Description
Presenter: Catherine Kwik-Uribe, PhD, Mars, Incorporated
Cocoa and chocolate have a long history of use. Early Mesoamerican cultures recognized the importance of cacao, incorporating its use into many rituals of daily life and celebration. In the context of today’s rituals, cocoa and, more prominently, chocolate are commonly viewed as indulgent treats and comfort foods; however, cacao itself has a much longer history of traditional use as a plant food with medicinal properties and health-promoting attributes. The Florentine Codex and the Badianus Manuscript, published in the late 16th century, provide detailed written accounts of the medicinal uses of cacao. Preparations of cacao were used not only as vehicles to counter or mask the flavors of other medicinal plants, but were also directly administered to treat a range of maladies such as digestive disorders, heart pains, inflammation and insomnia. The recognition of the restorative—the curative—properties associated with cacao are perhaps even reflected in the scientific naming of the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao; “theobroma” literally translated means “food of the gods.”
