|
|
Article: Guess which scientific name translated means ... "The food of the gods." (chocolate)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- February 1, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Guess which scientific name translated means... "The Food of the Gods"
The Aztecs believed in it as a stimulant. They used it, too, as a medicine for dysentery.
The Spaniards declared it a "divine drink" that heightened resistance to disease and guarded against fatigue.
The great Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus formally named it Theobroma cacao, "the food of the gods."
We call it...chocolate!
Thousands of Years Ago
It has been told that the first cocoa trees grew wild in the Amazon or Orinoco valleys of South America more than 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists believe that cocoa was cultivated by the Mayans, who ...