Chocolate and Witch Trials with Megan Giller (Ep. 28)
“Chocolate acted as a central vehicle of women’s ritual power, and was a flashpoint for women’s disorderly behavior in public settings.” - Martha Few in her article “Chocolate, Sex, and Disorderly Women in Late 17th and Early 18th Century Guatemala” as quoted by Megan Giller
Chocolate is a plant-based food or drink in which the main ingredient—the seed of a tropical tree—is ground and melted and mixed into something wholly new. Sometimes spices or botanicals are added, and in the past this was all done by hand. This sounds almost like making a potion, right? That’s certainly what some folks in 17th and 18th century Mexico and Central America thought. It turns out many women were prosecuted at that time for reportedly casting spells with chocolate or outright poisoning people with chocolate potions.
In the last episode, we spoke with Dr. Christina Wade about the connections between Medieval alewives—female brewers who made part or all of their living brewing and selling unhopped beer known at the time as ale—and our modern depictions of fairy tale witches with cauldrons, cats, broomsticks, and pointy hats.
In this episode we’ll talk with Megan Giller, a chocolate writer and educator. Megan will tell the story of women in 17th and 18th century Mexico and other Central American countries who were accused of using chocolate in their witchcraft. Grab yourself some tasty bean to bar chocolate and follow along for this spellbinding tale.
This episode was inspired by Megan article “Poison Your Lover with Chocolate and Other Advice from 17th Century Witches” in issue three of Cacao Magazine.
Also referenced in this episode is Martha Few’s article “Chocolate, Sex, and Disorderly Women in Late 17th and Early 18th Century Guatemala” in the journal Ethnohistory Volume 52, Issue 4 in fall 2005.
The beers referenced in this episode were Fibonacci Brewing Pepo Pumpkin Porter and Hulu Fresh Hop Ale. The chocolate mentioned in this episode was from Cultura Chocolate.
The music for this episode was sampled from an instrumental version of the song “200 Miles” written and performed by indie folk musician Anna ps from her 2016 album Umbrella. You can find out more about Anna at her website.
Guest:
Megan Giller
Megan Giller is a chocolate journalist and educator living in Brooklyn. Her food writing has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, and numerous other publications, and her website Chocolate Noise was a 2016 Saveur Food Blog Awards finalist. Her book Bean to Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution was published in 2017.