Why it works: Coffee and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
A New Aliment
Ingredients
Directions
Bifrons Villa.
Here, dear Eloise, is an entirely new aliment, which has never yet been introduced into this country. A semi-epicure of our acquaintance, on returning from his visit to the National Guard of France, presented me with a pound of it, which he had purchased in Paris; but even there, said he, it is almost in its infancy; you may fancy, if I were not anxious of making an immediate trial of it; but before I give you the receipt how to use it, let me tell you I have found it most delicious. Mr. B. has not yet tasted it, being for a week in the country, but I am confident he will like it, especially for breakfast: but the puzzle is, after my pound is used, how we are to get more? Time, I suppose, will teach us. It appears that we are indebted for it to a celebrated French gentleman, M. le Docteur Lamolte, the inventor of the electric light, who ingeniously, though oddly, named it Cho-ca, being a scientific composition of _chocolat_ and _café_, the alliance of which balancing admirably their excellence and virtue, and partly correcting their evils, the first being rather irritable, the second heavy. But I think, if my recollection serves me rightly, the idea of this compound must have originated from that great French philosopher, M. de Voltaire, who constantly, for his breakfast, partook of half café-au-lait and half chocolate, which were served at the same time in separate vessels in a boiling state, and poured from each slowly, about eighteen inches in elevation from his cup, which, he said, made it extremely light and digestible.
Years after, that still more extraordinary man, Napoleon Bonaparte, became so partial to it, that he made a constant use of it, and it has often been remarked by those who surrounded his person, that after the great excitement and fatigue of a battle he has often partaken of two or three cups, which seemed to restore all the strength and energy which used to characterize that great man; on ordinary occasions one cup would suffice him, but served more _à la militaire_, not being poured so scientifically as did the Fernaise philosopher.
The approval of this mixed beverage by two such eminent characters speaks volumes in favor of the Cho-ca, which ought to be immediately introduced in England. It will also, no doubt, interest you to learn that the first cup of coffee ever introduced in Europe was made and presented to Louis XIV, at his magnificent palace of Versailles, by the Ambassador from the Sublime Porte in the year 1664, when the noble potentate, whose palate was as delicate as he was himself great, pronounced it excellent; and immediately perceived the immense advantage it would be to introduce such a delicacy into France as food, which a short time after took place, and was very successfully received there; also the chocolate, which is made from cacao, was first introduced to the Cardinal Mazarin, who, having partook of the first cup like Louis XIV. did of the coffee, and not a worse judge than his illustrious master, remunerated with a handsome reward its inventor. It is much to be regretted that such interesting and useful subjects have never yet attracted the attention of our great Painters, instead of continually tracing on innumerable yards of canvass the horrors of war, the destruction of a fleet by fire and water, the plague, the storm, the earthquake, or an eruption and destruction of a city by an avalanche or an inundation; if we cannot do without those painful historical reminiscences, why not add to those mournful collections a group of Louis XIV. and his court at Versailles, where he, magnificently dressed, was receiving from the hands of the said Pacha, not a cup of coffee, but a branch of that plant covered with its precious berries; and why not also, as a pendant, Mazarin surrounded by his satellites, taking the first cup of chocolate; or the characteristic Voltaire pouring a cup of Cho-ca to Frederic the Great in his tent on the field of Potsdam? These subjects seem to have been entirely neglected in being immortalized on canvass, why? because they have never done harm or evi
880. _Cho-ca._--Scrape or grate it; put a pint of milk in a stewpan or chocolate-pot, and place it on the fire, with two ounces of sugar, boil it, put the Cho-ca in it, and stir it well for two minutes, and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Coffee | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Coffee + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Coffee + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Sugar + coffeetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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