Aztec Chocolate - Blood & Spice
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- Help Support the Channel with Patreon: / tastinghistory
Tasting History Merchandise: crowdmade.com/...
Follow Tasting History here:
Instagram: / tastinghistorywithmaxm...
Twitter: / tastinghistory1
Tiktok: TastingHistory
Reddit: r/TastingHistory
Discord: / discord
Tasting History's Amazon Wish List: amzn.to/3i0mwGt
LINKS TO INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENT**
Sony Alpha 7C Camera: amzn.to/2MQbNTK
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens: amzn.to/35tjyoW
Molinillo: amzn.to/3rpoXGJ
Cacao Beans: amzn.to/3v4feIe
Cacao Nibs: amzn.to/3sX7JAU
Achiote/Annatto Powder: amzn.to/3rpWe4C
LINKS TO SOURCES**
The Secret Life of Chocolate by Marcos Patchett: amzn.to/3qoLOB1
For more information visit thesecretlifeofchocolate.com
The True History of Chocolate by Sophie & Michael Coe: amzn.to/3sWBl1f
Florentine Codex by Bernardino de Sahagún: amzn.to/2OrKiAE
Thomas Gage's Travels in the New World: amzn.to/3sO3YxA
**Some of the links and other products that appear on this video are from companies which Tasting History will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Each purchase made from these links will help to support this channel with no additional cost to you. The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Subtitles: Jose Mendoza
PHOTO CREDITS
Metate et Mano: Yelkrokoyade, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons
Olmec Head No 3: By Maribel Ponce Ixba (frida27ponce) - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikime...
#tastinghistory #aztec #chocolate
The fact that people counterfeited cacao beans is hilarious to me, I never heard about that when I was studying the Aztecs in college. Humans been scamming each other since time immemorial...
I saw it in a Discovery vid (when they were still educational).
@@nunyabiznes33 i miss those days. it was a golden era.
@@al145 I believe it's that show where they just focus one thing per episode. That one's all about chocolate. I remember they also have an episode about summer.
There’s one common factor throughout history: the hustle
@@broskiis03 as a wise man once said "don't hate the player, hate the game"
Hi Max, as a Mexican with a passion about it's history roots, you should look for the Tascalate recipe from chiapas, the Chorote Pozol, made in tabasco, or the Oaxacan Tejate, (Tascalate is the closest to the blood color that you mention) those are the types of chocolate that we make from several centuries, all chocolates drank in the Motehcuzoma period, must have gotten different varieties of maiz in them, remember our whole culture roams around it, so it would make good sense that the bloody chocolate, would have gotten achiote, red maiz, and chillies in it, so the color would be a good bloody red stain, the best cacao is planted in the mexican state of Tabasco, over there is so cheap, that a full big bar of real chocolate would cost around 5 - 10 pesos less than half a dollar.
Tascalate is the best cacao drink I've ever had
How do you think they got the foam? Do you think it was ingredients or a method of preparation? Thanks in advance, cheers.
@@edmontonlivermoore4935 it's all about adding roasted and milled maiz grains to the mixture, for instance Tascalate, uses Maiz escarlata (scarlet red corn) which is roasted, milled and added to the mixture, then it's just the method of 2 pitchers or the molinillo, that's it, for more frothiness, use cold water or milk when you prepare it
@@opriego8132 Thank you!
I will never forget the taste of tascalate chocolate!
my grandmother removes the shells from the beans by mixing them in a bowl to break up the shells, and then she separates them by going outside and passing them from one bowl to another in a pouring motion. The beans fall, but the skins get carried away by the wind. She also does this for coffee beans!
I wondered about that! It's called winnowing and has been used for tens of thousands of years to remove the chaff of grain and...obviously...the shells from cocoa beans and coffee beans per your Grandmother's technique. I thought Max and his buddy's method was pretty labor intensive. Thank you for clarifying this 'lost' process.
It's so amazing to me how human nature is so similar throughout the world. My family is from Punjab (in Pakistan) and my grandma used to do the exact same thing with roasted nuts, roasted coconut, and seeds. ❤️
@@ruthamos2312 “his buddy” HAHAHAHAH OMG its his fiance
We do this exact same thing in Brasil for removing the skin from roasted coffee, peanuts, cashew nuts and, obviously, cacao.
@@leonardoromero940 Historians and Sappho moment
Out of sheer curiosity, I tried the "pouring from pitcher to pitcher" method with the chocolate still boiling hot. Turns out it both cools it down fairly rapidly (no surprise there, it definitely increases the surface area of the drink) AND aerates it quite well, giving it a pretty nice, if somewhat short-lived, foam.
That's actually a technique also used in the making of the Malaysian "Teh Tarik" or 'foamy tea', its basically hot tea with milk and sugar but they use this pitcher-to-pitcher pouring technique to give it its foam, which is enjoyed by a lot of people who will not even consider a Teh Tarik without foam 😄
@@lolwahbarakat8977 teh tarik is not teh tarik without foam😁
Impressive. Me and my total lack of depth perception will admire and never attempt (it would be a waste of chocolate or tea).
Did you all forget willy wonker?
The waterfall!?
*Silly isnt it*
That’s exactly what my grandmother does for our chocolate to cool it for us and make that super whipped chocolate foam
The Aztecs and mayans really did love their choccy milk
Choccy milk makes spanish conquistadors go away
Choccy milk *of the Gods*
*Spicy choccy milk of the gods
@@01jiratjiampoonsap80 ✨Spicy Choccy Water from the Gods✨
XD
@@itzelluna4434 ok thancc
Maybe the real aztec gold was the chocolate recipes we made along the way
seems like it but not on chocolate, gold wasn´t that abundant in new spain but the colony became the biggest silver producer and now Mexico is still one of the biggest silver producers in the world
@@Bellial87 El choclado has actually already been found (at least the thing they based it on) but it just wasn’t enough, it couldn’t be enough.
No matter how much chocolate they find they would think there must be a “real” El choclado with even more chocolate…
And the real treasure was the Aztec amigos we made along the way.
