Montezumas Chocolate Recipe

[worowa]

G'day, has anyone got some old Aztec chocolate recipes? I remember reading somewhere(?) years ago a recipe including cocoa, tagetes lucida, and chilli. I never wrote it down, and can't remember the other ingredients or proportions.

[Μορφέας]

i remember a recipie such as that, it was in a book i read

'the history of chocolate'

has lots of recipies and lots of good information, a very informative read if you want to find some interesting stuff about chocolate

[worowa]

Thanks Tepa, off to the library tomorrow.

[Μορφέας]

good luck worowa in finding it :D

[nabraxas]

"Among the more well-known spices were chenopodium, coriander and sage. Vanilla, extracted from the pods of a species of orchid, was among the most esteemed flavorings. Chocolate was prepared by grinding roasted cacao beans, sometimes with parched corn, and them mixing the powder with vanilla orchid pods or sweetened with honey. Like tea and coffee, this beverage is rich in caffeine and was much prized in ancient Mesoamerica."

---The Aztecs, Townsend (p. 173)

"The basic Aztec method of preparing chocolate...was about the same as that prevalent among the Maya; the only real difference is that it seems to have been drunk cool rather than hot as seems to have been the case among the Maya of Yucatan. One of the earliest notices of this drink is by the hand of a man known to scholars as the Anonymous Conqueror, described as "a gentleman of Hernan Cortez," whos description of Tenochtitlan was publishe in Venice in 1556: These seeds which are called almonds or cacao are ground and made into powder, and other small seeds are ground, and this powder is put into certain basins with a point... and then they put water on it and mix it with a spoon. And after having mixed it very well, they change it from one basin to another, so that a foam is raised which they put in a vessel made for the purpose. And when they wish to drink it, they mix it with certain small spoons of gold or silver or wood, and drink it, and drinking it one must open one's mouth, because being foam one must give it room to subside, and go down bit by bit. This drink is the healthiest thing, and the greatest sustenance of anything you could drink in the world, because he who drinks a cup of this liquid, no matter how far he walks, can go a whole day without eating anything else.' To this encomium the Anonymous Conqueror adds the comment that "it is better in hot weather than in cool, being cold is its nature...According to Sahagun's native informants, fine chocolate was called tlaquetzalli ("precious thing"), and was prepared by the seller in this way: She grinds cacao [beans]; she crushes, breaks, pulverizes them. She chooses, selects, separates them. She drenches, soaks, steeps them. She adds water sparingly, conservativley; aerates it, filters it, strains it, pours it back and forth, aerates it; she makes it form a head, makes foam; she removes the head, makes it thicken, makes it dry, pours water in, stirs water into it.' The inferior product, the informatns tell us, was mixed with nixtuamalli and water--in other words, a chocolate-with-maize gruel drink...There is no mention in these primary sources of the grooved wooden beater or swizzle stick (Spanish molinillo) for the production of the much-prized foam, nor does any word for it appear in the first Nahuatl-Spanish dictionary, that of Alonso de Molina, published in Mexico City in 1571. This item, so important later on in chocolate preparation in America and Europe, must have been introduced from Spain during the 16th century. By the time the Jesuit Francesco Saverio Clavigero published his detailed report on native Mexican live and hsitory (in 1780, in Italian), he describes the use of the molinillo, but totally omits the pouring from one vessel to another to produce a good head on the drink...There is, however, ample mention of stirrers or stirring spoons. These were fashioned from tortoise or sea turtle shell. Some of these survived the Conquest, for among the confiscated goods of two Aztec sorcerers arested by the early Spanish Inquisition were many of these stirrers, along with cacao and the cups from wich chocolate was drunk. Which brings us to the cups themselves. A reading of our sources indicates that these were small, hemispherical bowls which could be of polychrome creamic; calabash gourd...painted or lacquered with designs; and even gold, in the case of the huei tlatoani."

---True History of Chocolate, Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe [Thames & Hudson:London] 1996 (p. 86-88)

[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. It also includes notes on the use of chocolate in Mayan civization.]

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmaya.html

[t st tantra]

my current receipe .......version 1.6

3 heaped t spoons cocoa powder

1/2 t spoon kelp powder

1/4 t spoon chillie powder

1 t spoon macca

1 t spoon spiralina

smooth out lumps then add

3 heaped t spoons honey

and mix to smooth paste

eat as is or add water and/or milk to taste

really all ingredients should be adjusted to taste.

i've been working on a cocoa receipe for a while but wanted to change from amino acid tablets/powder to natural alternatives like macca and spiralina.

this drink has a good lift to it and seems quite antidepressant.

hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

t s t .

[worowa]

Thanks Nabraxas, great links on that site. Seems like they used vanilla, chilli, honey, flowers...I guess there were all sorts of local variations. Annato from the lipstick tree to make it red. I couldn't find any mention of Tagetes lucida, which funnily enough was the ingredient I was most curious about. An old vietnam vet friend of mine had a rare book on all sorts of ethnobotanicals, and I'm pretty sure I read about it in there. Only prob is I can't remember the name, and my mate is awol for now.

