[Sca-cooks] Pepper in chocolates

[S CLEMENGER]

It's an "artisan" flavor, mostly, at least, as far as I'm familiar with it.  I've got a bar of it in my desk drawer at work, as a matter of fact.  Very intense chocolate flavor (which might also be due in part to the cacao nibs), and just this lovely *hint* of something else.
It might make for an interesting flavor in a savory cheesecake.....
--Maire
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Terry Decker<mailto:t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> 
  To: Cooks within the SCA<mailto:sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org> 
  Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 11:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Pepper in chocolates


  Cacao is naturally occurring in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins along 
  the eastern Andean foothills and may have had a range as far north as 
  southeastern Mexico.  While there is no direct evidence, it is believed that 
  the Olmec harvested and used cacao and that the practice was adopted by the 
  Mayans and later the Aztecs.  Since we know that the Aztec added chili 
  pepper to their chocolate, I would say that that would constitute chocolate 
  with pepper in the northern hemisphere and is probably where it originated. 
  Modernly, I've never encountered such chocolate.