Learnings since the publication
Who knew that the first edition of On the Chocolate Trail (Jewish Lights 2012) would stir such a sweet spot. Initially I understood the chocolate trail to be about chocolate’s spread from the New World to the Old World and then globally. My thinking about the trail then expanded to the far-reaching research and journeys we pursued while tracing the religious sagas of chocolate. Now I travel on an extended book tour/trail presenting about these many chocolate learnings.
It turns out that On the Chocolate Trail serves up something for everyone: those who like chocolate but not history, history but not travel, travel but not religion, religion but not food, or all of that. What’s not to like? Audiences at congregations, food shows, historical associations, museums, and professional conferences around the world hunger for its stories, keeping me on the road several times a month. Just after the book’s publication one colleague stunned me with an invitation to be the scholar-in-residence. Since then, I have often been a weekend “chocolate scholar.” I am introduced as the world’s leading expert on religion and chocolate. Recently, I have been invited to co-curate a traveling museum exhibit about Jews on the chocolate trail for the Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum at Congregation Emanu-El of New York City. People confess to me about their secret chocolate stashes. I field questions about my favorite chocolate, my weight (since I eat chocolate every day), religious traditions (“May it be eaten with a meat meal according to kosher food rules?”), and even breast milk chocolate (“Can breast milk be mixed into chocolate?”—it cannot).
Treats on the Trail
Since the first edition of the book was published, I have munched on bright blue and white chocolate–painted Passover matzah featured at a tasting event in Atlanta. I have admired bi-colored chocolate, white and dark, flowing in the fountain at a Valentine’s Day gala in Houston. I have gobbled up regional treats: Maine’s chocolate-covered potato known as needhams and chocolate-enrobed peanut butter buckeyes of Ohio. Hosts often serve up recipes from the book. A three- course dinner of black bean and chocolate soup, chocolate vinaigrette dressing for the salad, and chicken with chocolate mole (see the recipe section) for the entrée accompanied one event. Of course chocolate desserts abound. I am delighted that On the Chocolate Trail has generated such creativity. I savor audience appetites for On the Chocolate Trail’s chronicles of nourishment, sweetness, and resilience that bypass the worn, tragedy-themed view of Jewish history. I also relish how chocolate bridges different faiths. Mayans/Aztecs, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Quakers converge on the chocolate trail. It has been a very sweet journey.
We are pleased to announce availability of the Second Edition of On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao. Prinz continues to travel to share stories and for book signings. She also blogs at onthechocolatetrail.org.