A Royally Sweet Secret!

Andrea here, As most of you know, I love doing research. For me it’s endlessly interesting—and at times exciting, especially when I discover something new about something I’ve delved into before. (That’s truly one of the pleasures of history—the more you think you know, the more you find hidden surprises!)

And given the season, this sweet discovery is particularly fun. Chocolate and the holidays—really, how perfect is that! The royal palaces of London are some of my favorite places, and I happened to be doing some additional research on Kensington Palace and Kew Palaces for the Wrexford & Sloane mystery I’m currently writing . . .when lo and behold, a tantalizing little sidebar popped up regarding Hampton Court Palace. Given that it involved chocolate, how could I resist! So join me in enjoying this little nibble of history.

 

Documents had mentioned the existence of a chocolate kitchen in Hampton Court Palace dating from the late 1600s, but until 2013, its location was a mystery. A clever curator found an 18th century inventory of the palace and was able to pinpoint the location—it was currently being used as a flower store for the palace visitors. However, many of the original fittings were uncovered, and today the kitchen has been restored and is open to the public. (There is a lovely feature on it at the palace website.)

According to the Hampton Court Palace records, the chocolate kitchens were designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1690s as part of the palace renovations initiated by William and Mary on their accession to the throne. Both the king and queen were said to be very fond of the the new—and expensive—drink, which had just come into vogue in Europe, having been brought from the New World by Spain. William was apparently especially partial to chocolate, and drank it throughout the day.

Chocolate remained a fixture at the palace when George I came to the throne. He hired Thomas Tosier—who ran a chocolate house on “Chocolate Row” in Greenwich with his wife—as his chocolate maker in 1717. A fascinating aside to this is that his wife Grace continued to run the business in Greenwich while her husband served the king at the palace. It became a hugely popular place (she added a great room for dancing in 1721) and was often mentioned in the society columns. Grace became a celebrity in her own right and was featured in many popular prints of the time. She apparently dressed in eye-catching fashions, and was was said to favor a “large brimmed hat” and “flowers in her bosom.”

Preparing chocolate for consumption was a long and complicated process, all of it done in the kitchens. The cacao beans were roasted, and then ground into a paste, which was then formed into flattened cakes and left to age for several months.
The cakes were then dissolved in a hot liquid—water was used at first. Milk didn’t come into vogue until later—and spiced with flavorings like cinnamon. Hot chilies were very popular because that was what was used in Aztec culture, from which the Spanish learned about the delights of chocolate. Hot chocolate wasn’t sweetened until later, though as of yet, I’ve not come across a date when that began.)

Once the chocolate was prepared, it was taken to a special chocolate room where the special chocolate pots—often crafted of expensive silver and porcelain—were kept. Chocolate pots were a special design—Tall and narrow with a long wooden handle for pouring, they also had a hole in the lid for the handle of a mollinaro, which was a whisk to froth the chocolate. If you look closely at paintings and prints of the era, you can see chocolate pots, which looked different from tea and coffee pots.

So that’s a peek into another sweet slice of chocolate history! I love both the lore and the taste of chocolate. How about you? Is chocolate a big part of your holiday treats? Or you do have another favorite sweet that is traditional in your family? Marzipan is also big in my family, as there are all sorts of Swiss cookies and pastries that my mother always made for our family festivities.

Comments

[theo]

I love chocolate. It should be its own food group. :)

Do you ever wonder though, who the very first person was to decide it must be edible? Or most any food for that matter but with chocolate, who was the first one to say 'hey! that looks delicious!' We'll never know, but it's fascinating to me. Just like mushrooms and watermelon and...well, you get the point.

[Alison Y]

Such a fun post. Love to read about all the tidbits you find in your research and anything related to chocolate is an added bonus.
My mother had a chocolate pot, really a whole set with small cups. I think it must have been a wedding gift because she never drank it and I doubt she ever served it to anyone. Our cocoa was just served right out of the saucepan.
One of our holiday treats is chocolate covered cherries in liquor.

