Things You Should Know About Chocolate
Chocolates that contain at least 70% cocoa are the best ones you can choose, taking into account the higher the cocoa content, the more nutrients you can get. Your chocolate is also better non- or lightly alkalized or non-dutched. Milk and white chocolate are sooo good, but they don’t have as much healthy flavanols as dark chocolate does.
If you’re not crazy about dark chocolate, don’t worry. They say it’s an acquired taste, and you can learn it by gradually increasing percentage of cocoa in the chocolates that you have. Truth be told, there are milk chocolates with 50 percent cocoa or more available these days.
Portion control is the way to go. Studies have shown that as few as 30 calories of flavanol-rich dark chocolate can lower the blood pressure. Nevertheless, indulging yourself once in a while is not so bad. A 500-calorie indulgence amounts to only about a two-ounce weight gain, and you can sweat that out in the gym any day.
No, don’t confuse chocolate with an aphrodisiac. Sorry chocoholic boys, but science has still not proven that chocolate can increase the libido of your female partner. Don’t go sending here boxes of chocolate and expect something in return!
However, cocoa can be considered as a fountain of youth in its own right, since it is proven to keep skin young. Cocoa beans come with antioxidants that can combat free radicals, which are known to bring about skin damage. When cocoa beans are made into chocolate bars, they can lose a sizable amount of antioxidants. That being said, have it in liquid form and drink cocoa instead!
Furthermore, chocolate is beneficial to the heart, given that a study had shown that specific substances in chocolate cold lessen LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and an increase the HDL cholesterol (the good kind).
Also, chocolate is not evil for the teeth. As a matter of fact, chocolate can help prevent cavities and plaque build-up on the teeth. A sugar-laden chocolate is a different story, though.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: antioxidants, chocolate fun facts, chocolate information, cocoa, dark chocolate, fun chocolate facts, fun facts, once
Chocolate Dessert With Breakfast
Recent studies have found out that integrating dessert into your well-balanced 600-calorie breakfast, that contains carbohydrates and proteins, allows people who are on a strict diet to shed unwanted pounds and maintain it in the long run.
Scientists categorized 193 clinically obese, non-diabetic adults into two groups. Such groups were provided with virtually the same low-carbohydrate diets containing 1,400 calories every day for females and 1,600 calories per day for males. Nevertheless, one group was given a low-carbohydrate 300-calorie breakfast, while the other group was provided with a 600-calorie breakfast that’s loaded with carbohydrates and protein, and it always came with a dessert.
In the first 16 weeks, losing weight didn’t have difference for the two groups. However, following the 32-week period, people who had a dessert, like cake or cookies, along with their breakfast were able to shed about 40 pounds more as compare to those who consumed the lighter, low-carbohydrate breakfast.
“What you eat for breakfast does not make you fat,” in accordance with professor Daniela Jakubowicz, part of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Diabetes Unit at Wolfson Medical Center. She cited that breakfast gives energy you can use for the whole day. It can increase your metabolism and aid in the thinking processes. If a low-calorie diet restricts carbohydrate intake in the morning, your metabolism tends to crash. That said, the body will compensate which will eventually promote weight gain the moment you consume carbs, which is likely to happen since you’ll be starving come lunchtime. “Breakfast increases metabolism and decreases hunger,” she added.
Research has it that eating chocolate in the morning tends to maintain the levels of serotonin during the day, so you won’t feel depressed. The moment the chocolate you had in the morning crosses your mind, you would not recall the fact that it did make you happy, given that you had it when your level of serotonin was up. Thus, it can decrease your dependence on chocolate.
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Categories: chocolate articles Tags: chocolate information, chocolate studies, serotonin
Is White Chocolate Really Chocolate?
Albeit the fact that it is considered ‘chocolate’, white chocolate isn’t really chocolate. It may be a confectionery imitative of chocolate since it’s also made from the same cacao plant, but its manufacturing process is somewhat special.
The process of making white chocolate primarily involves the drawing out of utilizable components of the cacao bean. Unlike the usual chocolate that makes use of the cocoa powder ground from the seeds, the white version uses only the cocoa butter.
Even though the manufacturing of white chocolate is similar with dark and milk chocolate by some means, it basically lacks cocoa paste, liquor or powder. Thus, it does not hold the important compounds of chocolate such as thiamine, riboflavin, theobromine, phenylethylamine, and serotonin.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to be called ‘chocolate’, a product must have chocolate liquor. Since 2004, white chocolate have to be (by weight) at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, and 3.5% milk fat, and not exceeding 55% sugar or other nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners. The European Union has put the same policy in practice, only, there is no limit on sugar or sweeteners.
White chocolate is made up of cocoa butter, milk solids, vanilla, sugar and lecithin. Chocolate makers that use true cocoa butter generate ones of higher quality in comparison to those who scrimp and substitute vegetable fat for the cocoa butter.
True white chocolate is typically a pale yellow or ivory in appearance. The taste of cream and vanilla is heavenly in the mouth unlike those pretentious white creations that are made up of vegetable fat. Their consistency, taste and shelf life are also extremely different.
White chocolates melt quite easily and burn quickly since it is delicate, so take extra care when melting it for recipes like ganache or chocolate fondue.
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Categories: chocolate articles Tags: butter, chocolate facts, chocolate information, process, White Chocolate
Less Sugar, More Cocoa
“Less Sugar, More Cocoa” is one of the credos of Hotel Chocolat, a British chocolate company that has recently opened a couple stores in Boston.
Part of the philosophy of this successful chocolate company is to reduce the amount of sugar and use the best cocoa in their products. This way the cocoa flavors can really shine through for greater enjoyment.
Hotel Chocolat injects a bit of British humor into their experience. After all, chocolate is meant for enjoyment. For example they have a slab product called the Triple Chocolate Wham Bam. Regardless of the name, it is over a pound of delicious chocolate; a trio of flavors including mellow caramel, smooth milk, and creamy white, swirled together for dramatic results.
The company uses all natural ingredients so additives and preservatives are prohibited. The company’s conscience also extends to their suppliers. They constantly strive to give back to the cocoa farmers and cocoa growers to help improve their lives.
Click the banner above to check out the company’s website and order online.
If you’d like to read more about the company, here’s an article:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/lifestyle/food/x532582887/Checking-into-the-Hotel-Chocolat-in-Chestnut-Hill
Categories: chocolate articles, chocolate in the news Tags: chocolate information, chocolate shops, world chocolate
Dutch Processed
Sometimes people ask me “What is Dutch Process Chocolate?” Basically, this is chocolate that has been treated with an alkali. The process results in enhanced color, lower acidity, better solubility, and less flavor.
Back in the 1820’s a Dutch chemist by the name of Van Houten developed the process by which one can darken chocolate as well as reduce its bitterness. Unfortunately this process also reduces the chocolate flavor.
Even so there is a perceived benefit to the consumer. The darker chocolate color is generally thought of as being of higher quality. (It’s best to read a label because “dark chocolate” is not Dutched, rather dutched chocolate is darker than its non-Dutched counterpart.)
The darkest, chemically altered cocoa is called black cocoa. And, it’s the ingredient in the top and bottom parts of Oreo cookies.
While we might like the look of the darker chocolate, the Dutch process greatly reduces the antioxidant benefits of chocolate. So if you are looking for healthy chocolates avoid Dutch process.
You can learn more chocolate facts at Chocolate University Online.
Categories: chocolate articles, chocolate nutrition, chocolate process Tags: chocolate facts, chocolate information, dutch process