@@danityvanityinsanity yeesss.....what a lovely method to be a friends
Love this comment
"José and I did it for about two and a half hours the other night and made quite the mess on the floor"
Oh my
Man, I wasn’t gonna say anything....🤪
Omg 😆 Context is everything
OH MY GAH 🙀
@@TastingHistory You can’t tell me you didn’t say that intentionally, Max.🤣
Mexican here, I absolutely loved how much research went into this! When you clarified the thing about drinking blood and how that was part of an agenda to make the aztecs seem more like animals I got so excited!
Leaving aside missionaries trying to denigrate and misrepresent native traditions and anything that went against the Christ centric mentality, the Aztec religion and it's priesthood cast was by any measure very macabre and human sacrifice centric.
@@flyingfox707b
You should know. You where probably there?
@@rustydogrustydog9191 funny you should say that... On a completely unrelated note, do you know what an archaeologist does?
Aztecs were by far the most bloodthirsty culture encountered by the spaniards. If it had been an organized agenda then the Inca would have been villified as much as the Aztec.
@@felipearias5622
Colonization IS an organized agenda😂 what a dumb comment
The sad part is that the Aztecs probably wrote down a recipe in one of their manuscripts but now we will never know. Good work
Good job, Conquistadors!
It wasn't the Spanish that killed the Aztecs, it was the Tlashcala and other tribes that they had enslaved, and sacrificed for hundreds of years. The Spanish just exploited the existing animosity and united the Aztecs many enemies.
Aaaaand ended up winning in the end like the third Risk player, and burned all their books.
Not saying the Spanish were good people themselves, (bunch a bookburning slaving imperalists) just saying that the Aztecs would be alive today if they weren't such jerks (buncha human-sacrificing slaving imperialists).
@@EgoEroTergum okay but Libricide is legit WAY worse than homicide.
@@EgoEroTergum the people still alive bro lol
Can you imagine the reaction the Aztec people would have to what we have now?
“You have chocolate in a solid form? You can buy it easily?!”
Tbh that'd be the reaction of humans from older civilizations to a lot of the commodities we don't even think about today.
-Salt used to be ridiculously pricey, for example
-Sugar too - and it used to come in large bricks that you'd have to grind up or shave down, not the granulated kind we buy today
-As for flour, pure white flour was once meant only for the king's table
-And can't forget spices; they used to be hideously expensive but now they range from affordable to a little pricey for most people (with the exception of, like, saffron and such)
-And quite a lot fruit as well - did you know that pineapples used to be so expensive in Europe at one point, that rich people used to use them as hideously expensive decorations? They'd just buy one and keep it as a centrepiece for years, not even eating it or anything 😆
FYI Aztecs are not extinct.
also, it's pretty good I guess...
@@mrmexicano64 I was talking specifically about the ancient Aztec people obviously.
I'd love to see how they react to how widespread chocolate is now
@@raerohan4241 I even heard you could *rent* a pineapple as decoration for your party table...
There is a drink in Chiapas called tascalate which is made with achiote, cacao, sugar, masa or tortillas and cinnamon which may be close to the blood tinted drink mentioned (although it has more of a red brick color).
Also don't throw the cacao shells away after so much labor! Blend them with water, a cup per liter, strain em, add sugar and you got a delicious "agua de chaqueta"
Damn, I knew I wasn't misremembering that specific drink. There's a similar one in Guerrero, but I don't remember anything about it, other than the passing mention of it, and the fact that is also made with cocoa grains...
I regularly add cayenne and cinnamon to my hot cocoa - it's a wonderful combination and I bet the cinnamon would be a great addition to this recipe!
@@DonVigaDeFierro may be Pozol? Those are the only two ancient chocolate beverages i know aside from champurrado
Wait... isn't chaqueta an euphemism for mastrubation? I wouldn't take that drink honestly...
@@rebekahleota6847 here in México cinnamon is almost mandatory in hot cocoa nowadays, ceylon always. But despite it being the most traditional, i've never had it or tried it with chili
Not often you find someone in UA-cam willing to go the extra mile to research pronunciation and pronounce as close as possible as the real deal. Kudos to you, sir. Keep up the good work!
"And yet I am a commoner...
And I intend to drink it...
ESCÁNDALO"
Dios mio!! 😱
*The telenovela zoom-in and arched brow!* 👌🏻
Cue the dramatic music from a novela!!! Jajajajajajaja!!!!
Oh my! *faints*
_sin verguenza_ !
I work at Mars Wrigley and one of the people at the office actually has several molinillos on his office desk. And I always wondered what they were. And now I know.
Aren’t they beautiful??
@@Trund27 I remember seeing it on his desk for the first time and wondering what on Earth it was. Because it looked so neat, but its function completely eluded me
any gossip from your office about that slave labour lawsuit?
@@Liloldliz I work in the factory itself, so I'm not overly exposed to any of the office talk. And even if I was I can't really comment on it, other than to refer you to our legal department for comment.
But, I can tell you from experience, that thing usually happens because someone in supply chain wasn't paying attention when purchasing supplies. Suppliers are surprisingly good at hiding that kind of thing until it's too late.
I recall Gibson guitar running into a similar issue because they accidentally purchased illegally harvested wood for their guitars at one point and got into a lot of hot water.
Generally when that happens, civil court allows the company in question the opportunity to cut all ties with the offending supplier before any serious damages are applied legally.
And that's usually how these things play out.
This is the true Aztec gold.
They can thank the Mayans for that!
One wonders if in their hunt for Eldorado, the fabled 'land of Gold' the Spanish were, in fact, pointed to the 'Land where the Cacao trees grow'...
"I cam looking for gold, and I found chocolate."
@@arnox4554 ah, I see whatcha did, there... you sure there was no copper in sight? 🤣
@@pablodelsegundo9502 - Also, chocolate's best finance, VANILLA - the orchid that you can eat! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm..................
"So just beat your chocolate until you have some foam"
*Pours perfectly smooth chocolate*
"Stop drinking chocolate, or I will kick you out of church!"
"Adios."
The only acceptable answer
"Is that a choice?"
@@Serai3 It is, an easy one.
An obvious but theologically questionable solution presents itself: add achiote, and use it for the "Drink of My blood".
@@jy3n2 Good point. I'm surprised they didn't do that, given how they made a habit of taking already established cultural symbols and adapting them to Christian belief.
No humans were sacrificed in the making of this video
How do you know? You can never be to sure.
