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THE Natural HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE:
THE Natural HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE:
BEING A Distinct and Particular Account of the Cocoa-tree , its Growth and Culture, and the Preparation, Excellent Properties, and Medicinal Vertues of its Fruit. Wherein the Errors of those who have wrote upon this Subject are discover’d; the Best Way of Making Chocolate is explain’d; and several Uncommon Medicines drawn from it, are communicated. Translated from the last Edition of the French , By R. BROOKES, M. D. The Second Edition . LONDON: Printed for J. Roberts , near the Oxford-Arms in W
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PREFACE
PREFACE
If the Merit of a Natural History depends upon the Truth of the Facts which are brought to support it, then an unprejudiced Eye-Witness is more proper to write it, than any other Person; and I dare even flatter myself, that this will not be disagreeable to the Publick notwithstanding its Resemblance to the particular Treatises of Colmenero (1) , Dufour (2) , and several others who have wrote upon the same Subject. Upon examination, so great a Difference will appear, that no one can justly
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THE TABLE.
THE TABLE.
The First Part . The Second Part . The Third Part . The Approbation of Monsieur Andry , Counsellor, Lecturer, and Regal Professor, Doctor, Regent of the Faculty of Medicine at Paris , and Censor Royal of Books. I Have read, by order of the Lord Keeper of the Seals, this Natural History of Chocolate , and I judge that the Impression will be very necessary and useful for the Publick. Given at Paris this 5th of April, 1719 . The Approbation of Monsieur Andry , Counsellor, Lecturer, and Regal Prof
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Of the Division of this Treatise.
Of the Division of this Treatise.
I Shall divide this Treatise on Chocolate into three Parts: In the First , after I have given a Description of the Cocao Tree , I shall explain how it is cultivated, and give an Account how its Fruit is prepared: In the Second , I shall speak of the Properties of Chocolate ; and in the Third , of its Uses....
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CHAP. I. The Description of the Cocao-Tree.
CHAP. I. The Description of the Cocao-Tree.
The Cocao-Tree is moderately tall and thick, and either thrives, or not, according to the Quality of the Soil wherein it grows: Upon the Coast of Caraqua , for instance, it grows considerably larger than in the Islands belonging to the French . Its Wood is porous, and very light; the Bark is pretty firm, and of the Colour of Cinnamon , more or less dark, according to the Age of the Tree. The Leaves are about nine Inches long, and four in breadth, where they are broadest; for they grow less towar
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CHAP. II. Of the Choice and Disposition of the Place for Planting Cocao-Trees.
CHAP. II. Of the Choice and Disposition of the Place for Planting Cocao-Trees.
The Cocao-Tree grows naturally in several Countries in America under the Torrid Zone, but chiefly at Mexico , in the Provinces of Nicaragua and Guatimala , as also along the Banks of the River of the Amazons (n) . Likewise upon the Coast of Caraqua , that is to say, from Comana to Cartagena (o) and the Golden Island . Some also have been found in the Woods of Martinico . The Spaniards and Portuguese were the first to whom the Indians communicated the Use of Cocao-Nuts , which they kept a lo
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CHAP. III. Of the Method of Planting a Nursery, and to cultivate it till the Fruit comes to Maturity.
CHAP. III. Of the Method of Planting a Nursery, and to cultivate it till the Fruit comes to Maturity.
Cocao-Trees are planted from the Kernel or Seed, for the Nature of the Wood will not admit of Slips: They open a Cocao-Shell , and according as they have occasion, take out the Kernels, and plant them one by one, beginning, for example, at the first Stick: They pluck it up, and with a sort of a Setting-Stick made of Iron, and well sharpened, they make a Hole, and turning the Iron about, cut off the little Roots that may do hurt. They plant the Kernel three or four Inches deep, and thrust in the
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CHAP IV. Of the gathering of the Cocao-Nuts, and the Manner of making them sweat, and of drying them that they may be brought sound into Europe.
CHAP IV. Of the gathering of the Cocao-Nuts, and the Manner of making them sweat, and of drying them that they may be brought sound into Europe.
The Observations which we made in the first Chapter, concerning the Alterations of the Colour of the Nuts, give us information of the time that they become ripe. It will be proper to gather them when all the Shell has changed Colour, and when there is but a small Spot below which shall remain green. They go from Tree to Tree, and from Row to Row, and with forked Sticks or Poles, they cause the ripe Nuts to fall down, taking great care not to touch those that are not so, as well as the Blossoms
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Of the Properties of Chocolate.
Of the Properties of Chocolate.
We have hitherto treated of Chocolate , as it were, superficially, and as it presents itself to our Senses. We come next to examine its intrinsick Qualities, and to search into its Nature: As far as we can, we will discover what Reason, join’d to long Experience, has taught us concerning the salutary Properties of this Fruit....
