Chocolate-Brewing Witches

Hot Plate

The chocolate-brewing witches of colonial Latin America, why those fermented foods you love might not be probiotic, why there's always room for dessert, and the world's first pea-based gin.

Hot off a trip to Mexico, Joshna brought us Mexican brewing chocolate to taste (thicker and bitter compared with most North American hot chocolates). This same brewing chocolate has a long history in Latin America, including when women who brewed it were persecuted by the Inquisition.

Have we been assuming fermented foods are probiotic? It turns out there's little scientific evidence to support it, but does this fly in the face of what we know to be true from thousands of years of collective wisdom? There are questions left on the table.

We learn about why there's always more room for dessert. How is that "second stomach” working? What's the point of it? Turns out there's something behind your second stomach (not literally, but at least metaphorically)!

Finally, there's a new kid on the gin block. It's made from peas and boasts its climate positive potential!