又是一年情人节！在与情人节相关的一系列联想中，巧克力总是第一时间出现在人们的脑海里。橱窗里的琳琅满目，情侣间的浓情蜜意，节日时的气氛担当……巧克力对于我们来说已经成为生活中不可缺少的一部分，给我们带来快乐和美好的记忆。

然而，巧克力也有属于自己的独特记忆。它最初诞生在哪里？有着怎样的故事？曾经扮演过什么样的角色？在这充满爱意的节日里，让我们一起来探索这充满爱意的食物最初的模样吧！

巧克力的前世：玛雅珍贵的货币

可可树——巧克力的原料——在希腊文中的含义是“上帝的食物”。这种树种植难度极高，而对比起如今巧克力在全球的风靡，不难看出人们对这种食物有多么的喜爱。

Food of the gods – that's the Greek meaning of Theobroma cacao, the name of the tree that provides it. For a plant which is notoriously difficult to cultivate, its takeover of global tastes is decidedly impressive.

巧克力的历史需要追溯到三千多年前的中南美洲——可可树的发源地。可以说，巧克力在玛雅文化中扮演了相当重要的角色。

Although not sold in Britain until the 1650s, its history goes back about 2,500 years before that, when it was almost certainly first domesticated in Central and South America. Chocolate was an important part of early Central and South American culture.

由于可可豆的产量很低，玛雅人及其后代将可可豆作为用于交换的货币来使用。玛雅贵族为了凸显自己奢华的生活，用可可豆搭配水和香料，或添加一些磨成粉的谷物，制成一种特殊的饮料来享用。这种饮料也会出现在结婚、生育、祭奠等重要的仪式中。

The classic Mayans and their successors consumed chocolate, usually as a drink, with water and perhaps chili, or thickened with maize. They also used the beans as currency, as well as using them in ceremonies from baptism to burial. 

“掉落神坛”：从货币到“牛粪”

作为一种贵族的饮料，可可被赋予了健康和神圣的寓意。当西班牙人入侵美洲大陆并开始建立殖民地之后，可可也难逃被运送回欧洲的命运。

It was a rich person's beverage, imbued with health and spiritual properties, and inevitably when the Spanish invaded and colonized the areas where it was found, they adopted it for their own use. 

然而，可可在欧洲的传播一开始并不顺利。16世纪，一艘英国商船将西班牙商船截获后，英国人把可可豆当成了某种牛粪全部扔下了船。

When one Spanish ship transporting the beans was captured by the British in the 16th century, they apparently threw the cargo overboard, thinking it was some form of dung.

风靡欧洲：甜蜜的热可可

可可豆在历尽千辛万苦终于来到欧洲之后，西班牙人将这种玛雅人的饮料进行改良，用牛奶代替了水，并加入砂糖制成热饮。而意大利人又将这种经过改良的饮料推广出去，最终风靡全欧洲。当英国人终于理解可可豆是什么的时候，巧克力在欧洲大陆已经成为一种口感丰富浓郁的混合饮料，既美味又充满了令人愉悦的异域风情。

However, as the Spanish, and then the French, and then the Italians, adapted the drink for their own tastes, they replaced the water with milk, and added sugar, and also started drinking it hot. By the time the British cottoned on, it was a rich, thick concoction, both delicious and pleasingly exotic.

可以治病的“春药”

在医疗较为落后的17世纪，欧洲人并不确定来自美洲的食物会在欧洲人身上有怎样的反应，但是几乎所有人都对巧克力赞不绝口。

It was healthy. The 17th century medicine wasn't always certain what the new foods from the Americans would do to a Western disposition, but chocolate mainly got a resolute thumbs-up. 

更准确地说，巧克力能够“恢复自然热量，产生纯净血液，活跃心脏，保护自然特质”。巧克力还被视为催情剂。一位作家也曾在作品中隐晦地道出巧克力的催情效果。

Taken correctly, it was said to“restore natural heat, generate pure blood, enliven the heart, and conserve the natural faculties”. It was also claimed to be an aphrodisiac, and one author wrote “It will make old women young and fresh, create new motions of the flesh, and cause them to long for you know what”.

欢迎来到固体巧克力时代

1828年，荷兰化学家侯登将可可豆中的脂肪——可可脂从可可豆中压榨出来，而后有人又将这两者按照一定比例结合起来，创造出了固体的巧克力。最初的固体巧克力虽然可以食用，但是工艺上仍显粗糙，味道也很苦，也没有入口即化的效果。

At this time, chocolate was a drink. But in the early 19th century, manufacturers worked out how to remove much of the fat – called cocoa butter – which could then be added back carefully, to improve the texture, making it edible – though still very bitter.

压榨后的可可粉可以直接冲泡成巧克力饮料，“上帝的食物” 自此以可可粉的形式进入了贫困阶层。可可粉也成为了烹饪的原料，但是巧克力蛋糕的问世还要再等上几十年。

The defatted chocolate became cocoa powder, which allowed the poor access to their own version of the food of the gods. It was also used for cooking, though we had to wait a few more decades for chocolate cake.

天时地利人和：牛奶巧克力诞生

19世纪下半叶，牛奶加工技术的发展和砂糖价格的陡降促进了糖果公司间的激烈竞争。在这样的竞争中，世界上第一款受欢迎的可食用固体巧克力诞生了——牛奶巧克力。就这样，在爆炸式增长的销量中，“巧克力”三个字不再指代曾经的饮料，而是可以食用的固体糖果。

It wasn't until the second half of the 19th century that developments in milk processing, a sharp reduction in the price of sugar, and fierce competition between confectionery companies resulted in the first really popular eating chocolate – milk chocolate. Sales exploded, and chocolate quickly came to mean the stuff you ate, not the stuff you drank. 

半个世纪之后，巧克力爱好者被各种形式的巧克力包围：条状的、盒装的，还有一系列奇特形状的巧克力。

Less than 50 years late, chocoholics could choose from an ever-increasing range of bars, boxes and novelty shapes.

今天的巧克力呈现两极化——有便宜的重奶重糖巧克力，也有高端的黑巧克力。前一种，因为糖和脂肪的含量较高，会引发肥胖。而后者则对健康有益。早期研究表明，少量的黑巧克力内富含抗氧化剂、可可碱和咖啡因，可以让我们更开心、更健康，减少压力。也许17世纪那些将巧克力视为“灵药”的人真的有几分道理。

Today chocolate is polarized – from cheap milky, sugary stuff to high-end black bars of joy. The former, we're told, high in sugar and fat, is leading to an obese nation, but the latter, it's hinted, may actually be beneficial. Early studies suggest small doses of very dark chocolate, rich in anti-oxidants, theobromine and caffeine, may make us happier, healthier and less stressed. Perhaps those 17th century chocolate lovers were right after all.

今天是情人节

你吃巧克力了吗？

不论是买给自己还是买给爱人

希望巧克力能够给你带来甜蜜与快乐！

快来点击“好看”，让更多人知道巧克力的秘密吧！