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CHAP. I. Of the old Prejudices against Chocolate.
CHAP. I. Of the old Prejudices against Chocolate.
To proceed more methodically, and with greater Clearness in our Enquiries concerning Chocolate , it seems proper to set People right about the Prejudices which a false Philosophy has instilled into most Authors who have wrote upon this Subject; the Impressions whereof, are yet very deeply ingraven in the Minds of a great Number of People. The Spaniards , who were first acquainted with Chocolate after the Conquest of the new World, have laid it down for an undoubted Truth, that Chocolate is cold
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CHAP. II. Of the real Properties of Chocolate.
CHAP. II. Of the real Properties of Chocolate.
Without talking in the Dialect of the Peripateticks , about the Qualities of Heat and Coldness, now-a-days so much decry’d, it will not be difficult to prove that Chocolate is a Substance, 1. Very temperate. 2. Very nourishing, and of easy Digestion. 3. Very proper to repair the exhausted Spirits and decayed Strength. 4. Lastly , Very suitable to preserve the Health, and prolong the Lives of old Men. These four Articles shall be sufficiently demonstrated in the four following Sections. Nothing
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Of the Uses of Chocolate.
Of the Uses of Chocolate.
The common Uses of Chocolate may be reduced to three: It is put in Confections; it is used in Chocolate, properly so call’d; and there is an Oil drawn from it, to which they give the Name of Butter. I shall treat of them distinctly, in the three following Chapters....
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CHAP. I Of Chocolate in Confections.
CHAP. I Of Chocolate in Confections.
They chuse Cocao-Nuts that are half ripe, and take out the Kernels one by one, for fear of spoiling them; they then lay them to soak for some Days in Spring Water, which they take care to change Morning and Evening: afterwards, having taken them out and wiped them, they lard them with little Bits of Citron-Bark and Cinnamon, almost as they make the Nuts of Roüen . In the mean time, they prepare a Syrup of the finest Sugar, but very clear; that is to say, wherein there is but little Sugar: and af
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CHAP. II. Of Chocolate, properly so called.
CHAP. II. Of Chocolate, properly so called.
In treating of this Liquor, we have two things to examine: The First is, the Original of Chocolate, and the different Manner of preparing it: The Second, the Medicinal Uses that it is proper for; which shall be the Subject of the two following Sections. Chocolate is originally an American Drink, which the Spaniards found very much in use at Mexico , when they conquer’d it, about the Year 1520. The Indians , who have used this Drink time out of mind, prepared it without any great Art; they roaste
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CHAP. III. Of the Oil or Butter of Chocolate.
CHAP. III. Of the Oil or Butter of Chocolate.
Chocolate Kernels are a Fruit very oleaginous, but the Oil is very closely united with the other Principles, that it requires a great deal of Labour to separate it, and to make it pure. The three common Ways to extract Oils, are by Distillation, Expression, and Decoction; we reject the first as being very imperfect, because the Violence of the Fire alters the Nature of all Oils that are extracted that way. The Success will answer no better by Expression, because that which is got will be very
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Remark I.
Remark I.
The Coco-tree is the same as the Palm-Tree so famous in the East-Indies ; its Fruit is call’d Coco , and care should be taken that it be not confounded with Cocao . I make this Remark, because I find that William Dampier very improperly calls (a) Coco’s Cocao-Nuts , and the Tree that bears them a Cocao ....
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Remark II.
Remark II.
They have transported these great Trees from St. Domingo to the Vent Islands ; their Leaves being almost round, are firm and so smooth, that one would think they had been varnished. Their Fruit are sometimes as large as one’s Head, and their Skins very thick: When that is taken off, the Pulp is very near the Colour, Smell, and Taste of our Apricocks; in the Middle there are four Stones as big as Pullets Eggs, which are difficult to separate from the Fruit. They are eaten with Wine and Sugar; the
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Remark III.
Remark III.
The Calebash -Tree is nigh as large as the Apple-Tree; it supplies the Natives and Negroes with Buckets, Pots, Bottles, Dishes, Plates, and several other Houshold Utensils. One cannot describe the Shape nor Bigness of Calebashes , since there are some of the Size of a Pear, and others as large as the greatest Citrons; and besides, there are long, round, oval, and of all Fashions. The Fruit, which is green and smooth upon the Tree, becomes grey as it dries; within, it is full of a white Pulp, o
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Remark IV.
Remark IV.
The Papaw -Tree is pretty uncommon as to its Make; its Trunk is strait, but hollow, and of so tender a Wood, that it is easily cut down with a Hedging-Bill; it is about four Yards high, without any Branches; its Leaves much like those of our Fig-Trees, but twice as big, and are joined to the top by Stalks of a Foot and a half long, and hollow like a Reed. They being about thirty in number, grow at the top of the Trunk all round about it; the lowest are ripest and largest, they are green, and of
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Remark V.
