February 2008

A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away...well, maybe it wasn't that far away...something wonderful was discovered - a substance SO wonderful that it would forever change the world. Legend has it that this substance possessed a multitude of mystical qualities and curative powers. It was so valuable that it was even used as currency in some places up until the 19th century! No, we are not talking about gold or even silver... this substance is BETTER!

You are all familiar with this incredible substance - some of us couldn't imagine life without it! But it wasn't until a miraculous invention in the early 1800's, that this incredible substance took on the form we know today. In its earlier liquid form, the prized substance was used in religious ceremonies, baptisms, exchanged as wedding gifts, and consumed by the rich on a daily basis. That's right; they drank it - LOTS of it!

While we no longer use this wonderful substance as currency, vast fortunes have been formed around it. We don't use it in baptisms or religious ceremonies any longer - but I hear there have been reports of some people having a religious experience in its presence. We still give it as gifts and we still DRINK it! That's right, WE drink it - and thanks to that 1800's invention I mentioned, we also EAT it - LOTS of it!

If you haven't guessed by now, we are talking about CHOCOLATE - wonderfully-delicious-smooth-creamy-melt-in-your-mouth-food-fit-for-the-gods-glorious CHOCOLATE!

Chocolate history starts a long, long time ago, but gets interesting in about 900AD in Latin America. The Maya were the first chocoholics! Their chocolate was prepared in a much different way than the chocolate we enjoy today. The beans were fermented, dried, roasted, shelled and then ground into a paste. The paste was mixed with hot water and spices like chili, vanilla, honey or flowers. It was frothed by pouring it back and forth from one cup to another and then drank. It was quite bitter, and apparently an acquired taste because when Spanish explorers arrived, they called it a "drink for pigs"! They hated it, but brought some back with them anyway. It wasn't until sometime later when a positively brilliant person added sugar to the mix that it took the rest of the world by storm. From Spain, it spread through Europe and was enjoyed by the well to do.

As the supply of cocoa beans gradually increased, the price slowly dropped and in the early 1800's the cocoa press was invented. The press squished all of the cocoa butter out of the beans and left behind cocoa powder. Cocoa powder was now easier to get, but the real treasure was the left over cocoa butter. You see, it was discovered in the 1850's that when you add extra cocoa butter to the powder and sugar instead of the hot water, you get SOLID chocolate. It wasn't long after this discovery, when others started experimenting, that milk chocolate was introduced and America fell head over heels in love with it.

Today, people from all walks of life can enjoy "the food of the gods". We add it to just about anything, and we add just about everything to it. You can find chocolate covering strawberries as well as chocolate covering grasshoppers! (I like the strawberries, but I think I will have to pass on the grasshoppers!) You can find it in powder, syrup, chips, chunks, bits, bars and bricks! What's my favorite way to have chocolate you ask? Why, straight out of the pillowcase on Halloween of course!

Till next time,
Jan

About the Author:
Jan Pierce is a Chester County, Pennsylvania artist who creates one of a kind folk art treasures. Her current and future projects include miniature paintings, paper mache sculpture, lampwork bead jewelry and anything else that happens to capture her interest! She has graciously agreed to contribute a column for us in her "spare time". Visit Jan here on HalloweenArtists.com or on her website at MoonhallowVintage.com.

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