Of the Properties of Chocolate.
We have hitherto treated of _Chocolate_, as it were, superficially, and
as it presents itself to our Senses. We come next to examine its
intrinsick Qualities, and to search into its Nature: As far as we can,
we will discover what Reason, join'd to long Experience, has taught us
concerning the salutary Properties of this Fruit.
CHAP. I.
Of the old Prejudices against Chocolate.
To proceed more methodically, and with greater Clearness in our
Enquiries concerning _Chocolate_, it seems proper to set People right
about the Prejudices which a false Philosophy has instilled into most
Authors who have wrote upon this Subject; the Impressions whereof, are
yet very deeply ingraven in the Minds of a great Number of People.
The _Spaniards_, who were first acquainted with Chocolate after the
Conquest of the new World, have laid it down for an undoubted Truth,
that _Chocolate_ is cold and dry, participating of the Nature of Earth.
They have supported this Determination neither with Reason nor
Experience; nor do they know from whence they learnt it; perhaps they
have taken it upon the Words, and from the Tradition of the Inhabitants
of the Country. Let that be as it will, it is natural from false
Principles to draw false Conclusions, of which the two principal are as
follow.
The first is, That Chocolate being by Nature cold, it ought not to be
used without being mixed with Spices, which are commonly hot, that so
they might, both together, become temperate and wholesome. This was the
Jargon and Practice of those Times. For the same Reason the ancient
Physicians erroneously imagining that _Opium_ was cold in the fourth
Degree, never fail'd to correct this pretended Coldness in their
narcotick Compositions, with Drugs extremely hot, as _Euphorbium_,
_Pellitory_, _Pepper_, &c.
Their second Conclusion was, That Chocolate being dry and earthy, and
from thence supposed to be of a styptick and astringent Quality; if it
was not corrected, must necessarily breed Obstructions in the _Viscera_,
and bring on a Cacochimy, and a great Number of other incurable
Diseases.
These Prejudices have from the _Spaniards_ pass'd into other Nations. To
prove this, it will be unnecessary to cite a great Number of Authors,
for whoever has read one, has read them all, the later having done
nothing but copy the former; they have even sometimes improved their
Dreams, and exaggerated this pretended Coldness of Chocolate, and at
length push'd the Matter so far, as to make it a kind of cold Poison;
and if it was taken to Excess, it would bring on a Consumption[1].
"Mexiaci friget nativa Cocai Temperies, tantoq; excedit Frigore ut
inter noxia ne dubitem glandes censere Venena." _Thom. Strozzæ_ de Mentis
potu seu de Cocolatis Opificio, _lib. 3_.
"Hinc siquis solo Cocolatis Fomite Vitam extrahat, atq; assueta neget
Cibi Prandia, sensim contrahet exsueto marcentem Corpora Tabem."
It is not very extraordinary that People who are more ready to _believe_
than to _examine_, (such as the World is full of) should give into the
unanimous Opinion of so many Authors; and it would be strange if they
were not carry'd down by the Stream of a Prejudice so general. But I
cannot sufficiently admire that _Chocolate_ being so much decry'd, has
not been entirely laid aside as unfit for Use; without doubt there was
nothing but the daily Experience of its good Effects, which could
support it, and hinder it from giving way to Calumny.
Now to overturn this old System, it is sufficient, in my Opinion, to
observe with how little Skill and Penetration they then treated of the
whole Natural History; one ought not to be amazed that they have
affirmed _Chocolate_ to be cold and dry, in an Age when, for Example,
they could say _Camphire_ was cold and moist, which is a kind of Resin,
from whence one Drop of Water cannot be extracted, whose sharp Taste,
and penetrating Smell, joined to the extreme Volatility and
Inflammability of its Particles, even in Water itself, are such evident
Signs of its Heat, that it is difficult to conceive upon what account
they persuade themselves of the contrary.
