My Favorite Things-Chocolate
Chocolate…it is pure, sweet, comforting and absolutely sinful. It is most definitely one of my favorite things. It is enjoyed in the everyday form of candy bars, ice cream, cakes and cookies. Cooking with chocolate above and beyond that can be a bit of a trick, however. Not so with the Gourmandia.com recipe for Chocolate Beignets are easy to make with the video and recipe. There are few ingredients and it takes only 15 minutes to prepare. It is very quick and easy for such a delectable, mouth watering recipe. The look and taste of these simple Beignets are quite fancy and expensive, but in reality are easy to prepare, which makes them the perfect to serve after an exquisite dinner.
Chocolate, or Theobroma cacao, as it is also referred to be native to Mexico, Central and South America. It has been cultivated for at least three millennia in that region. Cocoa mass was used originally in Mesoamerica both as a beverage and as an ingredient in foods. The earliest record of using chocolate dates back before the Olmec. In November 2007, archaeologists reported finding evidence of the oldest known cultivation and use of cacao at a site in Puerto Escondido, Honduras, dating from about 1100 to 1400 BC. The residues found and the kind of vessel they were found in indicate that the initial use of cacao was not simply as a beverage, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was likely used as a source of fermentable sugars for an alcoholic drink. The Maya civilization grew cacao trees in their backyard, and used the cacao seeds it produced to make a frothy, bitter drink. Documents in Maya hieroglyphs stated that chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes, in addition to everyday life. The chocolate residue found in an early ancient Maya pot in Río Azul, Guatemala, suggests that Maya were drinking chocolate around 400 AD. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spicy drink called xocoatl, and was often flavored with vanilla, chili pepper, and achiote (known today as annatto). Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the theobromine content.
With the rich history of chocolate, there can be no wonder as to why it is so popular all over the world.
