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| ISBN-13: | 9781596293533 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing SC |
| Publication date: | 09/23/2009 |
| Pages: | 136 |
| Sales rank: | 539,143 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.32(d) |
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CHAPTER 1
HAIL QUETZALCOATL!
The God Of The Morning Star
Chocolate! That creamy, rich, delicious confection we adore is something that few of us can resist, refuse or deny ourselves. Yet this sweet and decadent delicacy is something far different than what was enjoyed by our ancestors just a few centuries ago when it was a delicious and flavorful drink referred to as the "Food of the Gods."
The name Quetzalcoatl literally means "quetzal-bird snake" or "a serpent with feathers of the quetzal" in the Nahuatl language. The feathered serpent deity was important in art and religion in most of Mesoamerica for close to two thousand years, from the Pre-Classic era until the Spanish conquest of the sixteenth century. Civilizations worshiping the feathered serpent included the people of Central and South America — the Olmec, the Mixtec, the Toltec, the Aztec and the Maya. The worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included human sacrifices, although in other traditions that have come down to us, Quetzalcoatl was said to strongly oppose human sacrifice as a token of tribute. Mesoamerican priests and kings would sometimes take the name of a deity with which they were associated, so Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan are also the names of historical persons. One noted Post- Classic Toltec ruler was named Quetzalcoatl, and he may actually be the same individual as the Kukulcan who invaded Yucatan at about the same time. In the tenth century, a ruler closely associated with Quetzalcoatl ruled the Toltecs, and his name was Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl. This ruler was said to be the son of either the great Chichimeca warrior Mixcoatl and the Colhuacano woman Chimalman or one of their august and revered descendants.
The Toltecs were said to have had a dualistic belief system. Quetzalcoatl's opposite was Tezcatlipoca, who supposedly sent Quetzalcoatl into exile on a raft of snakes, with the promise to return. When the Aztecs adopted the culture of the Toltecs, they made twin gods of Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, opposite in belief but equal in stature. Quetzalcoatl was also called White Tezcatlipoca, to contrast him with the Black Tezcatlipoca. Together, these twin, but different colored, gods were said to have created the world. The Aztec emperor Montezuma II initially believed that the landing of Hernando Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors in 1519 was in actuality Quetzalcoatl's long- awaited return, as was predicted when he left on the raft of snakes. Cortes played off this naïve belief to aid in his conquest of Mexico and the subjugation of the Emperor Montezuma II.
The exact significance and attributes of Quetzalcoatl varied somewhat between each of these civilizations and throughout history. Quetzalcoatl was often considered the god of the morning star, while his twin brother, Xolotl, was considered the evening star. As the morning star, Quetzalcoatl was known under the title Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, which means literally "the lord of the star of the dawn." He was known and worshiped as the inventor of books and the lunar calendar, the giver of maize corn to mankind and sometimes as a symbol of death and resurrection. Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and held the revered title of the Aztec high priest.
Most Mesoamerican beliefs included the cycles of worlds. Usually, our current time was considered the fifth world, the previous four worlds having been destroyed by flood, fire and the like. Quetzalcoatl allegedly went to Mictlan, the somewhat mysterious underworld, and created the fifth world's mankind from the bones of the previous races (with the necessary help of Cihuacoatl), using his own blood to imbue the bones with new life. His birth, along with that of his twin, Xolotl, was unusual, as it was said to be a virgin birth, born to the goddess Coatlicue.
Quetzalcoatl was considered a god of such supreme importance and power that almost no aspect of everyday life seemed to go untouched by him. Secondly, as a historical figure, his actions would, and could, not be contained by history and thus eventually evolved into myth or revered legend. As a legend, he would signal the end of mortal kingship. An interesting phenomenon that distinguished Quetzalcoatl is that despite the fact that he is not considered to be the most powerful of gods within the Mesoamerican pantheon, or one of the eldest gods in the hierarchy, he is nonetheless an integral and vital part of the overall system. This was partially accomplished by his ability to integrate himself so securely to the attributes of his fellow brethren gods, to such an extent that it is virtually impossible to tell if Quetzalcoatl was the true originator. Hence, to assign a single definitive personality to a god is extremely difficult to do.