But god does it taste like it!
@@imperialfist2304 exactly, EXACTLY
@@imperialfist2304 the Aztecs as well as some of the others were chaos cultists from the sound of things.
are you sure about that?
Ah, chocolate before chocolate was a thing. Hope to see more pre-Columbian recipes in the future!
Me too!
He can't make Pre-Columbian recipes. Hard to find the blood of your enemies at the supermarket
That would be awesome, though, they're probably few and far between sense Europeans had a nasty habbit of burning practically everything relayed to indigenous cultures...
@@TonecrafteLuthiery Ehhh he can use pig's blood and call it a day! 🤣
Pulque, perhaps? Though you will have to find an appropriately-old woman for the last stage of the process.
Sidenote: Love the plush Pokémons that 'relate' to the culture or food for every episode.
Outstanding history; most people forget to mention the Olmec civilization
Unfortunately not much is known about the Olmecs and Toltecs there’s tons of speculation about how they lived and their demise and we have found relics but their are no Codexes or journals at least not as many as there are about the Aztec and Mayan Civilizations
@@EresirThe1st Just because people didn't write stuff down doesn't mean we know nothing about them.
@@EresirThe1st Sure, but it doesn't discount it, either. For example, we can make a lot of good guesses on how the Indus River Valley civilization thrived because of what we've found. Also, the texts that they've left behind are a bunch of indecipherable wack, so yeah. There's only so much that you can do.
"You know, Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs would drink 50 quarts of hot chocolate every day. It was thick as mud and red. He put chili pepper in instead of sugar. Get it? Hot chocolate?" - that weird kid from Polar Express
Max loves Xmas and he’s never seen it so I’m fixing that this year
That's an actual thing in Mexican cuisine. Unsweetened chocolate plus red pepper is called a Mole (mo-lay), and is added a topping on grilled chicken.
@@petergray2712 How was it? I added cayenne to my hot chocolate and I feel sick right now
@@boid9761 Mole is really good. It's spicy, and thick, with a bit of that chocolate flavor coming in just without the sweetness. My mother was on a huge Mole kick once, and it seemed like we were having Mole chicken every other day.
@@boid9761 try less ceyanne. Or a different chili. Chipotle is pretty good, but its an acquired taste.
So the elite class would drink chocolate, thus reducing the amount of currency in circulation, curbing inflation.
It’s because it was of high status and spiritual reason same thing goes for corn
But remember that the stuff literally grew on trees.
@@nameynamename3758 Yeah, that's what I'm saying. The only major control the governing class had on the currency was its consumption, if they didn't consume enough of it it would've caused inflation because it grows on trees. If they consumed too much of it it would cause deflation.
But limiting the consumption to the elite class, they could adjust the rate of the reduction fairly easily.
@@pubcollize cacao was not the only currency, other things had value. The economy was vastly different to what we have today
@@nameynamename3758 trees owned by the elite
Hello friend, greetings from Toluca, México. This episode was great, good information, nicely told, most of mexican families make chocolate at home, we use a molinillo as you did, and we make our chocolate with a lot of foam, the secret is to whip the chocolate for as long as it is needed, this has to be done at a good speed and constantly, foam will start to build up, you can stop when it becomes a fine foam that does not collapse, this enhances the flavor of chocolate, hope you try it one more time.
Saying "most people" is not true, this tradition of using the molinillo is dying out, maybe in small towns it's still prepared that way, but anywhere else they just use processed chocolate powder, just add hot water (or milk) and you're done 😵💫
“I mean I’d take chocolate over hard tack any day” - with the clip of your facial expression from that episode.... that was so funny I had to replay that part three times! The hard tack click-clack needs to be a gif.
But but but, hear me out
Chocolate-dipped hardtack 😳
@@SetuwoKecik My God..
You crack the code!
Or..,you crack the tack to be exact.
Hardtack was made to last a long time on a march or on a ship. It wasn't made to be good.
The chocolate won't last that long. Although, if you leave the cacao in their husks then I bet they can last for a few years.
I laughed to.
Yesss
This week on Tasting History Quotes Out-Of-Context:
“Jose and I did it for about two and a half hours the other night and made quite the mess on the floor...”
“¡ESCANDALO!”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Came looking for this. Thank you, have another upvote.
*dramatic spanish guitar*
It's only a matter of time before someone makes a compilation.
* loud Raphael plays *
"Water From the Washing of Obsidian Blades" is actually one of the most metal things I think you've ever mentioned on this series.
I honestly had far too low of an expectation for this episode, but it's been fascinating and eye-opening... though given my gut's reaction to any kind of chocolate, I think I'll have to take your word for things on the tasting, sadly.
Especially since that water is full of old blood. Yeah, I can imagine why the dancer got all funny.
@@HappyBeezerStudios It could've been laced with something else, and the chocolate itself in that kind of concentrated form is a pretty powerful aphrodisiac and stimulant.
443rd 🪦
The hardtack throwbacks crack me up every time 😂
I do posts on Mesoamerican history, As with the Tamale &
Quesadillas video, this is definitely one of the best videos on Mesoamerican culture on UA-cam! I do have some clarifications and corrections, though: The first is that Chocolate being limited to nobility for the "Aztec" isn't a universal thing, and would may varied depending on the specific culture, city, or time period: For example, the sumptuary laws mentioned at 8:27 were superficially introduced during the reign of Moctezuma I in Tenochtitlan, the "Aztec Captial", but the Aztec Empire didn't actually export it's laws or customs on it's subjects. At the Aztec (sort of see below!) town of Yautepec, there are Cacao goblets found at commoner residences, for example. On that note, in the script, only the Olmec, Aztec, and Maya come up, even though there were dozens of other of civilizations in the region (and almost all of whom were urban state socieite, not tribes, contrary to what the quote at 10:30 says) most, if not all of whom used Cacao and had some sort of chocolate beverage. In fact, the image at 6:48 / 14:22, as well as the image at 9:53 and used in the thumbnail, come from a surviving book/codex from the Mixtec civilization, the codex Zouche-Nuttall.
