The history of chocolate - Deanna Pucciarelli

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Matej Divjak

If you can't imagine life without chocolate,

Če si ne znaš predstavljati življenja brez čokolade,

you're lucky you weren't born before the 16th century.

imaš srečo, da nisi bil rojen pred 16. stoletjem.

Until then, chocolate only existed in Mesoamerica

Do takrat je čokolada obstajala samo v Srednji Ameriki

in a form quite different from what we know.

v precej drugačni obliki, kot jo poznamo sedaj.

As far back as 1900 BCE,

Že leta 1900 pr. n. št.

the people of that region had learned to prepare the beans

so se ljudje v tej regiji naučili pripraviti zrna

of the native cacao tree.

tam rastočega kakavovca.

The earliest records tell us the beans were ground

Najzgodnejši zapisi nam povedo, da so zrna zdrobili

and mixed with cornmeal and chili peppers

in zmešali s koruzno moko in čilijem,

to create a drink -

da so ustvarili pijačo -

not a relaxing cup of hot cocoa,

ne sproščujočo skodelico vročega kakava,

but a bitter, invigorating concoction frothing with foam.

ampak grenek, poživljajoč zvarek, ki se peni.

And if you thought we make a big deal about chocolate today,

In če mislite, da zganjamo prevelik hrup okrog čokolade danes,

the Mesoamericans had us beat.

so nas prebivalci Srednje Amerike premagali.

They believed that cacao was a heavenly food

Verjeli so, da je kakav hrana iz nebes,

gifted to humans by a feathered serpent god,

ki jo je ljudem podaril pernati plazilski bog,

Majem poznan kot Kukulkan

known to the Maya as Kukulkan

and to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl.

in Aztekom kot Quetzalcoatl.

Aztecs used cacao beans as currency

Azteki so uporabljali kakavova semena kot valuto

and drank chocolate at royal feasts,

in pili čokolado na kraljevih slavjih,

gave it to soldiers as a reward for success in battle,

jo dajali vojakom kot nagrado za uspeh v bojih

and used it in rituals.

in jo uporabljali v ritualih.

The first transatlantic chocolate encounter occurred in 1519

Prvo transatlantsko čokoladno srečanje se je zgodilo leta 1519,

when Hernán Cortés visited the court of Moctezuma

ko je Hernán Cortés obiskal dvor Moctezume

at Tenochtitlan.

v Tenochtitlanu.

As recorded by Cortés's lieutenant,

Kot je zabeležil Cortezov poročnik,

the king had 50 jugs of the drink brought out and poured into golden cups.

so kralju prinesli 50 vrčev in jih nalili v zlate skodelice.

When the colonists returned with shipments of the strange new bean,

Ko so se kolonisti vrnili s pošiljko tega čudnega novega zrna,

missionaries' salacious accounts of native customs

so jim opolzki opisi misijonarjev o običajih teh ljudstev

gave it a reputation as an aphrodisiac.

dali sloves afrodiziaka.

Sprva je bila zaradi grenkega okusa dobra za zdravljenje težav,

At first, its bitter taste made it suitable as a medicine for ailments,

like upset stomachs,

kot so želodčne težave,

but sweetening it with honey, sugar, or vanilla

a ko so jo sladkali z medom, sladkorjem ali vaniljo,

quickly made chocolate a popular delicacy in the Spanish court.

je čokolada kmalu postala popularna poslastica na španskem dvoru.

And soon, no aristocratic home was complete without dedicated chocolate ware.

In kmalu noben aristokratski dom ni bil popoln brez pribora za čokolado.

The fashionable drink was difficult and time consuming to produce

Proizvodnja te moderne pijače v velikih količinah je bila zelo težka

on a large scale.

in dolgotrajna.

That involved using plantations and imported slave labor

Vključevala je uporabo plantaž in suženjsko delovno silo

in the Caribbean and on islands off the coast of Africa.

na Karibih in otokih ob obali Afrike.

The world of chocolate would change forever in 1828

Svet čokolade se je spremenil za vedno okrog leta 1828,

with the introduction of the cocoa press by Coenraad van Houten of Amsterdam.

ko je Coenraad van Houten iz Amsterdama predstavil stiskalnico za kakav.

Van Houtenov izum je lahko izločil kakavovo mast, oziroma maslo.

Van Houten's invention could separate the cocoa's natural fat, or cocoa butter.

This left a powder that could be mixed into a drinkable solution

Ostal je prah, ki so ga lahko zmešali v pijačo

or recombined with the cocoa butter

ali spet združili s kakavovim maslom,

to create the solid chocolate we know today.

da so ustvarili trdo čokolado, kot jo poznamo danes.

Not long after, a Swiss chocolatier named Daniel Peter

Nedolgo zatem je švicarski izdelovalec čokolade Daniel Peter

added powdered milk to the mix,

v mešanico dodal mleko v prahu,

thus inventing milk chocolate.

in tako izumil mlečno čokolado.

By the 20th century, chocolate was no longer an elite luxury

V 20. stoletju čokolada ni bila več luksuz elit,

but had become a treat for the public.

ampak je postala posladek za množice.

Meeting the massive demand required more cultivation of cocoa,

Povečano povpraševanje je zahtevalo gojenje večih količin kakava,

ki lahko raste samo okrog ekvatorja.

which can only grow near the equator.

Now, instead of African slaves being shipped

Namesto da bi sužnje iz Afrike pošiljali

to South American cocoa plantations,

na plantaže kakava v Južni Ameriki,

se je proizvodnja kakava preusmerila v Zahodno Afriko,

cocoa production itself would shift to West Africa

with Cote d'Ivoire providing two-fifths of the world's cocoa as of 2015.

in Slonokoščena obala tako proizvaja dve petini svetovnega kakava od leta 2015.

Yet along with the growth of the industry,

A z rastjo industrije

there have been horrific abuses of human rights.

so bile tu tudi grozljive zlorabe človekovih pravic.

Many of the plantations throughout West Africa,

Veliko plantaž v zahodni Afriki,

which supply Western companies,

ki zalagajo podjetja z vzhoda,

use slave and child labor,

uporabljajo suženjsko in otroško delovno silo,

with an estimation of more than 2 million children affected.

ki prizadene več kot 2 milijona otrok.

This is a complex problem that persists

To je kompleksen problem, ki vztraja

despite efforts from major chocolate companies to partner with African nations

kljub trudu glavnih proizvajalcev čokolade, da bi se povezali z Afriškimi državami

to reduce child and indentured labor practices.

in s tem zmanjšali obseg otroškega in prisilnega dela.

Today, chocolate has established itself in the rituals of our modern culture.

Dandanes se je čokolada uveljavila v ritualih moderne kulture.

Due to its colonial association with native cultures,

Zaradi njene kolonialne povezave z domorodnimi kulturami,

combined with the power of advertising,

združene z močjo oglaševanja,

chocolate retains an aura of something sensual,

čokolada ohranja sloves nečesa čutnega,

decadent,

dekadentnega

and forbidden.

in prepovedanega.

Yet knowing more about its fascinating and often cruel history,

A znanje o njeni fascinantni in pogosto kruti zgodovini,

as well as its production today,

kot tudi o njeni proizvodnji danes,

tells us where these associations originate

nam pove, od kod te povezave izvirajo

and what they hide.

in kaj skrivajo.

Ko torej naslednjič odvijete tablico čokolade,

So as you unwrap your next bar of chocolate,

take a moment to consider that not everything about chocolate is sweet.

si vzemite trenutek za razmislek, da ni vse sladko.