Chocolate
The Minnesota Historical Society is hosting a travelling exhibit called "Chocolate" for the next few months. Starting out from the Field Museum in Chicago the exhibit has been seen in museums all across the United States. It is all about the history of chocolate starting from its beginnings as a seed from the cacao tree to the candy that is familiar to all of us today.
C and I were able to go to the sneak peak of the exhibit before it officially opened yesterday. The morning started with breakfast at the museum. There were eggs, breakfast potatoes and, in honor of the exhibit, chocolate french toast. There french toast was excellent, I'd never had it before.
After the meal we went up to see the exhibit. In front of it was chef was talking about how to make Guatemalan chocolate. This is a kind that you drink. It is made from rounds or bars of pressed Guatemalan chocolate that is dissolved in water,mixed with a wooden device to make it frothy and served warm. There were people handing out samples of the drink and more importantly directions on how to make it. I've done something similar before using milk instead of water. I actually prefer it to the hot chocolate made with powder and water or powder and milk.
The exhibit starts out with the cacao tree. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. The cacao tree is native to the rain forests. It prefers to grow under the canopy of larger tress that protect it. The tree grows pods and the seeds are inside covered with pulp. The seeds are fermented,dried, roasted and ground before they are made into chocolate.
Then it goes into the history of chocolate. It started out as a drink consumed by the Maya and Aztec natives. The Spanish brought it to Europe. They added spices and sugar to sweeten what was until then a bitter drink. In time it spread through Europe. It was very expensive to import so only royalty and the very wealthy could afford to consume it.
The Industrial Revolution brought the advent of machinery that could grind the cacao and make chocolate less expensive to process. Soon mass production and a few other inventions allowed chocolate be inexpensive enough for all to enjoy and was made into bars meant to be eaten.
There are also displays of chocolate serving dishes and cups as the ability to drink chocolate was a status symbol in some cultures and the serving ware showed it.
I was fascinated by what I saw. One of my favourite movies is "Chocolat". In the movie one of the characters drinks cacao with a bit of chili pepper which was usually consumed at sacred ceremonies. This is all authentic and that was actually done by the Mayans and Aztecs. It showed the main character grinding the cacao beans and making chocolate that people drank. She used serving pots just like in the exhibit. Very cool.
There were a lot of people there. We may go back again if we have time while it is still in the area so we can go over it again at a more leisurely pace. If you are in the area it is a fun exhibit to see and educational too.
Information about the exhibit taken from the Minnesota Historical Society website. All errors are mine.
C and I were able to go to the sneak peak of the exhibit before it officially opened yesterday. The morning started with breakfast at the museum. There were eggs, breakfast potatoes and, in honor of the exhibit, chocolate french toast. There french toast was excellent, I'd never had it before.
After the meal we went up to see the exhibit. In front of it was chef was talking about how to make Guatemalan chocolate. This is a kind that you drink. It is made from rounds or bars of pressed Guatemalan chocolate that is dissolved in water,mixed with a wooden device to make it frothy and served warm. There were people handing out samples of the drink and more importantly directions on how to make it. I've done something similar before using milk instead of water. I actually prefer it to the hot chocolate made with powder and water or powder and milk.
The exhibit starts out with the cacao tree. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. The cacao tree is native to the rain forests. It prefers to grow under the canopy of larger tress that protect it. The tree grows pods and the seeds are inside covered with pulp. The seeds are fermented,dried, roasted and ground before they are made into chocolate.
Then it goes into the history of chocolate. It started out as a drink consumed by the Maya and Aztec natives. The Spanish brought it to Europe. They added spices and sugar to sweeten what was until then a bitter drink. In time it spread through Europe. It was very expensive to import so only royalty and the very wealthy could afford to consume it.
The Industrial Revolution brought the advent of machinery that could grind the cacao and make chocolate less expensive to process. Soon mass production and a few other inventions allowed chocolate be inexpensive enough for all to enjoy and was made into bars meant to be eaten.
There are also displays of chocolate serving dishes and cups as the ability to drink chocolate was a status symbol in some cultures and the serving ware showed it.
I was fascinated by what I saw. One of my favourite movies is "Chocolat". In the movie one of the characters drinks cacao with a bit of chili pepper which was usually consumed at sacred ceremonies. This is all authentic and that was actually done by the Mayans and Aztecs. It showed the main character grinding the cacao beans and making chocolate that people drank. She used serving pots just like in the exhibit. Very cool.
There were a lot of people there. We may go back again if we have time while it is still in the area so we can go over it again at a more leisurely pace. If you are in the area it is a fun exhibit to see and educational too.
Information about the exhibit taken from the Minnesota Historical Society website. All errors are mine.
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