Growing up in Hershey, Pennsylvania,
the so-called “Sweetest Place on Earth,” introduced me to a more chocolate
focused upbringing than non-Hershey natives. The iconic images of my hometown
are the Hershey Kiss shaped streetlights and the intersection of Chocolate and
Cocoa Avenue (no joke. Chocolate Ave. is paved brown to look like chocolate.)
Throughout elementary school, a section of our history classes were devoted to
the Hershey Company and Mr. Milton S. Hershey (founder). When I was 9, my grade
went on a field trip to tour the Hershey Factory (which was torn down last
summer). In the days prior to this field trip, my older brother told me about
the amazing fantasy that was the interior of the factory. These myths included
a worker shoveling mountains of fresh, warm chocolates off the conveyor belts
into the hands of all the children. Of course, this was just a myth older
siblings tell younger siblings. Sanitation laws and what-not make this
occurrence completely improbable. However to a naïve 9 year-old, images of the
Wonka factory were floating around my head before the field trip. Although
interesting, the tour of the factory removed the mystery and magic behind
chocolate for me. This post is focused on cacao/chocolate to reinvigorate that
childhood fascination with chocolate.
Early
Consumption and Use of Cacao
Exterior of Mayan vase depicting a ruler sitting next to a vessel containing a frother cacao beverage. Copyright Justing Kerr.
The earliest known evidence of cacao
consumption comes from the Olmec village of El Manati. This evidence comes from
a potsherd (broken piece of a ceramic pot) that tested positive for theobromine
(the chemical marker for cacao); it is dated between 1900 BC and 1500 BC (Blake
2010). Cacao is a member of the Theobroma genus, which in Greek translates to
‘food of the gods’. Throughout Mesoamerica, both spatially and temporally, the
cacao plant is associated with prestige and ceremonial practices. In the Popol
Vuh, a Maya book of creation, cacao is described as one of the foods from which
Gods created humans (Prufer 2007). In several instances, it is an aspect of
rites of passage and identity (Prufer 2007, Barnes 2013). The Mazatec of west
Mexico bury cacao seeds as an offering under household hearths. For Day of the
Dead ceremonies, Zapotecs would place beans on an altar. Mid 20th
century Chorti Maya consumed cacao as a beverage and did not use it as an
offering. Many Mesoamerican cultures include cacao in marriage proposals and
ceremonies. Some involve one party (or both) exchanging cacao seeds, or
drinking a beverage prepared from cacao. Cacao had a role in the ascension of
new political leaders as well. A
practice of the Mam involved new leaders preparing and drinking a mixture of
cacao and corn. New leaders were also presented with “sacred” cacao seeds,
which their wives would then save. This practice was a physical expression of
the acceptance of the responsibility that comes with a political office, the
latest occurrence of this practice is the 1940s (Prufer 2007).
A remarkable find was the discovery
of cacao traces in ceramic sherds of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.
Chaco Canyon is a bit of mystery, archaeologically speaking. These mysteries
surpass the scope of this post, but I highly recommend looking into it. The
discovery of cacao in vases at Pueblo Bonito shows the expansive trade networks
between the southwest US and Mesoamerica. The theobromine containing vases had
a similar geometric motif as Mayan vessels used to hold cacao. The fact that
theobromine was detectable in the sherds prove that the cacao was able to soak
into the ceramic vessel, meaning it was in a liquid form (Blake 2010). For
cacao to travel so far from its source and to be consumed as a beverage is
amazing. When I first started reading the small section about cacao at Chaco
Canyon in Blake’s article, I initially thought the cacao was in its natural
bean form since the beans were used as currency throughout Mesoamerica. The
fact that the evidence proves it was consumed as a beverage shows that the
cultural values of cacao travelled along with the physical commodity.
Skipping
a few hundred years or so…
Today, in U.S culture, chocolate is
everywhere. Several major holidays involve chocolate from trick-or-treating on
Halloween to a stocking stuffer on Christmas or treats in an Easter Basket.
Valentine’s Day isn’t just a materialistic Hallmark Card holiday, it’s a day
devoted to chocolate, and a lot of it.
“A large proportion of boxed chocolates are bought by women for women because men are often scared of getting it wrong. [ … ] Women, however, tend to follow a debit–credit system when it comes to chocolate consumption, which means that if they indulge now they must compromise on something else later. So, if they are going to indulge, it had better taste, look and feel perfect. It's a trade-off which women readily understand, but which many men don't and worry about it when buying chocolate.” – Jim McCall, Cadbury Brand Manager (Barrientos 2014).This quote from Jim McCall shows that chocolate still has cultural value (even sexist ones, yay). Chocolate, good chocolate, is something to be chosen wisely. It is serious business, if the wrong chocolate is chosen- chaos will follow. Some sampling on indigenous Kuna tribes in Panama has shown that whole bean cacao is high in flavanols that are associated with decreased hypertension and cardiovascular disease (Barnes 2013). Most chocolate in the US isn't believed to have high nutritional value. The only chocolate that is associated with health and antioxidants is dark chocolate, chocolate with a cocoa content of higher that 65%. The market for these chocolates has increased dramatically over the years, including a market for certified organic and Fairtrade chocolates. These purer chocolates are a more prestigious good than your regular Hershey's Bar. They are more expensive, have fewer ingredients, and require a defined taste palate in order to be enjoyed. Similar to the coffee, wine, and beer culture in the US, there is a similar one in regards to chocolate- cultural values that express one's sophistication; the ability and knowledge to consume higher quality beverages.
Works Cited
- Barrientos, Stephanie. "Gendered Global Production Networks: Analysis of Cocoa-Chocolate Sourcing." Regional Studies 48.5 (2014): 791-803.
- Barnes, Jeffrey. "Where Chocolate Begins and Research Methods End: Understanding Kuna Cacao Consumption." Human organization 72.3 (2013): 211-9.
- Edgar, Blake. "The Power of Chocolate: Tracking the Chemical Signature of Cacao Across Mesoamerica." Archaeology 63.6 (2010): 20.
Prufer, Keith M., and W. Jeffrey Hurst. "Chocolate in the Underworld Space of Death: Cacao Seeds from an Early Classic Mortuary Cave." Ethnohistory 54.2 (2007): 273-301.
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