© Alison Day
Tuesday 18 May 2010
The Wonderful World of Chocolate
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.
Leap Year
What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a calendar?
… A leap year!
… A leap year!
But seriously, for those of you planning on taking
advantage of this year’s leap year, and of course this is directed at you
ladies, this is your once in every four years chance to pop the all important
question. Of course you should make sure that your ‘man to be’, has given you
with ample amounts of chocolate on Valentines Day to get you in the mood. Sorry
chaps you do still have a look in with the remaining 365 days this year.
So, just how did a leap year become
part of our calendar and the emancipated bending of the female knee?
A leap year came about astronomically
because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat a set number of days each
year, so if our calendar remained the same each year, eventually it wouldn’t
correspond to the seasons or seasonal events at all any more. The Gregorian calendar includes an
extra day once every four years, in February, which keeps the matter in check.
Historically in fifth century Ireland
According
to English law, 29 February as a day was considered to have no legal status,
existing purely to fix a problem in the calendar. Therefore any prevailing
custom shouldn’t either that only allowed men propose marriage.
These
days there is a Greek superstition that getting
married on a leap year is bad luck so generally couples will avoid planning
their weddings on a leap year.
So, if the worst-case scenario
becomes a reality and your loved one is not ‘ready’, for the plunge there’s
always the possibility of trying again in another four year’s. If this is not a
very consolatory thought, just remember that Easter is around the corner.
Failing that there are some rather fun chocolate fondue fountains on the market
these days, to while away the time.
Artwork
Wonder Woman: Terry Dodson
First published in the Connections magazine
#18 Winter 2008
Valentine's Day
These days
Valentine’s Day, on the 14 February, is unfortunately viewed as a
commercial occurrence, where we are expected to make someone feel good/proclaim
our love by sending an anonymous card, poem, flowers or large consignment of
chocolates. This results in the fact that people in the western world often
ignore Valentine’s Day because of its commercialism or due to a lack of
motivation or perhaps even embarrassment to showing our true feelings.
There are differing stories as to how
the day actually came about, but some say the day came about because of St.
Valentine, a Roman, who was martyred because he refused to give up
Christianity. It is said that during his time in jail he miraculously restored
the sight of the jailor’s daughter. On the day of his execution he left a
farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, signing it
‘from your Valentine’.
Another story says it stems from the
action of the bishop, Valentine who married young soldiers and their ladies in
secret. This was something that had been banned by the Roman Emperor Claudius
II, who had forbidden marriage between potential soldiers and their lovers as
he felt that the young men didn’t make good soldiers once they had married.
Because of his actions Valentine was captured, refused to convert to the way of
the Roman Gods, and was executed. Valentine became the patron saint of an
annual festival, where young Romans offered women they admired, and wished
to court, handwritten greetings of affection each year on February 14. The
cards took on the name of ‘Valentine’s cards’.
One of the earliest Valentine’s cards
sent on record was in 1415, by Charles Duke of Orleans, to his wife whilst he
was a prisoner in the Tower of London. This card can be seen in the British
Museum
So go on, having learnt a little history of the romance behind Valentine’s Day, be a devil: send a card or splash out on one of those enormous heart-shaped chintzy boxes of chocolates and make someone happy. After all what have you got to loose? This is the one time in the year where if you get it wrong you can remain anonymous!
Bollywood
My own experience of a Bollywood film
came as a result of a trip to India and a visit to the local cinema in Jaipur,
one evening. Treated to a fantastical spectacle in a cinema decorated with
incredible opulence, I enjoyed a film, which was totally contradictory to the
harsh realities of life in India.
Named after a combination of the name
of the city Bombay (now known as Mumbai) and Hollywood, this is the Hindi film
industry. Featuring a cast of thousands these musical glitz and glamour
productions, often with a ‘boy meets girl’, storyline are perfect in their use
of opulence and total escapism.
Starting with the first screening in
1899, Bollywood as an industry has grown to such an extent that it makes up to
800 films per year, with 14 million Indian people visiting the cinema every day
in India alone. The same popular actors are featured in most of the films,
which results in an actor/actress often being busy filming for more than one
film at a time.
Seemingly, Bollywood’s appeal is on
the increase as this has led to big US film companies, such as Warner Bros and
Twentieth Century Fox setting up offices in India with obviously an idea for
future collaboration.
With an Oscar nomination for ‘Lagaan’,
in 2002 Bollywood films have been gathering momentum and have managed to cross
over to the extent that they are now not just viewed by Indian families alone,
but are also being shown in cinemas throughout the United Kingdom. Here, in
Groningen at the Noorderzon Festival, a performing arts festival (and shortly
to be seen at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival), the ‘Bollywood Mysterie’ was to
be seen. A musical and visual feast of Indian music and film as portrayed by
Gerry Arling with support from The Mondriaan Quartet, traditional Indian
musicians and the spiritual music of the Californian composer, Terry Riley.
It is also possible that if you like the
idea, you can sign up for Bollywood dancing lessons.
Saturday 8 May 2010
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