Chocolate in Mesoamerica
Chocolate in Mesoamerica

Author: Cameron L. McNeil

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 542

ISBN-13: 9780813029535

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New models of research and analysis, as well as breakthroughs in deciphering Mesoamerican writing, have recently produced a watershed of information on the regional use and importance of cacao, or chocolate as it is commonly called today. McNeil brings together scholars in the fields of archaeology, history, art history, linguistics, epigraphy, botany, chemistry, and cultural anthropology to explore the domestication, preparation, representation, and significance of cacao in ancient and modern communities of the Americas, with a concentration on its use in Mesoamerica. Cacao was used by many cultures in the pre-Columbian Americas as an important part of rituals associated with birth, coming of age, marriage, and death, and was strongly linked with concepts of power and rulership. While Europeans have for hundreds of years claimed that they introduced “chocolate” as a sauce for foods, evidence from ancient royal tombs indicates cacao was used in a range of foods as well as beverages in ancient times. In addition, the volume’s authors present information that supports a greater importance for cacao in pre-Columbian South America, where ancient vessels depicting cacao pods have recently been identified. From the botanical structure and chemical makeup of Theobroma cacao and methods of identifying it in the archaeological record, to the importance of cacao during the Classic period in Mesoamerica, to the impact of European arrival on the production and use of cacao, to contemporary uses in the Americas, this volume provides a richly informed account of the history and cultural significance of chocolate.

The True History of Chocolate: Third Edition
The True History of Chocolate: Third Edition

Author: Sophie D. Coe

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2013-06-28

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 050077093X

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“A beautifully written . . . and illustrated history of the Food of the Gods, from the Olmecs to present-day developments.”—Chocolatier This delightful tale of one of the world’s favorite foods draws on botany, archaeology, and culinary history to present a complete and accurate history of chocolate. It begins some 4,000 years ago in the jungles of Mexico and Central America with the chocolate tree, Theobroma Cacao, and the complex processes necessary to transform its bitter seeds into what is now known as chocolate. This was centuries before chocolate was consumed in generally unsweetened liquid form and used as currency by the Maya and the Aztecs after them. The Spanish conquest of Central America introduced chocolate to Europe, where it first became the drink of kings and aristocrats and then was popularized in coffeehouses. Industrialization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made chocolate available to all, and now, in our own time, it has become once again a luxury item. The third edition includes new photographs and revisions throughout that reflect the latest scholarship. A new final chapter on a Guatemalan chocolate producer, located within the Pacific coastal area where chocolate was first invented, brings the volume up-to-date.

The New Taste of Chocolate
The New Taste of Chocolate

Author: Maricel E. Presilla

Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 158008950X

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Updated with new chapters on the environmental and geopolitical impact of cacao production and the latest health findings, a visual reference incorporates new photography and 30 original or revised recipes for chocolate foods ranging from the sweet to the savory.

The Sacred Science
The Sacred Science

Author: Nick Polizzi

Publisher: Hay House

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1401952917

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In the work of documentary filmmakers, explains Nick Polizzi, one cardinal rule is never forget that your job is to document, not participate. But when Nick set out to explore the native outback of the Americas - meeting healers, shamans, and medicine women and tapping their well of ancient wisdom, nearly lost to the rest of the world - he had to bend that rule. As he found his way into highly sacred and often very private shamanic ceremonies, not participating ceased to be an option. Nick invites readers along on his journey of discovery to make indigenous knowledge of healing accessible to us all.

Chicle
Chicle

Author: Jennifer P. Mathews

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2009-06-15

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780816528219

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Chicle is a history in four acts, all of them focused on the sticky white substance that seeps from the sapodilla tree when its bark is cut. First, Jennifer Mathews recounts the story of chicle and its earliest-known adherents, the Maya and Aztecs. Second, with the assistance of botanist Gillian Schultz, Mathews examines the sapodilla tree itself, an extraordinarily hardy plant that is native only to Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. Third, Mathews presents the fascinating story of the chicle and chewing gum industry over the last hundred plus years, a tale (like so many twentieth-century tales) of greed, growth, and collapse. In closing, Mathews considers the plight of the chicleros, the "extractors" who often work by themselves tapping trees deep in the forests, and how they have emerged as icons of local pop culture -- portrayed as fearless, hard-drinking brawlers, people to be respected as well as feared. --publisher description.

