Chocolate in Health and Nutrition

Historically, the Mayans used the fruit and seedpods from the cacao tree as a food. This food was one
of many brought from the New World by the Spanish. The Aztecs made a drink that was thick,
unsweetened, and eaten with a spoon, although now chocolate products are widely used around the
world, with many modi fi cations. The fi rst section of the book reviews chocolate’s historical use in the
Americas and production methods built upon that experience.