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SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY — AS WELL AS YOUR SWEET TOOTH — BY EXPLORING THE RICH HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE IN COLONIAL AMERICA
Chocolate expert Amanda Lange reveals surprising secrets about early America’s taste for this delectable treat during an Elderhostel Day of Discovery at Historic Deerfield
BOSTON (Jan. xx, 2009) — Some methods of persuasion are timeless. In the late 18th century, a New Hampshire man named Samuel Lane attempted to woo the heart of his love with a gift of “8 choklates.” The woman, Rachel Colcord, melted at the sweet strategy and accepted his marriage proposal.
Decades removed from those horse-and-buggy days, chocolate’s significant place in Colonial America is explored during an Elderhostel Day of Discovery at Historic Deerfield, a 300-year-old village re-creating early New England life in western Massachusetts. Elderhostel is the not-for-profit world leader in educational programs for adults.
Historic Deerfield curator Amanda Lange reveals surprising facts about chocolate during this Day of Discovery, including one that will make chocolate lovers yearn for yesteryear while at the same time raising eyebrows of the modern-day medical community. Fact: In 1800, doctors prescribed chocolate for their patients’ ills.
“Doctors often used chocolate as a nutritional supplement, thick with cocoa butter, thinking it would extend a person’s life and give them energy,” Lange says. “It was also used as a cure-all, commonly to lift spirits or cure a hangover.”
In the authentic 1700s homes lining the quaint, mile-long street of Historic Deerfield, participants will see a demonstration of cocoa beans being roasted over an open hearth, then taste a Colonial hot chocolate drink. Three hundred years ago, chocolate wasn’t as easy to come by, and Lange will explain why a young man wishing to satisfy a chocolate craving after a morning of chopping firewood wasn’t as simple as ripping a wrapper off the delectable treat.
“It was not eaten in the form of chocolate bars that we know today,” Lange says. “Chocolate was primarily a breakfast beverage in the 18th century. There was no quick, easy way to make the beverage, so satisfying a chocolate craving was time-consuming.”
This Day of Discovery goes deliciously beyond three workshops revolving around this “food of the gods,” plus a fascinating exploration of chocolate’s use by Colonial doctors, soldiers and courting couples.
Participants will also enjoy a chocolate-themed lunch — four courses, in fact. On the menu is a zesty chocolate vinaigrette over a mixed-greens salad, paired with cacao black bean soup. The entrée options include brandied cherry-chocolate sauce over a chicken breast, chocolate-orange sauce over pork medallions, and chocolate nut lasagna. Dessert is a dense chocolate torte.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, you can see details on this program, “Colonial Chocolate Detectives: All About Chocolate in Early America,” and your choice of four dates in February and March by visiting www.elderhostel.org/17865. Elderhostel, founded in 1975, provides exceptional learning adventures throughout the United States and Canada and in more than 90 countries.
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