Chocolate - what is it actually?

June 10, 2020 Test author
Chocolate & co. schokolade

Chocolate is a food and luxury food whose essential components are cocoa products and types of sugar, and in the case of milk chocolate, also milk products. Chocolate is enjoyed in its pure form and further processed as a semi-finished product. The word derives from the name of the first beverage containing cocoa, xocóatl or xocólatl [ʃokolaːtɬ] (Nahuatl: xócoc 'bitter', atl 'water'; i.e., 'bitter water' or 'cocoa water') of the Aztecs in Mexico. This was a mixture of water, cacao, vanilla, and cayenne pepper.

History

Typical Mexican chocolate (pressed chocolate mass with sugar and cinnamon)

The chocolate factory Johann Maria Farina in the 3rd Cologne address book 1797, Chocolate production was started in 1750. The first use of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) was probably around 1500 BC by the Olmecs, who lived in the lowlands of the Mexican Gulf Coast. Cocoa was then cultivated by the Maya around 600 AD.

The Aztecs gave the cacao drink mixed with cold water the name: xocolatl. With the help of a wooden whisk, today called "molinillo" in Spanish, they whipped the liquid until it was frothy. According to Mayan tradition, the cacao plant was of divine origin. In honor of the cacao god Ek Chuah, a festival was celebrated in April with animal sacrifices and the distribution of gifts. Similar celebrations are documented in Mexico. There, the seeds of the cacao plant were prepared exclusively as a drink. However, this drink was reserved for adult men descended from the nobility. Cocoa was considered to be an intoxicating food and was therefore - according to the Aztecs - unsuitable for women and children. It was preferred to be drunk by warriors, priests or those destined for sacrifice. Both Hernán Cortés and a member of his expedition, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, reported that the Aztec king Montezuma consumed drinks containing cocoa in large quantities. In some cases, the cocoa bean also served as a means of payment. Moctezuma II had a huge number of this means of payment cacao. They were only good as a means of payment if they were of perfect shape, had a uniform color and came from certain areas of Mexico. The purchasing power of cocoa beans at that time is illustrated by the following example: for a good slave, one had to pay about 100 good cocoa beans. Overall, great importance was attached to the quality of the cacao. Cocoa from Xoconochco, today's state of Chiapas, was particularly popular. From this region one had to deliver the usual tribute in the form of cacao of very good quality to the ruler.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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