The Grampound Times
Summer 2006 (Edition 42 - Carnival Edition)
Our community in Cornwall
“FOOD FROM THE GODS”
Archaologists digging in Guatemala in the 1960’s found an ancient tomb, clearly that of a highly important person and further investigation found that it belonged to a King. He ruled between 682AD to 744AD and his name, carved in hieroglyphs on his tomb, resembled a cocoa pod, sliced open and revealing the beans inside. The magnificence of the tomb buried under a pyramid temple reflects the prestige and importance of cocoa to the ancient Mayan Indians at the time. (For want of not knowing the King’s actual name the diggers decided to call him King Bean to identify him).
As it is one of the few truly natural products I thought I would delve a little to confirm that to the ancient Maya, who first discovered cocoa, it was a treasured commodity. The Aztecs believed it was food from the Gods, fit only for Kings. The Spanish conquistadors took this drink back to Spain where it was enjoyed by King and court but kept as an elite and precious secret for almost 100 years. However, the secret leaked out and soon the cream of society, from Milan to London, was drinking chocolate.
In the 19 th century a combination of Swiss panache, Dutch technology and the British work ethic produced the first affordable chocolate bar. Chocolate was no longer for the privileged few - it was food for all people. This love affair with chocolate has never wavered, becoming big business. Most chocolate today is mass produced with, understandably, one eye on profits and the other eye on slashing costs, resulting in the huge trading market. However, there are real and dedicated chocolatiers from several European countries who use only the very best and purest of ingredients. They have developed the expertise and imagination to create wonderful chocolates, thereby giving to everyone the opportunity to try this ‘food from the Gods’.
Whilst reading up on this subject I learned that if you enjoy the best of good dark chocolate and indulge in the odd glass of red wine there is a good chance that your heart will be ticking over as smoothly as a well-oiled machine and dark chocolate could be seen as a healthy addition to a balanced diet. Swiss research at the University Hospital, Zurich, has found that eating one or two squares of good dark chocolate a day, high in cocoa solids, can help prevent the narrowing and hardening of the arteries! Prudence, therefore, should be the name of the game. “Everything in moderation” could well be one of the most overused phrases in history - but temptation thy name is surely chocolate.
Betty Murdoch
To pet owners….a warning
The theobromine in chocolate which stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for most pets and can prove lethal, so please do not let your dogs, cats or other small pets, sample any chocolate. This does not include substitute drops sold in reputable pet shops.
© 2006 Grampound with Creed Parish Council