“Nine out of every ten persons say they love chocolate. The tenth lies.”
The above quote is attributed to Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French epicure and gastronome. Though it may be an exaggeration, chocolate has become a $60 billion industry, according to writer Mort Rosenblum. In CHOCOLATE, A BITTERSWEET SAGA OF DARK AND LIGHT, Rosenblum presents a layman’s understanding of the history and origin of one of the world’s favorite foods. Once used as currency, the humble cacao seed has spawned a craze that took the Aztecs by storm long before Christopher Columbus had his first taste of’ ‘xocoatl .’ Enter Cortes, Spanish and French royalty, Jesuits, Dutch smugglers and English chocolate houses… and don’t forget Switzerland and Belgium… and within a few centuries it became the widespread delight we know of today.
If this book doesn’t whet your appetite for the sumptuous confection, you must be one of Brillat-Savarin’s ten percent.
On the flip side Rosenblum has been criticized for an absence of documentation and for a lack of continuity throughout the book. Still, if you love chocolate but aren’t an expert, this is one way to start learning.
