[Sca-cooks] Period Hot Chocolate (was OOP: 18th c. chocolate)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On Fri, 20 Sep 2002 09:35:02 -0400 Jeff Gedney <Gedney1 at iconn.net> wrote:

> well from what I have read ( no I don't have my
> sources immediately to hand,
> sorry ) It was not long before the Spanish
> started adding sugar and cinnamon
> to the chocolate instead of the hot pepper. I
> think that this was a popular
> drink with the Spanish court by the 1530's. lat
> me see what I can find for
> references, and I'll report.
>
> Brandu

Thanks.  I did most of my research in Sophie and Michael Coe's _The True
History of Chocolate_, which is probably the most detailed and reliable
secondary source on the subject.  It's fairly certain that by the late 16th
century, the Spanish nobility were drinking sweetened hot chocolate with
spices.  At some point, black pepper was substituted for chili pepper, but
since Colmenero's 1631 recipe calls for cayenne, I think I'm safe in using it.

Alas, there are no pre-1600 Spanish recipes for hot chocolate, but I think
mine is a plausible re-creation.  If you have further information about hot
chocolate in SCA period, I'd love to see it.

Brighid ni Chiarain

p.s.  I forgot to mention that I added some annato (achiote) to the mixture.