershey, to bring chocolate to everybody with his innovative modern approach to chocolate production. Once North Americans tasted it, the chocolate industry was born and never looked back, spawning hundreds of manufacturers across the world.
As discussed above milk chocolate was and still is the most popular, but the varieties of darker chocolates are becoming more and more popular with more mature palates. In fact this has been enhanced by the release of reports that indicate high anti-oxidant foods should be part of a healthy diet. You see dark chocolate is high in anti-oxidants! So what better excuse to eat more dark chocolate? Naturally some people don’t like high cacao content chocolates but although it can be an acquired taste, there is a huge range to choose from, so you are sure to find one you like.
Praise the Gods!
I know that you like chocolate because you are reading this article all the way through! If you look around you will find dozens of Cacao based products in your pantry. So remember, next time you pop that delicious treat into your mouth, take a short moment to give thanks to the Mayan god who gave us this special and delicious plant all those thousands of years ago!
