EYE CANDY THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE IS ON DISPLAY AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, AND THE RESULTS ARE BITTERSWEET.Byline: Elizabeth Smilor Lifestyles Editor IT'S SMOOTH, sensuous, sweet and bitter. Its scent draws us in; its taste has us going back for more. Chocolate is an obsession. Today, this sweet reward is shared by millions around the world. The average American eats American Eats is a television program on The History Channel that examines the history of American cooking and foods. Each episode details the particular foods' origins, key innovators, history, and evolution into modern cuisine. 12 pounds of chocolate each year. In Switzerland, more than 23 pounds per person is consumed annually. For much of its existence, however, chocolate was a bitter drink. And until the 1800s, it was a delicacy only enjoyed by the elite. ``Chocolate, the Exhibition,'' a traveling exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. through May 11, walks visitors through the 3,000-year history of chocolate The history of chocolate is very diverse from its naming to its creation. Etymology The name chocolate most likely comes from the Nahuatl language, indigenous to central Mexico, although it may have been influenced by the Mayan languages. . ``The basic idea of the exhibit is to show what is behind the candy,'' says Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. curator Bill Wood. ``There's really a lot of facets to this story and a lot of multiple histories that are interconnected.'' Initially, though, the exhibit appeals to our basic craving as it draws us in with the piped-in scent of chocolate and mesmerizes us with images of chocolates and videos of the sweet liquid being churned to perfection Adv. 1. to perfection - in every detail; "the new house suited them to a T" just right, to a T, to the letter . ``Chocolate has this warm feeling captured by the colors and images in this exhibit,'' says Trinh MacDonald of Upland, who brought her husband and two young sons to the museum. ``And it teaches (her sons) there's more to chocolate than just eating it.'' From the opening candy shop, visitors enter a tropical rain forest with a replica of a cacao cacao (kəkä`ō, –kā`–), tropical tree (Theobroma cacao) of the family Sterculiaceae (sterculia family), native to South America, where it was first domesticated and was highly prized by the Aztecs. tree. The cacao seed, the origin of chocolate, grows in large pods on these trees and was discovered in Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. more than 3,000 years ago. The ancient Maya, followed by the Aztecs, ground the seed and combined it with such ingredients as cornmeal corn·meal also corn meal n. Meal made from corn, used in a wide variety of foods. Also called Indian meal. Noun 1. , honey and chiles to create a frothy froth·y adj. froth·i·er, froth·i·est 1. Made of, covered with, or resembling froth; foamy. 2. Playfully frivolous in character or content: a frothy French farce. and bitter drink. The Aztecs also used the seeds as currency, and included in the exhibit is an interactive marketplace where young visitors can see what they could have bought with 10 cacao seeds. (In fact, the exhibit - presented in English and Spanish - has several simple interactive displays for kids and is generally easy for families to follow.) The Spanish conquistadors See also
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``The marriage of chocolate and sugar comes as a big surprise to everybody, because everyone thinks of chocolate as a sweet. But, for the first 2,000 years of its life span, chocolate was a bitter beverage, much more like coffee than a confection con·fec·tion n. A sweetened medicinal compound. Also called electuary. ,'' notes Jonathan Haas, an anthropologist at the Field Museum in Chicago, where the exhibit originated. The European chocolate drink, though, remained a treat only sipped by the elite until inventions during the Industrial Revolution made it possible to create the candy form and mass produce it. The first chocolate factory was established in this country in 1765 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Massachusetts Bay Colony Early English colony in Massachusetts. It was settled in 1630 by a group of 1,000 Puritan refugees from England (see Puritanism). In 1629 the Massachusetts Bay Co. . Makers such as Hershey and Nestle soon entered the marketplace and, by 1930, there were 40,000 different kinds of chocolate. Today, cocoa is a global product traded on the commodities exchange (a live ticker is included in the exhibit). It's still enjoyed as a bitter drink in parts of Mexico and Central America and is a significant part of cultural celebrations around the globe. Yet, cacao seeds are cultivated mostly in African equatorial regions such as Ivory Coast Ivory Coast: see Côte d'Ivoire. and Nigeria by small-scale farmers who rarely enjoy the fruits of their labor. Haas says cacao plays an important environmental role as well. ``Cacao orchards are being used to border natural preserves in the rain forest. They serve as a sort of cushion from the outside commercial world,'' he says, noting the trees still are in constant danger as they rely on the threatened rain forest environment to survive. ``Chocolate, the Exhibition'' gives visitors all this and more to think about the next time they bite into a luscious chocolate treat - perhaps one at the museum. The gift shop at the end of the exhibit is filled with just about every sort of chocolate confection and the museum cafe will feature rotating chocolate menu items, including chocolate enchiladas and chocolate ravioli. So, it's truly a total sensory experience. CHOCOLATE, THE EXHIBITION Where: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. When: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; through May 11. Tickets: Available at the door only - $8 adults; $5.50 students/seniors; $2 ages 5 to 12. Information: Call (213) 763-3466. Choc-a-block treats A stop in the ``Chocolate'' gift shop is a must. Here are a few fun items we found for chocoholics of all ages: -- Make Your Own Chocolate Kit: A popular choice for families, this kit includes all the ingredients plus candy liners along with information about chocolate; $14.99. -- Make Your Own Chocolate Lip Balm: Young girls will want this little kit that creates a chocolate mint-flavored balm to put in a plastic ring; $9.95. -- Chocolate dinosaurs: This offering is unique to the Los Angeles stop and is being made by local sponsor Helen Grace Chocolates; $12.99. -- Chocoholics Divine Desserts Body Frosting frosting the slight graying of the haircoat around the face, particularly muzzle, in dogs with aging and as a regular feature of some breeds such as the Belgian shepherd dog. : According to Chicago curator Jonathan Haas, the Field Museum store sold out of this adult-intended sauce during the staff preview event. It comes in a 10-ounce jar with a brush for painting on your body; $8.99. -- Mexican Cocoa candles: Spice up the romance a little more with the scent of cocoa, almond, clove and cinnamon. The candles come in three sizes for $23.95, $16.95 and $9.95. Also available is Mexican Cocoa soap for $6.95. - E.S. CAPTION(S): 8 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Candyland Chocolate exhibition at L.A.'s Natural History Museum a sweet treat for families (2 -- 3 -- color) Willy Wonka, above, makes a surprise one-day-only appearance at the opening of ``Chocolate, the Exhibition.'' At right, visitors read about chocolate's Mayan origins. (4 -- 5 -- color) At the museum's gift shop, Sherri Matsumoto sniffs a cocoa candle, above, and chocolate body frosting, right, entices lovers looking to sweeten sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. their relationship. (6 -- color) A make-it-yourself chocolate kit catches the eye of 9-year-old Matthew Yori. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer (7 -- 8 -- color) Copper kettles, right, hold cacao seeds of different varieties until candy makers are ready to blend them into chocolate. Chocolatiers particularly prize the green pods, above, that contain the rare criollo Criollo native Spanish-American light horse or riding pony. Includes a number of ethnic varieties, e.g. Argentine Criollo. Any color, 13.3 to 15 hands high. Originated from a mixture of Arab, Barb and Andalusian. seeds. The Field Museum Corbis Box: Choc-a-block treats (see text) |
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