This interesting article from Smithsonian magazine discusses the early uses of chocolate and when it may have originated.  Some suggest it was chocolate was used and consumed up to three or four thousand years ago in what is now Central America.

“It’s hard to pin down exactly when chocolate was born, but it’s clear that it was cherished from the start. For several centuries in pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency. One bean could be traded for a tamale, while 100 beans could purchase a good turkey hen, according to a 16th-century Aztec document.”

The article also includes some little-known facts about chocolate.  For example, did you know that chocolate was part of U.S. soldiers’ rations during the Revolutionary War and was also given in lieu of wages?  (I love chocolate, but would still prefer the paycheck).

A Brief History of Chocolate | Smithsonian Magazine

Cocoa butter, also referred to as cacao butter, is made by pressing cacao nibs to separate the cacao “butter” from the protein and fiber.  For cacao butter to be raw, this process cannot take place at or above 112 degrees Fahrenheit.  The cocoa “butter,” a naturally occurring fat, separates and solidifies.  It is yellow in color and has a mild, chocolate scent.

Cocoa butter retains the antioxidant properties also found in dark chocolate, but has even more uses.  You can use it for making chocolates or chocolate desserts like ice cream. Despite being high in saturated fats, cocoa butter does not raise cholesterol levels the way other saturated fats do. You can also massage cocoa butter into your skin to help soften and retain moisture.  It’s commonly added as an ingredient in soaps and lotions.

When you’re shopping for raw cocoa butter, look for a producer who ensures there are no contaminants or other unwanted stuff in the product.  It’s commonly sold by the pound and you’re guaranteed to find many uses for cacao butter.

Did you know there are some foods that may help contribute to brain health and longevity? We came across this fabulous article about the top 5 foods for enhancing your mind and body.

In addition to cacao beans making the list, there was (in no particular order) wild salmon, matcha tea, the acai berry and blueberries and coffee beans.  Any surprises?  It’s important that you seek out the specific types of food recommend in this article.  For example, any old salmon will not have the same nutrients as wild salmon.

None of these things (no, not even raw chocolate) is a wonder food, but you’re well-served incorporating these foods into your diet.

Here’s what the study has to say about our friend, the cacao bean:

“What’s healthy is the cacao bean, minimally processed. This amazing, hedonistic bean is one of the world’s longest-revered foods (think ‘time of the Aztecs’ old) and has in recent years been shown to be a veritable powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement (thanks in part to the Theobromine in cacao), antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements. In fact, chocolate has been very recently cited by some top health professionals and researchers to be THE single most exciting health food, and as more research continues to pour in, the more true this appears to be.”

The Top 5 Brain Health Foods

We often hear about fair trade practices from chocolate companies’ perspective.  While interesting, it’s even better to hear directly from the cacao farmers who are committed to fair trade practice and high-quality chocolate products. By forming fair trade cooperatives, farmers’ communities benefit from social, economic and environmental advancements.

“In 1992 the farmers got together and decided to see if we could get Fairtrade accreditation and also accreditation from the Soil Association, so farmers could receive a fair price for their crop,” explains Peck. “We achieved this, and now we are paid around $3,500 per metric tonne on the global market. Without Fairtrade this would probably be more like $2,000.”

For the local farmers the difference in income has allowed them to attend to other issues that would previously have been eclipsed by the necessity of financial survival. “Now the farmers have a little bit more which they can use to send their children to school, and make an improvement in their future,” he explains. “The association has also been able to put aside a little money for several projects. This year we have supported nine children through high school, and we also allocate funds to social, economic and environmental development.”

Fair from every point of view

• Starbucks

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Fair from every point of view

From growers, to retailers, to consumers – discover how 15 years of the Fairtrade mark have affected those involved

• guardian.co.uk

Toledo Cacao Growers Association’s Justino Peck Photograph: Zed Nelson/PR

Justino Peck is chairman of Toledo Cacao Growers Association, a farmers’ cooperative in southern Belize. For him, 15 years of Fairtrade has meant the chance to educate a community and improve conditions for cocoa growers and their children.

“Having Fairtrade has made things better for us cocoa growers” says Peck. “The impact has been to help us reach and trade with an international market and set a fair price for our products.”

Life for farmers in the region has been one of mixed blessings where cocoa production is concerned, and it is only relatively recently that commercial production has begun in earnest. “Before the 1970s, farmers might have had a few trees either on their farmland or in their gardens, which they grew only to supply the local market,” explains Peck. “Then Hershey came and offered to buy cocoa if farmers chose to grow it on a commercial scale. Before this the only cocoa that grew in the region was farmed by our ancestors.”

In ancient times, low-born Mayans and Aztecs had to carry their prized crop to appease the nation’s royalty and, until recently, some might argue little had changed between this dynamic and the one stipulated by global chocolate giants.

In 1991 the market crashed, and those who had just begun the five-year journey to grow the mature trees were left without enough income to survive. Several, however, chose to band together and formulate a way to make cocoa sale viable.

“In 1992 the farmers got together and decided to see if we could get Fairtrade accreditation and also accreditation from the Soil Association, so farmers could receive a fair price for their crop,” explains Peck. “We achieved this, and now we are paid around $3,500 per metric tonne on the global market. Without Fairtrade this would probably be more like $2,000.”

For the local farmers the difference in income has allowed them to attend to other issues that would previously have been eclipsed by the necessity of financial survival. “Now the farmers have a little bit more which they can use to send their children to school, and make an improvement in their future,” he explains. “The association has also been able to put aside a little money for several projects. This year we have supported nine children through high school, and we also allocate funds to social, economic and environmental development.”

As you may know, cacao finds its way into many dishes, both savory and sweet.  But were you aware that chocolate is also a key ingredient in many new cocktails?

Gone are the days of the “alcoholic Fudgesicle.”  Today’s chocolate spirits add bitterness and depth, and not too much of the sweet.  Some are entirely unsweetened, made from cacao nibs, vanilla and rum.

Mixologists are careful with incorporating cacao nibs into mixed drinks.  Sippers may not recognize the true, bitter and heavy taste of chocolate, unaccustomed to the unsweetened version.  Nevertheless, many bars are introducing sophisticated cacao-infused cocktails to adventurous customers.

“Even as they harness chocolate’s bitter and savory notes, these bartenders are proceeding cautiously with customers who might still be thinking milk instead of tequila.

“Sometimes people see chocolate and think ‘alcoholic milkshake,’ ” Patterson says. “If you can steer away from putting ‘chocolate’ in the name of the drink, you have a better chance of explaining things.”

Chocolate-infused spirits with kick, not sugar.