Chocolate Delights

by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt  Rowan Public Library

As part of the Adult Summer Reading program and on-going Book Bites, Rowan Public Library will present an evening filled with that most delectable treat – chocolate.   A little background might be in order.

Chocolate or Xocalatl began, not as the candy kiss we all know and love, but as a slightly bitter and highly spiced drink.  Toltecs and Aztecs used the dried beans, cacahuatl as currency as much as a thousand years before Spanish conquistadors encountered the native Mexicans.  “The Chocolate Bible” by Christian Teubner details the progress of chocolate from its equatorial origins to the courts of Europe and into the hands of the great chocolatiers.  The cultivation of cacao trees and the methods of production in the processing of cocoa are explored as well.  The “Bible” continues to the main event, the luscious looking recipes for chocolate indulgences – the famous Viennese Sacher Torte, mousse, candies and of course the original drink – Tejate, frothy and mixed with corn, annatto, mammee seeds, cacao blossoms, and ivory nut.  Chile peppers, cinnamon, ginger, white pepper, vanilla and other spices have also been used to flavor this unique beverage.   The savory side of chocolate is also represented in mole and noodles.

Kay Frydenborg, in her book Chocolate Sweet Science & Dark Secrets explores the many aspects of chocolate.   She looks at the science involved in producing chocolate, the chemistry, and the medicinal use of chocolate as well as the social and commercial history.  In her chapter entitled the “Dark Side of Chocolate,”  Frydenborg maintains that until very recently and even still in some places, chocolate was produced by slave labor.  The original Mesoamerican societies used their own servant classes for the production of cocoa; the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors continued the practice.  In the early 1900s, one of the leading chocolate makers of England, Cadbury faced a serious scandal and trial.  They were accused of turning a blind eye to what was, in essence, slavery in the making of cacao.  The subsequent British push for reform inflamed relations between England and Portugal, which still allowed the harsh forced labor practices. In 2001 a “Cocoa Protocol” was signed by all the big chocolate companies pledging to keep their cocoa production child labor free, but compliance has been difficult.  Fair Trade Certified programs help ensure that commodities such as coffee and chocolate are produced safely, sustainably and efficiently and without child labor. The book finishes with a timeline of interesting tidbits in chocolate history,  like the US military has issued chocolate as standard rations since the 1940s at Milton Hershey’s suggestion or a solid eating chocolate bar first appears in 1847.

 For a fascinating look at the great chocolate houses, Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury should not be missed.    It examines the early rivalries of Rowntree and Cadbury and their Quaker antecedents as well as the histories of the big American chocolate companies Mars and Hershey.    For a more humorous look at our cultural obsession with chocolates, Steve Almond writes an enjoyable romp in “Candy Freak.”   Last but not least, check out a copy of the novel Chocolat “with its mix of hedonism, whimsy, and, of course, chocolate.”    As a finale, Rowan Public Library will show the film Chocolat and attendees will be invited to indulge in some chocolate creations – Tuesday, August 25^th at 6:30 at the South Rowan Regional Library.