Along a similar vein, it's perhaps worth noting that Cacao exclusively grows in the more tropical climates of Mexico, around the coasts, Chiapas, and the Yucatan Penisula, so the core cities which were culturally "Aztec" (that is to say Nahua, though sometimes the term "Aztec" is used to refer exclusively to the Mexica Nahaun subgroup in Tenochtitlan. The "Aztec Empire" included both Nahuan (Mexica, Alcolhua, Tepaneca, Tlaxcalteca, etc) and non Nahua cultures(Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, Totonac, etc)) wouldn't actually have been able to grow it locally: All the Aztec's cacao was imported or recieved as taxes. Some of the most recent campaigns/expansion efforts launched by the Mexica prior to the arrival of the Spanish actually were in Xoconochco in Chiapas, almost 900 kilometers away, to secure prime Cacao harvesting areas.
I also wanna comment again on some of the images used: The image at 9:00 and the one at 15:07 are really inaccurate, and come from 16th and 17th century paintings and woodcuts made by European artists with little knowledge of actual Mesoamerican dress and archecutre (note the European style buildings in Tenochtitlan for the former!). It may seem like a pedantic point, but a lot of people seem to think that they went around wearing big headdresses like that. More accurate Aztec/Nahua dress can be seen at 12:41, 14:40, 7:22, etc: Men generally wore wore breechcloths and a cloak, known as Tilmatli, while women generally wore blouses, known as Huipilli. For commoners, these would be bare or only lightly decorated, but for nobles and royalties they would be richly died and decorated with extravagant patterns. Men generally wore a sort of bowl cut, with a braid or knot based on military rank; while women had many different braids and hair bun styles. Headdresses were only usually worn in ceremonial or martial contexts, with the Nahua version of a crown rather being a turquoise mosaic diadem you can see at 12:41. High status men did, however, often wear a pair of Quetzal feather tassels attached to their hair, knot known as Quetzallalpiloni.
There's a really excellent piece of art made by Ned Seidler depicting the meeting of Cortes and Moctezuma II with accurate, colorful patterned Tilmatli and regalia which I would have used at 9:00... but Tasting History probably picked the images he did because they were Public Domain, which I understand (Tasting History, if you're reading this, hit me up and i'd be happy to help hook you up with some resources if you cover more Mesoamerican recipes!)
Lastly, I wanna stress again that this is an excellent video, much better then most on youtube that cover similar topics. Actually consulting Sahagun and Duran's histories for example is really apperciated, and I hope that my comment here doesn't come off as overly critical!
That was a long comment but great read! Thank you for the info :) I hope Max sees this as well, I personally would love to see more Mesoamerican foods, but I always love every video he does anyway haha
Critical or not, it was very informative and interesting.
There's a certain fun to clicking 'Read more' and a post just _explodes_ downward. Great info though. I think, in fairness to Max, the pics were more for a generally illustrative purpose to form an aesthetic background to the information he's conveying, rather than conferring 1000% accurate info.
@@Zzyzzyzzs Oh of corse, I get that, I also think that it's probably because he was wanting to use public domain images, and and there's only so much easily qavailable images like that online. I was just pointing out that those depictions come from other Mesoamerican cultures or are sort of built on sterotypes for the purpose of further informing and educating viewers, not as a dig at Max/the video.
@@MajoraZ This was a fantastic comment! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Fun fact: the foam is not created because of an agent, the foam forms with the motion of the metate always at the border of the paste that forms and goes directly to the top of the cup when you add the water.
I wonder if the shape of the vessel used for 'pouring from a great height' (the lower one) might effect the result. Not that I know anything about fluid mechanics but 30 years as a chef taught me that tiny things can have large effects
@@andytopley314 Yes, the smaller and longer the neck of the vessel makes the foam part look larger
@@CsStoker almost lager
Also some sources mention recipes where it was fermented for some time. Maybe that can create a beer-like foam?
i make chocolate foam by blowing with a straw, but that's with chocolate milk, not just cacao liquor
"blood and spice"
wasn't that how the power-puff girls were made?
You forgot the rice! Blood, spice and lotsa rice
Correct, "sugar" is just a nomenclature.
@@KetchupwithMaxandJose lmao
Blood? Was there a fourth one who was a goth or something that I missed?
So _that's_ what chemical X is!
I’m glad you mentioned Bartolome de las Casas. He seems like a fascinating individual.
It just goes to show-people have always been people.
We’ve always engaged in acts of incredible cruelty but we’ve also always been capable of great compassion.
Chocolate liquor hack: Instead of a food processor, use a tumbling rock polisher. They're designed to turn for hours on end to simulate decades of erosion. If you just put the cacao nibs in, they will fall against each other in a process similar to that of professional chocolatiers called _conching._ It makes for a really smooth end product and requires a lot less fiddling on your part.
My mother started baking chocolate cookies with chili for Christmas, because of a joke I made, when she asked me what cookies I wanted. From this I know that the chocolate will mask the chili while you have it in your mouth, but as soon as you‘ve swallowed most of the chocolate, the heat of the chili will kick in. I called this the „afterburner“ effect. So I can relate to Max‘s tasting reaction.
I found Tabasco chocolate in a gas station a while back, and that's how I found out spicy goes pretty well with chocolate. Definitely has you focusing on other flavors, stops you from noticing when the spice hits.
there's actually a very famous mole in Oaxaca which main ingredients are Chocolate and Chile, by far my favorite mole.
@@mrmexicano64 - I, too, LOVE that mole con pollo.
@@mrmexicano64 You're making me miss Houston Texas. Lived there 27 years ago, and lived in a Latino neighborhood (99% Latino neighborhood). Anyways, a lot of the families were old school Latino, and cooked as they would back home. I had some of the BEST food I've ever eaten while I lived there, having had Pollo con Mole Oaxaqueño de chocolate a few times at either neighborhood get togethers, or a couple of the local family owned restaurants (and lets not forget the Tamales, yes I LOVE Tamales). I miss the food, the hospitality, and friends, but not the heat or humidity.
@@MossyMozart i sadly could never enjoy mole. I dont know if its the texture but it just sadly doesnt agree with me
"As many lies as there are pages" is a great dunk, tho.
A word of caution about actually roasting your own raw cacao beans: turn on your kitchen fan when you're doing this. As the beans cook they may release some compounds that can give you a headache (ask me how I know--I roasted them over a pan once).
Sounds like yet another old recipe that likely benefits from the days of outdoor kitchens and fires.
