chocolate education
Fighting Cancer with Chocolate?
August 18, 2011
If that would be the case, who wouldn’t want to kick cancer’s butt? Here are some interesting tidbits of information to help you realize how good chocolate can be for your health!
Cacao seeds contain Flavonoids (specifically Flavanols) that are chemicals found in plant-based foods that give major health benefits. Over 4,000 flavonoids have been known and almost all of it are found in fruits, vegetables and beverages such as tea, coffee, beer, wine and fruit drinks. Good thing our beloved chocolate is part of the list!
When we eat foods that have flavonoids, it just means that we also take advantage of the antioxidants in it which are believed to help the body fight cell damage. In addition to that, studies say that flavonoids have other helpful influences on vascular health, such as lowering blood pressure and improving blood flow to the brain and heart, making blood platelets less viscous. Thus, keeping cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels. It also slows down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries.
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Chocolate and Red Wine: Intelligent
May 19, 2011
Chocolates are one of the most popular sweets, definitely loved by a lot of people. Research has shown that chocolates tend to stimulate mental attentiveness, and it also helps in regulating good mood. As a chocolate lover you probably know this.
But have you thought about wine? It has a lot in common with chocolate.
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Mayan Superfood – Sweet Raw Cacao Nibs
April 11, 2011
Theobroma cacao is the scientific name for Cocoa Beans. After the cocoa beans are harvested, fermented, dried and shipped to the chocolate manufacturer, they are stripped of their outer-most coating, called the shell, and roasted before being ground into chocolate liquor (unsweetened baking chocolate).
These shelled beans are called nibs. Almost all nibs are roasted. Roasting brings out flavor and color development. Roasting also drives off moisture and undesirable “volatiles.”
I wanted to share this brief story about bean processing because RAW nibs are not roasted, and I’d like you to see where they come from and why they stand out even more as a superfood than the already proclaimed superfood-ness (is this a word?) of chocolate.
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Chocolate Tempering: Crystal Sizes
April 1, 2011
Once people understand that chocolate tempering is the secret to getting great results for their own chocolate creations, I get a lot of related questions.
Here's a conversation with a student at a live, in-person session where I was talking about the crystal sizes, within the cocoa butter, for proper tempering.
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Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Champagne
February 17, 2011
When you put a fresh strawberry into the bottom of a champagne glass and then pour the champagne, just watch the bubbles fly off the strawberry at a record rate of speed!
The strawberry gives more surface area from which to produce bubbles. For this reason alone, a strawberry in champagne is very romantic. And let’s not forget that a champagne soaked strawberry is oh-so-delicious!
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The Power of Cocoa Powder
February 15, 2011
New research finding just released in the Chemistry Central Journal compares the antioxidant power of the powders; fruit powder vs. cocoa powder.
Cacao and a number of other fruits are often classified as super fruits. So which is the most super?
In the study, a variety of fruit powders were analyzed for their antioxidant capacity (ORAC) and total flavanol (TF) content. Cocoa powder was also analyzed.
After all the powders were tested, it was determined that cocoa powder had the most concentrated source of antioxidants and flavanols (ORAC and TF).
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Chocolate Tasting Interview
February 10, 2011
A few weeks ago I was interviewed for an article with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. That article appeared in the print version yesterday and online the day before.
There's some great information about tasting chocolate as well as pairing chocolate and wine. Click this link for the full chocolate and wine article.
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Chocolate and Cocoa Substitutes
January 28, 2011
Have you ever discovered you were out of an ingredient? Of course that always seems to happen right in the middle of making something!
When the recipe calls for chocolate, cocoa powder, or unsweetened baking chocolate, using the correct substitution can mean your crisis is avoided. And no emergency trip to the grocery store!
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Wax in Your Chocolate?
January 13, 2011
No, do not add wax to your chocolate!
It seems like I give tempering advice all the time. And I know why. Tempering chocolate should be easy, but it isn’t. And when struggling, people do one of two things: seek advice or look for ways to cheat.
Tempering is just one of those things that takes a lot of practice, and you have to be willing to learn from your mistakes.
If you are making chocolate-dipped candies and have trouble with the tempering process, you may be tempted to put paraffin or baker's wax into your coating to help it set.
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