The history of chocolate dates back over 5,000 years. The cacao tree is native to the tropics of the Americas. The cocoa bean was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago in what is present-day southeast Ecuador by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before being introduced in Mesoamerica.
Chocolate was originally prepared as a bitter drink mixed with spices or corn puree.
After its arrival to Europe in the sixteenth century, sugar was added to it and it became popular throughout society, first among the ruling classes and then among the common people. In the 20th century, chocolate was considered essential in the rations of United States soldiers during war.
Cocoa is a variant of cacao, likely due to confusion with the word coco. It is ultimately derived from kakaw(a), but whether that word originates in Nahuatl or a Mixe-Zoquean language is the subject of substantial linguistic debate. The Mayan glyph for kakaw(a) consists of a comb sign, a fish, which is a substitute for the comb, and the sign for 'w'. the Chocolate is a Spanish loanword, first recorded in English in 1604, and first recorded in Spanish in 1579. The word for chocolate drink in early Nahuatl texts is cacahuatl meaning "cacao water", which chocolate does not immediately derive from.
Despite theories that chocolate is derived from xocoatl meaning "bitter drink" or chocolatl meaning "hot water" (the word xocolatl is not attested; there is a different word xocoatl referring to a drink made of maize) and uncertainty around the Nahuatl origin, there is a consensus that it likely derives from chicolatl. Whether chicolatl means "cacao beater", however, is contested, due to difficulty knowing what chico means.
The cacao tree is native to the Amazon rainforest. Evidence for domestication exists as early as 5300 BP in the Amazon in southeast Ecuador by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before it was introduced to Mesoamerica. This emerged from research looking at the presence of starch grains specific to the cacao tree inside ceramics and pottery, residue of theobromine, a chemical compound found in unusually high levels in the cacao tree, and fragments of ancient DNA with sequences unique to the cacao tree. The domesticated cacao tree was then spread along the Pacific coast of South America. When chocolate was first produced, rather than cacao just being consumed, is unclear. The pulp around the cacao seed was eaten as a sweet food, and there is also evidence that it was fermented into an alcoholic beverage by the Olmec.
On the fourth voyage of Columbus, on August 15, 1502, the expedition came upon a Mayan trading canoe near an island in the Gulf of Honduras. Chronicling the objects on the canoe, a member of the Columbus expedition noted the apparent value of cacao, inferred from how the canoe crew reacted when they were dropped, although they did not know what they were or that you could make a drink of them. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés may have been the first European to encounter chocolate when he observed it in the court of Moctezuma II in 1520. By 1524, the Spanish ruled central Mexico, and expanded cacao production, and increased tribute requirements. Chocolate was an acquired taste for the Spanish living in the Americas, and the foam was particularly objectionable. However, the primarily male Spanish population was systematically exposed to chocolate via the Aztec women they married. As Spanish women immigrated and the Spanish elite no longer married the local population, native women remained in the household as domestic servants.
If you want to read more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chocolate
- SERVES
- 10
- CHILL TIME
- 8 Hr
- COOK TIME
- 1 Hr 55 Min
Our Orange Chocolate Cheesecake combines the great tastes of cottage cheese and orange yogurt for a refreshing dessert you can't resist--straight from the dairy aisle! Plus, we added a chocolate graham cracker crust and some chocolate-dipped oranges for a taste that's so good, you're gonna be running to the store--if you don't have the ingredients in your fridge already!
- 18 whole chocolate graham crackers
- 1 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 1 cup butter, melted and divided
- 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 (16-ounce) container cottage cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 (5.3-ounce) containers orange and cream yogurt
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Chocolate-dipped orange sections
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
- In a food processor or blender pulse graham crackers into crumbs. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 cup butter; mix well. Press mixture into bottom of springform pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and cottage cheese until well combined. Add sour cream, yogurt, the 1-1/2 cups sugar, eggs, orange juice, vanilla, flour, and the remaining 1/2 cup butter; beat until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into springform pan.
- Bake 55 minutes, turn oven off (center will be slightly jiggly), and leave pan in oven for 60 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, remove sides of springform pan and garnish with chocolate dipped orange wedges.
- To make the chocolate wedges, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir and continue to microwave until chocolate is smooth. Dip orange section in chocolate halfway and place on a waxpaper lined plate. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens.
