[Sca-cooks] Chocolate (was Corn Bread)

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Gwynydd wrote:
>1) What is 'Achiote'?

Achiote is the same as Annatto, a somewhat pyramidal seed used to
give a red, orange, or yellow color (depending on how much you use).
Available in markets that sell Caribbean and/or Latin American
products

>2) If I used pre-powdered cocoa (given that I am not sure that I can even
>get cocoa beans), how would I get the paste - the addition of cocoa butter
>(if one can even buy this commercially in Tasmania) or something like it,
>perhaps?

Mix with a little cocoa butter (if you can find it) or substitute
another mono-unsaturated fat like coconut oil or even a little butter
- obviously it will effect the flavor a bit, but you really don't
need much fat.

Sometimes gourmet stores sell "cocoa nibs" - this is what you'd use
if you want to get closer to "from scratch". I bought some but
haven't made the drink yet... You can probably order some over the
internet, but i don't know if it would be worth the expense.

>3) Is granulated white sugar appropriate for the sweetened version?  Or
>should I be looking at something else?

White sugar would be quite suitable for a late period Spanish recipe.

>4) Can someone explain this sentence please?  It has me rather confused.
>'You must Searse all the Ingredients, but onely the Cacao; and if you take
>the shell from the Cacao, it is the better; and when you shall find
>it to be well beaten, & incorporated (which you shall know by the
>shortness of it)'

Dunno. Searse usually means to sift, i think. But then it says to
sift all the ingredients, but only the cacao, which doesn't make much
sense. I guess "the shortness of it" means you can see that the
ingredients are incorporated with the cocoa fats...

Anahita / Subaytila