Cocoa And Chocolate Are Not Only The Exotic Foodstuffs

Chocolate
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Abstract
Cocoa and chocolate are not only the exotic foodstuffs that make individuals upbeat; they have a rich history. Cocoa and chocolate were initially expended for therapeutic purposes. It was just later that they wound up plainly famous as foodstuffs because of their enchanting taste. There are couple of foodstuffs which have such a rich and fascinating history as cocoa and chocolate. Much the same as espresso, we acquired the cocoa bean from the baffling pre-Columbian societies in Latin America CITATION McN062 \l 1033 (McNeil, 2006). At the point when Cortés initially transported in cocoa to Europe, and when he figured out how to make a chocolate drink with it, it created very some excitement: heavenly to a few; sinful to others. Indeed, even today, cocoa chocolate still ooze an emanation of secret, extravagance and delight.
Origin of Chocolate
Chocolate is produced using the cacao beans cases which originate from the obroma cacao trees. These trees are native to South America and they were initially developed within broad plantations which were located next to the shores of the Pacific and the Gulf-which are located in a focal point in America CITATION McN062 \l 1033 (McNeil, 2006). More specifically, the trees were abundant in the areas such as Xoconuso and the Sarstoon valleys. It is in these areas that conducive atmosphere (warm and moist atmosphere) was present for the development of the trees. There are four assortments of the cacao beans, the Aztecs were conversant with all of them. Another word they used to refer to the beans was cacahuatl. They eventually defiled this word and later came up with the word xocolatl and it is assumed that this word is the origin of the word “chocolate”. CITATION McN062 \l 1033 (McNeil, 2006).
Chocolate was such a major item within the Aztec culture that it became a form of currency which was regularly requested as a tribute from other tribes CITATION Gri111 \l 1033 (Grivetti, 2011). For example, an individual could use cacao beans to buy other items. In the Aztec markets, it was found out that one cacao bean could purchase one tomato, thirty beans could get a rabbit and two hundred beans was worth a turkey.
It was an expensive import at the time, Privileged people in the society were the ones who mostly acquired chocolate to mainly use them as after supper delicacies CITATION Gri111 \l 1033 (Grivetti, 2011). They used to do this along with smoking tobacco. Even though it was mainly acquired by the privileged people in the society, people from the poorer classes enjoyed it too in the midst of special occasions. It was blended with maize gruel in occasions such as weddings. However, some researchers have illustrated that the unadulterated drink made from chocolate was an elite materialistic trifle enjoyed by the honorability. Inquisitively, provision of it may have been made to favored conciliatory casualties in the form of a final pleasure moments before dying, for instance, during the yearly celebration in Aztec culture known as Panquetzaliztli, people were known to show their appreciation for Huitzilopochtli CITATION Dil00 \l 1033 (Dillinger, 2000).
The preparation of chocolate took three major proc...