MEXICAN CHOCOLATE

Cocoa has inspired the most extraordinary recipes around the world, but its remote and fascinating origins date back to ancient times in the New World where it was considered a gift from the gods.  Following the Columbian Exchange, cocoa would go on to have one of the most unforeseen and endurable cultural impacts in the Western world. Within only a few years it went from being the preferred drink of the indigenous Mesoamerican elites to become the glorious centrepiece of royal banquets at the courts of European monarchs.

Cocoa and chocolate’s association to refinement, indulgence, and decadence still resonates today and even at its most mundane, as a supermarket chocolate bar, many of us still regard it as a blissful mouthful of joy. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise really, after all, cocoa’s introduction in Europe was marked by the sign of exoticism, luxury and pleasure, and as such, it was embraced by Spanish, French, and English courts among many others. Curiosity became a fascination and quickly turned into an obsession.
This book explores the little known origins of cocoa, its role at the imperial indigenous courts and the culinary metamorphosis it went through in the Colonial period.  This is indeed edible history! One that manifests itself in many delicious recipes that you will find in the pages ahead of this adventure. Come with me on a journey to discover the fascinating tale of the world’s most desired guilty pleasure.

Written and photographed by Rocio Carvajal, an accomplished Mexican cook, food history writer, creator of the highly-regarded Pass the Chipotle podcast and author of several books dedicated to exploring Mexico’s culture and gastronomy, this book will inspire you to celebrate the history and explore the delicious culinary possibilities of cocoa.