Chocolate: A Cultural Encyclopedia

A RUSA Outstanding Reference Source 2023 This well-researched work provides a useful discussion of the historical, cultural, and commercial aspects of chocolate. — Library Journal Chocolate is nearly always with us—when celebrating or mourning, in love or alone, healthy or sick, happy or sad. This book offers a comprehensive look at how an exotic food grew to play such a central role in our lives. No food in the world can offer as storied a history as chocolate. Chocolate: A Cultural Encyclopedia focuses on cocoa's history from ancient Mesoamerican beginnings as a symbol of ritual, life, and death, to its omnipresence in Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. In 10 thematic chapters covering chocolate in society and culture, 80 shorter entries, recipes, and a comprehensive timeline, this book takes a closer look at how chocolate has served as a medicine, an indulgence, a symbol of decadence, a door to romance, a tempting taboo, a means of survival, and a snack for children and adults alike. Why did popes and kings fear chocolate? Why did World War II soldiers despise their rations? Who invented milk chocolate, and why was it a secret? This book uncovers surprising stories and little-known facts about the seed behind the world’s favorite fruit tree.