Hot Chocolate (was Re: [Sca-cooks] Speaking of upcoming events...)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On 6 Jan 2003, at 17:25, Barbara Benson wrote:

> I am afraid I cannot make it to NJ, but I am curious about the hot
> chocolate! Do you have a period recipit for it?

Not an actual recipe, but a conjecture based on info from Sophie
Coe's _The True History of Chocolate_.  In the late 16th century,
hot chocolate was being drunk by the nobility in Spain.  The
Spanish added sugar and sweet spices, but they made it with hot
water, not milk.  At some point they started substituting black
pepper for chili pepper, but a 1631 treatise on chocolate by a
Spanish doctor shows that even post-period, chili and anatto were
still being used.  You'll find more historical details in the Florilegium
file on chocolate.

My "recipe" calls for Mexican-style table chocolate, which is
available in Hispanic groceries.  The specific brand I use is actually
Columbian.  It's unsweetened, and contains cinnamon and cloves.
I found that worked better than adding my own spices.

16 oz. hot water
3 tablets Luker Chocolate con Canela y Clavos
3 TBS white sugar (or to taste)
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
enough anatto to give it a red color

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well.  Caution: hot
liquids tend to gush upwards in a blender.  You might want to blend
with warm water, then heat the mixture in a saucepan.  The
chocolate and spices have a tendency to settle, so stir well with a
whisk or molinillo before pouring *each* serving.

> If so I would luuvv it
> if you would share. I have had a specific request for hot chocolate at
> an upcoming event, from the Princess so I am serving it anyway, but a
> period reference would be icing on the cake. Or would that be foam on
> the mug?

Foam, definitely foam.  Froth is desirable in period hot chocolate.

> -Serena


Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net