Author Archive: Joanna Maligaya
Saving The Best Chocolate For Last
February 17, 2012
Ed O'Brien, a researcher in social psychology at the University of Michigan, has written the paper. His idea indicates that our choices are remarkably relying on the moment associated with preference. And one especially critical instant would be the end of the experience.
According to O'Brien's hypothesis, we are enticed by endings or last chances. He said: "I think in everyday life we do have this expectation that we save the best for last."
"When people are given awareness that something is about to end, they're kind of motivated to make the most of that experience," he added.
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Chocolate Kisses
February 16, 2012
In 1907, an exquisite brand-new candy was released, and it was called Hershey's Kisses. Hershey's Kisses is chocolate brand created by The Hershey Company. They are bite-sized and possess a unique shape, typically referred to as flat-bottomed teardrops.
33 million Hershey Kisses are produced in one day in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Curiously, the city was originally named Derry Church, Pennsylvania. It was renamed Hershey in 1906 (one year before the Kiss was developed) after the growing popularity of Hershey's Chocolate.
Hershey's Kisses are individually wrapped in small squares of lightweight aluminum foil which includes a thin strip of paper sticking out from the top. The reason behind its name is not precisely known, but theory has it that they were named after the machine that makes them which looks like lips.
Ever since it was launched, the wrapping process of Kisses has always been the exact same. The tiny flag sticking out of the candy was put in 1924. Currently, their machines could easily wrap around 1,300 of these treats in a minute.
The very first Kisses were wrapped exclusively in silver-colored foil during the earlier times. However, come 1962, colored foils made their way into the picture. This started off a trend over the following years to be able to complement just about any holiday. Red, green, and silver foils were made available during the Christmas season; pastel pink, blue and green foils to celebrate Easter; lastly red and silver foil to harmonize with Valentine's Day.
Up until 1990, no enhancements were done to the chocolate itself. Now, Hershey's franchise put almonds into the candies. They were instantly and popularly accepted and have never gone away. And they've added other variations since.
After more than a hundred years, Hershey's Kisses continue to be a darling in the simple silver foil packaging. The sweet and smooth chocolate flavor has stayed pretty much pristine. They are widely known throughout the world and are recognized right away by practically anybody as one of the little pleasures in life.
Chocolate Yogurt Ice
February 15, 2012
Yogurt is widely used across the globe nowadays, and we know all too well that it's a renowned health food. It derived its name from the Turkish word "yogurur", meaning "long life".
Research has it that a cup of plain yogurt, which is around 240 mg, purportedly contains 140 calories. Not so bad for a tasty treat, eh?
More to these, regular consumption of yogurt is said to have several health benefits, and among those is that it aids in better absorption of the nutrients you get from other food.
It is a highly nutritious food on its own, containing numerous health benefits that include protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.
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Valentine’s Day Chocolate
February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day is many things to different people. It can be a shot at new beginnings, rekindling old flames, or a chance to show your special someone how you feel about them. To others, it can be a cold splash of reminder that they are alone on a supposedly lovey-dovey day. No matter what your expectations and reservations about Valentine's Day are, you cannot deny the fact that chocolate is a staple during Valentine's Day.
From the time of the Aztecs, chocolate has always been an effective gift. For a reason not fully known to man, it is, by some means, a magical way to say "I love you." Chocolate is a lot more than just food. A quote from Patrick Skene Catling, the author of the children's book entitled The Chocolate Touch, even says "Other things are just food. But chocolate's chocolate." True enough, even the scientific name of the tree which chocolate has been derived from, Theobroma cacao, translated from Greek, means "food of the gods."
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Chocolate Cake With Breakfast
February 10, 2012
If cake doesn't work for you, maybe you can get your hand down the chocolate cookie jar? If you'd like a scoop of chocolate ice cream, go ahead and suit yourself.
If perhaps that appears to be ridiculous, I’ll let you in on some new findings from the researchers at Tel Aviv University. They found out that incorporating dessert together with a well-balanced 600-calorie breakfast, which has proteins and carbohydrates, enables those on a diet to drop some pounds and maintain it over the long haul.
Researchers sorted 193 clinically obese, non-diabetic adults into two groups. The groups were given practically the same low-carbohydrate diets of 1,400 calories each day for women and 1,600 calories a day for men. However, one group had been provided with a low-carbohydrate 300-calorie breakfast and the other had been supplied with a 600-calorie breakfast which was loaded with protein and carbohydrates, and constantly came with a dessert.
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Chocolate And Stearic Acid
February 9, 2012
Suffice it to say, chocolate is all the rage this time of the year since it's already Valentine’s Day next week. Chocolates have always had a track record of being a delectable treat yet considered as a no-no food, especially with the figure-conscious. In the present day, studies have revealed that chocolate turns out to have a handful of nutritional benefits and is not conclusively a food taboo.
Regardless of the fact that chocolate contains saturated fat, scientific studies indicate that consumption of chocolate does not have any influence on the level of cholesterol in your blood. This is possible for the reason that not every saturated fat is the same. The fat found in chocolate is derived from cocoa butter, the natural fat present in cocoa beans.
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Snickers Pie
February 8, 2012
If you're expecting some friends or family members to come over to your house, and you happen to be clueless about what to serve for dessert, fret not. Snickers Pie can come to your rescue.
It consists of Snickers candy bars which, apparently, were invented by Frank Mars in 1930. He allegedly put in some chocolate to an already existing snack, and then named it after one of his family's favorite horses. This candy bar is basically composed of roasted peanuts and caramel mixture on top of a bar of nougat, all covered in milk chocolate. Just a bit of trivia; each Snickers bar is said to contain approximately 16 peanuts.
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Southern Ocean County’s Chocolate Week
February 7, 2012
If you plan on heading to southern Ocean County (in the Long Beach Island region of New Jersey) within February 11 to February 20, 2012, and happen to love chocolate, then you're in for a treat.
Southern Ocean County's Chocolate Week, which is taking place on the dates mentioned above, was developed with that premise, according to Lori Pepenella who is the destination marketing manager for the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce.
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So Sweet Chocolate and Ice Sculpture Festival
February 3, 2012
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and several events are already planned out in celebration of the love season, one of which is the 10th annual Salem's So Sweet Chocolate and Ice Sculpture Festival happening on February 10-14.
Chocolate tasting and over fifteen sparkling and humongous ice sculptures are expected in the city center of Salem. Ice Sculpture Themes include the SSU Viking, a crystal snowflake, a single-room room school house, TinTin and Snowy, a dragon, Marilyn Monroe, and the Salem Witch. Huge discounts, along with free chocolate are also to be expected from a lot of many business establishments downtown.
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Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate
February 2, 2012
Chocolate, a native to Mexico, has been a staple there for centuries already. Initially, they enjoyed chocolate as a drink. They made variations og chocolate by incorporating different flavors and ingredients such as honey, spices, and nuts, among many others. The chocolate beverages they made did not have a sweet taste to them. Nevertheless, it was well-loved by the Aztec and Mayan royalty.
The Aztecs were whipping up and enjoying their hot chocolate drinks when the Spaniards arrived. They took the cacao beans along with them as they headed home, and started enhancing the flavors by adding milk and sugar. You can trace the roots of the hot chocolate drink recipe back to that. Shortly thereafter, chocolate became all the rage in European royal places. Special china pots and cups were produced, intended only for drinking hot chocolate. Nowadays, such kitchenware are considered as collectors’ items and can sell for a fortune if they come in a complete set.
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