Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage

by Louis E. Grivetti, Howard-Yana Shapiro

International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) 2010 Award Finalists in the Culinary History category. Chocolate . We all love it, but how much do we really know about it? In addition to pleasing palates since ancient times, chocolate has played an integral role in culture, society, religion, medicine, and economic development across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. In 1998, the Chocolate History Group was formed by the University of California, Davis, and Mars, Incorporated to document the fascinating story and history of chocolate. This book features fifty-seven essays representing research activities and contributions from more than 100 members of the group. These contributors draw from their backgrounds in such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, biochemistry, culinary arts, gender studies, engineering, history, linguistics, nutrition, and paleography. The result is an unparalleled, scholarly examination of chocolate, beginning with ancient pre-Columbian civilizations and ending with twenty-first-century reports. Here is a sampling of some of the fascinating topics explored inside the book: Not only does this book offer careful documentation, it also features new and previously unpublished information and interpretations of chocolate history. Moreover, it offers a wealth of unusual and interesting facts and folklore about one of the world's favorite foods.

Genres: Food, History, Food History, Nonfiction

1072 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Monty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only scanned this incredibly comprehensive volume about chocolate. This is a well-researched book with each chapter written by a different person and with extensive bibliographies. This compendium most likely has more topics than any one reader would be interested in, so one can pick and choose which strikes his or her fancy. It is close to 1000 pages long, has 11 parts, 56 chapters and 11 appendices. You can consume much chocolate while reading this wonderful book.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A textbook on cacao?!?

Well, sort of. This is an anthology of many essays written by different scholars about cacao. There is a heavy focus on cacao-consumers in Europe and North America, particularly on artifacts of material culture. If you find that intriguing that this book will be a treasure trove. If not, then the good news is that you can skip around and find an essay that will appeal to you, because there are essays about all sorts of obscure cacao topics from around the world.

[Mills College Library]

641.3374 C5454 2009