A Brief History of Chocolate
While it's not as popular in some Asian
countries as it is in the west, it's rare to come across
a person who claims they don't enjoy the taste of
chocolate. At one end of the scale you'll find the
take-it-or-leave-it types, while at the other end you'll
encounter a band of raving chocoholics. And I readily
admit to being one of them.
But have you ever wondered where chocolate originally came
from? It actually has a rather colorful history, starting over
4,000 years ago in the rainforests of Central
America.
The First Chocoholics – The Maya
(250-900 A.D.)
According to historians, the first people to harvest the
seeds of the cacao (kah-kow) tree and process it
into chocolate were the Maya of Central America, who may
have learned it from their predecessors, the Olmec. The
Maya grew cacao trees in their own backyards and ground the
fermented, dried seeds into a paste, from which they made a
frothy, bitter chocolate drink flavored with chili peppers,
cornmeal, vanilla beans and black pepper.
Apparently the Maya used this drink for medicinal purposes,
claiming it gave them strength and alertness. It was a
favored drink of the wealthy, priests and kings, and was
offered to the gods in religious ceremonies and consumed at
betrothals and weddings.
Archaeologists gleaned this information from ancient Mayan
glyphs (written symbols), paintings and actual remains from
archaeological sites.
The Aztecs Conquer The Maya
(1400-1521)
The Aztecs of Central Mexico had invaded much of the
neighboring territory, including the Mayan lands in
Honduras. And so they were introduced to chocolate.
The Maya used the cacao seeds for trading (like coins) and
the Aztecs soon adopted this currency. They demanded that
the conquered peoples pay taxes in cacao seeds, but unlike
the Maya, they did not make this valuable commodity
available to the masses. Instead, only their rulers,
wealthy merchants and priests could enjoy the drink,
primarily in royal or religious ceremonies.
The Europeans Discover America (And
Chocolate)
On his fourth journey to the Americas, Christopher Columbus
and his crew seized a local trading vessel off the coast of
Honduras and discovered cacao beans among the cargo. While
Columbus most likely brought the beans back to Europe, it
wasn't until 1521, when the Spanish conquistador Cortez
presented them to the Spanish Court as part of the spoils
of war, that Europe's love affair with chocolate began.
The Spanish living in Central America grew accustomed to
the bitter taste of the chocolate brew, but their European
counterparts added spices and sugar to the mix. They also
heated the drink. For almost 100 years the drinking of
chocolate was confined to Spain, but once it spread to the
rest of Europe it became a fad among the wealthy. In France
only the royal court could afford chocolate. It wasn't
until the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s that
chocolate became affordable to the masses.
The Cacao Plantations And
Slavery
Because of chocolate's popularity in Europe, many
countries, including Spain, England, France and Holland,
set up plantations in their colonies for growing cacao
trees. From the early 1660 to the late 1880s, paid laborers
and enslaved peoples in equatorial countries were used to
work the plantations. When the Central American workers
became ill with European diseases, slaves from Africa were
brought in to take their place.
While slavery was finally abolished in all countries by
1888, brutal labor conditions continued in most of the
cacao growing countries. As late as 1910, William Cadbury,
the famous British chocolate manufacturer, invited several
chocolate companies to join him in refusing to buy cacao
from plantations with harsh working conditions.
It was only in the early 20th century that cacao
plantations were finally abandoned in favor of corporate
run farms. Although the cultivation process is essentially
the same, the invention of new machinery made it less labor
intensive.
From Chocolate Drink To Chocolate
Bar
- In the late 1600s, Sir Hans Sloane,
president of the Royal College of Physicians, added
milk to the chocolate drink for a lighter, smoother
flavor.
- In the early 1700's, a Frenchman named Doret
invented a hydraulic machine to grind cacao seeds into
a paste.
- Soon afterward, another Frenchman by the name of
Dubuisson created the steam-driven chocolate mill.
- In 1828 Dutch chemist Coenraad Van Houten created
the cocoa press, which removed cocoa butter from the
seeds, making the paste smoother, creamier and cheaper
to produce. This invention made it possible to produce
solid chocolate.
- In 1815, Van Houten added alkaline salts to
powdered chocolate, which helped it to mix better with
water and gave it a darker color and milder flavor.
- In 1849 English chocolate maker Joseph Storrs Fry
produced the world's first eating chocolate.
- In 1875, Daniel Peter, a Swiss chocolate
manufacturer, and Henri Nestlé, the Swiss chemist who
invented powdered milk, teamed up to introduce
condensed milk to chocolate. Their smooth, creamy “milk
chocolate” rapidly became a popular favorite.
- In 1879, Swiss Chocolatier Rodolphe Lindt invented
the conching machine, which churned the cacao paste
into a smooth blend perfect for rich, creamy chocolate
bars.
- In 1893, Pennsylvania confectioner Milton S.
Hershey discovered chocolate processing equipment at
the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He bought
the machinery, built a chocolate factory and town in
southern Pennsylvania, and soon became “the Henry Ford
of chocolate makers”. Hershey got his start making
chocolate-coated caramels.
- His competitors, the father-and-son team of Mars,
created the malted-milk-filled Milky Way after an
inspiring trip to the local drugstore soda
fountain.
The Advertisers Jump On The
Bandwagon
Once chocolate became affordable for the masses, the
advertisers began working on their psyches to create an
insatiable demand.
Chocolate was not only promoted as candy bars, but also
became popular in cakes, pastries, and ice cream.
The advertisers mounted huge campaigns, aimed primarily at
woman and children. People were soon eating chocolate for
breakfast (in cereal form), drinking it as hot chocolate or
milkshakes, and snacking on bars to supposedly keep up
their energy. Not to mention presenting boxed chocolates as
gifts to loved ones on special occasions.
Which Brings Us To Today
In the health conscious 21st century, many people are wise
to the machinations of advertising agencies and have a more
balanced perspective on edible treats, including chocolate.
We are aware that health is more attainable if we adopt an
attitude of “everything in moderation”.
So you can enjoy your chocolates with a clear conscience if
you keep in mind that good health is a result of consistent
daily action. Indulging occasionally in your favorite
chocolate treat won't make that much difference to your
overall physical health, but it will certainly have a
positive effect on your mood.
To learn about the health benefits of eating chocolate,
click on the Chocolate
page.
Recommended Chocolate History And
Information Sites
|
