Cultural History of Chocolate

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

American Public Media

Arts, Food

4.3 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 September 2003

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For some of us, a bit of fine, luxurious chocolate can soothe our stress or brighten a dreary day. But how many of us know that our Godiva bar started out as a goopy white substance from the insides of an ugly cacao pod? Maricel Presilla, author of The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao, shares some history and cultural lore about our antidote of choice and leaves us with two recipes: Kekehi Cacao-Chile Balls and Maya-Mediterranean Chocolate Rice Pudding.

Jane and Michael Stern are sampling smoked eel and other delicacies from The Eel Man of the Delaware Valley; and winemaker Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Vineyards talks "wine of the prostitute" and Strawberry Fizz. Cheese expert Steve Jenkins offers alternatives to Brie; and we'll go to New Orleans for the return of a Sunday classic.

We'll hear how an adult-ed class teamed up with salsa to change the lives of a group of Mexican women in California's Anderson Valley. The "salsa ladies" collectively wrote Secrets of Salsa: A Bilingual Cookbook to tell their inspiring story and share recipes like Potato and Carrot Salsa.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

September 28, 2002 (originally aired)
September 27, 2003 (rebroadcast)

Transcript

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1:16.6	Hi, it's Lynn Rosetta Casper, and you're listening to The Splendid Table, the show for
1:23.0	people who love to eat. Our program is produced by Minnesota Public Radio. Well, today it's the chocolate
1:30.3	story you never hear. Chocolate expert Marisol Precia explains how Latin peoples figured out that
1:38.3	chocolate could come from the white, slimy insides of the cacao pod.
1:45.3	And she's got the next big thing for chocolate lovers.
1:49.3	We have a mavericks take on California's new Italian grape craze from winemaker Randall Graham.
1:56.1	Cheese expert Steve Jenkins says,
1:58.5	Bree is dead, but long live its rivals.
2:01.8	We go to New Orleans for the return of a Sunday classic,
2:05.4	Breaking Fast with Rice Kala.
2:08.5	Then Celebrity, Salsa, Literacy, and Mexican Farm Women
	...

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