This lore was to become part of the Toltec, or Mexican, culture and has come down to us today as something far different than how it was perceived centuries ago. However, Quetzalcoatl is still revered as a god and one who obviously, like his mortal worshipers, enjoyed the savory drink cacahuatl.
Chocolate as we know it today is the final, or end, result of a long process derived from the cultivation of the Theobroma cacao tree. This tree is a member of the malvales, an order of angiosperms that also includes the cotton plant. It grows in altitudes between 660 and 2,600 feet in warm, humid climates and in latitudes twenty degrees north and south of the equator, such as in Mexico, South America, the West Indies and the Caribbean, as well as the Gold Coast of Africa. It was enjoyed by the natives of these regions prior to its discovery by the Spanish explorers to the New World. Cacao trees are somewhat fragile, but those growing closest to the equator are said to be among the most fruitful, since temperatures below sixty degrees Fahrenheit may result in damage to the trees and thus to the next season's crop. The cultivation of tobacco and chocolate were two important luxuries that were to be exported to Western Europe by Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors.
The chocolate tree, known scientifically as the Theobroma cacao tree, thanks to eighteenth-century Swedish naturalist and father of taxonomy Carl von Linne (1707–1778), is a dwarflike evergreen tree growing an average of twelve to fifteen feet in height, with a silver-barked trunk from five to eight inches in diameter. When young, the Theobroma cacao tree is protected from the intensity of the sun by the planting of trees that give it shade; banana trees, lemon trees, coral trees and cotton trees are among those planted to shade the fragile Theobroma cacao trees. The protective trees are often referred to as the madres del cacao (mothers of the cacao), and they also help to protect the soil from drying out in the intense heat and sun.
The Theobroma cacao tree has branches spreading from its singular trunk, with large green leaves and small pink scentless flowers and numerous pods, which are grooved and irregular in shape and average from nine inches to a foot in length, growing from both the branches, as well as the trunk, of the tree. The oval-shaped cacao pods, when unripe and young, are green but slowly turn a dark yellowish brown as they ripen and are filled with beans or cacao seeds. These are encased in a membrane within the thick rind. The cacao seeds are the size of a thumbnail, and each pod has an average of forty to sixty seeds. The cacao pods are harvested when the ripe pods are cut from the tree by means of knives attached to long wood poles. The pods are then gathered in piles, where workers cut them open with a machete and scoop out the seeds and membrane. Oxidation occurs almost at once, causing the beans to turn brown. The beans are then spread on long low platforms in the direct sun so that they are only a few inches deep and will be allowed to dry. The beans ferment during the drying process, with the natural sugars swiftly turning to acetic acids. Once fully dried, a process that can take several days to a few weeks, depending on weather conditions, the cacao seeds are then manually cleaned of any pulp or membrane that remains and are bagged for shipment.
* The Theobroma cacao tree is said to usually mature within twelve years of planting and can continue to produce for upward of twentyfive years if nurtured.
* The Theobroma cacao tree usually lives an average of thirty-five years, though the tree is pruned, shaded and cultivated annually.
* Upward of 60 percent of the cacao pods simply dry up due to the intensity of the heat before maturity.
* The cacao pods have forty to sixty beans, and the average weight of the useable beans per pod is five ounces.
* The Theobroma cacao tree produces an average of two dozen cacao pods annually, with an average of three pounds of dried cacao beans from each tree.
* A cacao plantation may not begin to see a profit until after six or seven years of cultivation.
