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Chocolate – The Interesting Facts You Might Not Know!

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Way Back When…

The history of chocolate, types of chocolate and the consumption of chocolate have proven to be a perennial source of inspirational conversation for people who have a sweet tooth, for those fighting depression or simply those who want to experiment with a natural aphrodisiac. The English word ‘chocolate’ has its origins in the Aztec word ‘xocalalt’, where ‘xococ’ means bitter and ‘alt’ means water.

The earliest history of chocolate or cacao – its main ingredient, has been traced to a place called Puerto Escondido in Honduras around 1100 BC. Cacao was used as an alcoholic beverage by the Aztecs, who associated it with the goddess of fertility, called Xochiquetzal. The longevity of the cacao beans can be said to be eternal as earthen ware containing cacao seeds from ancient times have been found as late as in 1976.

Apart from being an aphrodisiac, chocolate also served the purpose of trade and commerce throughout Central America. During the ancient period, barter system was in vogue and cacao beans were used as items of trade. An Aztec could buy himself a turkey with a hundred cacao beans.

What Does Christopher Columbus Have to Do with Chocolate?

Christopher Columbus introduced the Europeans to the many benefits of chocolate, after his voyages in the late 15^th centuries to the New Land or America, as we know it today. Cacao beans were first shipped to Spain in 1585. By 1657, chocolate was being commercially sold in England, for the first time.

Mechanical mills were used to make cocoa butter, which helped create the durable chocolate. The industrial revolution brought about the main change. In 1689, a physician by the name Hans Sloane in Jamaica developed the milk chocolate drink which was initially sold in dispensaries. This was later sold to the Cadbury brothers and the rest as you know – is history.

Variety is the Spice Of Life!

There are various types of chocolate present in the world today. The produce derived from cacao is mixed with some edible fat and finely powdered sugar to give a solid edible product which we call chocolate.

The different types of chocolate include unsweetened chocolate or pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter chocolate is used for baking. Dark chocolate as the name suggests is without milk, milk chocolate has condensed milk or milk solids and semisweet chocolate is dark chocolate with half the sugar content and is used for cooking purposes. Bittersweet chocolate on the other hand is chocolate liquor, unsweetened with a one-third sugar and more cocoa butter, vanilla and lecithin.

Apart from this, there are chocolates rich in cocoa butter called Couverture and white chocolate which does not contain the cocoa solids. Then there are two kinds of cocoa powders, namely natural cocoa and processed cocoa.

The earliest known method of consumption of chocolate was a bitter spicy drink call xocalatl, comprising of chocolate, chile pepper, annatto and vanilla, was believed to fight fatigue. Other chocolate beverages included edibles like honey and maize gruel. Now we consume chocolate in the form of bars, nuggets, liqueurs, in cooking and baking food items.

Really Good For Your Health!

Consumption of chocolate has been scientifically linked to longevity. So a few pieces of chocolate every month could sweeten your life and make it longer.

Chocolate is thought to be a major source of dietary copper that is essential for healthy living.

Both cocoa and chocolate are rich in minerals like iron and magnesium.
Chocolate also gives instant energy because of antioxidants present in it.
A chocolate bar of 40 gram contains the same amount of phenol as a glass of red wine. These anti-oxidants have been known to reduce the risk of cancer or heart disease.

Just get yourself some chocolate and eat your way to healthy body. A word of caution though excess of any food or sweet can damage your system, so eat with care. Or better yet, join me on a Culinary Escapes food tour of Royal Oak, and experience the best in chocolate first hand.

Culinary Escapes Staff

Culinary Escapes, LLC - Unique Food Tours of Metro Detroit

www.culinary-escapes.com

Tags: Chocolate, Chocolate History, cocoa, cocoa beans, culinary escapes, food tour, restaurant tour
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Pasty – A Michigan Food, A Miners Cuisine

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

The Pasty has traveled a long way from being a Miners cuisine to a Unique Michigan Food in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The past is believed to have originated in Cornwall and was considered to be a tin miner’s cuisine. It is made by placing the filling in the center of the circular pastry dough and folding it to cover the filling, crimping the semi-circular edge to seal it. This gives it the raised half – moon shape. The Cornish pasty traditionally contains sliced meat, potato, onions and parsley.

Where it all started

The earliest known literary mention to the pasty dates back to the 12^th century. It also found mention in the ballads of Robin Hood and even in Shakespeare’s work. In about 1850, miners began to dig for copper in the Upper Peninsula (the UP) of Michigan in the Keweenaw area. Being one of the first ethnic groups to become well established in the Upper Peninsula mining colonies, pasty making in Michigan originated as a convenient Cornish miner’s cuisine. As michigan mining areas became home to other ethnic groups, such as the Finnish, Irish, Canadians, and other eastern Europeans, the idea of having a pocket sized, high caloric meal, caught on as a practical matter. Often miners did not come out of the mines for meals. A poorly provisioned miner would go hungry waiting for the end of the work day.

A pasty was a food that could be eaten onsite without the hassles of finding the sparse sources of clean water to wash up before having lunch. The crust served the purpose of a handle, which the miners could hold and eat from the other end or eat from the middle. And so this was another reason for the pasty’s popularity in mines, as miners hands were occasionally exposed to arsenic dust or other toxic substances. So coveted were these handy meals, wives placed initials on the crusts so an uneaten pasty could be claimed by its rightful owner later.

How to Heat and Eat?

An additional advantage of the pasty was it could remain warm for nearly 10 hours. Normally a miner began eating his pasty at breakfast and left the remainder for lunch. Sometimes a pasty would be subdivided to several sections for several meals, including dessert. Pastys were also useful as they could be passed down from surface ovens into mine shaft with ease. A meat and potato pasty could be reheated by a shovel against a light bulb. Or the pasty could be consumed cold.

What Pastys Are We Eating Today?

While the original pasty was filled with beef, vegetables and onions, variations are available in most markets today. The meat could be replaced by a creamed chicken, with vegetables. A vegetarian could replace meat with a cream of mushroom sauce and cheddar cheese or simply cottage cheese, for those watching their waistline.

Some Interesting Superstition…

It was traditionally believed that in order to please the evil spirits under the earth’s surface, the crust of the pasty was discarded. This way the spirits would not harm the miners. Another superstition of fishermen to never have a pasty on board a ship at such was to invite bad luck.

Interesting Michigan side note…

The pasty is often thought of as a Finnish food in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is from Finnish immigrants settling into mining camps with well established Cornish populations and adopting the Cornish utilitarian food. Subsequent immigrants then assumed pasties were of Finnish origin.