Chocolate: Food (and Drink) of the Gods | Foodzie Blog

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Sean

As much as we love a good, soothing cup of hot chocolate, summer hasn?t released its sweaty grip on us yet. Luckily, we can enjoy it in frozen (or should we say Frrrozen) form. So sip on frothy, cool cuppa and consider chocolate?s remarkable past.

Although we now most commonly think of chocolate in solid form, chocolate was a beverage of choice in Central America as far back as 1400 BC, long before there was Swiss Miss.?The white pith around the cacao beans may have been fermented to make it alcoholic. The New World ancients held cacao sacred; the Maya believed cacao was given to humanity shortly after creation by the Plumed Serpent. In fact, the latin name for the cacao plant, theobroma, translates as ?food of the gods.?

Spaniards brought chocolate back to Europe in the 1600s, and it gained popularity as a beverage there. Solid chocolate didn?t appear until its invention by Joseph Fry in 1847 in England, forming the first chocolate bar.

If chocolate is your favorite anti-depressant, you?re not alone. Chocolate is high in?phenylethylamine, a chemical that elevates mood and may even simulate the sensation of being in love. It explains a lot about why we heart chocolate.

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Source: http://foodzie.com/blog/2011/09/chocolate-food-and-drink-of-the-gods/

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