Celebrate National Chocolate Day and Mesoamerican Indigenous Flavor

Today we think of good chocolate as maybe Swiss or Belgian, but chocolate is very American.

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans native to the upper Amazon. This is prehistory, so the story continues to develop, but the earliest archaeological evidence of cocoa cultivation is thought to be in Ecuador. After that, the first archaeological evidence of cocoa was found in Guatemala. It was probably there and in Olmec Mexico that something closer to what we now call chocolate developed.

The word "chocolate" comes from the word chocolātl in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs of Mexico. The Mayans and Aztecs believed that cacao nibs were a gift from God. It was used for religious and social purposes. Chocolate was so valuable that cocoa beans were used as currency. They were traded as far north as what is now New Mexico.

world chocolate day

World Chocolate Day is July 7.

national chocolate day

In the United States, National Chocolate Day is October 28.

Chocolate comes from Central and South America

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans

The cocoa plant is native to the upper Amazon in Colombia and Venezuela.

Some of the earliest archaeological evidence of chocolate preparation is found among the Mokaya people around 1900 BC. It was in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, next to Guatemala. This is the Maya country.

There is later evidence of pre-Olmec chocolate preparation circa 1750 BC in Veracruz, Mexico. Veracruz is the Caribbean gateway to the ancient Aztec capital in present-day Mexico City.

The evil Christopher Columbus brought cocoa beans back to Spain on his fourth expedition to the Americas. The Spanish brothers then introduced the chocolate drink to the Spanish court.

At first, chocolate was used as medicine because of its bitterness. The addition of sugar made it popular in the royal courts of Europe. Then everyone fell in love with it. It is often considered an aphrodisiac.

At New York

New York City was a major port for trade between the Americas and Europe. Sephardic Jewish merchants ran a trade from Curaçao in Venezuela to Europe.

The New York Cocoa Exchange in Manhattan's Financial District was active from 1939 to 1979. The attractive triangular building still stands at 1 Wall Street Court.

Preparation

Cacao nibs are bitter. Chocolate is made by fermenting the seeds, roasting them, and grinding them into cocoa mash. Cocoa puree can be made into cocoa powder or cocoa butter.

Dark chocolate is mostly cocoa solids. White chocolate is mostly cocoa butter. What we now call chocolate contains a lot of sugar. It softens the bitter flavor of cocoa and provides a pleasant contrast between the two flavors.

Chocolate is part of many Mexican and Colombian cuisines. Although no longer associated with the gods, making chocolate can be a nice family ritual.

Latin cuisine