SC - Chocolate: An Indian Drinke

[Linda Taylor]

Waaaaay back on 25 Jan 2000, Christina Nevin wrote:

>Saluti!
>
>I forgot to mention - after the exhibition we went to a workshop entitled
>"Chocolate: from Pod to Palate" by Sara Jayne Stanes (she's just put out a
>book on chocolate for those addicts out there) ;-).
(snip)
>But...(just to prove I'm not completely OOP) I talked to her later and 
>asked
>if she knew where I could find some cocoa beans, as I would like to try and
>reproduce some of the recipes in "Chocolate: or, An Indian Drinke." London,
>1652, by Capt. John Wadsworth (the translation of a book by Melchor de 
>Lara,
>"Physitian General for the Kingdome of Spaine", 1631).  And she has very
>kindly offered me a pound of her very own stock! So sometime in the next
>couple of months I will hopefully get back to you all with the results.
>
>Al Servizio Vostro, e del Sogno
>Lucretzia
>

I now find myself studying chocolate history in order to get some real 
answers for all the folks around here (and everywhere else, it would seem!) 
who are always trying to finesse chocolate into SCA period feasts. I know 
that cacao/cocoa was known by the Spanish well before 1600, but I also know 
it wasn't in Hershey bar or Chocolate Fudge Decadence, etc. cake form.

I have found what appears to be a superb source for information in a new 
book I got this Christmas:
_The True History of Chocolate_
by Sophie D. Coe & Michael D. Coe
Thames & Hudson, 1996, ISBN 0-500-01693-3.

The authors are scholars of Mesoamerican Precolumbian history, and Sophie D. 
Coe was a regular contributor to Petit Propos Culinaires, the culinary 
journal occasionally referred to in our list. Their aim is to present the 
_entire_ history of Cacao and chocolate. The book starts with a chapter on 
the biology of the cacao tree itself, and the chemistry of the beans and how 
it changes as they are processed. Then we have lengthy chapters on the 
Olmecs, the Maya, and the Aztecs, and how each of them used cacao (recently 
deciphered hieroglyphs and archaeological finds have been most 
illuminating.) Only then do they address the arrival of the Spanish, and the 
gradual adoption of cacao by Europeans is treated in full detail. Accounts 
are given for the differing ways in which it came into use in different 
parts of Europe, how the Church argued about its use, and how it was fit 
into current medical theory. They describe the spread of colonial empires, 
leading to expanded cultivation in the tropics and use in Europe, often 
connected with local politics. The Machine Age leads to new ways of 
processing,and chocolate finally becomes a solid confection as well as a 
drink. The last chapter brings us into the 1980's and '90's, and the new 
concept of "artisan" chocolates.

The authors' credentials and bibliography are impressive, and they present 
recent discoveries that add to, refine, and correct previous information.

Oddly enough, one reference they do not mention is "Chocolate, or An Indian 
Drinke". I have looked at the text, courtesy of Stefan's Florilegium 
(thanks, Stefan!), but the presenter of the piece clearly states that this 
is an excerpt. I would like to see the rest of the work, and more extensive 
notes on where it was/can be found, so I can use it as documentation. Stefan 
or Lucrezia, do you know any more? Anybody else? Also, Lucrezia, I'd be 
interested to know the title of Ms Stanes' new book, and I'm eagerly 
awaiting the results of your experimentation - sounds like fun!

Morwyn

Morwyn of Wye, O.L.
Barony of Three Mountains, An Tir
(Portland, OR, USA)
mka Linda Taylor, lmt_inpnw at hotmail.com

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