Although the Toltecs cultivated the Theobroma cacao tree for centuries, it was not until 1519 that the Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando Cortes (1485–1547) learned of the secret of preparing cacahuatl, the delicious savory drink derived from the cacao seeds. Montezuma II, the emperor of the Aztecs, welcomed the Spanish at elaborate ceremonies where his guests were served this luscious, foamy drink in goblets. The honeylike drink was the crushed cacao seed, with the liquid being whisked to a froth and then flavored with vanilla and chili pepper and served cold. This was a refreshing but decidedly different drink from the sweet cocoa of the present day.
Cacahuatl was the Aztec name for the seeds of the tree from which this drink was produced, but the name was to become known as cacao to the Spaniards. The Indians of Mexico believed that the Theobroma cacao tree was of divine origin, and they highly valued the beans as not only a food but also a medium of exchange, as the beans were used as a form of currency. When Cortes returned to Spain, he was lauded for the introduction of the new drink, but the cacao beans were so highly prized that they were reputedly hidden in Spanish monasteries and remained a well-kept secret, only available to the wealthy since their price was prohibitive. Enjoyed in the sixteenth century by the Spanish royal family and the wealthy elite, chocolate was eventually introduced to France through the marriage of Anne, the daughter of Philip III of Spain, to King Louis XIII, who was a decided chocoholic. By the mid-seventeenth century, chocolate was being enjoyed outside the royal court of King Louis XIV and his queen, Maria Theresa.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE, SIMPLIFIED
1. Cut the cacao pods from the Theobroma cacao tree. (There are more than twenty varieties of Theobroma cacao trees, and each variety has and imparts a different flavor to the chocolate. The trees can grow an average of fifteen to twenty feet in height, and the cacao pods grow from both the branches, as well as the trunk, of the cacao tree. Each cacao tree yields an average of 1 to 2 pounds of cacao beans, and an acre of cacao trees produces an average of 450 pounds of cacao beans.)
2. Split the cacao pods and scoop out the cacao beans, spreading them thinly and allowing them to ferment and to air and dry in the sun.
3. Bag and ship the cacao beans to the factory. (Once the cacao beans were received by Baker Chocolate, they were stored in silos until use, with no adverse effect whatsoever as they were dried. The silos built to the rear of the Park Mill had vertical holding containers that could hold many tons of dried cacao beans, with different types kept in separate storage silos.)
4. Clean and roast the cacao beans. (Once the cacao beans are removed from the silos, they are roasted. Once roasted, the cacao beans are cracked, the shells are removed and the nibs are put into storage.)
5. Blend the nibs for whatever chocolate is being made and grind them between granite stones to melt the cocoa butter, thereby forming a chocolate liquor that is the base of all chocolate products.
6. Pour the chocolate liquor into molds and allow it to solidify; the result is unsweetened baking chocolate.
7. Make cocoa by pressing the chocolate liquor to remove the cocoa butter, forming a cocoa cake. Once dried, the cocoa cake is ground into an exceedingly fine powder.
8. Combine chocolate liquor with milk, sugar, flavoring and other products to create chocolate such as milk chocolate, German sweet chocolate, Caracas sweet chocolate, Dot chocolate, etc.
The drink, once a refreshing savory drink flavored with vanilla and chili pepper, was sweetened with sugar and enjoyed as it is today as cocoa. In the eighteenth century, chocolate houses were opened and became fashionable resorts for patrons to enjoy a cup of cocoa. As demand increased, chocolate began to be produced throughout Europe. The concept of chocolate shops began in London, Florence and Vienna in the early eighteenth century, but it was in Vienna that a chocolate shop, in 1765, provided a backdrop for the fortunate meeting of an Austrian prince and a beautiful chocolate server.
CHAPTER 2CACAO ON THE NEPONSET
A River Where the Latle of Chocolatle Meant Water
The history of the Neponset River reaches far back in time, well past the settlement of Dorchester by the Puritans from the West Country in England in June 1630. The Neponset River was named by the Puritans after the Native Americans who first inhabited the lands, the Neponset tribe of the Massachusetts Indians. The Neponset Indians' chief, or sachem, was known as Chickatawbut.
