Hot Chocolate Vienna Style

Aztec statuary of a male figure holding a cacao pod

The ancient Maya grew cacao and made it into a beverage.



 The first people clearly known to have discovered the secret

of cacao were the Classic Period Maya (250-900 C.E. [A.D.]).

The  Maya and their ancestors in Mesoamerica took the tree

from the rain forest and grew it in their own backyards, where

they harvested, fermented, roasted, and ground the seeds into

a paste.



When mixed with water, chile peppers, cornmeal, and other

ingredients, this paste made a frothy, spicy chocolate drink.

The term "Cocoa," a corruption of "Cacao," is almost

universally used in English-speaking countries to designate

the seeds of the small tropical tree known to botanists as

THEOBROMA CACAO, from which a great variety of preparations

under the name of cocoa and chocolate for eating and drinking

are made. The name "Chocolatl" is nearly the same in most

European languages, and is taken from the Mexican name of the

drink, "Chocolate" or "Cacahuatl." The Spaniards found

chocolate in common use among the Mexicans at the time of the

invasion under Cortez in 1519,  and it was introduced into Spain

immediately after. The Mexicans not only used chocolate as a

staple article of food, but they used the seeds of the cacao

tree as a medium of exchange.



Although there was a marked increase in the consumption of tea

and coffee during the same period, the ratio of increase fell

far below that of cocoa. It is evident that the coming American

is going to be less of a tea and coffee drinker, and more of a

cocoa and chocolate drinker. This is the natural result of a

better knowledge of the laws of health, and of the food value

of a beverage which nourishes the body while it also stimulates

the brain. Some of the earliest European cocoa-makers were

apothecaries seeking medicinal uses of the plant.4 Cacao

seeds contain significant amounts of naturally occurring

flavonoids. Which are connected with a reduced risk of

cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

"Before chocolate was known in Europe, good old wine was called

the milk of old men; but this title is now applied with greater

reason to chocolate, since its use has become so common that it

has been perceived that chocolate is, with respect to them, what

milk is to infants. In reality, if one examines the nature of

chocolate a little, with respect to the constitution of aged

persons, it seems as though the one was made on purpose to

remedy the defects of the other, and that it is truly the

panacea of old age."



Baron von Liebig, one of the best-known writers on dietetics,

says:



Chocolate came over the mountains [from Spain to France]with

Anne of Austria,  daughter of Philip III and queen of Louis XIII.

The Spanish monks also spread the knowledge of it by the presents

they made to their brothers in France. It is well known that

Linnaeus called the fruit of the cocoa tree _theobroma_, 'food

for the gods.'



One legend says that a group of English pirates confiscated

chocolate from a Spanish ship and introduced the drink to England.

Another tale says Italian merchants purchased the secret of

chocolate while on a business trip in Spain. A third claims that

a royal princess of Spain who married King Louis XIII of France

was the first to “spill the beans” about chocolate’s marvelous

flavor.



CHOCOLATE, VIENNA STYLE



Use four ounces  Vanilla Chocolate, one quart of

milk, three tablespoonfuls of hot water, and one tablespoonful of

sugar.



Cut the chocolate in fine bits. Put the milk on the stove in the

double-boiler, and when it has been heated to the boiling point,

put the chocolate, sugar and water in a small iron or granite-ware

pan, and stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Stir this

mixture into the hot milk, and beat well with a whisk.(in Mexico the

drink is whipped with a wooden hive-like spoon called a molinillo)

Serve at once, putting a tablespoonful of whipped cream in each cup

and then filling up with the chocolate.



The plain chocolate may be used instead of the vanilla, but in that case

use a teaspoonful of vanilla extract and three generous tablespoonfuls

of sugar instead of one.



Cheers,

     Gary