African Culinary and Agricultural Contributions
Coca Plantation in Peru 1854, Courtesy of The New York Public Library
In the viceroyalty of Peru, which included modern day Colombia, Iberians in urban centers purchased a sizeable number of enslaved Africans for cooking. Enslaved Africans also worked on large plantation cultivating the cacao plant which produced the key ingredient for making chocolate. You cannot talk about American culinary an agricultural techniques without honoring the contributions of Africans. Great example is the story of the contemporary chocolate maker Mott Green.
