Tracing the Origin of this Delicious Indulgence

Hey friends....I'm back!!

I was doing some research to get an insight into the origin of this finger-licking indulgence we call chocolate. My obsession with chocolate has reached such an altitude that I couldn't help looking for the beginning of this madness. And you know what....the history is equally fascinating. Now people who were strongly disinclined towards the history book during their school days, please don't run away....Let me remind you that this is the story about the love of your life - Chocolate. Now did you get back your interest?? Let's move on....

Chocolate, the chief ingedient in a number of mouth-watering foods like cookies, cereals, milk shakes, bakeries, flavoured coffee, ice-creams etc, was first traced around 2000 years back in the rain forests of Central America, where the high temperature and humidity along with high rainfall throughout the year made a perfect environment for the tree. The pods of the cacao tree contains seeds which in a processed and modified form is chocolate. These cacao trees were worshiped  by the Mayan Civilization of Central America and Southern Mexico, since it was believed to be of divine origin. The word 'Cacao', which is a Mayan word, actually means God's Food. In modern times, the Latin generic name of the tree is 'Theobrama Cacao', meaning 'Food of the God'. The Maya used the cacao seeds by roasting and blending them with maize and chilli pepper and then fermenting the mixture. They prepared a spicy, bitter drink with this mixture which was limited to the use of the elite class gatherings.

The Aztecs, a group of people who settled in a valley of  Central Mexico in the 14th century, prized the cacao seeds and brewed them in the same way as the Mayans. But since they lived in northern areas where the climate didn't support the growth of the tree, they had to trade them with the Mayans. By 1400, the Aztecs conquered much of Central America, and made the conquered people pay their taxes with cacao beans. The Aztecs prized the cacao seeds to such an extent that they used them as currency and also valued them more than gold and silver. They named the bitter drink 'Xocolatl'. When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs in 1519, they found this word outrageously difficult to pronounce and modified it to 'Chocolat', which was further evolved by the English as 'Chocolate'.

Chocolat or Chocolate was first introduced in Europe by Cortez, who conquered the Aztecs. It was introduced in a more modified form where the spicy, bitter drink was flavoured with vanilla and sugar and was made compatible with the European taste. The Spanish established the first chocolate factory in Spain where the cacao beans brought over from the conquered land of Central America, was roasted and fermented and made to chocolate powder by which the European version of the chocolate drink was prepared. Within a very short span of time the chocolate powder became very popular among the people in countries like France, Italy, Germany. The first chocolate house in England was established in London in 1657 which very shortly led to the establishment of many others, where the elite class social and official meetings were held over the chocolate drink.

Chocolate was brought back to America by the English colonists. And in modern times United States of America and Canada are the largest purchasers of chocolate.

The transition of chocolate from liquid to solid form, as we know it today, was first made in Europe in 1600, as the European bakers started adding cocoa powder to cakes. In fact, the modern form of chocolate should be attributed to the Quakers, a pacifist religious sect of Europe, who were barred from engaging in most of the conventional businesses because of their pacifist religion. Hence they chose businesses related to food, and with their strong sense of business ethics, flourished greatly in their chosen field. The world famous companies founded by the Quakers are Cadbury, Rowntree and Fry & Sons, among which Fry & Sons were the first to introduce chocolate bars in 1847. Of course a Dutch chemist named Johannes Van Houten, paved the way for making chocolate bars when he discovered a way to remove the bitter tasting fat known as Cocoa Butter from the grounded cacao beans, in an attempt to make the chocolate drink lighter and tastier. Fry & Sons used this extracted cocoa butter blended with sugar and cocoa powder to make the first chocolate bar for us. And later in 1875, Daniel Peters, a Swiss manufacturer modified this form by adding dried milk powder to the mixture of cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar to make milk chocolate.

And the rest is known to all of us......The history of chocolate becoming our passion, obsession and addiction.
Wasn't it wonderful to know the process of evolution of this quintessential fanaticism we crave to indulge in??
Oh I'm sure it was. Will be back with more on chocolate.......Till then enjoy more of this madness....Bye Bye...

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