The area that we refer to as the Lower Mills, which includes both Dorchester and Milton Village, is rich in recorded history. It was here, in 1633, that the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony allowed Israel Stoughton to build a dam at the lower falls on the Neponset River to provide water power for his gristmill, on the express condition that he build a footbridge across the river. This gristmill, completed in 1634, was the first of its kind in New England and was to provide enough maize (ground corn) for the Puritans in the settlement, as well as for trade. The operation of the gristmill proved so efficient that there are records of the Pilgrims of Plymouth Bay Colony sending corn to be ground at Stoughton's Gristmill in Dorchester.
The Neponset River was forded by a bridge at the lower falls. It was not until 1662 that Unquety, or the town of Milton, was set off from the area we now know as Dorchester. The lands were rich and fertile, and corn, wheat and barley were grown in ample abundance. The ownership of the lands by the Puritans was to be strengthened in 1666, when Kitchamakin, sachem of the Massachusetts Indians, conveyed to the Town of Dorchester all the land "beyond the Neponsit [sic] Mill, to the utmost." By 1666, the Puritans had established complete and outright legal ownership of both the Neponset River and abutting lands, as well as the power generated by the river dam. Throughout the seventeenth century, growth continued, including the establishment of the first gunpowder mill and the first paper mill. The gunpowder, once dried, proved immensely important, as the Indian Wars commenced almost at once, and the new mill in Dorchester supplied the militias of Massachusetts Bay Colony with the necessary gunpowder to defend their settlements.
The Boies and McLean Mill produced, in 1728, the first paper pulp in America that was turned into sheet paper, a valuable and scarce commodity in colonial America. The mill, located on the south side of the Neponset River in Milton, was later managed by the Tileston & Hollingsworth Paper Company, whose Eagle Mill was opposite the Liveridge Institute on River Street. Then, in 1765, the fortuitous meeting of Dr. James Baker of Dorchester and John Hannon led to a joint venture in the production of chocolate. Cacao beans were roasted, ground and refined into what we know as chocolate in a rented mill on the Milton side of the Neponset River. The company was officially incorporated in 1780 as Baker's Chocolate and is accepted unequivocally as the oldest manufacturer of chocolate in the country. Three generations of the Baker family operated the mill from 1780 to 1852, but one of the most renowned owners of Baker's Chocolate was Henry Lillie Pierce, one-time mayor of Boston and for whom Pierce Square in Dorchester Lower Mills was named in 1895. Pierce was also stepnephew to Walter Baker.
Throughout the nineteenth century, the Neponset River provided power for many diverse commercial interests. In addition to paper, chocolate and gunpowder, the first playing cards in the United States were produced by Crehore & Ford. The two partners, Benjamin Crehore (1765–1831) and Jabaz Ford, produced beautifully colored playing cards for many years, the forerunners of our playing cards of today. The first pianoforte was produced by Benjamin Crehore in Milton Village, in addition to the first bass viol and the first artificial leg ever seen in this land, made for Dean Weymouth, a veteran of the War of 1812. The cabinetmaking industry, located along the Neponset River, allowing case pieces to be shipped by water, was enhanced by Stephen Badlam, whose shop was at the corner of Washington and River Streets. Badlam was one of the finest cabinetmakers in America and produced furniture without rival. He lived and worked at the same time as Ebenezer H.R. Ruggles of Milton, who produced fine-quality Empire mahogany furniture, which is highly prized today.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Baker Chocolate Company"
by .
Copyright © 2009 Anthony Sammarco.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements,
Introduction,
Hail Quetzalcoatl!,
Cacao on the Neponset,
The Friendly Competitors,
Henry Lillie Pierce,
The Mighty Expositions and Ephemera,
The Forbes Syndicate and Postum-General Foods,
The Golden Age of Snack Foods,
La Belle Chocolatiere,
Employees and Associates,
Chocolate Village,
Bibliography,