VOA慢速英语2010年-EXPLORATIONS - Chocolate Has a History

BOB DOUGHTY¹:

I'm Bob Doughty.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

And I'm Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we travel around the world exploring the history of chocolate. Its story begins with a plant whose scientific name, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods." For centuries, people have been enjoying the rich flavor of chocolate, a product made from this plant.

Join us as we tell about the history of chocolate and how it is produced. We will also meet Jane Morris, a chocolate maker² in Washington, DC.

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BOB DOUGHTY:

Cacao fruit with seeds

Most people today think of chocolate as something sweet to eat or drink than can be easily found in stores around the world. It might surprise you that chocolate was once highly treasured.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

Historians believe the Maya people of Central America first learned to farm cacao plants around two thousand years ago. The Maya took the cacao trees from the rainforests and grew them in their gardens. They cooked the cacao seeds, then crushed them into a soft paste. They mixed the paste with water and flavorful spices to make an unsweetened chocolate drink. The Maya poured the chocolate drink back and forth³ between two containers so that the liquid had a layer of bubbles, or foam⁴.

Cacao and chocolate were an important part of Maya culture. There are often images of cacao plants on Maya buildings and art objects. Ruling families drank chocolate at special ceremonies. And, even poorer members of society could enjoy the drink once in a while. Historians believe that cacao seeds were also used in marriage ceremonies as a sign of the union between a husband and wife.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Detail of a picture showing Aztecs making chocolate as part of a religious ceremony

The Aztec culture in current day Mexico also prized chocolate. But, the cacao plant could not grow in the area where the Aztecs lived. So, they traded to get cacao. They even used cacao seeds as a form of money to pay taxes or give as holy offerings to the gods.

Only the very wealthy people in Aztec societies could afford to drink chocolate because cacao was so valuable. The Aztec ruler Montezuma was believed to drink fifty cups of chocolate every day.

Some experts believe the word for chocolate came from the Aztec word "xocolatl" which in the Nahuatl language means "bitter water." Others believe the word "chocolate" was created by combining Mayan and Nahuatl words.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

Hernando Cortes

The explorer Christopher Columbus brought cacao seeds to Spain after his trip to Central America in fifteen oh two. But it was the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes who understood that chocolate could be a valuable investment. In fifteen nineteen, Cortes arrived in current day Mexico. He believed the chocolate drink would become popular with Spaniards. After the Spanish soldiers defeated the Aztec empire, they were able to seize the supplies of cacao and send them home. Spain later began planting cacao in its colonies in the Americas in order to supply the large demand for chocolate.

The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened version of the chocolate drink. Later, the popularity of the drink spread throughout Europe. The English, Dutch and French began to plant cacao trees in their own colonies. Chocolate remained a drink that only wealthy people could afford to drink until the eighteenth century. During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped make chocolate less costly⁵ to produce.

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BOB DOUGHTY:

Farmers grow cacao trees in many countries in Africa, Central and South America. The trees grow in the shady areas of rainforests near the Earth's equator. But these trees can be difficult to grow.

They require an exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits called pods, which grow near the trunk of the tree. The seeds inside this pod are harvested to make chocolate.

There are several kinds of cacao trees. Most of the world's chocolate is made from the forastero tree. But farmers can also grow criollo or trinitario cacao plants. Cacao trees grown on farms are much more easily threatened by disease and insects than wild trees are.

Growing cacao is very hard work for farmers. They sell their harvest on a futures⁶ market. This means that economic conditions beyond their control can affect the amount of money they will earn.

Today, chocolate industry officials, activists⁷, and scientists are working with farmers. They are trying to make sure that cacao can be grown in a way that is fair to the farmers and safe for the environment.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

To become chocolate, cacao seeds go through a long production process in a factory. Workers must sort, clean and cook the seeds. Then they break off the covering of the seeds so that only the inside fruit, or nibs⁸, remain. Workers crush the nibs into a soft substance called chocolate liquor. This gets separated into cocoa solids and a fat called cocoa butter.

