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Mexican Chocolate
Appears in
Published 2003
As far back as anthropologists can determine, the pre-Hispanic civilizations established in Mexico were the first to use the divine cacao tree as an integral part of their culture. The Aztec settlers were followers of the practice inherited by the Mayas, who a long time before used cacao beans as currency and food. Though the methods and ingredients have changed over time, today chocolate has become one of the favorite pleasures around the planet.
Mexican chocolate is an integral part of the Latin kitchen. Every town has a molino, a place where locals grind cacao beans with sugar and cinnamon. The chocolate is then formed into containers or into molds and sold in scored tablets. Mexican chocolate is not meant to be eaten out of hand: It has a much grainier texture than other chocolates because of the lack of cocoa butter. Abuelita and Ibarra are leading brands of Mexican chocolate that are available in the United States in Latin markets and in the baking or ethnic foods section of some supermarkets.