A Chocolate Tale on a Monday Afternoon

​Mondays at the Miss Witt Kitchen are often a time for Home Education groups.  I have got to know some great mums and children recently.  Monday’s lesson was about how the Aztecs and Mayans would use chocolate. 

In ancient times the Mayans and Aztecs would grind the cocoa bean to make a chocolate drink.  The drink entailed magical spices e.g. cinnamon, vanilla, cloves and nutmeg. They mixed the ground cocoa with water, rather than milk.  The drink tasted spicy and bitter compared with our modern day hot chocolate.

During the late 17th century Hans Sloane, President of the Royal College of Physicians, visited Jamaica.  When he tried the drink, it made him feel nauseous so decided to add milk to the recipe and brought it back to England, and the rest is history!

​To make your own Aztec inspired hot chocolate drink see recipe below
 
Stage 1 – Make the Hot Chocolate stick
Melt 200g of chocolate slowly in a microwave or using a hairdryer, leave to cool.  
To check the chocolate is at the correct temperature to work with, tap the chocolate on your lip using a spoon – make sure it feels cooler  than your lip!  Pipe into your silicone freezer tray.   Place lollipop sticks in the tray leave to set.
 
Stage 2 -  Creating the drink
1 litre milk
3 cinnamon stick
Few cloves
1 vanilla pod seed scrapped out
Grated nutmeg
Serves 4
Pour milk in a saucepan add all the spices. Bring it to just below boiling point, strain through a sieve and use a whisk to create a frothy top. Divide the milk between 4 cups, stir in your chocolate stick.  The warm flavoured milk will slowly melt the chocolate to create a delicious drink. 

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