Chocolate makers⁹ have their own special recipes in which they combine chocolate liquor with exact amounts of sugar, milk and cocoa fat. They finely crush this "crumb¹⁰" mixture so it is smooth. The mixture then goes through two more processes before it is shaped into a mold form.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Chocolate making is a big business. The market value of the yearly cacao crop around the world is more than five billion dollars. Chocolate is especially popular in Europe and the United States. For example, in two thousand five, the United States bought one point four billion dollars worth of cocoa products. Each year, Americans eat an average of more than five kilograms of chocolate per person. Specialty¹¹ shops that sell costly chocolates are also very popular. Many offer chocolate lovers the chance to taste chocolates grown in different areas of the world.

Cadbury workers in London protest the takeover by Kraft

The British company Cadbury has been selling chocolate products for over one hundred eighty years. It has been in the news over the past months during a disputed takeover negotiation¹² with the American company Kraft Foods.

This month, a majority of Cadbury shareholders¹³ approved a purchase agreement by Kraft worth about nineteen billion dollars. Under the deal, Kraft will become one of the largest candy makers in the world.

But many people in Britain have fiercely protested the takeover by an American company. For many Britons, Cadbury's products, such as Crème Eggs and Dairy Milk bars, represent a treasured part of British history and food culture.

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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

Jane Morris is a chocolate maker in Washington D.C. She owns the company J Chocolatier. Here is her opinion on why people like chocolate so much:

JANE MORRIS: "Well, scientists tell us that we all love chocolate because there's a chemical response that takes place in our brains. But I like to think that people love chocolate because everybody has an experience that they can relate to eating chocolate, and usually it's a good one. It's a memory from childhood or it's eating something that you know you weren't supposed to, but you did it anyway and really enjoyed it. And chocolate marries well with almost any ingredient from any corner of the globe. It really is a perfect food."

BOB DOUGHTY:

Examples of Jane Morris’ chocolate creations

Jane Morris can give you an entire lesson on different kinds of chocolate. She can give you a taste of a blended chocolate that contains cacao from around the world. Or, she can let you try a "single origin" chocolate grown in only one area of the world.

For example, one fine chocolate made with cacao grown in Madagascar has a very interesting sour taste. While another chocolate grown in Venezuela has a very different taste.

JANE MORRIS: "Some people tell me when they taste this chocolate from El Rey that they can taste what they imagine the rainforest would smell like."

Miz Morris uses these chocolates to make her own unusual creations.

JANE MORRIS: "Sometimes I look for inspiration in professional books. That's always a good starting place. Then I also think about what I eat and what flavors work well together."

Her most popular chocolate is called Montezuma.

JANE MORRIS: "People love this. It's a chocolate with chipotle spice and Vietnamese cinnamon."

You may think it is just a normal chocolate until you begin to taste the deep and rich heat of these special spices.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

For another chocolate creation, she uses Earl Grey Tea to give it a flavor of the bergamot fruit. And, these chocolates are as nice to look at as they are to eat.

Jane Morris sells her chocolates in a shop in the Georgetown area of Washington. She also sells them in local wine, candy and gift stores. Jane says she does not use any preservative¹⁴ chemicals in her products, so they only last about two or three weeks. But, she says she believes this is the way chocolate should be eaten.

We asked her if there was anything she wanted to tell Special English listeners. It might not surprise you she suggested that everyone should eat chocolate!

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BOB DOUGHTY:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Bob Doughty.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

 

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nibs   

上司，大人物； 钢笔尖，鹅毛管笔笔尖( nib的名词复数 )； 可可豆的碎粒； 小瑕疵

参考例句：

• They were careful not to offend his nibs. 他们小心翼翼，不敢冒犯这位大人。
• Please tell his nibs that we'd like his help with the washing-up! 请转告那位大人，我们想请他帮助刷锅洗碗！

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 crumb   

n.饼屑，面包屑，小量

参考例句：

• It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
• Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。

11 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

13 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

14 preservative   

n.防腐剂；防腐料；保护料；预防药

参考例句：

• New timber should be treated with a preservative.新采的圆木应进行防腐处理。
• Salt is a common food preservative.盐是一种常用的食物防腐剂。