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    An Edible Tour Through the Jewish History of Chocolate

    By Annie Prusky

     The suggested flow of this learning activity is as follows: Read the first history section aloud. Then, try the era-appropriate chocolate treat while discussing the conversation prompts. After a few minutes, move on to the next history section.

    Time: 45-60 min

    Supplies Needed:

    • Bittersweet chocolate
    • Unsweetened cocoa powder
    • Chile powder
    • Vanilla
    • Refined sugar
    • Soft dark chocolate candies
    • Chocolate bar
    • Chocolate gelt
    • Chocolate spread
    • Modern chocolate candy (e.g. aerated milk chocolate, Kinder Bueno)
    • Ethical chocolate (e.g. Divine Chocolates, Mama Ganache, Maverick, and Tony’s Chocolonely)
    • Cups for hot drinks
    • (optional) carob fruit
    • (optional) couverture chocolate
    • (optional) fusion cuisine chocolate dish

    1500s + Earlier

    Learn

    Chocolate, originally cultivated by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in the Amazon as early as 3300 BCE, made its way from South America to Mesoamerica, where the Aztecs transformed the bitter cacao fruit into a spicy, hot drink using chilies and vanilla. European awareness of cacao began in 1502, when Columbus encountered cocoa beans during his fourth voyage but failed to recognize their value, mistaking them for almonds. Notably, he reported this discovery to Luis de Santángel, a third-generation Jewish converso and royal treasurer, who had been a key supporter of Columbus’s expedition, and who recognized that they were a distinct “fruit”. This small Jewish connection played a part in introducing chocolate to Europe.

    Once in Europe, chocolate quickly became a luxurious beverage reserved for the elite, particularly in Spain. By the late 1600s, it had become so culturally ingrained among the upper classes that officials, including King Charles II of Spain, drank it while witnessing public executions carried out by the Spanish Inquisition. Tragically, many of those executions targeted “conversos” (Jews who had publicly converted to Christianity) accused of secretly practicing Judaism. Some sources suggest that even those imprisoned by the Inquisition may have been given chocolate to drink.

    Eat

    To mimic the experience of eating cocoa beans, try bittersweet chocolate or carob fruit. To get a sense for what the Aztecs and Europeans would have been drinking, mix cocoa, chile powder, and vanilla into hot water.

    Discuss

    What do you make of the contrast between chocolate as a luxury item and its use during moments of cruelty, like Inquisition executions?

    1600s

    Learn

    Following the inquisition in Spain and Portugal, many Jews fled to France and settled in Saint-Esprit, near Bayonne. As “New Christians” under heavy restrictions, one of the few trades open to them was chocolate production. Drawing on transatlantic ties with conversos and secret Jews in the Americas, they imported high-quality cocoa and refined it into exquisite chocolate confections. By the 1630s, Bayonne had a thriving Jewish community deeply involved in cocoa trade and processing. Their expertise, sourced from experience with criollo beans from Venezuela, forastero from Guiana, and marañón from Brazil, earned Bayonne chocolate a prestigious reputation. However, by 1691, jealousy and antisemitic accusations led to their expulsion from the city’s chocolate guild.

    Meanwhile, Jews in the Americas were shaping the industry at its source. The Mercado brothers, based in Guiana, pioneered sugar refining and shifted to cocoa and vanilla when banned from sugar trading, eventually dominating Mexico’s chocolate business. In Dutch Brazil, Benjamin d’Acosta de Andrade created the first modern cocoa-processing plant. After fleeing the Inquisition again in 1645, he resettled in Martinique, becoming a major cocoa trader and founding the island’s first synagogue. By the 1680s, Jews controlled much of the cocoa trade in Martinique, Curacao, and Jamaica. Expelled from French colonies by the 1685 “Black Code,” they rebuilt in Dutch and British territories, turning chocolate into a global commodity and embedding it into Sephardic Jewish culture and ritual life.

    Eat

    During this time, sugar was added to the chocolate experience. Try an updated drink, replacing the chile powder with refined sugar and adding it, along with cocoa powder and vanilla, to hot water.

    Discuss

    Why might chocolate production have become one of the few trades open to Jews in exile, and how did that shape the industry?