The Qualities of Chocolate are not indeed so remarkable, nor so active,
as those of Camphire; but, with the least Attention, one may easily
discern, that the Quantity of Oil that it contains, and the Bitterness
that is perceivable in Tasting, are not the Marks of Coldness, since all
Bitters are esteem'd hot, and since Oil is a Matter very near a-kin to,
and necessary for Fire. This is very near the Reasoning of a celebrated
Physician at _Rome_[2] against the old Opinion: _As for me_, says he, _I
am of another Judgment; I believe that Chocolate is rather _temperate_
than _cold_, and I refer my self to the Decision of every ingenious
Person that will be at the pains to taste and examine it._
These Reflections will be farther confirmed in the first Section of the
following Chapter, where we shall experimentally demonstrate that
Chocolate is a Substance very temperate, yielding soft and wholesome
Nourishment, incapable of doing any Harm. And if this intrinsick
Coldness is no more to be feared, it must be own'd, that it will be
henceforward ridiculous, if not pernicious, to join it with hot acrid
Spices, more likely to alter and destroy its good and real Qualities,
than to correct the bad ones which it has not: I nevertheless do not
doubt but the Pleasantness of the Smell, and the favourite Taste of
several agreeable Spices, being pretty much liked in this Mixture, will
have their Partizans; who, more delighted with a present Gratification,
than afraid of the insensible Prejudice that these Ingredients bring to
their Health, will not resolve to leave them off. Tho these will be no
longer the Correctors of Chocolate, yet they will serve to season it,
with which they will please their Taste, without troubling themselves
with the Consequences. But those Persons who will give themselves the
trouble of thinking, and are more tractable and less sensual, will
wisely abstain from such Extreams, and their Moderation will not be
unattended with Benefit. Health is so valuable a Blessing, that the Care
to gain and preserve it, ought to supersede any other Consideration.
As to the pretended Obstructions which Chocolate is said to occasion
from its astrictive Quality, they are so far from being afraid of it in
_America_, that they have found by Experience a Vertue directly contrary
to it; for several young Women, subject to the Whites, have been cured
of this Distemper, by eating a Dozen _Cocao_ Kernels for Breakfast every
Morning. It is well enough known that Obstructions are the Cause of this
Disease, which instead of being encreas'd by Chocolate, were entirely
taken away.
Then as to those strange Disorders which are said to arise from its
immoderate Use, we shall bring in the Sequel so many Facts directly
contrary to these Chimerical Fears, that all Persons of good Sense will
be disabused, and convinced of the salutary and wonderful Properties of
this Fruit; which shall be the Subject of the following Chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Ludov. Ramira_, Relat. ad Hurtad. ad Append. cap.
[2] _Paulus Zachias_, de Malo Hypocondriaco, Lib. 2. Cap. 15.
CHAP. II.
Of the real Properties of Chocolate.
Without talking in the Dialect of the _Peripateticks_, about the
Qualities of Heat and Coldness, now-a-days so much decry'd, it will not
be difficult to prove that Chocolate is a Substance, 1. Very temperate.
2. Very nourishing, and of easy Digestion. 3. Very proper to repair the
exhausted Spirits and decayed Strength. 4. _Lastly_, Very suitable to
preserve the Health, and prolong the Lives of old Men. These four
Articles shall be sufficiently demonstrated in the four following
Sections.
SECT. I.
Chocolate is very Temperate.
Nothing is so great an Argument that _Wheat_, _Rice_, _Millet_, and
_Manioc_, are salutary and temperate, as their being used by whole
Nations together. If any of these Substances had any predominant evil
Quality, it would soon appear to the Prejudice of the Health of Numbers;
the People who subsist upon it, would soon leave it off as a very
dangerous and hurtful Aliment.
