"Hard to imagine a life before chocolate. But chocolate is a relatively recent pleasure, and in its early European days, (late 1700s to early 1800s) one only for the very wealthy. Cocoa was among the early treasures imported from the expanding 'new world' as Far Eastern travel and trade became more readily available in the mid to late 1700s. Chocolate was a European symbol of wealth and power. Because cocoa and sugar were both expensive imports, only those with money could afford to drink chocolate, or to consume the early confections made with the delicacies. In fact, in France, chocolate was a state monopoly that could be consumed only by members of the royal court. So, you can see why these very early confections came with lovely boxes, and in caskets one might think should belong to fine jewelry, instead. The earliest French chocolatiers such as Boissier and others developed recipes for chocolate candies called 'bon bons' and, judging from my own relationship with chocolate, it should still be outlawed for the French to make such beautiful and absolutely irresistable confections. ... These boxes housed chocolates more profoundly valuable than most any other substance, so you see why the presentation was worthy of such detail. To receive or to give chocolates then was something only dreamt of by commoners, and as noted, relegated to the Royals, their favorites, Courtiers. (Available from Ruby Lane)