As a mexican, it makes me real happy to see you try Pre-Columbian recipies! Someone already suggested it a few years ago but if youever have the chance DO PLEASE try Oaxacan Tejate!
I love how chocolate is still revered to this day. What a magnificent substance.
Really is the food of the gods 🍫
dark chocolate is the food of the gods
"I'd take chocolate after hardtac any day" cuts to hardtac episode. Very well cut 😂 I loved that so much
Whenever my grandma would make chocolate for us when we were little, she would have the girls try to foam it, she would tell us "you can't be married until you can make a good foam".
She would probably have told you should keep trying while laughing.
Yeah! It was hilarious.
My grandma didn't let me make chocolate: "Men take the sweet out of the chocolate"
Well, looks like Max and Jose have some work cut out for them before they can go up to the altar.
"You can't be married until you can make a good foam" When considering the action required to foam the chocolate with that handheld doohicky, this a beautifully layered joke. :-P
@הכי יפה Jenna Zarbo-Buckley you would be incorrect in your guess, then.
Lol
To this day, pouring hot chocolate from pitcher to pitcher is a common way of making foamy hot chocolate and coffee at many traditional dinners in Mexico City
I’m currently learning about the aztecs in social and I emailed this to my social teacher and asked if she could play it in class and said she would on Monday so excited for that!
How'd it go?
@@thegameshack3529 good
nice
@@Supersonic_saurapod hell yeah brother. Cheers from the americas
The Mayans truly were ahead of their time. Hot chocolate is god-tier.
@@apollyon4578 I never mentioned the other societies though, what prompted you to say that?
@@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668 ah, my fault, my two neurons didn't synapse properly, I'm sorry. Although, I must add, you wouldn't like to drink hot chocolate in mayan territory, as it is a very warm and humid tropical peninsula.
@@apollyon4578 Funny you should say that, but it's often warm/temperate regions that drink hot drinks mainly. (e.g. Much of Central Asia drinks hot tea several times a day.)
For the Mayans made more sense being hot, sin Choco means hot in maya. When I was little and complaint to my great grand ma that the chocolate was too hot she always said: “is CHOCO late ma Sisis late” that was Mayan for “is hot late, no cold late “ hahaha
Counterfeiting cacao seems a lot more difficult than growing the plant yourself and getting the actual beans...
Harvesting cacao beans is actually it's own process. It has to be fermented right and dried, etc.
Theobroma plants don't grow anywhere just like that, they require take time and require specific conditions and care, it's not like growing corn
It's amazing how much work people will do to avoid working.
An incentive for counterfeiting was that both cacao beans and avocados were grown in the tropical coastal regions and the Aztecs were living in the highlands. Cacao beans were brought and rapidly used as currency and drinks. Avocado pits were of no use (excepting as a low quality tint) and thrown away so an enterprising janitor could be thinking "what could I do to dispose with all this trash... and making a profit during the process?"
"Unwilling to drink nothing but water"
Even back then, this sentiment was alive and well, neat.
My girlfriend is already obsessed with Abuelita drinking chocolate, and this is only going to send her further down the rabbit hole.
If you ever run across them, Taza chocolate disks are pretty good too.
@@JustToast963
Really any other brand of chocolate disks are probably of better quality. Abuelita was bought out by Nestlé and thus had the recipe changed, meanwhile other brands like Ibarra are made with far more traditional ingredients.
@@fluidthought42 I was trying to remember if Abuelita was owned by Nestle or not, so thank you for the reminder.
Abuelita rules
@@j0an-07-arc6
And their owners Nestlé suck ass
I sit here with a mug of Aztec chocolate, having just finished making it, starting from the cacao beans. Hulling (by myself) took probably about five or six hours. I threw the hulled beans into a large stone mortar and beat the bejeepers out of them with an equally large pestle (c'mon, who doesn't love a big pestle?) to make life easier on our blender. We have no food processor-- this will have to be rectified if this is ever to be attempted again. I had to add about eight Tbsp of water over the course of the first blending because it was not coming together with any kind of speed. After torturing the blender for a while, I switched the slowly-moistening cocoa to a smaller device (a Magic Bullet). When I opened the Bullet cup to stir/dislodge the contents a few times, it was steaming. The motor was up to the task, but the contents were overheating due to friction.
After processing the paste for about an hour and a half, much to the annoyance of the rest of the household, I finally gave in, added a bit more water and the rest of the ingredients, then gave it a final blending. The result was a thick paste that smelled divine. I mixed about five Tbsp with boiling water and stirred thoroughly.
It is... an acquired taste.
The texture is gritty; the beverage is a little on the bitter side, but not unpleasantly so. If I make it again, I'll probably toss in a bit more honey. (My husband tried it, because he is a good sport and supportive of experimental archaeology. The sounds he made cannot be accurately reproduced in text. Suffice to say, he did not like it.)
Max, thank you so much for this experience. I have come away from it with increased appreciation for the hardworking and probably ridiculously strong women who made this all the way from scratch to beverage with nary a food processor to be seen. They were hardcore.
Thank you for your sharing. Quite an interesting one. This type of chocolate is one I have not yet acquired the taste for. Next time you make maybe try a different recipe..... 1 Cup roasted cacao Beans, 1 Stick of Cinnamon, 1/4 cup lightly roasted almonds with no skin, 1/4 cup brown sugar. Using a hand mill or spice/coffee grinder could work. Doesn't need to be a paste just fine ground enough to strain. Use 2 part water, 1 part milk or the other way around, and place about 2 tbsps to boil. U can also a dd a lil condended milk. If you don't put the almonds, you can just use the other ingredients I mentioned. And that would be a Caribbean style drinking chocolate. The almonds are a Mexican thing. Hope your husband will like this blend hehe
Yeah, sounds like a way to keep women busy all day. 🤨
Saqari! Hello, I'm Mayan (From Guatemala 🇬🇹) and I have a tip or two for you if you ever decide to make this again. While I am not so familiar with the cooler version of the dark chocolate since we tend to make cold white chocolate for drinking in Southern Guatemala, the skills for making the hot dark chocolate should translate well either way. One of the biggest tips I can give you is soaking the beans in hot water after deshelling for a short time, just long enough that the cacao loses its stiffness but not enough it begins to dissolve into the water, though it may diffuse some. At this point, pour the water out into a separate container but keep the beans (a very fine sifter will work wonders here). When you go to grind, the beans will turn similar to paste instead of powder, but it makes the job easier, and the end result much more frothy. Plus, the soaking water can be drunk on its own when mixed with ice and honey/sugar, and I find it makes quite the interesting drink to serve! Also, adding boiling water as you make the chocolate liquor will help with liquifying. With pitchers: We tend to pour from the wide brim side from shoulder height to floor, quickly switching around the pitchers between two pitchers or more. It becomes easier the more people are involved in this part. Lastly, the bigger the serving vessel, the more likely foam will appear. We tend to use wide latte mugs or cappuccino cups, though anything designed that is wide lipped and rounded at the bottom will make a difference. I hope this helps, and if you have questions, I'm happy to answer!
