Chocolate

In Short

Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma’s Chocolate is a medical essay analyzing the physical properties, health effects, and proper compounding of cacao. Framed by Galenic humoral theory, the text explores whether the bitter American bean cools or warms the body, detailing its combination with spices to treat illnesses like gut plague and consumption. Its translator, James Wadsworth, frames the drink as a miraculous cure-all for English consumers. The work endures as a fascinating historical record of how European society first attempted to categorize and domesticate an unfamiliar, addictive foreign substance through rigorous traditional philosophy.

The Story

The book opens with introductory material by the English translator, Captain James Wadsworth, writing under the pseudonym Don Diego de Vadesforte. He details how he translated the original Spanish work years prior to introduce chocolate to the English court, where it gained immediate popularity among the gentry and women seeking health benefits. Wadsworth provides a playful introductory poem celebrating chocolate as a universal remedy superior to conventional medicines, capable of curing everything from lung disease to skin blemishes and reproductive issues, while poking fun at contemporary physicians. Official Spanish approvals from royal physicians confirm the book's adherence to doctrine and moral standards.

Colmenero de Ledesma begins his medical evaluation by analyzing the elemental qualities of cacao. He argues that while raw cacao is predominantly cold and dry, belonging to the element of earth, it also contains oily, unctuous parts corresponding to air, heat, and moisture. Addressing critics who claim cacao causes bodily obstructions, the author explains that mechanical processing—grinding and beating the beans into a smooth paste—artificially unifies these opposing elements, neutralizing the harsh astringency of raw cacao.

The text moves to the choice of additives. The author reviews numerous potential ingredients, including cinnamon, aniseed, almonds, hazelnuts, Achiote, and various species of red peppers, outlining how each component alters the drink's humoral balance. He critiques rival recipes, warning against ingredients like maize, which he claims creates melancholy, or excess black pepper, which overheats the liver. Instead, he provides specific recipes suited for both healthy individuals and the infirm, emphasizing that ingredients must be tailored to individual body temperaments.

Next, Colmenero de Ledesma details the precise methods for preparing and consuming chocolate. He advocates for stone mortars to grind the ingredients over a gentle fire, warning that excessive heat destroys the unctuous oils. He describes various historical methods of preparation: drinking it hot with maize paste as ancient indigenous groups did, mixing it with cold water to whip up a thick foam, or boiling it simply with sugar and water.

The book concludes with guidelines on dosage, timing, and physiological effects. The author advises drinking five to six ounces in the morning during colder months, using botanical waters like endive or rhubarb to balance hot or cold livers. Addressing the question of why a cold and dry fruit makes drinkers gain weight, he attributes this to cacao's natural fatty unction, which nourishes the body when guided by warm spices. Supplemental instructions provide straightforward brewing directions using boiling water, sugar, and egg yolks, offering practical guidance for the everyday English reader.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins The English translator introduces the treatise to the local gentry, detailing how Spanish chocolate entered the royal court. A lighthearted poem praises the beverage as a superior substitute for traditional drugs and medical visits.

The debate opens The author defines the origin of the word chocolate and examines the fundamental humoral nature of the cacao bean. He addresses scientific objections regarding how a single plant can contain opposing cold, dry, hot, and moist qualities.

The spices balanced A systematic critique of various recipe ingredients outlines the medical effects of cinnamon, chili peppers, aniseed, and nuts. The author warns against cheap fillers like corn while selecting spices to correct cacao's raw coldness.

The paste prepared Detailed instructions explain how to dry, grind, and heat the ingredients on a stone mortar called a metate. The author outlines methods to form the paste into portable tablets using plantain leaves or paper.

The cup consumed The text details various methods of serving chocolate hot or cold, explaining how temperature and froth alter its digestion. Dosage rules warn against overconsumption while explaining why the drink causes weight gain.

The People

Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma A Spanish physician formerly residing in the West Indies who seeks to establish a sound medical understanding of cacao. He wants to resolve scientific debates among doctors regarding whether chocolate causes bodily blockages, using Galenic principles and empirical testing to prove its health benefits when properly prepared.

Captain James Wadsworth The English translator, writing under the alias Don Diego de Vadesforte, who seeks to promote chocolate across England for personal and public benefit. He views the drink as a miraculous substitute for useless medical treatments, aiming to make it accessible and desirable to the English court and gentry.

He of Marchena A rival medical writer and opponent whose recipe and theories Colmenero de Ledesma directly refutes. He argues that cacao causes severe bodily obstructions because of its raw astringency, standing in the way of chocolate's widespread medical acceptance until Colmenero de Ledesma disproves his philosophy.

Galen The ancient Greek physician whose classical theories of elements and humor govern the entire argument. His scientific authority is invoked by Colmenero de Ledesma to explain how complex medicines can contain contradictory properties that work together to heal the human body.

In Its Own Voice

"Doctors lay by your Irksome Books / And all ye Petty-Fogging Rookes / Leave Quacking; and Enucleate / The vertues of our Chocolate."

Wadsworth's introductory poem lightheartedly urges traditional medical practitioners to abandon their standard textbooks in favor of a new global cure.

"And therefore I say, according to the common received opinion, that it is cold, and dry, à prædominio..."

The author opens his formal scientific breakdown by categorizing the raw cacao bean within the classical framework of physical humors.

"This shooe will not fit every foote; but for those, who have diseases, or are inclining to be infirme, you may either adde, or take away, according to the necessity, and temperature of every one..."

In discussing various recipe formulations, Colmenero de Ledesma stresses that chocolate must be customized to balance the specific physical constitution of each individual drinker.

What It's Really About

At its core, Chocolate is an attempt to assimilate an unfamiliar, New World commodity into the established framework of Western science. Written during a period of imperial expansion and global trade, the text wrestles with the challenge of categorizing novel foreign plants using traditional Galenic medicine. The argument centers on the balance between nature and artifice: while raw cacao is viewed as potentially harmful or obstructive, human intervention—through precise grinding, heating, and spice blending—transforms a crude bean into a balanced, life-enhancing medicine. Underneath its practical recipes, the book explores how human skill can alter natural properties, turning a strange foreign drink into a safe, daily luxury for European consumers.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers fascinated by culinary history, the history of medicine, or early modern colonial trade will find this text an engaging artifact. Reading it feels like stepping directly into a seventeenth-century apothecary, complete with archaic medical theories, curious scientific debates, and precise historical recipes. What remains with the reader is the incredible contrast between how we view chocolate today—as a sweet treat—and how early modern Europeans viewed it: as a potent, complex medicine that required careful chemical balancing.

The text does present notable hurdles for contemporary readers. The prose relies heavily on seventeenth-century medical terminology, invoking terms like "opilations," "fumosities," and specific Galenic humor classifications that require patience to digest. The spelling and syntax reflect early modern English print standards, featuring irregular capitalization and archaic phrasing. Additionally, the book reflects period attitudes toward colonial lands and indigenous practices, viewing foreign ingredients strictly through the lens of European utility. Despite these historical barriers, the brief length and vivid historical detail make it a rewarding read for history enthusiasts.