SC - Chocolate Drink - 1615
lilinah at earthlink.net
lilinah at earthlink.net
Wed Sep 27 14:33:06 PDT 2000
First, great thanks, Bear, for the very detailed information.
>Just as guess, I would use about 3/8 lb of baker's chocolate or cocoa powder
>to begin experimenting with the understanding that these have been processed
>beyond the basic cocoa paste stage and may not represent the cocoa in the
>drink accurately.
Yes, i do understand. Thanks for all the info on measures.
(snip)
>If someone has not converted the recipe to modern measure, then these would
>probably be apothecary weights (Troy measure).
Probably, as these weights appear in the 1652 version of the recipe,
not a modern 20th century translation. I'll adjust accordingly. I've
got a Conversion program on my computer.
>Logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum) is a member of the pea family. A cod is
>a seed pod. The toxicity is unknown, but I would point out that our
>ancestors seem to have survived it. Also the wood is primarily used as a
>dye stuff.
Yes, and i have recipes using logwood, *dyeing* recipes.
>Achiote or annatto (Bix orellana)in this instance is the seed of a New World
>evergreen, so an annatto seed about the size of a hazelnut. I don't think
>hazelnut size has changed much.
Hmmm, the achiate / annatto seeds i use are considerably smaller than
the whole hazelnuts i see. Or is a hazelnut the size of a *pod* of
achiote containing some number of seeds (like a pod of cardamom
contains many cardamom seeds)? I've never seen achiote in the
"rough", although i've been using it since 1968.
>What nuts were commonly available in Spain at this time? Seems to me
>walnuts and hazelnuts grow further north, but I'm real sketchy on this.
Walnuts are grown in the Near and Middle East, and originated there,
i believe, so were likely brought with the Muslims to Spain, but I'm
sketchy on this, too. I know the nuts besides adding flavor add body
to the drink.
>So have fun and tell us hov it goes.
Will do. Not this week or next, but probably soon, as the cold
weather comes up, and a cup of temperature hot and spicy *hot*
chocolate will be quite the restorative.
Thanks so much for the detailed information,
Anahita al-shazhiyya
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