• Origins of Theobroma cacao (and T. bicolor)
 Probably
Mesoamerican
origins
 Possibly as old as Olmec (mother culture for
Mesoamerica) ~ 4,000 BP
 Ancient Maya
(or Mixe-Zoquean) ka-ka-wa or
 Chocolate in Nahuatl (Aztec) = cacahuatl
(cacao water) or xocoatle (bitter water)
 Cacao (from the ancient Mayan ka-ka-wa)
• Amerindians
drank frothy concoction with
vanilla and chiles
© T. M. Whitmore

• Don’t confuse cacao (
the plant ) with
 Erythroxylum coca (source of cocaine) or
 Cola nitida (African nut flavor in Coke) or
 Cocos nucifera (coconut)
• Ecology & growth
 Lowland wet tropics or irrigated
• History & Culture
 Tribute -
Soconusco
 Currency
© T. M. Whitmore

© Cadbury

• Trade – globalization
•
Americas to Spain
in mid 1500s
• Most of Europe by late 1600s – 1700s
• Dutch grew in Indonesia
• French grew in Haiti
• To US in 1780 when an MD (Dr. Baker) and an
Irish chocolate maker formed a company
(Baker’s chocolate – still around now owned by
Kraft)
• Mole
© T. M. Whitmore

Spanish molinillos

© Las Anitas Restaurant

Ingredients:
4 CHILES MULATOS
4 CHILES ANCHOS
4 CHILES GUAJILLOS
4 CHILES PASILLAS
1 CAN WHOLE TOMATOES
1 LARGE ONION
4 GARLIC CLOVES
1/2 C. ALMONDS
1 RIPE PLANTAIN (or
"PLATANO" OR "COOKING
BANANA")
1/2 C. PEANUTS
1 PIECE TOASTED BREAD
2 CORN TORTILLAS
1 TABLET "ABUELITA"
CHOCOLATE
1/8 C. SESAME SEEDS
OIL OR LARD FOR FRYING
CHOCOLATE, CHICKEN-
TURKEY
© Bob Nemo – the Mole page
1 tsp salt
4 each, dried chiles: mulato, dried pasilla, dried ancho,
2 cups hot chicken stock
1 cup blanched almonds (some substitute 1/2 cup peanut butter)
3 large tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
(or you may use a combination of tomatoes and tomatillos)
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 dried tortilla, broken up
2 cloves garlic, minced
Spices: 4 cloves (or 1/8 tsp ground cloves),
10 peppercorns (or 1/4 tsp ground pepper),
1/2 inch stick cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon), 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (or 1/4 tsp ground coriander), 1/2 tsp anise seed (or 1/4 tsp ground anise)
3 Tbs bacon fat
1 1/2 oz unsweetended chocolate (1 1/2 squares)
2 Tbs sesame seeds

• Initial processing => fermentation, drying, toasting, grinding etc.
• Brits add milk in 1727 => modern hot chocolate
 Quaker families
(Fry, Cadbury, Rowntree) in late 1700s
 Form paternalistic (
company town )
communities for workers
• Dutch (van Houten) invent process to make cocoa powder (remove cocoa butter)
• Fry in 1849 => process to make candy bar type chocolate (add extra cocoa butter)
• Swiss improve processing (Suchard, Lindt, Tobler etc.)
• Hershey (a Pennsylvania Mennonite) quits carmel business to make chocolate in 1890s
 Like Quakers builds factory town
© T. M. Whitmore

© Cadbury (Bournville)

• Economics
 Most “ordinary” cacao grown in W Africa
(Ivory Coast ~ 40%); Ghana and Indonesia major producers
 Recent conflicts => doubling of price of beans from $900/ton to $2300/ton
• Brits eat > 17 lb/yr; USA ~ 12 lbs
• Now organic and “fair trade” chocolate is available
© T. M. Whitmore

• Chocolate cravings are real!
• Americans ate nearly 12 pounds of chocolate apiece in
1997
• 49 percent of all cravings are chocolate-related; chocolate is the single-most commonly craved food in the United States, especially among women.
• Chocolate has similarities to some popular illegal drugs and can, in some cases, reduce depression and create a sense of extreme sensitivity or euphoria.
 It contains a compound called phenylthylamine, which resembles "ecstasy,"
 Also "cannabinoid" fatty acids such as those in marijuana.
 Stimulants, such as caffeine, are present in chocolate, too.
© T. M. Whitmore

•
Antioxidants called phenols in chocolate probably are heart-healthy.
 Prevent the oxidation of so-called "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins--LDL) thus may safeguard against heart attack and stroke
 Also increases HDL cholesterol—the good cholesterol
 Demonstrated to counteract mild hypertension
 Also protects blood vessels, promotes cardiac health, and prevents cancer!
© T. M. Whitmore

• Chocolate contains a very high level of antioxidants, ranking with the top fruits and vegetables for antioxidant content
• The quality (& quantity) of the antioxidants in chocolate are very high relative to other common foods and beverages such as black tea, red wine, raisins, strawberries, pinto beans, and other plant products.
• Dark chocolate has more flavonoids than any other antioxidant-rich food including red wine, green and black tea, and …
© T. M. Whitmore

• Top Antioxidant Foods
• ORAC* Units per 100 grams
•
•
•
•
• Dark Chocolate 13,120
• Milk Chocolate
• Prunes
• Raisins
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
Kale
Strawberries
Spinach
Raspberries
6,740
5,770
2,830
2,400
2,036
1,770
1,540
1,260
1,220
•
• Brussel Sprouts 980
Plums 949
• Alfalfa Sprouts 930
• Broccoli Florets 890
• Oranges 750
739 • Red Grapes
• Red Bell Pepper 710
• Cherries
• Onion
• Corn
• Eggplant
670
450
400
390
© T. M. Whitmore

• In sufficient amounts, the theobromine found in chocolate is toxic to animals such as horses, dogs, parrots, voles, cats (kittens especially), birds and other small animals because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively
• Chocolate is a very potent stimulant for dogs and horses; its use is therefore banned in horse-racing.
© T. M. Whitmore

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•
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© T. M. Whitmore