On Sun, 01 Aug 2004 15:41:00 -0400, "Bob (this one)" >
wrote:

>Gary Jennings (who wrote the novel "Aztec" and others about them) was
>a friend and a very knowledgeable foodie. He researched the background
>for those novels for 8 years. Whew. How thorough can you get? That's
>where I got that spelling for chocolate. The "x" is pronounced like "sh."
>
>According to him, the crude (unconched) chocolate they enjoyed often
>included hot peppers of one sort or another and was considered an
>aphrodisiac. The Aztecs reserved it for royalty. Moctezuma reportedly
>drank 50 cups of it a day. I hope they were small cups or he spent his
>whole day in the potty.
>
>Pastorio

The part about the hot peppers is true. Father Jose de Acosta wrote
about chocolate in his 1590 book, _Historia Natural y Moral de las
Indias_. He said "They are in the habit of adding spices and a lot of
chili" (usan echarle especias y mucho chili).
http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/serv...4/p0000002.htm


Robin Carroll-Mann
"Mostly Harmless" -- Douglas Adams
To email me, remove the fish