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You are here: Home Leisure Dining & Cuisine In Guatemala, hot chocolate deemed a national treasure

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04/10/2009In Guatemala, hot chocolate deemed a national treasure

In Guatemala, hot chocolate deemed a national treasure In an effort to recognize the historical importance of hot chocolate and protect the labour-intensive traditional preparation of the beverage, Guatemala has awarded the drink a special designation.

Hot chocolate can warm the hands and soothe the soul, and in Guatemala the beverage is so beloved that is has received a special designation as part of the country's cultural heritage.

In an effort to recognize the historical importance of hot chocolate and protect the labour-intensive traditional preparation of the beverage, Guatemala has designated the drink a "national patrimony."

The Culture Ministry issued the decree "to promote centuries-old customs" and throw a spotlight on the complicated and mostly manual process used to make the drink, which has been winning raves for as long as anyone can remember.

AFP PHOTO Alexander MARTINEZ
Manuel de la Vega (L) and Silvia Aguilar grind cocoa beans to mix them with cinnamon and sugar to make chocolate at a mill in Mixco, 18 km west of Guatemala City. The Guatemalan Culture Ministry declared the chocolate "Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation".

"Chocolate is really a symbol of the Mixco region,” said Osberto Gomez, with Mixco's culture office. “We have been making it the same way for more than 500 years and the Spanish colonizers always said this was the world's best chocolate."

An age-old tradition

Beloved around the world, the cacao tree from which chocolate is made has been an important part of indigenous culture for time immemorial in Mesoamerica -- areas we now call Mexico and Central America.

The tree is thought to have originated in South America but local Central American varieties are especially prized.

Back in colonial times, chocolate was so deeply valued that beans from the cacao pods were used as currency -- and even counterfeited.

It was not until the rise of coffee in the late 1800s that cacao's local importance waned.

While "gold standard" Mixco chocolate can be found in supermarkets, it is still most widely distributed the same way it always has been: peddlers travel around the country bringing it to local markets and door-to-door to Guatemalan homes.
Francisca Paz grinds cocoa beans to mix them with cinnamon and sugar to make chocolate at a mill in Mixco, 18 km west of Guatemala City. AFP PHOTO Alexander MARTINEZ
The traditional preparation of chocolate in Mixco has been women's work.

It is almost entirely done by hand: women pull the seeds from cacao pods, slow-roast them and then grind them in mills, often by hand.

The complex process is not taught in any formal setting -- know-how is still passed on mostly at home and on the farm, from one generation to the next.

Chocolate, straight up

Over the years, locals have branched out, tweaking the original hot chocolate recipe with cinnamon, adding vanilla and rice or even almonds or other nuts, looking for a broader market.

But the old standby remains the classic hot chocolate, frothy and rich. Now it is sold in large bars to prepare hot, as well as in liquid concentrate.

Edgar Calderon/AFP/Expatica


1 reaction to this article

Ian Whitaker posted: 2011-09-26 21:49:28

Originally ingredients would have included corn, vanilla and allspice, which are indigenous to the Americas.

Nowadays the Maya still use these original ingredients and packets are available of mixes of them in powder with cocoa in some supermarkets in central America.

Cinnamon, rice and almonds were imported here 700 years ago.

For recipes, reliable and interesting information on chocolate and cocoa in Maya, Aztec and modern culture see;

facebook.com/worldchocolateawards

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1 reaction to this article

Ian Whitaker posted: 2011-09-26 21:49:28

Originally ingredients would have included corn, vanilla and allspice, which are indigenous to the Americas.

Nowadays the Maya still use these original ingredients and packets are available of mixes of them in powder with cocoa in some supermarkets in central America.

Cinnamon, rice and almonds were imported here 700 years ago.

For recipes, reliable and interesting information on chocolate and cocoa in Maya, Aztec and modern culture see;

facebook.com/worldchocolateawards

Add a comment
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