"Chocolate? Did she say chocolate? Hmm. Chef, please, did you say Chocolate?"
As its aroma invites us to a smile; we delicately savor its magic flavor being
freely transported with an unbridled imagination to a new dimension. Did you
know that long before Madame de Sevigne held a cup of chocolate to her lips,
that it was a ritual beverage used as an offering to the Gods? We invite you to
travel back to Yucatan and venture with the Mayans, Conquistador Cortez and the
King Sun to discover the divine origins of chocolate. The Cacao tree begins to bear fruit at 4 to 5 years old, at 15- 26 feet; it is a member of the Malvacea and is native from the tropical region of the Americas. Some believe that about the beginning of the 4th Century AD, the Mayan people, who came from Alaska in the course of millennia, occupied the Yucatan peninsula situated between Mexico and Guatemala. As they moved into the forest, they discovered the TREE - the tree of the Mayan Gods. Today, it is known to be found growing in Central and South America, Indonesia and Africa. It requires humid climate, regular rainfall, good soil and overhead shade. The leaves, are about 2 - 8 inches broad. Small, pink flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk. While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees or butterflies, cocoa flowers are pollinated by small flies. The fruit, called a cacao
pod
(also called Cabeza in Spanish or Cabosses in French), is about 6-12 inches long and 3- 4 wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about a pound when ripe. About 300-600 seeds (10 pods) are required to produce about 2 lb of cocoa paste. The pod contains 20 seeds also called bean, embedded in a white pulp. Each seed contains 40- 50 % of fat - cocoa butter, and theo bromine, a compound similar to caffeine.
The first European to encounter cacao was Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1502. They captured a canoe at Guanaja that contained a quantity of mysterious looking almonds. But the first real European knowledge about chocolate as a beverage occurred in 1519; as the Spanish searching for gold penetrated for the first time into Central America. Conquistador Cortez was received by Montezuma, the Aztec Emperor, and consumed the carefully prepared decoction. He realized the possession of the cocoa was the way to get possession of the precious yellow metal. In 1527 Cortez had gone home with Cacao beans along with other agricultural products but it seems that the beverage made from cacao was introduced a few years later in 1544. By 1585 the fame of the brew had spread so far through Europe that the first cargo was snapped up at once, despite the high price. Within a century the culinary and medical uses of chocolate had spread to Europe and Western Europe - from Naples to Germany then to Netherlands. In 1657 England politely, turned its nose up at cocoa for economic or political reason (anti Spanish reasons). France has received chocolate with successive royal marriages: Louis XIII to Anne of Austria, and LOUIS XIV to Maria Theresa of Spain. Chocolate became a popular drink served at Versailles parties. Not to say that the Sun King still preferred Burgundy Wine to the Aztec Brew! In May 1659 The sale of cacao and chocolate was open to all; much to
the annoyance of the church who had dreamed for years of obtaining the monopoly on "The
Drink of God" (seen as a speculative good). In 1770 the first industrial chocolate manufacturing firm was set up in France, then in Amsterdam in 1815, and Switzerland in 1819 by Suchard. In 1875 Daniel Petert, a Swiss, had the distinction of inventing milk chocolate, thereafter Nestle was born in 1929.
Today we can easily find chocolate in the form of paste, powder, syrup, or bars made from cacao seeds that have been roasted and ground. Originally, Amerindians, roasted the seed in earthenware pot, crushed them between two stones and mixed the powder with boiling water. They whisked the decoction until getting little bubbles. The word cacao itself is derives from the Mayan language, TCHACAHOUA, in Aztec : TCHOCOATL. They would add chili, musk and honey or ground maize to add calories when going to war.
You drank it because the Gods were good and allowed the mortals to taste" the sacred food". Cacao beans constituted both a ritual beverage and a major currency system in the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilization. As late as 1840, in Yucatan, cocoa beans were still used in place of small coins. To understand how chocolate is now available to us, we have to go back in time and discover the origin of the magic bean.
Later in 1737 Systema Naturae, a scientific publication, classified cocoa or Theobroma as food of the Gods. Claiming theobromine a medicamented
extract from cocoa, similar to caffeine, offered diuretic qualities and
cardiovascular analeptic. In 1826 the pundit of gastronomy, BRILLAT-SAVARIN,
recommended a cup of chocolate as a remedy for "those fatigued by any sort of
labor" which obviously means a great many people! More Recent studies show that cocoa, rich dark chocolate, is loaded with disease fighting antioxidants and mood
elevators.
We invite you to elevate spirit, share and enjoy Chef Pascale
Chocolate Ganache Tart
with your family and friends. They love you for it! Thank and Bon Appetit!
About the Author: Pascale Deighan, "Chef with a cause", instructor,
delivers authentic, creative culinary alternatives, people can experience an
abundance of flavors, health and happiness.
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To book Chef Pascale for a lecture, presentation or culinary service call
772-781-5613 or email
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