Sindy Mercado

October 20, 2015

Professor Cristina Villa

Reading Response Week 2: History of Chocolate

Chocolate, so delicious and savory is an interesting sweet that when is in your mouth it quickly melts and becomes a liquid stimulating your emotions because the taste is beyond satisfying. Has it ever crossed your mind how it is possible that such a perfectly and carefully wrapped hard chocolate bar becomes so vulnerable to quickly melt in your mouth and produce the sensation it does when you’re eating it? According to an article published in NPR titled “How Chocolate Might Save the Planet” by Robert Krulwich, he points out that companies created this “secret ingredient” in which cocoa butter is stored in large tight molecules called “triglycerides” that are sensitive to temperature. This means that packaging and storing require a temperature lower than 18-degree Celsius in order to produce a perfectly hard chocolate. Furthermore, when the chocolate reaches your mouth, it is the only time (aside from leaving it in the sun for too long) when it reaches temperatures higher therefore melting in your mouth. I thought this was interesting because it shows how chocolate has always been a tasty ingredient enjoyed by many but it also has been appropriated differently throughout the world.

The origins of chocolate date back to 16^th century in Mexico used by the Mesoamericans as a spiritual drink but it was also a drink consumed by the nobility along with priests and warriors as the article “The True History of Chocolate” points out. Chocolate made its way to Europe and the first evidence of it being consumed in Spain involves the Kekchi Mayans of Guatemala who visited Prince Philip and offered many valuable presents from their native land, which included cacao (D. Coe: 130). Chocolate was perceived to be a medical drink which “restores natural heat, generates pure blood, enlivens the heart” (2013: 149). I find this very interesting because in a recent study published in NPR titled “How Dark Chocolate, Not Milk Chocolate, May Help Blood Flow” describes chocolate as a medicine that helps patients with peripheral artery disease to improve their ability to walk on their own. The researchers deduce that “dark chocolate can help reduce stress…and help the body form more nitric oxide” which causes blood vessels to dilate. Although their improvements in blood flow goes along with other forms of treatment the fact of the matter is that chocolate continues to be seen as medicinal and good for your health.

 Chocolate was nourishing and the significance of the drink can be depicted in literature. For example, Goldini’s comedy titled “Mine Hostess” showcases chocolate as an important drink for the noble people, more important than money. One of the characters points out that he was “more annoyed that he drank my chocolate” (1753: 17) representing chocolate as a valuable and prestigious drink, since he, himself is a knight. Another example in which chocolate is represented in literature is the reading “Bacchus in Tuscany” where chocolate is negatively portrayed as a drink from “down in Tartarus” where people are tortured and punished for their misconducts. His tone towards chocolate, coffee and tea are negative and contrary to the comedy by Goldini. This is mainly because his intentions in that poem was to praise the Tuscan wine, which unlike chocolate, coffee and tea has a “rich red and its strawberry light” (Hunt, 1825).  In Parini’s poem “The Day” he demonstrates the detrimental effects of the civilizations of Mayans and Aztecs because of European consumption of chocolate. In a verse he states, “They wrecked two kingdoms to refresh thy palate” for the mere consumption of a cup of chocolate. This is interesting because it shows how Europeans were not mindful of the consequences and disruptions within these two civilizations. As the European dominance grew the poorer communities were being taking advantage of destroying communities for their benefit.

Although indulging in chocolate is the most satisfying feeling in the world [for me], it definitely makes me feel guilty when I read about the history and the civilizations that were disrupted as Europeans realized the economic benefits that came along with chocolate. This however, is not surprising because in history there is always a country winning over and extracting the resources of another. 

Bibliography

Krulwich, Robert. "How Chocolate Might Save The Planet." NPR. N.p., 4 June 2014. Web. 4

June 2014. <http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2014/06/04/255857604/how-

chocolate-might-save-the-planet>.

Aubrey, Allison. "How Dark Chocolate, Not Milk Chocolate, May Help Blood Flow." NPR 2

July 2014: n. pag. Web.