One may reason much after the same manner with respect to Chocolate. The
Natives of _New-Spain_, and of a great part of the Torrid Zone of
_America_, have always used it as a Delicacy; and at this day all the
_European_ Colonies which are establish'd in those Countries, make a
Consumption of vast Quantities of it: These People use it at all Times,
and in all Seasons, as constant daily Food, without regard to Age, Sex,
Temperament, or Condition, without Complaint of having received the
least Prejudice from it; they find on the contrary that it quenches
Thirst, is very refreshing and feeding; that it procures easy quiet
Sleep, and produces several other good Effects, to say nothing of those
we are going to treat of in the following Sections. I could produce
several Instances in favour of this excellent Nourishment, but I shall
content myself with two only, equally certain and decisive in the Proof
of its Goodness. The first is an Experiment of Chocolate's being taken
for the _only_ Nourishment, made by a Surgeon's Wife of _Martinico_: She
had lost by a very deplorable Accident her lower Jaw, which reduced her
to such a Condition, that she did not know how to subsist; she was not
capable of taking any thing solid, and not rich enough to live upon
Jellies and nourishing Broths. In this Strait she determined to take
three Dishes of Chocolate, prepared after the manner of the Country, one
in the Morning, one at Noon, and one at Night. (There, Chocolate is
nothing else but _Cocao_ Kernels dissolved in hot Water, with Sugar, and
season'd with a Bit of Cinnamon.) This new way of Life succeeded so
well, that she has lived a long while since, more lively and robust than
before this Accident.
I had the second Relation from a Gentleman of _Martinico_, and one of my
Friends, not capable of a Falsity. He assured me, that in his
Neighbourhood, an Infant of four Months old unfortunately lost his
Nurse, and its Parents not being able to put it to another, resolved
through Necessity to feed it with _Chocolate_; the Success was very
happy, for the Infant came on to a Miracle, and was neither less healthy
nor less vigorous than those who are brought up by the best Nurses.
The Inferences that may be drawn from these two Histories are evident,
and demonstratively prove that Chocolate has neither any intemperate nor
hurtful Quality; I shall therefore say no more upon them, leaving every
one to make his own proper Reflections.
SECT. II.
Chocolate is very nourishing and of easy Digestion.
This Proposition is a necessary Consequence of the foregoing,
established by Facts which I have just related; and we have Experiments
as convincing of its easy Digestion, and the Goodness of the Chyle that
it makes; but it needs no other Proof than the good Condition it puts
those in, who ordinarily make use of it.
A learned _Englishman_ has carried his Commendations so high concerning
this particular Property of Chocolate, that he has not scrupled to
affirm in a Dissertation that he has publish'd upon this Subject, That
one Ounce of Chocolate contains as much Nourishment as a Pound of Beef.
As much out of the way as this Assertion seems to be, one may easily
conceive, that any Aliment is capable of yielding more plentiful
Nourishment, if compar'd with any other, not only in respect to the
Quantity, but also with relation to the Time that the Stomach takes to
digest it.
Physicians are not agreed about the Causes of Digestion, but are divided
into two Opinions, each of which is supported by the Writings of very
eminent Authors; convinced of my own Inability to decide the
Controversy, which also requires a large Field to expatiate in, I shall
not undertake to defend either Fermentation or Trituration: But it will
be sufficient to say, in two Words, that these Opinions are not
absolutely incompatible[1]: it perhaps will not be difficult to make a
sort of an Alliance or Agreement between them, by uniting whatever is
plain and evident in the two Systems, and rejecting what is otherwise;
and from hence form a third, which will be nothing but the Union of the
uncontested Parts of the other two.
These two Causes undoubtedly concur in the Alteration that the Aliment
undergoes in the Mouth; for the _Saliva_ that mixes with it in
Mastication, and dilutes it, cannot be deny'd to be an admirable
Ferment[2]; and the Tongue which moves it, and the Teeth which grind it,
and break it, must be own'd to be the first Instruments of Trituration.