@@Petra44YT Pretty much EVERYONE was busy all day throughout most of history. Personally, as a woman, I would have much preferred to be making chocolate or gathering fruits, vegetables & taking care of children than hunting or warring with another tribe like the men, but I suppose it's down to preference.
Lying to get likes.😂
I love that they were like, "What, wait? You DON'T want any of this chocolate goodness? Okay..." Then laughed at him as they walked away.
When I first heard about the hot pepper, I tried it on the family. We all loved it so it became part of our regular method. Not as much as you used. I also add a little cornstarch as we like it a little thick. Now that everyone else grew up and went off to find their fortunes (actually, college), I add a little more cornstarch so that any leftovers become pudding for later.
I like a bit of cayenne but I've learned from another how a bit of cinnamon added as well gives it a whole new depth. I enjoy making it when the cayenne and cinnamon are in balance but not over powering.
4:22 Stares in Joshua Weissman
I really like that you acknowledge the context and agendas of historians. It’s important to cross reference to get closer to finding the truth.
Compared to the actual horrific rituals Aztecs performed on a daily basis, drinking blood is rather tame (and believable) for them
The chiles most harmonious with chocolate are guajillos.
Methinks our host dwelleth not in the lands betwixt California and Texas.
I've always been a fan of smoked ancho powder instead of cayenne. I make something very similar to this every winter around Christmas.
I think more the Pasillas Chili are more harmonious, maybe for give an amazing twist, very few chiltepin ones
@@egilskallagrimson2048 I don't know, Egil, when my guajillos come out of my brick cold smoker... The sweetness of the guajillos allows us to use a lot more chiles and the flavor of our home grown guajillos is simply divine.
@@righteousviking neither do I, Viking. I am Cuban and live in Georgia!
“Ah chocolate, sweet sweet chocolate. I’ve always hated it!” - José de Acosta
Try bittersweet chocolate instead.
Just a tip: Winnowing is the term for removing the chaff from the grain using wind (done to wheat, for instance). You get all of the stuff together and throw it upwards in the wind; the light chaff blows away while the heavy grain falls back down. You can do this at home by slowly dropping handfuls in front of a fan.
You might have saved yourself some pain by crushing the beans with the shells on them, then winnowing them to remove the shells/chaff, as I imagine this was what was done.
“Except at night when they locked him up in a cage because everybody knew what was about to happen.”
Well that took a turn 😅
🤣
Yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyohoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyooyoyoyyoyoyoyoyoyyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyouoyoyoyoyuouou
I fully admit I did NOT expect the whole "hey yer gonna die, mang" thing. I uh...thought it was because ladies were going to mob him. XD
There is a book called "The Servant of the Bones" that I believe took inspiration from this event. Although in the book they pour boiling gold over him. Thank the gods she wrote in that they gave him something that took the pain away. Still horrifying though.
Shout out to José. I remember my wife quizzing me for my grad school. Always gotta appreciate the people who support their SO’s weird projects
Weird projects indeed. Ended up with cacao husks under my nails. Ouch
@@KetchupwithMaxandJose and quite a time of it making a ‘mess all over the floor’ 😉😉
"Instead of giving up chocolate they gave up going to church"
Sounds like my crowd.
yeah..... blood sacrifice is much more appealing, fkn goof.
@@maluorno fuck yeah
That’s the only reason I’d ever go to church - just so I could give it up instead of having to give up something else.
@@polythewicked Well, at least you know you are wicked
@@maluorno like the catholics spanish didnt kill a huge portion of indigenous ppl ? and committed other atrocities to other groups of ppl lol but just focus on the aztecs i guess.
The way the Aztecs make the foam for the chocolate drink, is something my country (Malaysia) people used to make 'pulled tea', or teh tarik in the local language. You basically pour the milk tea (or chocolate for this recipe) into different cups (we tend to use metal mugs) a few times, preferably from a great height (usually from as high as the arm can reach down to waist high not like the picture's floor height), which actually requires a bit of a skill in targeting the pouring hot tea (or chocolate). That's where the drink got its name, we 'pulled' the tea up and repeat the process until the tea foam is formed. The foam that's created will be really thick and stayed in the cup long after the drink is done. But the milk tea usually associated with the method is very sweet though. Not sure about this recipe.
Okay, interviews with Townsends, working with professors and authors from all over the world. Like, damn, dude! This is the coolest at home career move of anyone I know. You did apocalyptic plague right. Well done... :)
Whenever we hear about Aztecs drinking human blood and all that, we should remember that the Romans were convinced that the early Christians were cannibals because _they themselves said so._ "Eating the body" of their god is something other people didn't get at all without deliberate explanation, which was not normally asked for since "eating flesh and drinking blood" certainly sounds straightforward to most ears!
i mean. when you say it like that, it sounds weird
@@Liloldliz Read the gospel of John, chapter 6... People at the time thought it was weird too.
@@reepicheepsfriend not gonna lie, when i got a notification saying "read the gospel of john" i was like "oh no"
@@Liloldliz I'd advise against that reaction. Our entire culture is heavily influenced by the bible, and it behooves people to read it, if for no other reason than reading it will answer a lot of questions about things that don't seem to make sense about the way our culture is structured. Besides, there are some amazing stories (not to mention some really hot erotica) in that book, stuff you'd never think to find in something "holy". And lastly, the best way to refute Christians is to use their own book against them. You can't be an effective adversary in an argument if you don't know anything about the subject you're arguing against. :D
Fuck a lot of Europe still practice ceremonial human blood drinking until the 12th century.
