The history of chocolate - Deanna Pucciarelli

翻译人员: Eric Gou 校对人员: 文琪 赵

If you can't imagine life without chocolate,

如果你不能想象没有巧克力的生活，

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

那你该为没在16世纪前出生感到庆幸。

Until then, chocolate only existed in Mesoamerica

在那之前，巧克力仅存于中美洲，

in a form quite different from what we know.

并且形态和我们所知道的大有区别。

As far back as 1900 BCE,

早在公元前1900年，

the people of that region had learned to prepare the beans

该地区的人民已经学会了

of the native cacao tree.

如何处理天然的可可豆。

The earliest records tell us the beans were ground

根据最早的记载，

and mixed with cornmeal and chili peppers

这些豆子被研磨后 跟玉米面和红辣椒混合在一起，

to create a drink -

用来制作饮料——

not a relaxing cup of hot cocoa,

不是令人放松的热可可，

but a bitter, invigorating concoction frothing with foam.

而是一种味苦却振奋精神的 带泡沫的混合饮料。

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

如果你认为如今我们 对巧克力的热爱已到极致，

the Mesoamericans had us beat.

中美洲人绝对是第一个不服气的。

They believed that cacao was a heavenly food

他们认为可可是神圣的食物，

gifted to humans by a feathered serpent god,

受赐于一位被玛雅人

known to the Maya as Kukulkan

称为Kukulkan的羽蛇神，

and to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl.

阿兹特克人也将其 称之为Quetzalcoatl。

Aztecs used cacao beans as currency

阿兹特克人将可可豆作为货币使用，

and drank chocolate at royal feasts,

并在皇家盛宴中饮用巧克力，

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

以及将其作为士兵战功的奖励，

and used it in rituals.

和用于宗教仪式。

The first transatlantic chocolate encounter occurred in 1519

第一次跨大西洋的巧克力邂逅 发生在1519年，

when Hernán Cortés visited the court of Moctezuma

当荷南·科尔蒂斯拜访

at Tenochtitlan.

位于特诺奇蒂特兰城蒙特祖马的皇宫时。

As recorded by Cortés's lieutenant,

根据科尔特斯的陆军中尉记载，

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

国王将50罐巧克力饮料拿出来倒入金杯。

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

当殖民者满载 这种新奇古怪的豆子回归时，

missionaries' salacious accounts of native customs

传教士对土著风俗的诲淫解释，

gave it a reputation as an aphrodisiac.

使其被打上了壮阳药的烙印。

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

起初，巧克力因其苦味被用作

like upset stomachs,

可治愈像肚子痛一类小病的药，

but sweetening it with honey, sugar, or vanilla

但将其和蜂蜜、糖、香草混合增甜后，

quickly made chocolate a popular delicacy in the Spanish court.

美味的巧克力迅速 风靡于西班牙的皇宫中。

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

很快，巧克力成为了 贵族家中的必需品。

The fashionable drink was difficult and time consuming to produce

大量生产这种时尚饮料

on a large scale.

是耗时耗力的，

That involved using plantations and imported slave labor

并且制作过程需要用到种植园，

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

及从加勒比海区和非洲海岸 附近岛屿俘虏来的奴隶。

The world of chocolate would change forever in 1828

1828年，来自阿姆斯特丹的 康纳德·凡·休顿

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

用他发明的可可豆压榨机 改变了巧克力的未来。

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

这种压榨机能将可可豆里的油脂分离开，

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

制造出一种可以冲泡成饮料的粉末

or recombined with the cocoa butter

或者和可可豆油脂重新混合，

to create the solid chocolate we know today.

就得到了我们今天所熟知的固体巧克力。

Not long after, a Swiss chocolatier named Daniel Peter

不久后，一位名为丹尼尔·彼得 的瑞士巧克力大亨

added powdered milk to the mix,

将奶粉和巧克力粉混合，

thus inventing milk chocolate.

发明了牛奶巧克力。

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

到了20世纪，巧克力 已不再是精英阶层的奢侈品，

but had become a treat for the public.

普及到了千家万户。

Meeting the massive demand required more cultivation of cocoa,

巧克力的大量生产 增大了对可可豆的需求，

which can only grow near the equator.

但问题在于其只能生长于赤道附近。

Now, instead of African slaves being shipped

现在与其将非洲奴隶

to South American cocoa plantations,

运往南美洲可可园，

cocoa production itself would shift to West Africa

不如直接在西非生产可可豆。

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

截止2015年， 科特迪亚出产了世界五分之二的可可豆。

Yet along with the growth of the industry,

但是，这个产业的壮大

there have been horrific abuses of human rights.

伴随着太多对人权的残忍掠夺。

Many of the plantations throughout West Africa,

西非很多向西方国家

which supply Western companies,

供应可可豆的种植园

use slave and child labor,

使用了奴隶和童工。

with an estimation of more than 2 million children affected.

据估算，有超过200万的孩童被迫劳作，

This is a complex problem that persists

这个问题复杂庞大，依然存在，

despite efforts from major chocolate companies to partner with African nations

尽管很多巧克力公司 和非洲国家沟通干涉

to reduce child and indentured labor practices.

让他们减少对童工和契约工的使用。

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

今天，巧克力成为了我们 现代文化重要的一部分。

Due to its colonial association with native cultures,

因为其和土著文化在殖民方面的联系，

combined with the power of advertising,

和广告中的大力宣传，

chocolate retains an aura of something sensual,

巧克力隐约暗示了性欲，

decadent,

堕落，

and forbidden.

和禁忌。

Yet knowing more about its fascinating and often cruel history,

了解更多关于巧克力迷人却残酷的历史，

as well as its production today,

以及如今的生产现状，

tells us where these associations originate

能够使人们更多的知道这种暗示的起源

and what they hide.

和背后的故事。

So as you unwrap your next bar of chocolate,

那么，当你下一次撕开一包巧克力棒时，

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

停留片刻思考一下， 并不是关于巧克力的一切都是香甜可口的。