World Chocolate Day, or just Chocolate Day is an annual celebration of chocolate, occurring globally on July 7th, which some suggest to be the anniversary of the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550. Read more . . .
Where does chocolate come from and who discovered it?
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| A native holds his molinet. |
In opening a cacao pod, it is seen to be full of beans surrounded by a fruity pulp, and whilst the pulp is very pleasant to taste, the beans themselves are uninviting, so that doubtless the beans were always thrown away until . . . . someone tried roasting them. One pictures this, "someone,"a pre-historic Aztec, sniffing the aromatic fume coming from the roasting beans, and thinking that beans which smelled so appetizing must be good to consume. The name of the man who discovered the use of cacao must be written in some early chapter of the history of man, but it is blurred and unreadable : all we know is that he was an inhabitant of the New World and probably of Central America.
When Columbus discovered the New World he brought back with him to Europe many new and curious things, one of which was cacao. Some years later, in 1519, the Spanish conquistador, Cortes, landed in Mexico, marched into the interior and discovered to his surprise, not the huts of savages, but a beautiful city, with palaces and museums. This city was the capital of the Aztecs, a remarkable people, notable alike for their ancient civilization and their wealth. Their national drink was chocolate, and Montezuma, their Emperor, who lived in a state of luxurious magnificence, took no other beverage than the chocolatl, a potation of chocolate, flavored with vanilla and other spices, and so prepared as to be reduced to a froth of the consistency of honey, which gradually dissolved in the mouth and was taken cold. This beverage if so it could be called, was served in golden goblets, with spoons of the same metal or tortoise-shell finely wrought. The Emperor was exceedingly fond of it, to judge from the quantity‚''no less than fifty jars or pitchers being prepared for his own daily consumption: two thousand more were allowed for that of his household.'' It is curious that Montezuma took no other beverage than chocolate, especially if it be true that the Aztecs also invented that fascinating drink, the cocktail (xoc-tl). How long this ancient people, students. of the mysteries of culinary science, had known the art of preparing a drink from cacao, is not known, but it is evident that the cultivation of cacao received great attention in these parts, for if we read down the list of the tributes paid by different cities to the Lords of Mexico, we find ''20 chests of ground chocolate, 20 bags of gold dust,'' again ''80 loads of red chocolate, 20 lip-jewels of clear amber,'' and yet again ''200 loads of chocolate.'' Another people that share with the Aztecs the honor of being the first great cultivators of cacao are the Incas of Peru, that wonderful nation that knew not poverty.
Test tasting the Cacao before the seeds become
chocolate by In The Kitchen With Matt.
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| Sculpted Cacao fruits. The beans are roasted for making chocolate. The fruits are displayed in our doll's Maui Hawaiian market. |
Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is one of 26 species belonging to the genus Theobroma classified under the subfamily Byttnerioideae of the mallow family Malvaceae.
Both the sweet sticky fruit of the Cacao and it's beans may be eaten. However, the seeds must be roasted till crunchy and then ground into a powder will call cocoa in the United States. Cocoa makes up 80 percent of what we know as chocolate.
More About the Cocoa Bean:
- See Cocoa Fruit Harvesting by Noal Farm
- How to make chocolate by Flavor Lab
- A Beginner's Guide to Bean-to-Bar Chocolate
- 8 Benefits of the harvested Cacao plant by Health Nut Owl
- Making a lady bug truffle with chef lis
- This little boy demonstrates how to mold chocolate into fun shapes
- Like Nastya learns about chocolates
Simple Crafts to Celebrate July 7th
Below I made half a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries to look like lady bugs for our doll's celebration of World Chocolate Day. These little gems are sculpted with oven-back clay and then painted using acrylics. Their eyeballs and spots are squeezed on using puff-paints!
Sew a deliciously sweet pillow or two for your doll's bedroom decor using ankle socks and cotton stuffing. Simply turn the sock inside-out and sew a straight seam across the toe of the sock. Then turn the sock right side out, clip away the heal portion of the knit, sew that opeing shut and stuff the sock from the last opening at the top. Whip stitch across the pillow's top and display the candy themed pillows across a bed or sofa.
Serve More Chocolate Deserts:
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| Doll-sized chocolate strawberry treats displayed in a tiny porcelain dish. |
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| This fun chocolate 'Reeses's' pillow is sewn from an ankle sock purchased from a dollar store. |
Chocolate Candy for Themed Cover-Ups:
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