Happy Holidays to all.

[Lil Marek]

Fascinating. I love the idea of a kitchen just for chocolate—and I don't even much like chocolate.

[Sue McCormick]

Fascinating! I love chocolate, so I adore these facts.

Do we feature chocolate for Christmas? No – we feature it every day. It is one of our three basic food groups: Cheese, Chocolate, and Cinnamon!

[Andrea Penrose]

Theo, that's SUCH a good question. Cacao beans are inside a fruit (in slimy white stuff) and not really edible straight away. WHO had the bright idea to roast them. And WHO had the bright idea to roast coffee beans. Or who tea leaves to try among all the millions of other leaves. It's all so fascinating. (I have a feeling there are a lot of dead bodies lying in history of choosing food!)

[Andrea Penrose]

Glad you enjoy the tidbits, Alison. Your mother's pot sound fun, even if you mixed cocoa in a sauce pan. (As did I)

Chocolate-covered cherries in liquor is a wonderful holiday treat! Yum!

[Andrea Penrose]

Not like chocolate! Oh, no!

The special kitchen really is cool. But then, when it was built, chocolate was very expensive, and a luxury, so I imagine it was to ensure it wasn't used by anyone but the royalty and their guests.

[Andrea Penrose]

Ha, ha, ha! My favorite three, too. I'm coming over for treats!

[Kareni]

I'm another for whom chocolate is a daily event. I start each day with hot chocolate.

Thanks for a fascinating post, Andrea!

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks, Kareni. So glad you enjoyed it.I was tickled pink to inadvertently discover it. Now, can't wait to get to Hampton Court Palace to see it!

[Mary T]

Thanks for taking us down the chocolate rabbit hole. I love stuff like that. I like chocolate, but I'm not as crazy about it as a lot of people are.

My favorite Christmas treat is rum soaked fruitcake. I'm that rare person who actually enjoys it. I don't get it as often now that my youngest sister has passed. She was the fruitcake maker. Most commercial fruitcake is just not the same. Love homemade Christmas cookies too.

[Quantum]

If you visit Hampton court by car be sure to specify Hampton Court Palace, otherwise the satnav might take you to Hampton Court Castle in Herefordshire ... a delightful place but alas no chocolate kitchen!

I can imagine that a chocolate kitchen in the hands of a mystery writer could be the source of much skullduggery. The strong chocolate flavor might disguise powerful drugs ... sleeping powders, poisons, love potions and who knows what! Looking forward to discovering the outcome of your latest investigations Andrea.

My wife and I are rather partial to Chocolate trifle with a glass or two of sauternes.

[theo]

LOL!!! Yes, I too have had the dead body feeling. Especially when it comes to the mushrooms. There are way more that are poisonous than aren't.

[Katja]

A very inspiring post. I love chocolate and living in Switzerland, I think that is just as well.
What you said about sugar in chocolate sent me down my own research rabbit hole and it seems, that the Spanish introduced sugar into chocolate almost immediately after chocolate reached the Spanish court. This is from a site called http://www.thechocolateway.eu/

"Once Don Cortes had provided the Spanish with a supply of cocoa beans and the equipment to make the chocolate drink, a Spanish version of the recipe was devised. Monks in monasteries known for their pharmaceutical skills were chosen to process the beans and adjust the drink to Spanish tastes. Cinnamon, nutmeg and cane sugar were added, the chilli pepper was omitted and it was discovered that chocolate tasted even better served hot."

So I'd suppose that some of the royal hot chocolate in Britain would propably have included sugar as well from the very beginning. At least in Georgian times - which admittedly is later - most recipes included sugar or honey. (Some of them you can find on the "All Things Georgian" site)

[Maryellen Webber]

Oh what a great post! The link for Hampton Court Palace was amazing. My husband bakes chocolate chip cookies for our extended family every year. I make Chocolate caramel crackers, which is like a toffee (it is also called Christmas crack) lol! It wouldn't be Christmas without chocolatey treats!!!