Now since Nature is commonly uniform in her Operations, and since there
is a great deal of reason to suppose that Nature compleats Digestion by
the same means that she has begun it, let us suppose it is really so for
a Moment, and apply it to the present Subject, and then we shall see by
what Evidence Chocolate ought to be of an easy Digestion.
In the first place, bitter and alkaline Substances, such as these
Kernels, are stomachick and analogous to the _Saliva_ and the Ferment
which dissolves the Aliment in the Stomach; how then can it be of hard
Digestion with these Qualities?
In the second place, if one considers attentively the Kernels as they
are roasted, broke, and ground extremely fine upon a Stone, afterwards
melted and dissolved in boiling Liquor, which serves as a Vehicle for
it; it then seems very likely that the Stomach will not have much Labour
left to do. In short, by it Digestion is more than half finished.
Experience confirms these Reasonings very much, for the Digestion of
Chocolate is soon brought about without Trouble, without Difficulty, and
without any sensible rising of the Pulse; the Stomach very far from
making use of its Strength, acquires new Force. And I can farther say,
upon my own Knowledge, that I have seen several Persons who had but weak
Digestion, if not quite spoiled, who have been entirely recovered by the
frequent Use of Chocolate.
SECT. III.
Chocolate speedily repairs the dissipated Spirits and decay'd
Strength.
If Chocolate did not produce this Effect, but only as it is very
nourishing, it would but have this Property in common with the most
juicy Aliments, and such as are most proper to furnish a good Quantity
of Blood and Plenty of Spirits: but its Effects are far more speedy; for
if a Person, for Example, fatigued with long and hard Labour, or with a
violent Agitation of Mind, takes a good Dish of Chocolate, he shall
perceive almost instantly, that his Faintness shall cease, and his
Strength shall be recovered, when Digestion is hardly begun. This Truth
is confirmed by Experience, tho' not so easily explained by Reasoning,
because Chocolate sensibly appears to be soft, heavy, and very little
disposed by any active Quality to put the Spirits in motion; however,
being resolved to neglect nothing that is likely to unfold the Cause of
an Effect so wonderful, I undertook one day the _Chymical Analysis_ of
Chocolate, and altho' prejudiced that I should discover nothing this way
but a superficial Knowledge, yet I was willing to flatter myself that
my Enquiry would not be wholly fruitless.
I cleansed sixteen Ounces of Kernels without burning them, I ground them
in a Marble Mortar, and afterwards put them in a Glass Retort well
luted; I placed it in a Reverberatory Furnace, and fixed to it a large
Receiver; and after having luted the Joints well, I gave it the first
Degree of Fire.
The first that ascended was pure Phlegm, which dropt for about two
Hours; a little white unctuous Matter swam on the top of it.
The Fire being augmented, the Drops became red, and congealed as they
fell into the Receiver; this lasted about two Hours.
The Fire being again augmented, the Receiver was filled with white
Clouds, which I saw resolve into a kind of Dew, white and unctuous,
which was partly Spirit, and partly a white Oil; the red Drops however
continued to the End, which was about two Hours and a half.
This Operation let me know that Chocolate contains two kinds of Oil; the
one Red and Fixed, which congealed it self on the side of the Vessel;
and the other White and Volatile, which proceeded from the white Clouds,
and resolved itself on the other side of the Receiver.
On the Morrow after, having unluted the Receiver, and having placed it
_in Balneo Mariæ_, to melt the congealed Matter, I was agreeably
surpriz'd to see the Vessel immediately fill'd with white Clouds: I very
much admired the Volatility of this Unctuosity, and I was fully
convinced, that Chocolate contained that _volatile Oil_ so highly
esteemed in Medicine, and that one need not go farther to seek the Cause
of the speedy Reparation of the fainting Spirits; which is confirmed by
the daily Experience of those that use Chocolate.
