HEALTHY INGREDIENT
Cocoa rubbed steaks with bacon brussels sprouts.
COCAO
By S. MICHAL BENNETT Photography By JOEL RINER
I have a vague childhood mem- ory of visiting Hershey, Penn. with my grandparents and sis- ter. Overall, junk food was closely monitored in our house, particular- ly candy. As a teenager, I did devel- op a fondness for Hershey chocolate almond bars, and there has always been a hint of chocolate in the food diary of my life, As an adult, I in- dulge in the occasional chocolate truffle or dark chocolate bar, but I’ve also discovered how passionate so many people are about chocolate. >> History The theobroma cacao plant is a small tropical evergreen native to Central and South America. It was an integral part of Aztec culture and life, as well as a valuable commod- ity commonly used as currency. Be- cause of its value, only the wealthy
consumed chocolate, typically in the form of xocolatl, a cold drink consist- ing of ground cocoa, chile peppers and water. It was considered an aph- rodisiac that conferred wisdom and power. According to legend, Emper- or Montezuma drank 50 golden cups of this bitter drink every day. Cor- tés, upon brutally conquering Mont- ezuma, returned to Spain with cacao beans and tools to make xocolatl, and Spanish cooks made it more palat- able to their tastes by replacing the chiles with sugar, vanilla and cinna- mon and even boiled in wine. The first U.S. chocolate factory was established in 1765, and the first en - tirely machine-manufactured choco- late was made in Spain in 1780. In 1900, Switzerland overtook Spain as the top producer of chocolate in the world, and Hershey produced its first
chocolate bar. During WWII, the U.S. government reserved shipping space to send chocolate to U.S. troops. To- day, U.S. Army rations still include chocolate, and it’s one of the foods taken by U.S. astronauts into space. >> Cultivation There are three varieties of cocoa: Forastero (90% of the world’s sup- ply), Criollo (rare and valuable), and Trinitario. In spite of rigorous ef- forts to crossbreed and hybridize the cocoa plant to make it more hardy, adaptable and prolific, it remains a rather delicate plant growing with- in 600 miles of the equator, in tem- peratures no cooler than 68 degrees fahrenheit, and with 70-90 inches of rainfall per year. Most chocolate sourced today is grown in Brazil and West Africa, but
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