The nibs could then be worked over a heated stone grinder like this to release the cocoa liqueur from the nibs.
Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
We all know about the story of tea in Boston. And coffee truly came into vogue after 1773, when it was drunk both as a stimulant and a protest against British taxation. But I had no idea that chocolate, or rather drinking chocolate, has an equally long history in North America. Ready to learn more about the history of chocolate in New England?
To start, did you know there were chocolate houses in Boston around 1700? Historians have located shipping records from the late 1600s detailing imports of chocolate beans from Jamaica, and a 1773 ship’s manifest lists a shipment of 320 tons of cocoa beans. That’s enough to make 32 million cups of chocolate. Bonbons and brownies came later, but it turns out that chocolate was a source of pleasure for the seemingly abstemious Puritans.
I learned all this at a wonderful new exhibit called “Captain Jackson’s Historic Chocolate Shop” in the Clough House at the Old North Church in Boston (it’s the building located behind the church on Unity Street). It’s named after Captain Newark Jackson, a member of the congregation and merchant who owned a chocolate shop on the North End waterfront around 1740. Here, visitors can learn about the craft and history of chocolate and then taste a sample of drinking chocolate similar to the kind served in Colonial America. And who wouldn’t love a shot of good chocolate in the middle of a long day on the Freedom Trail?
To get a taste of the exhibit and learn more about the history of chocolate in New England, including how it was made in the 18th century, take a look at the gallery below.
The new exhibit is on Unity Street, which runs between the Paul Revere Mall (pictured) and the Old North Church. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoLooking up at the Old North Church steeple where, on Paul Revere’s word, patriots hung two lanterns to warn the Charlestown troops that the British army was on the move. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoChocolate is made from the beans that grow in pods like these. Cacao trees can grow only in the tropics, more specifically within twenty degrees of the equator. Fresh pods come in shades of yellow, orange, red, and purple, but they are fermented and dried on the plantations and shipped in this form. The fermentation process develops the fruit flavors that are a signature of good chocolate. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoThe cacao beans are then roasted to deepen the flavor. In Colonial days, this was done in shallow pans like these. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoThe brittle beans would then be transferred to a sort of threshing basket called a winnower, which would remove the shells and break the brittle bean down into cacao nibs like these. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoThe nibs could then be worked over a heated stone grinder like this to release the cocoa liqueur from the nibs. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoA close-up of the grinding process. It’s surprising how quickly those hard little nibs melt over heat, but they have a very high cocoa butter content. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoEach chocolate house would add its own proprietary blend of spices and flavorings to the liqueur, including vanilla, cinnamon, orange peel, chile flakes, nutmeg, and annatto. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoWith sugar and spices added, the chocolate could now be molded into blocks and left to harden. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoYou can purchase 18th Century-style chocolate, produced by Mars, at the exhibit. It has rich chocolate flavor with warm spice and floral undertones. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoNext, it was time to make hot chocolate. Sugar, which came in the form of cones or loaves, was very expensive and so was used sparingly. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoGrated chocolate could then be added to hot water in a chocolate pot, which came with a wooden stirrer (also known as a molinet or a molinillo). Rolling or rubbing the stick between your palms whisked the chocolate into the water. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoA closeup of the wooden stirrer. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoThe finished product. Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
Learn more about the history of chocolate, and enjoy a sample or two at Captain Jackson’s on your next visit to Boston!
Captain Jackson’s Historic Chocolate Shop. 21 Unity Street, Boston. 617-523-6676; oldnorth.com/captainjacksonsThis post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