Having separated the Spirit by filtring through brown Paper, I divided
the butirous Matter into two Parts: I put one, without any Addition,
into a little Glass Cucurbit, which I placed in a Sand-Heat to rectify
it, and by this Operation I got an Oil of an Amber Colour, swimming upon
a little Phlegm, or Spirit[3].
I melted the remaining Part, and having incorporated it with quick Lime,
I put it into a little Glass Retort luted, and put Fire to it by
degrees. There first came over a clear Oil, the white Clouds succeeded,
and at length the reddish Butter. Having unluted the Recipient, and put
all in a little Cucurbit in a Sand-Heat, the white Clouds yielded an
Oil of an Amber Colour; and having augmented the Fire, there came over a
little red Oil, but no Spirit.
The Amber-coloured Oil is nothing else but the white volatile Oil,
coloured a little by the Violence of the Fire: As for the red Oil, it
seems to be the Remainder of the red Butter, fit to be exalted. These
two Oils will not mix together; for the red, more fixed than the other,
always gets to the bottom. Mr. Boyle[54] said he extracted from Human
Blood, two Oils very like those above mentioned; and this Conformity of
Substances, very much convinces me of the great Analogy I always
supposed to be between Chocolate and Human Blood.
As for the Spirit, it has nothing very disagreeable either in Taste or
Smell, it does not sensibly ferment with Alkalies, nor alters the Colour
of blue Paper; after some time, it grows a little acid, and tastes a
little tartish.
Having calcined the _Caput Mortuum_, which is of a violet Colour and
filtred and evaporated the _Lixivium_, as is usual; I got nothing from
it but a kind of Cynder, a little saltish, and in so small a quantity,
that I did not give myself the trouble to reiterate the Calcination,
Dissolution, Filtration, and Evaporation; for I should hardly have got
five or six Grains of fixed purified Salt.
I curiously observed, that neither in the Heads, nor in the Receivers,
there did appear any signs of a volatile Salt: However, _M. Lemery_
assures us[55], that it contains a good deal; but it is plain he took
his Opinion upon trust, for had he made the Experiment, he is too
ingenious to be mistaken.
One may then conclude from these two Observations, That Chocolate is a
mix'd Body, that has the least Quantity of Salt enters its Composition.
SECT. IV.
Chocolate is very proper to preserve Health, and to prolong the Life of
Old Men.
Before Chocolate was known in _Europe_, good old Wine was called the
Milk of old Men; but this Title is now apply'd with greater reason to
Chocolate, since its Use has become so common, that it has been
perceived that Chocolate is, with respect to them, what Milk is to
Infants. In reality, if one examines the Nature of Chocolate, a little
with respect to the Constitution of aged Persons, it seems as though the
one was made on purpose to remedy the Defects of the other, and that it
is truly the _Panacea_ of old Age.
Our Life, as a famous Physician[56] observes, is, as it were, a
continual growing dry; but yet this kind of natural Consumption is
imperceptible to an advanced Age: when the radical Moisture is consumed
more sensibly, then the more balmy and volatile Parts of the Blood are
dissipated by little and little, the Salts disengaging from the
Sulphurs, manifest themselves, the Acid appears, which is the fruitful
Source of Chronick Diseases. The Ligaments, the Tendons, and the
Cartilages have scarce any of the Unctuosity left, which render'd them
so supple and so pliant in Youth. The Skin grows wrinkled as well within
as without; in a word, all the solid Parts grow dry or bony.
One may say that Nature has formed Chocolate with every Vertue proper to
remedy these Inconveniences. The volatile Sulphur with which it abounds,
is proper to supply the Place of that which the Blood loses every day
through Age, it blunts and sheaths the Points of the Salts, and restores
the usual Softness to the Blood, like as Spirit of Wine united with
Spirit of Salt, makes a soft Liquor of a violent Corrosive. This same
sulphurous Unctuosity at the same time spreads itself in the solid
Parts, and gives them, in some sense, their natural Suppleness; it
bestows on the Membranes, the Tendons, the Ligaments, and the
Cartilages, a kind of Oil which renders them smooth and flexible. Thus
the _Equilibrium_ between the Fluids and the Solids is in some measure
re-establish'd, the Wheels and Springs of our Machine mended, Health is
preserved, and Life prolonged. These are not the Consequences of
Philosophical Reflections, but of a thousand Experiments which mutually
confirm each other; among a great Number of which the following alone
shall suffice.
