The favorite delicacy of all times and peoples has come a long and difficult way before earning this honorary title. Despite the indescribable abundance of all sorts of tempting goodies, chocolate still holds a special place in the hearts of sweetmeats around the world.
The Drink of the Lords
For the first time, chocolate appeared in this world in the guise of a hot drink made from cocoa beans about 3000 years ago. And it was prepared by craftsmen from the tribe of Almec Indians, who once lived in the territory of modern Mexico. The finished recipe was busily adopted by the visionary Mayans and proclaimed it a divine drink. In a short time, cocoa beans became the most popular currency, and in addition were sacrificed to the heavenly patron of cocoa Ek Chuah.
The taste of cocoa appealed not only to the Indian gods, but also to the earthly rulers. A big fan of the drink was the legendary Aztec Emperor Montezuma. The faithful served to the joy of the father-lord daily delivered to the palace no less than 40 thousand bags of cocoa beans. And the court cooks even developed a special recipe for a chocolate drink for the emperor. Cocoa beans were lightly roasted and ground with young corn grains. To sweeten the pleasure, honey, vanilla and agave juice were added to the mixture.
The history of the creation of chocolate would be incomplete without poetic legends. One of them tells the story of a simple Mexican gardener named Quetzalcoatl. He put all his mental and physical strength into growing lush gardens. One day a nondescript tree appeared in it, which the gardener named cocoa. And although its fruits were like cucumbers, and their taste was bitter, the thick drink brewed from them filled the body with cheerfulness and drove away the melancholy. The cacao fruit brought Quetzalcoatl wealth and fame, which eventually blinded and corrupted the gardener. As a punishment, the gods deprived him of his sanity, and in his anger, the proud man destroyed his beautiful gardens. By a miracle, only one nondescript cocoa tree managed to survive, which continued to bring magic fruits to humanity.
The Conquest of Europe
Opinions about who first brought chocolate to Europe are still not brought to a single denominator. According to one version, it was the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez, who in the early 16th century conquered part of Mexico and found in the storerooms of Montezuma a rich supply of strange dried beans. The trophy, along with the recipe for making the drink, was delivered to the royal court in Spain.
According to another version, the discoverer of chocolate was Christopher Columbus. Some historians claim that he was the first European to try it on the island of Guyana. However, the bitter taste of the drink and the strange aroma of unknown herbs with which it was seasoned disappointed Columbus, and he showed no interest in cocoa beans.
Thus, the Spaniards became the first owners of the magic drink recipe in Europe. And since the supply of cocoa beans was more than modest, they zealously guarded the secret of the chocolate recipe from spies from neighboring states.
The rest of Europe only learned and fell in love with chocolate in 1616, when Anne of Austria brought a whole crate of cocoa beans to Paris. In a short time, the wonderful drink was enjoyed in the best aristocratic houses in Europe. However, only men could resist the fortress and tart bitterness, the ladies condescendingly rejected the overseas treat. For sweetness, they tried adding cane sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon to the cocoa. But the situation was finally corrected by the British at the beginning of the 18th century, deciding to dilute hot chocolate with milk. It was then that the drink won the soft taste of the hearts of secular ladies.
Among other things, chocolate has managed to cause a confusion of bright spiritual minds. The fact is that the Catholic Church strictly followed the observance of all the prescriptions of fasting. From the list of products allowed for consumption, everything that gave pleasure was excluded. The mysterious chocolate became the cause of heated debate, so the degree of its sinfulness was entrusted to Pope Pius V. After drinking from the cup that was offered to him only once, he made a listless grimace and said the following: “Chocolate does not break the fast, such filth can not bring someone pleasure!”.
Happiness – to the masses
At the beginning of the 17th century, cocoa plantations began to grow, and chocolate went out to the people, very quickly winning everyone’s love. For some time, its further fate was controlled by the French. In 1659, David Shine launched the world’s first chocolate factory, and in the middle of the 18th century, private pastry shops were opened all over France, where guests were offered a fragrant drink.
Surprisingly, until the 19th century, the world was known for chocolate exclusively in liquid form. To turn it into our favorite and so familiar tiles, Swiss Francois Louis Kaye guessed. He also built the first factory for the production of hard chocolate. Like mushrooms after the rain, the same factories began to appear in Europe. Wanting to beat the hated competitors, confectioners desperately tried to invent their own branded recipes, adding nuts, dried fruits, candied fruits, wine and even beer to chocolate.
In 1875, Swiss chocolate, which later became a recognized standard, entered the stage with its head held high. The secret of its preparation was very simple-cocoa mass mixed with condensed milk. At the same time, another Swiss, Rudolf Lindt, invented a special machine for rolling chocolate mass, thanks to which it acquired a thicker and more delicate consistency.
Today, the technology of making chocolate has not changed significantly. But the production volumes have reached a truly cosmic scale and amount to more than 4 million tons annually. But the variety of varieties of treats defies any calculations and is constantly updated with new original ideas.
A bar of your favorite chocolate is still the best way to get rid of a bad mood and feel the inspiring euphoria. This magical feeling is not able to overshadow even the extra calories, because these are calories of happiness.