Bad day at
the office, life’s a peach, or just because you feel like it, just reach for
chocolate and your world takes on a new chocolaty dimension. OK maybe I’m a bit
too over enthusiastic, but one thing is sure this stuff really hits the spot!
In this issue chocolate prevails due to Valentine’s Day, Leap Year and of
course Easter.
Women seem
to be the main lovers of this heavenly stuff, but I have met on occasion the
odd man who won’t share his bar for love or money or those who will fight you
for the last M&M (the latter, I might add being under the age of 10, and is
therefore excused). I won’t make the presumption and say that I don’t think
that there is anyone who doesn’t like chocolate but, I have yet to meet someone
who has never tasted chocolate - please correct me if I am wrong.
Whether you
are a guzzler, a comfort eater (on those long dark nights), or a refined one
piece after dinner eater there are still differing opinions as to what is
considered ‘real’, chocolate. Dark chocolate is of course in its purity the
real McCoy, but milk chocolate is a serious contender, as it tends to melt more
slowly and lasts longer in the mouth of the chocolate lover. White chocolate,
however, due to its minimal cocoa levels is considered an impostor, but does
have its following.
Used
as early as the sixth century BC by the Mayas the word chocolate comes from
their word Xocoatl, which means ‘bitter water’. A symbol of life
and fertility its image was to be found in many of their temples and palaces
and was referred to as ‘food of the Gods’. The Aztecs believed that their god
Quetzalcoatl brought them the cocoa tree, which he in turn had stolen from
paradise. Both the Mayas and the Aztecs used Cocoa as the basis for a thick,
cold, unsweetened drink called Xocoatl often flavoured with spices,
hot chillies and corn meal. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma drank thick chocolate
dyed red. Owing to the fact that the drink was thought to give the drinker
wisdom and power as well as being nourishing and having an aphrodisiac quality.
It was served in golden goblets that were thrown away after only one use.
Although it
was Columbus who brought back the first beans to Spain there was little
interest taken in them until Hernando Cortez re-introduced them in 1528 and
suggested mixing the bitter drink made from them with sugar. This resulted in a
mix with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. It became the
drink of the Spanish nobility and remained a secret from the rest of the world
for almost 100 years!
The court of
seventeenth century France embraced chocolate to the full mainly because of its
aphrodisiac qualities. It is said that the Marquis de Sade, often used it to
disguise poisons whereas Casanova was reputed for using chocolate with
champagne to seduce the ladies.
After this
there was no stopping chocolate becoming popular the world over. In 1830, the
drink was made into a confection, in the form of a solid product by JS Fry and
Sons (a British chocolate maker). Industrialization in the manufacturing
process of chocolate led to increased production, and that coupled with more
cocoa plantations, made chocolate just for the elite a thing of the past.
Even as far
as ones health it has been found to have some very positive qualities. A pure
piece of chocolate (of roughly 10 grams), eaten daily can reduce the chance of
heart and blood vessel problems by 50%. The presence of bioflavonoids protects
against free radicals, as well as the amino acid Tryptophan, which stimulates
the mood enhancing serotonin, resulting it the euphoric feeling that is felt whilst
eating chocolate. It is also said to be good for the body and figure and is
found in many of today’s beauty products. The effect here is stimulatory and
drains water retention, breaks down fat and strengthens the skin.
These days
chocolate is everywhere in one form or another just about everywhere; in books,
shops, at tastings, societies, cocktails, on postage stamps and even featured
in the designs at Parisian fashion shows.
One thing is
sure; if you introduce a little chocolate into your life the world becomes
a happier place.
Sources: Chocolate
© Alison Day
First
published in the Connections magazine #18
Winter 2008
