History of chocolate

Not too much to report. Today we went to the weekly lecture by ACA, the organic farm and ecology group. This week it was on chocolate. Mickey, who is down learning to farm organically and is soon to return to the US, gave the lecture. He recounted the history of chocolate. The Mayans and the Aztecs, who were the first to discover how to process it for consumption, did not have sugar to mix with it and used chiles and other spices instead. It was relatively scarce so was used only by the elite in society and as a drink. He talked about how it was taken to Europe by the Spanish, who changed the use by adding sugar and dropping the chillies! It was very interesting. He had a pod from which the beans come. While originating in Mexico, cultivation of cocoa had been taken to other places in the world, especially West Africa. The beans are fermented, then roasted and finally ground and have all the cocoa butter extracted. Michey is an admitted chocolate nut. He even had what is virtually 100% chocolate without any sugar--cocoa paste-- which is what all manufacturerers use as a starting point. It is bitter, like Baker’s Chocolate. Some people apparently eat is as a medicine--all those antioxidants without the sugar! Barb even said that she liked it! However, recently we had some chocolates with 78% cocoa and she didn’t like it as well as ones with a lower percentage--go figure! I think I mentioned in an earlier post in June that when we were at the restaurant with Matt and Angie in Tlaquepaque, I had chicken in a chocolate sauce with chile. The menu said that it came from an Indian recipe from the Oaxca, one of the most southerly states in Mexico, It was delicious and unlike anything I had had before.

ACA is putting on a special buffet supper out at their farm this Saturday night. It is a fund-raiser, but much of the food will be from their own farm and they are doing the cooking and preparation. We are intending to go, but have to wait for our finances to be replenished on the 28th August before we can buy the tickets. I’ll report on that on the weekend.