Max: What possibly could have made it red?
Count Dracula: BLUUUUUUUD!
Max: Achiote
Dracula:....bummer.
When you're trying to get a foam on a beverage by pouring it between two containers, you can't do it from a pitcher or cup. You have to do it between two things with wide brims like pans. The height that I normally do it at is about 2/3 of a meter or two feet. If you want even more height the bottom one is going to have to be a wok. If you want to watch people actually do this, just look for videos of Masala Chai street food, they should pretty much all show it no matter what video gets recommended to you.
Just a bit of strangeness: Over here in Germany, a bad case of food poisoning is called "Montezumas Rache" = "Montezuma's revenge". I have no idea how that came to be a thing, but found it weird enough to mention.
In the US, we call traveller's diarrhea "Montezuma's revenge" as well. It's usually caused by ingesting tap water in another country that the person hasn't grown up drinking. Because travel to Mexico is common in the Southwestern and Western states of the US, it got that name. It's unfair, of course, but the name is also humorous because of the connotation that "this is what you get for conquest!"
Montezuma allegedly died of diarrhea, possibly from drinking a vast amount of chocolate like the kind in the video
@@Cargoshots well the problem is that while Mexico is probably not as bad as a number of other places like Brazil or India in terms of water and food born illness it is geographically closer and requires less prep. Ie really easy to pop to Cancun or Tulum and feel like you are just in a resort in Miami - well you ain't.
So activities like drinking tap water that are fine in Miami are not fine in Tulum.
Montezuma's revenge, in parts of Mexico is when you are eating food that is really spicy and hot, and get spiced out. It's interesting to see how it's used in other parts of the world
On the funny side of tap water and germany: In germany tap water is more tightly regulated than bottled water. It is absolutely fine to drink it.
And about tap water in general, always be on the safe side. Might go so far to boil it before drinking. And for showering, let it run for a while and leave the bathroom in the meantime. Who knows what has accumulated in the pipes.
I think the term “pettifogging” is very relevant today- I support its revival.
Yes.
I did not know it had gone out of use!
Ah yes.. the most dangerous episode for me to date.. the one about chocolate. Opening quarantine doors which should have stayed closed.
Man if you live in the US it is girl scout cookie time again....I just spent $15 for 3 boxes tbh lol bye bye diet
"Jose and I did it for about 2 and a half hours last night, and made quite the mess..." Max Miller -2021
I like how he chooses the most appropriate Pokemon to put in the background
There's another Pokemon that's associated with chocolate
@@mmyr8ado.360 there is? last time I played it, Pokemon gold was still a thing on Game boy color, LOL. I am a bit outdated
the mini jump cut near 8:50 was a phenomenal call back. I hope that more of it is seen when a exemplary joke arises during the video creation!
Eating chocolate was like eating money to the Aztecs.... Literally.
Also WHO'S THAT POKEMON!?
It's Sudowoodo!
IT'S SUDOWOODO!
On a related note, there's this Pokemon game that involves berries as their currency...
The ultimate flex.
@@ryotanada w h e r e
I must know of this game
@@chubbyhubby2065 It's called Pokepark... Never really played it myself tho
I actually came here on a google search for coffee and cocoa as a drink, and was sooooo delighted to find that you'd done a piece on Aztec chocolate drink! I am currently enjoying an Abuelita/coffee "Mocalita"! Delicious!
“I am a commoner.”
**Does Yogurt episode next.**
“I’m a prince!”
I’ll show myself out.
The power of the Scwartz.
Speaking of princes, beignets might make for a good episode.
I hate yogurt! Even with strawberries!
Silence rest of my life Max Miller is talking
The hard tack bit made me chuckle ☺️
😁
love the sudowoodo; and the content. as someone who is interested in going into historical linguistics, these historical cooking channels have been an absolute delight .
"They got on their hands and knees to pick them up as if an eye had fallen"
How often were eyes falling out if this was a metaphor?
And what did you do with it once you found it? You can't just brush it off and pop it back in...
Or could you?
Mistranslation! Should have been "contact lens." Mayan invention. :p
According to Max in the “Ketchup with Max and José” episode about the cockentrice, eyes _really_ don’t want to fall out.
My first thought was "glass eye".
Okay man, this is a helluva coincidence, because we're going to be running a "Historical 18th Century Coffeehouse" this coming Friday night at our historical site, and we decided on doing a "Real" hot chocolate drink just for kicks.
And then you post this.
That’s so cool! Wish I could go.
@@TastingHistory Maybe we'll go a bit easy on the cayenne :D
I'm just looking forward to the Turkish Coffee. Can't wait to get to sleep Sunday night!
Your historical 18th century coffeehouse sounds so exciting! I wish I could go!
By the 18th century, the recipe for chocolate was different from the original Aztec one, even within Mexico! Check Hannah Glasse's book for a good recipe; English, American, and European palates didn't use so much chili.
@@e.urbach7780 Thanks! I'll pass that up to our historical foodways director; I'm just slave labor (and a board of directors member); she's the expert.
Found it here: georgianera.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/18th-century-drinking-chocolate/
Hmmm, now where the hell am I gonna get Ambergris?
Anybody that admits to being willing to create a religion around chocolate is someone after my own heart rofl! This is a recipe I've been trying to find for ages; thanks for digging it up. Gotta try it...minus the pepper, though. That might be a bit much for me lol.
You could try it with whole dried chilli instead of the powder, so that it’s easy to remove after steeping. I’d also let the vanilla pod steep with the chocolate.
You'd be surprised how well it works. When I lived up in Northern California, I used to eat these little chocolates made by a Mexican family in Watsonville, that had chili pepper in them. They were really good.
Try a little spice. It doesn’t have to blow your pallet out with heat, but a little spice in sweet chocolate is really nice. Start with cinnamon and work up to chili pepper. It’s nice.
If you don't like hot peppers but still want a tiny bit of zing and flavor, try chipotle chilis. Dried or in liquid works.\
I find that in small amounts peppers really do mix well with chocolate
I love that you've practically made hitting the two hardtack biscuits together a meme.
