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The true history of chocolate / Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe.

By: Contributor(s): Language: English Publisher: London : Thames and Hudson, 2007Edition: 2nd edDescription: 280 p. ill. (some col.) 24 cmISBN:
  • 9780500286968
  • 0500286965
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 641.86 22 (machine generated)
LOC classification:
  • TP640
Other classification:
  • Qcaam
Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Biblioteket HKR Biblioteket 641.8 Coe Available 11156000158137
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This delightful and best-selling tale of one of the world's favorite foods draws upon botany, archaeology, and culinary history to present a complete and accurate history of chocolate.



The story begins some 3,000 years ago in the jungles of Mexico and Central America with the chocolate tree, Theobroma Cacao, and the complex processes necessary to transform its bitter seeds into what is now known as chocolate. This was centuries before chocolate was consumed in generally unsweetened liquid form and used as currency by the Maya, and the Aztecs after them. The Spanish conquest of Central America introduced chocolate to Europe, where it first became the drink of kings and aristocrats and then was popularized in coffeehouses. Industrialization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made chocolate a food for the masses, and now, in our own time, it has become once again a luxury item.



The second edition draws on recent research and genetic analysis to update the information on the origins of the chocolate tree and early use by the Maya and others, and there is a new section on the medical and nutritional benefits of chocolate.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-275) and index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Preface (p. 7)
  • Introduction (p. 10)
  • Chapter 1 The Tree of the Food of the Gods (p. 16)
  • Chapter 2 The Birth of Cacao: Olmec-Maya Genesis (p. 33)
  • Chapter 3 The Aztecs: People of the Fifth Sun (p. 65)
  • Chapter 4 Encounter and Transformation (p. 106)
  • Chapter 5 Chocolate Conquers Europe (p. 125)
  • Chapter 6 The Source (p. 177)
  • Chapter 7 Chocolate in the Age of Reason (and Unreason) (p. 201)
  • Chapter 8 Chocolate for the Masses (p. 233)
  • Epilogue: Full Circle (p. 265)
  • Notes (p. 267)
  • Bibliography (p. 271)
  • Sources of Illustrations (p. 276)
  • Index (p. 277)