[Margaret]

Thank you, Andrea. My mouth literally began salivating while I read, and by the time I finished your piece, I realized part of my mind had been off wondering about what kind of chocolate treat I could make up quickly either before or after work. And as for who first opened and roasted the beans, perhaps there's a little magic in history we're not meant to parse, only enjoy.

[Mary M.]

You mean ... chocolate isn't a food group? I'm devastated. Quick, someone get up a petition! ;-)

[Mary M.]

I visited Hampton Court last spring with a friend, Kelly, and it took us at least 15 minutes to locate the chocolate room, even with the map, because THERE WAS NO CHOCOLATE IN IT. Talk about devastated (as I did above), Kelly was it. They could make a killing, and some very happy tourists, if they provided chocolate instead of flowers.

[Andrea Penrose]

SO true about mushrooms, Theo. And berries!

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, it's DEFINITELY a food group . . .and at times, the most important one!

No petitions needed—this is something we can ALL agree on!

[Andrea Penrose]

Mary, I happen to be a liquor soaked fruitcake fan too. Collin Street Bakery in Texas makes a very nice one—you can order by mail and they are very fresh and made with premium ingredients.

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks for the tip, Quantum. Definitely don't want to end up in Hertfordshire, nice as its castle may be!

Ha, ha on the chocolate and skulduggery! Lots of "food for thought" in that. (Actually, the first scene of my first Lady Arianna mystery has the Prince regent collapsing into a chocolate dessert!)

Chocolate trifle and sauternes sounds divine!

[Andrea Penrose]

Thank you, Katja! This is wonderful information. Everything I've read about the Spanish and chocolate indicated they drank it bitter or with chilies and other spices. Am so happy to learn that it was sweetened so early.

As for chocolate, you live in paradise for it! Frigor chocolate is very hard to get in the U.S.

And as a marzipan fan, I love the Swiss Appenzeller biber.

[Andrea Penrose]

So glad you enjoyed it, Maryellen. The palace site is wonderful!

Your cookies sound amazing.

[Andrea Penrose]

I hope you treated yourself to something sweet!

And yes, magic is magic—one doesn't always have to know every element of how its done. But its also fun knowing how things started, and how they developed and spread over the years. I find chocolate history fascinating.

[Annette N]

I am a fan of chocolate. I do not like dark chocolate, but I believe if there were a chocolate kitchen in my palace, I would never worry about any other kitchen.

I loved this post. Thank you for sharing all your information.

Andrea, we must be distant cousins. I have fallen down rabbit holes on the internet. I go to look for something specific. The next thing I know, it is a day later and I have found so many things that I love. I believe if I had to do research for a living, there would be a headline " woman found dead at computer after not being seen for a month."

[Andrea Penrose]

LOL! Who knew research could be so dangerous!

I'm always going down the rabbit hole . . .while there are many things I dislike about the internet, the connection of wonderful research sites and treasures are truly remarkable, and it's really fun to explore the world from one's desktop. (Though of course it's not a real substitute for visiting and and seeing actual things. But it's still exciting and inspiring.)

[Karin]

I'm also a chocolate lover, and my favorite combo is chocolate with nuts.

[Andrea Penrose]

Yup, me, too. Almond, walnuts, hazelnuts . . . Yum!

[LilMissMolly]

I love chocolate in almost all forms, but I’ve become more of a chocolate snob as I’ve grown older. I can’t stand waxy chocolates that are all too familiar around the holidays. Instead I prefer the European brands that are richer and creamier.
Book hugs!
Molly

[Andrea Penrose]

I'm with you, Molly. Having grown up with Swiss chocolate, I usually avoid the mass market American brands and spring for something with more premium ingredients.

Trader Joe's a has a "passport" collection of dark chocolate bars for the holidays, which are made from single-source cacao from around the world. It's . . . divine!