Fun Fact: There actually is a natural chocolate that is pink, called Ruby Chocolate. It is sweet and sour, and tastes kind of like berries.
I would say it’s tart, not truly sour. It takes a little like strawberry or raspberry flavored white chocolate.
That’s just under fermented chocolate. Some people even claim it’s just dyed white chocolate with berry flavoring
Ruby chocolate is created and hyped by Callebaut, made from whole cloth as they say (purely made up). It is not true chocolate, and yes, it’s made with cacao butter and sugar with no cacao solids - it’s white chocolate with color and flavor added. Under fermented cacao beans that are then highly processed to remove pretty much everything that makes chocolate, excepting cocoa butter.
Fun fact: You are wrong, its not chocolate.
"natural" might be a stretch.
"You really think someone would do that? Just go on the history books and tell lies?" Thank you for such a wonderful episode!
After the last four years in the USA, especially since the November election? YES, I can see people lying about History and lying and lying and lying...
I thought Jose was your cat and was quite disturbed by the thought of you making him shell cocoa beans and drink chocolate.
Ahaha, I'm no cat!
@@KetchupwithMaxandJose lies and slander
You can see Jose on his Ketchup with Max and Jose podcasts. They're a lovely couple . So now the cat's out of the bag????? 😅 JIM
The pouring from pitcher to pitcher part reminds me of chai!! Most of the time people use some kind of ladle to aerate the tea while it’s still in the pot and then pour it :)
Hi Max!! I am Mexican and I wanted to thank you for pointing out about the conquistadores and their agenda, and also just for highlighting an Aztec recipe and making a distinction between them and Mayans, it felt very nice to have people state that indigenous people weren't a monolith. Oce again great recipe and I love all of your videos, cheers!!!
Well yeah they had an agenda and so do most modern historians shit never changed.
+10 woke points.
@@DominicNJ73 if woke points means being right, then id gladly take as many "woke" points as I can get LOL. u still havent pointed out why this comment is wrong, u are just crying and being sarcastic bc u disagree with it.
@@DominicNJ73 white american baby : ((((
@@supertrollfaxnoprinter3329 racist
Max: "cacao nibs"
Me: *giggles like a 5 year old*
But for real, this was bomb!
Tasting History: Azteca Chocolate
Me :*click*
Hey Max, just FYI...a touch of corn starch (which they did have), will help it hold the foam. And although most of them did drink it unsweetened, some of them did sweeten it with honey, which they did have available. I lived in Mexico for several years, and spent some time with Mexican indigenous peoples, and learned quite a few interesting cooking tips and tricks. :)
I spilled cacao beans over myself while watching a game of patolli at the tlachtli & a Mayan kid shouted "This Aztec eating beans" & everyone laughed
Okay this is a really good one, you get a like
You should check out the Malaysian process of “pulling” tea. I think that’s more what they mean by the pouring it from one cup to another. Quite beautiful to watch!
this is still done in Mexico, and honestly is not THAT difficult, is just a matter of pulse and aim
and yes it's just like pulling tea
yeah I was gonna say this! I am very bad at pulling tea but I love the taste of teh tarik ;_;
I was about to suggest the same thing.
Chocolate? CHOCOLATE!!!
... someone had to go for the Spongebob meme.
With or without nuts?
“WhAt ArE tHeY sElLiNg?”
“CHOCOLATE!!!”
Coincidentally, I stopped the video at 4:50 and came back 40 minutes later and couldn't process what I've heard for a moment. Out of context, that is a funny quote.
"This drink was called itzpacalatl, which means water from the washing of the obsidian blades". They were a very literal people.
I stopped doing history homework for this, aztec chocolate is way better than Mao Zedong
Even adding lots of milk and sugar, Mao is still not good to eat.
@@Justanotherconsumer lmao good one
🤣
@@Justanotherconsumer
Especially after all these decades.
Both have a very bloody history though!
as someone with mayan heritage, i absolutely loved this (and maybe explains my obsession with chocolate)! id love to see more mayan/aztec stuff!
Hahaha!! Made me think that could be why my kids are chocoholics.
And make human sacrifices to the gods
Do you also have an urge to carry out human sacrifices? Everyone likes chocolate, you're not special
@@jacksonfitzsimmons4253 Why do you have to be so negative? And no, not every ''loves'' chocolate.
@@wrnr_mn The only reason Africans (or "blacks") know about running water and electricity is because of human sacrifice (or genocide)
You're welcome
I think it is so incredible how every culture world wide is influenced by one another. Chocolate being a world wide treat for its wonderful flavor and addictive sweetness.
I KNEW IT!!!!!! I knew you were gonna make Aztec chocolate, i knew it in my Mexican sense
Mexican sense 🤣
I've been waiting for this one too
That cut to you banging the Hardtack together was perfect.
"As many lies as there are pages" is such a sick burn
Max--love your channel!! Great exposition on the origins, benefits & uses of Chocolate! And, since you mentioned that deplorable fascet of the Historian's Art ("Making Stuff Up.. "), let's remember Leo Tolstoy's famous Insight: "History would be a Wonderful Thing, if only it were True..."
People call him Montezuma, but friends call him “Monty”
It was because of his big Python
@Sammy soppy: THAT'S too funny! LOL!!!
@@Kornchipzzz omg! 🤣😂😭
Max: “Then it’s time to grind them, an even MORE laborious task that was usually done on a metate. But I’m using a food processor.”
Max’s eyes: “Yeah, you heard me. A modern freakin food processor, cuz I’m not an idiot. Come at me, trolls! This is my channel and I do what I want!”
Love it!
Haha if you only knew 😂
I did the hand grinding of corn for the tamales and learned my lesson 🤣
@@TastingHistory Good on you for practicing self care! Historical reenactment need only go so far.
Grinding it in a small mortar and pestle, which as far as I know was Max’s only other alternative, would have been very difficult and tedious indeed.
This is a perfect fix for my awful crampy morning.
Oh sweetheart, sending you all the sympathy and hugs that a stranger on the internet possibly can. I do not miss those days at all, and I feel so sorry for any woman who still has to go through it. Hugs and bunches of chocolate.
I found your channel recently and kind of cannot stop binge-watching!! Max, you have such a unique way of presentation ❤Food and history, two of my hobbies united, nothing else to wish for😍