Thanks t st tantra, is your version 1.6 yummy? Might try it soon.

[nabraxas]

worowa: i've always been interested in chocolate but i'd never heard ov Tagetes lucida as an admixture, but as you say there were probably loads ov local variations.

a search on google for Tagetes lucida+cocoa gives too many results for me to sift through in my current state ov intoxication, so here's a link:

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=Tagetes+...lient=firefox-a

happy hunting

[worowa]

Thanks Nabraxus, too easy, I'm new to the internet, but google seems good.

Here is an extract for anyone interested, only problem is I still don't have a recipe, but then I never use them for cooking...

The leaves are dried and ground into a powder then used as a tarragon substitute for flavouring soups, sauces etc[2, 27, 160, 183]. They have an anise-like flavour[238, K]. The leaves were an important flavouring of 'chocolatl', the foaming cocoa-based drink of the Aztecs[238]. The dried leaves and flowering tops are brewed into a pleasant anise-flavoured tea[183]. This is a very popular drink in Latin America[238]. The petals are used as a condiment[61].

Medicinal Uses

Anaesthetic; Digestive; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Hallucinogenic; Hypotensive; Narcotic; Sedative.

The leaves and whole plant are digestive, diuretic, febrifuge, hypotensive, narcotic, sedative and stimulant[160, 192, 200, 238]. Use of the plant depresses the central nervous system, whilst it is also reputedly anaesthetic and hallucinogenic[238]. It is used internally in the treatment of diarrhoea, nausea, indigestion, colic, hiccups, malaria and feverish illnesses[238]. Externally, it is used to treat scorpion bites and to remove ticks[238]. The leaves can be harvested and used as required, whilst the whole plant is harvested when in flower and dried for later use[238].

Other Uses

Dye; Herbicide; Incense; Insecticide; Repellent.

Secretions from the roots of growing plants have an insecticidal effect on the soil, effective against nematodes and to some extent against keeled slugs[200], they also have an effect against some persistent weeds such as couch grass[14]. These secretions are produced about 3 - 4 months after sowing[200]. The growing plant also has a repellent effect on various insect pests such as the asparagus beetle and bean weevils[14, 20]. A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers[169]. The dried plant is burnt as an incense and to repel insects[238]

Pretty usefull plant, also widely used in peyote ceremonies.

I think the book I read about it was by Emboden-one of the better ethnobotanicals I've read.

[Conan Troutman]

Quararibea funebris is an aromatic tree that's flowers are closely associated with traditional cacao use, especially as a froth thickener for the Oaxacan cacao drink tejate. It has been suggested as a possible identification of the aztec entheogen "poyomatli". - erowid

[apothecary]

Quararibea funebris is an aromatic tree that's flowers are closely associated with traditional cacao use, especially as a froth thickener for the Oaxacan cacao drink tejate. It has been suggested as a possible identification of the aztec entheogen "poyomatli". - erowid

Q funebris is also known as Rosita de Cacao and Molinillo because the preparation is essentially making a giant froth from the flowers.

UTSE for the thread on it.

Mentioned within is the link for

Tejate

Edited May 21, 2007 by apothecary

[worowa]

I just picked a couple of hundred tagetes lucida seeds if anyone wants some.

I'm on the lookout for Quararibea funebris now, thanks to apothecary and Conan trouman.

[XipeTotec]

I just picked a couple of hundred tagetes lucida seeds if anyone wants some.

I'm on the lookout for Quararibea funebris now, thanks to apothecary and Conan trouman.

PM'd

[-YT-]

Hey Worowa thanks a mighty generous offer do you know if the original plant was grown from the cultivar or from the wild strain of seed?

[worowa]

Not sure YT. I've grown it a few times, and seen it lots of times, but the seeds I got are from the Coffs Harbour Botanic Gardens, they where cutting the biggest Tagetes lucida I've ever seen back to just above ground level.

[ENtiTY]

Very very interesting. I'm keen to try this.

So anyone care to share a source of good quality cocoa?

[worowa]

There's a nice tree in a park on the southern approach to Innisfail, at least it was there b4 the cyclone. That's the only one I've seen in Oz. There are I think 3 species of cocoa. I'll probably go to a good chocy shop and buy some quality buttons made with real cocoa fat. If you find a good source, let us know.

[t st tantra]

you can pay virtually as much as you want for good quality cocoa but coles has a reasonable product in their cooking section.

its labled cocoa powder and thats the only ingredient listed....375gms was about $3 from my fuzzy memory.....you can get better but not at that price.

t s t .

[Entheo]

Very very interesting. I'm keen to try this.

So anyone care to share a source of good quality cocoa?

Well the most expensive chocolate is Noka Chocolate, reported to be $2080/lb in small doses.

They buy widely-available chocolate and remold it at up to a 6,956% markup.

http://boingboing.net/2006/12/27/chocolateobsessed_bl.html

http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name...icle&sid=78

So I would avoid them as a source of good quality cocoa!