Remark V.
The Banane is a sort of Plant, whose Root is a great round Bulb, from whence proceeds a Trunk, green and smooth, six Feet high, as thick as one’s Thigh, and without any Leaf. On the top of it grow about twenty Leaves, about a Foot and a half broad, and about five Feet long; but so tender, that the Wind tears them from the Middle to the Sides, into Slangs like Ribbons: From the Center of these Leaves grows a second Trunk, more firm than the rest of the Plant: upon this grows a Cluster of about fo
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Remark VI.
Remark VI.
Manioc is a Shrub very crooked, and full of Knots, its Wood is tender and brittle, and the Branches are easily broke off into Slips: There are several and different Colours, some more forward and fruitful than others. Commonly they are pluck’d up in a Year or thereabouts; and there is found at every one, several plump Roots, without any sensible Fibres, more or less thick, according to the Kind and the Goodness of the Soil. These Roots are wash’d in a good deal of Water, to free them from the Ea
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Remark VII.
Remark VII.
At first sight, one would take a Balize -Tree for a Banane , they are so like each other: there is, however, this difference between them, That the Leaves of the Balize -Tree are not so tender, and apt to be tore; for this reason, they serve the Natives for Table-Cloths and Napkins, as well as the Negroes, and some of the Planters that live in the Woods. Sometimes they serve as Umbrella’s to shade them from the Sun, or Showers of Rain, that surprize them. The Hunters have great assistance from
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Remark VIII.
Remark VIII.
Pimento , called also Jamaica-Pepper , has been brought into France , where it grows, as in America , in pyramidal Cods of three or four Inches long: they are at first green, then yellow, afterwards red, and last of all, black. They pickle them in Vinegar, as they do Capers and little Cucumbers. There are in America several other Kinds of Pimentoes , and especially one that is round, and as red as a Cherry. This is the hottest of all, it sets the Mouth all on fire; for which reason it is called
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Remark IX.
Remark IX.
Achote is best known in France , under the Name of Roucou , and is a sort of Red which the Dyers and Painters make use of. It is the favourite Colour of the Savages, which they are very careful of planting in their Gardens, that they may paint their Bodies every Morning, which they call Roucouing . Roucou is planted of a Kernel much after the same manner as the Cocao-Tree . The Shrub that is most like it in Europe , is the Lilach , or the Arabian Bean. Its Leaves, of the Shape of a Heart, are lo
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Remark X.
Remark X.
Atolla is a kind of Gruel which they make with Meal of Maise , (which is the same as our Indian Corn, or Turkey Millet.) The Mexicans season it with Pimento ; but the Nuns and Spanish Ladies, instead of Pimento , use Sugar, Cinnamon, perfumed Waters of Amber, Musk, &c. In these Parts, they make the same Use of Atolla , as of the best Rice in the Levant ....
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Remark XI.
Remark XI.
One ought to chuse the smallest Cinnamon, the highest coloured, and of the most biting Taste, as well as sweet and spicy, because a great Part is full of Pieces, from whence they have drawn the Essence, and has neither any Colour nor Taste, but that of the Wood. To help and amend both, there needs only a Clove to be ground in the Mortar, with an Ounce of Cinnamon. This Spice is best that comes from the East-Indies , it has nothing of Acrid in it, and contains an oleous Volatile, which agrees v
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The Wonderful Plaister for the Curing of all sorts of Ulcers.
The Wonderful Plaister for the Curing of all sorts of Ulcers.
Take Oil-Olive a Pound, Venetian Ceruss , in Powder, half a Pound. Put them in a Copper Pan, or a glazed Earthen one, upon a clear moderate Fire, stirring them continually with a wooden Spatula till the Mixture is become black, and almost of the Consistence of a Plaister, (which you may know by letting fall two or three Drops upon a Pewter Plate; for if they grow cold immediately, and do not stick to the Fingers, when touch’d, it is done enough.) Then must be added, Of Bees-Wax cut in little B
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An excellent Pomatum for Ringworms, Tettars, Pimples, and other Deformities of the Skin.
An excellent Pomatum for Ringworms, Tettars, Pimples, and other Deformities of the Skin.
Take Flowers of Brimstone (a) , Salt Petre purified, of each Half an Ounce; good White Precipitate (b) , two Drams; Benzoin or Benjamin , a Dram. Beat the Benjamin and Salt-Petre a good while in a Brass Mortar, till they are reduced into a very fine Powder, then mix the Flower of Brimstone and White Precipitate with them and keep this Powder for Use. At Martinico when I had occasion to make use of it, I incorporated it with Butter of Chocolate; but in France , I substitute the best-scented J
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