|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Drink Like An Aztec By Sally Peabody |
| ||||
|
At Choco-Story one embarks on a journey of learning about
chocolate, its origins, its
The European saga of the spread of love for chocolate owes much
to women. Queen Anne of Austria, daughter of King Philip the III of
Spain, wife of King Louis the IX of France was one of
But let’s save the story of present day chocolate for another time. For now, if you want to go back to the roots and taste chocolate as an Aztec ruler might have savored it, or as Cortez and his cohort would have drunk it, take a look at these recipes.
Crush together 50% roasted cocoa beans and 50% kernels of the sapotilla fruit. Add: crushed corn, “ear flower,” vanilla, Mexican pepper, and a little honey. If desirable, add achiote (to give an even ruddier red-brown color), chili, allspice, “heart flower.” Brew with water. Now, just in case you can’t find sapotilla or ear flower, you can definitely try a variant on this recipe from Spain that is reputedly the oldest known Spanish recipe. Choco-Story serves a variant of this hot chocolate in their dégustation of three different hot chocolates. The recipe notes that chocolate became a sweetened drink around 1500 AD, or about 500 years ago. The proportions may be a little tricky to replicate but you can play with good quality cocoa and these spices to drink like a Spanish conquistador and his king. “Oldest Known Spanish Recipe” From Choco-Story Exhibit. Take 700 roasted cocoa beans Grind and mix with: 1.5 pounds of sugar. 2 ounces of cinnamon. 14 blackpepper grains, 0.5 ounces of cloves, 3 vanilla pods or aniseed, 1 spoonful of achiote, almonds, hazelnuts, orange blossom water. Next time you are in Paris, make it a point to visit Choco-Story. It is a fascinating journey through the world of chocolate from bean to cup, tree to plate. Choco-Story, The Gourmet Chocolate Museum, is at 28 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle. The museum is on three floors. There is an elevator for handicapped visitors that you must request permission to use. Visit www.museeduchocolat.fr. |
|||||
|
|
|||||
| Back to ChocolateAtlas.com | |||||
|
Visit other F&B Travel Atlas sites: |
|||||
|
|
fascinating story of this beloved edible, drinkable substance.
Today, evidence of the highest forms of the chocolate-makers art
surround visitors to Paris, indeed chocolate shops and salons are
omnipresent and offer magnificent products to tempt us. But as with
much in the culinary world, there is an interesting back story.
evolution from cup to plate, from food
of the powerful to a delectable treat for all who care to enjoy it.
Montezuma, the powerful Aztec King, measured his wealth in territory
and in cacao beans. Drinking chocolate was reserved for the king and
his warriors. Cocoa beans were offered to the gods. Chocolate was
believed to have enduring properties to enhance strength, wisdom,
and courage. It was for the elite.
Present-day chocolate
aficionados have the Spanish explorer Cortez to thank for bringing
chocolate from present-day Mexico to Europe (originally Spain).
Chocolate was, then, solely for drinking in a spicy brew that
evolved from the Aztec and Mayan styles, with the Spanish
breakthrough addition of sugar to the cacao and spice brew of those
indigenous cultures.
chocolate’s earliest royal proponents. During the
terrible years of the Inquisition awareness of chocolate spread from
Spain to elsewhere in Europe, one positive result of the misery and diaspora of the Spanish Jews who were expert chocolate makers. They
were forced to flee from Spain to Portugal, finally settling in the
Bayonne-Biarritz area in France. Famed French women diarists like
Madame Sevigne wrote of the seemingly magical powers of chocolate to
restore and invigorate. Queens and noblewomen gave chocolate to
their lovers to enhance libido. Chocolate was well on its way to
established essential-ness for the French and European upper
classes.
Here is an Aztec recipe that was transmitted to Francisco
Hernandez, physician of Philip II of Spain. The recipe is featured
in the exhibit.