cosvteorry
Sinwdeuelgtence
Pursuing
the rich
mysteries
of chocolate
By Tim Talevich
IT HAS, as the French would say,
that certain je ne sais quoi—a distinct,
alluring quality, yet not completely
defined. That’s chocolate. What other
food elicits such a response?
This is, after all, theobroma cacao—
“food of the gods”—revered as a sacred
elixir by its first aficionados, the ancient
Mayans some 2,000 years ago; later
the drink of nobility in European courts;
once used as currency; a purported
aphrodisiac (no firm evidence, even
for green M&Ms); a health food (only
partially true, see below); and today
a billion-dollar global business. And
what other food shows up in our
cultural landscape in so many ways,
from the sophistication of a Parisian
chocolaterie to the simple wisdom of
Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates?