There lately died at _Martinico_ a Counsellor about a hundred Years
old, who, for thirty Years past, lived on nothing but Chocolate and
Biscuit. He sometimes indeed had a little Soop at Dinner, but never
any Fish, Flesh, or other Victuals: He was, nevertheless, so
vigorous and nimble, that at fourscore and five, he could get on
horseback without Stirrups.
Chocolate is not only proper to prolong the Life of aged People, but
also of those whose Constitution is lean and dry, or weak and
cacochimical, or who use violent Exercises, or whose Employments oblige
them to an intense Application of Mind, which makes them very faintish:
to all these it agrees perfectly well, and becomes to them an altering
Diet.
On the contrary, I would not counsel the daily Use of it to such who are
very fat, or who are wont to drink a good deal of Wine, and live upon a
juicy Diet, or who sleep much, and use no Exercise at all: In a word,
who lead a delicate, sedentary, and indolent Life, such as a great many
People of Condition at _Paris_ are used to. Such Bodies as these, full
of Blood and Juice, have no need of additional Nourishment, and the
Diet will fit them better which is mentioned in Ecclesiast. _Plentiful
Feeding brings Diseases, and Excess hath killed Numbers; but the
temperate Man prolongs his Days[59]._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The _Translator_ of this Treatise, who is a Physician, thinks it
proper to observe, that the Opinions about Digestion, are deficiently
related by our Author; for they are chiefly four, _Trituration_,
_Fermentation_, _Heat_, and by a _Menstruum_, which are so far from
being incompatible, that three of them necessarily concur to promote
Digestion; to wit, _Heat_, and a _Menstruum_ or _Liquor_, and
_Trituration_, or the Motion or rubbing of the Coats of the Stomach: For
it is plain, if the two former are absent, there can be no Digestion,
and without doubt the last does assist, but which is the principal, I
shall not take upon me to determine.
[2] Our Author seems here either to mistake _Ferment_ for _Menstruum_,
or to make them synonymous Terms: With this Allowance, his Reasoning is
undoubtedly just; but as for a Ferment, in the usual Sense of that Word,
it may justly be questioned whether there be any such in a Human Body.
[3] Our Author seems to make Phlegm and Spirit synonymous Terms in
Chymistry.
[54] Pluribus abhinc Annis cum Sanguinem conveniente admodum
digestione, præparassem, & solicitè distillatos Liquores supereffluentes
flammâ lampadis rectificassem: Inter alia duo obtinui olea diversi
omnino Coloris, quorum alterum Flavedinem, aut pallorem Succini, alterum
vero intensissimam Rubedinem imitabatur; illud autem ingeniosis etiam,
lynceisq; Spectatoribus, miraculi instar erat, quod licet ambo hæc Olea
ab eodem sanguine emanassent, forentq; pura satis & limpida, non tantum
distinctis in Massis sibi invicem supra innatarent, sed si agitatione
commiscerentur, paulatim sese mutuo iterum extricarent, ut Oleum & Aqua.
_Historia Sanguinis Humani._
[55] Traité de Drogues, _Pag. 127_.
[56] Baglivius in Edit. Lugd. 1709. _Pag. 414._ Vivere enim nostrum
siccessere est.
[59] _Chap._ xxxvii. _V._ 33 & 34. In multis Escis erit Infirmitas,
propter crapulam multi obierunt: Qui autem abstinens est, adjiecit
Vitam.
THE
Natural HISTORY
OF
_CHOCOLATE_.