Chocolate
Chocolate

Author: Ruth Lopez

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Published: 2002-04-01

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780810904033

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This is a history of chocolate, exploring the relationship between this rainforest treasure and human civilization. As well as a full, illustrated description of how chocolate is grown, processed and manufactured, this book shows chocolate's roles in the history of slavery, war and medicine.

The Secret Life of Chocolate
The Secret Life of Chocolate

Author: Marcos Patchett

Publisher: Aeon Books

Published: 2024-11-05

Total Pages: 805

ISBN-13: 1801521832

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A fascinating guide to the history and medical uses of cacao. The Secret Life of Chocolate is a book about chocolate. Not the sweet, mass-produced fatty confection most of us are familiar with, though. This book is about old-school chocolate; pre-Colombian, Central American, bitter-spicy-foamy-intense blow-your-socks-off chocolate; chocolate beverages made with toasted cocoa beans, water, and indigenous plants. Today there are many different forms of drinking chocolate in Latin America, most of which reflect European (Spanish) influence, incorporating sugar, cinnamon, and milk. The aim of this work is to peel back the years of cultural cross-pollination and anatomize the original Cacao-based beverages, which were richer, more complex, more potent, and darker (in every sense) than modern forms of chocolate. This book delves into the ancient history of the human relationship with the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao; it dissects the pharmacological properties of chocolate to the fullest possible extent; and it divulges the mythical and magical associations of human interactions with this incredible plant.

Chocolate
Chocolate

Author: Ross F. Collins

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2022-06-01

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13:

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Chocolate is nearly always with us—when celebrating or mourning, in love or alone, healthy or sick, happy or sad. This book offers a comprehensive look at how an exotic food grew to play such a central role in our lives. No food in the world can offer as storied a history as chocolate. Chocolate: A Cultural Encyclopedia focuses on cocoa's history from ancient Mesoamerican beginnings as a symbol of ritual, life, and death, to its omnipresence in Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. In 10 thematic chapters covering chocolate in society and culture, 80 shorter entries, recipes, and a comprehensive timeline, this new book takes a closer look at how chocolate has served as a medicine, an indulgence, a symbol of decadence, a door to romance, a tempting taboo, a means of survival, and a snack for children and adults alike. Why did popes and kings so fear their chocolate? Who invented milk chocolate, and why was its formula kept secret? Why did soldiers in World War II despise their chocolate rations? Who makes the most chocolate today? Find out the answers to these questions and more as this book tells you everything you wanted to know—and a lot you didn't even know existed—about the seed from the world’s favorite fruit tree.

Chocolate
Chocolate

Author: Louis E. Grivetti

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-09-20

Total Pages: 1556

ISBN-13: 1118210220

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International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) 2010 Award Finalists in the Culinary History category. Chocolate. We all love it, but how much do we really know about it? In addition to pleasing palates since ancient times, chocolate has played an integral role in culture, society, religion, medicine, and economic development across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. In 1998, the Chocolate History Group was formed by the University of California, Davis, and Mars, Incorporated to document the fascinating story and history of chocolate. This book features fifty-seven essays representing research activities and contributions from more than 100 members of the group. These contributors draw from their backgrounds in such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, biochemistry, culinary arts, gender studies, engineering, history, linguistics, nutrition, and paleography. The result is an unparalleled, scholarly examination of chocolate, beginning with ancient pre-Columbian civilizations and ending with twenty-first-century reports. Here is a sampling of some of the fascinating topics explored inside the book: Ancient gods and Christian celebrations: chocolate and religion Chocolate and the Boston smallpox epidemic of 1764 Chocolate pots: reflections of cultures, values, and times Pirates, prizes, and profits: cocoa and early American east coast trade Blood, conflict, and faith: chocolate in the southeast and southwest borderlands of North America Chocolate in France: evolution of a luxury product Development of concept maps and the chocolate research portal Not only does this book offer careful documentation, it also features new and previously unpublished information and interpretations of chocolate history. Moreover, it offers a wealth of unusual and interesting facts and folklore about one of the world's favorite foods.