The effect of using the molinillo mixing the grated chocolate cake with hot water in the chocolate pot is to produce the important froth that was expected when serving the chocolate beverage.  Now that the froth is present, the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate is ready to be poured into chocolate cups. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more

After the hot water is added to the chocolate pot for the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate, some of the grated chocolate cake is added to the pot.  The chocolate cake was prepared with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, long pepper, allspice, and vanilla. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more

The second step in preparing a chocolate beverage from the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate is to measure the heated water from the hearth.  I heated the water in a mulling cone and am using a tin cup to know how much water I am pouring in the chocolate pot so the proper amount of chocolate will be added. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more

The first step in preparing the drinking chocolate from the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate is to grate a hardened chocolate cake.  Cool hands is a plus for this process for if the cake starts to melt under warm fingers or from the heat from the friction of grating, the grating process has to halt to allow the heat to subside and resume after a break. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more

After the chocolate cakes are made from the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate, the cakes need to completely harden before being used in the preparation of the chocolate beverage.  This picture shows all the ingredients for the receipt except the sugar:  fermented raw cacao beans (cacao nuts), aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, long pepper, Jamaican pepper (all spice), and vanilla.  The ingredients in the finished cakes were searced  (sieved) which would have been done with a horse hair sieve (pictured).  An original chocolate pot with molinillo ..read more

After the beaten & searced cacao nuts, sugar and spices are heated as hot as you can endure yr finger in it for the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate put it into a mortar & beat it very fast till it begins to oil, so it will work like paste. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more

Every ingredient for the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate is finely beaten & searced.  To searce (meaning to sieve) was used as a culinary term in many early receipts and the word sieve utilized when it applied to agricultural processes.  The finely beaten cacao nuts, sugar, spices and vanilla were all searced as pictured in the redware bowl. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more

The last of the flavorings for the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate are amber and vanilla.  Amber (ambergris) is pictured on the left and is produced by the digestive system of the sperm whale.  My precious small piece is dull grey and the receipt stated to add as you like to taste.  I chose not to actually use it.  But the receipt calls for two sticks of vanilla beaten & searsed.  Vanilla (Vanilla planifola) is an orchid that grows as a vine and native to the tropics of the Americas. Visit my website at:   www.h ..read more

Jamaican pepper (the dried berries of Pimenta dioica) is more commonly known as allspice as the spice has flavor tones of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper.  Half a drachm (one-eighth ounce) of Jamaican pepper beaten fine was weighed after the long pepper for the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com   ..read more

After the anise seed has been ground fine for the receipt (recipe) To make Chocolate, Piper Longum (long pepper) is beaten fine.  Pictured is fruit of this flowering vine in the Piperaceae family which is dried and used as a spice.  A half a drachm (one-eighth ounce) is needed for the receipt. Visit my website at:   www.hearttohearthcookery.com ..read more