Inedible for Humans. Theobroma cacao, Cacao Tree, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
One of the first European descriptions of the tree which yields cacao beans from which chocolate is made was by Girolamo Benzoni (ca.1519-after 1572). He was a dauntless traveller in the New World and his hodge-podge La historia del mondo nuovo was published at Venice in 1565. Among his many descriptions of all kinds of naturalia is one of the Cacao Tree.
Like most Europeans he remarks on its use by the indigenous peoples and in an edition of his work there's this (inset) engraving of the tree with cacao fruits close to its trunk; in the distance they're drying in the sun. On the left a fire is being made perhaps for their cooking.
Unsugared chocolate to many has a bitter, pungent taste. Apparently Benzoni had not tried it with sugar. He remarks that the Meso-american drink made from it is unpalatable to humans and suited only for hogs.
The photo shows Cacao flowers sprouting directly from the tree's bark.
Inedible for Humans. Theobroma cacao, Cacao Tree, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
One of the first European descriptions of the tree which yields cacao beans from which chocolate is made was by Girolamo Benzoni (ca.1519-after 1572). He was a dauntless traveller in the New World and his hodge-podge La historia del mondo nuovo was published at Venice in 1565. Among his many descriptions of all kinds of naturalia is one of the Cacao Tree.
Like most Europeans he remarks on its use by the indigenous peoples and in an edition of his work there's this (inset) engraving of the tree with cacao fruits close to its trunk; in the distance they're drying in the sun. On the left a fire is being made perhaps for their cooking.
Unsugared chocolate to many has a bitter, pungent taste. Apparently Benzoni had not tried it with sugar. He remarks that the Meso-american drink made from it is unpalatable to humans and suited only for hogs.
The photo shows Cacao flowers sprouting directly from the tree's bark.