    1700s

    Learn

    The French ban on Jews working in the chocolate trade was swept away in 1767, and the Jewish community near Bayonne resumed its chocolate production, selling new chocolates to an eager French public. During this time, new developments in manufacturing enabled chocolate experimenters to separate cocoa powder from cocoa butter and create sweet solid candies. Some even contained nuts. By 1854, Bayonne boasted at least 34 chocolate companies, and was known as the premier chocolate producing city in France. 

    In the Americas, The Gomez family of New York ran a big and profitable business in the West Indies, Madeira, Barbados, Curaçao, London, and Dublin. Between 1728 and 1747, they imported more than 20,860 pounds of cacao to New York via Curaçao, in addition to selling chocolate. Jewish traders in Montreal, Albany, and Philadelphia also had large, successful chocolate businesses in trade with the Netherlands and Brazil.

    Eat

    Try soft, dark chocolate candies like those found in gift boxes.

    Discuss

    What might have drawn Jewish families to invest in chocolate trade across so many global ports?

    1800s

    Learn

    In 1847, British company J. S. Fry & Sons developed a method of mixing cocoa butter with cocoa powder and sugar to invent a non-brittle and dry eating chocolate, commonly considered the first chocolate bar. This separation of cocoa butter, which allowed it to be manipulated, was a crucial step towards modern chocolate! Sometimes people see “cocoa butter” on an ingredient list and assume the product is dairy (and thus not kosher to eat with meat). But cocoa butter is more like cocoa bean’s natural fat. When squeezed under enormous pressure in a hydraulic press, the cocoa bean exudes fat that is yellow in color, similar to rich dairy butter; hence, the name cocoa butter. Unlike dairy butter, however, cocoa butter is thicker, blander, and hardens at room temperature… and it’s not dairy!

    Eat

    Try a chocolate bar and notice how different the texture is to softer chocolate candies. To get a sense for the flavor and texture of cocoa butter, try out couverture chocolate, which contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter than other varieties and is often considered the smoothest chocolate.

    Discuss

    Why do you think the development of the chocolate bar was such a game-changer in how people consumed chocolate?

    1900s

    Learn

    Hanukkah gelt (in Yiddish, literally “Hanukkah gold” i.e. money) originally referred to money given as presents during Hanukkah, typically from parents to children for distribution to their teachers. In time, as children demanded their due, money was also given to children to keep for themselves. In the 20th century, candy manufacturers started selling Hanukkah-themed chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil as a substitute or supplement to real money gifts for children, and the term “hanukkah gelt” came to refer not to the literal money but to its chocolate version.

    Also in the 20th century, chocolate spread became extremely popular in Israel thanks to its origins in a small Haifa-based factory called Hashachar Ha’Oleh (The Rising Dawn). Its affordability, long shelf life, and sweet taste made it a staple in Israeli households. Children grew up with chocolate spread sandwiches in their school lunches, and it later appeared in army rations, becoming a nostalgic comfort food across generations. A key factor in its widespread popularity among Jewish consumers was its pareve status, meaning it could be eaten after any meal, unlike many traditional sweets that contain milk. Over time, chocolate spread became a symbol of Israeli identity.

    Eat

    Chocolate gelt and chocolate spread – but not Nutella!

    Discuss

    What does the evolution of Hanukkah gelt and chocolate spread say about how traditions adapt over time?

    2000s

    Learn

    In the early 2000s, candy was often combined with play elements or unique textures. In the 2010s, cultural mixing and the popularity of hybrid cuisine also influenced the chocolate industry, with a rise in unexpected flavor combinations. However, the dark side of the chocolate industry has also become more widely known: Three-quarters of the world’s cocoa is grown in West Africa, where its cultivation is now the leading cause of deforestation. The industry also relies on workers who aren’t paid a living wage and live in extreme poverty. As a result, chocolate brands who commit to more sustainable and just practices are gaining in popularity.

    Eat

    Try candies like aerated milk chocolate, Kinder Surprise, or Kinder Bueno. Or, try fusion flavors like chocolate tahini cookies (link), hipster babka (link), or chicken mole (link). Make sure to include a few options of ethical chocolate companies such as Divine Chocolates, Mama Ganache, Maverick, and Tony’s Chocolonely. Look for the Fairtrade Mark on packaging.

    Discuss

    In what ways can choosing fair-trade or ethical chocolate be seen as a Jewish act or expression of Jewish values?

    Sources: