chocolate in the news
The Jewish Link to Chocolate
April 19, 2013
Jews are famous wanderers. As a result, the Jewish people have played a huge role in global trade. There’s a facet to the story though that is quite uncommon. That would be the correlation of the Jewish and chocolate during the era of the Spanish Inquisition.
Spanish explorers were the ones who brought back chocolate to Spain, whereas Jews brought it to world cities such as New York and Amsterdam. The rest is history as well as the subject of Rabbi Deborah Prinz’s book, “On the Chocolate Trail.”
Chocolate Can Cause Parkinson’s Disease?
April 12, 2013
A study recently published in the Neuroscience Bulletin by Borah et al. at the Assan University in India claimed that B-Phenethylamine (B-PEA, a component naturally found in cococa beans, could be a precipitating factor for Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers said: “As consumption of some B-PEA-enriched food items has become an addiction in modern life, our proposed mechanism is of enormous significance and impact.” That is why they suggest limiting our consumption of chocolate.
However, their claim is quite arguable, considering it zeroes in on rodent studies. They admit that they need further investigation on human needs.
Avoid Eating Too Much Easter Chocolate
March 29, 2013
A recently published research paper by the Birmingham team in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that zeroed in on attentive eating, claimed that paying attention to what one eats helps in developing control over one’s appetite.
A lot of people are on a chocolate shopping spree now, considering we are nearing Easter. To some, chocolate is a mere indulgence, but an enjoyable one. To others, it’s a root of guilt over cheating on diet.
Dr. Suzanne Higgs, from the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham, said, "People make many decisions every day about what foods to eat and how much to eat. These decisions are made easily and seemingly without much thought. Yet underlying these choices are sophisticated psychological processes that can be easily disrupted, especially if we are distracted by other demands. So it is perhaps no surprise that we sometimes eat more than intended."
Chocolate Beer In Chocolate Glass? Yum!
March 8, 2013
I love chocolate, and I love beer. Since I've always been blabbering about my undying love for chocolate for days on end, let me share with you the thing that part of my loyalty lies, and it's with beer.
I may be a girl, but I'm the kind of girl who loves to drink. I drink with my girl friends (friends who I have known since I was like 5 years old) every week. And when I say every week, it's every freaking week! It's like a pact, but we never really talked about it. We just get together once or twice (even thrice) a week. Cold beer always comes in handy, ALWAYS. Aside from the kick we get, we swear by beer's flavor. Both combined and long, almost relentless yet fun, conversations are fueled.
All-You-Can-Eat Chocolate Diet?
March 1, 2013
There are diets that most, if not all, of us are accustomed to, and the Mediterranean diet chooses to go a different way. People in this diet can eat nuts and eggs to their heart’s content, and even chocolate! Provided it contains more than 50% cocoa. It allows them to have as much fish, seafood, low-fat cheese, and whole-grain cereals as they want.
If you are looking to follow this diet, you must also stick to having olive oil, which you use on salads as well as cooked veggies abundantly. Also, you must have at least two servings a day of vegetables, with at least one of those servings in the form of a salad, on top of at least three servings a day of fresh fruit.
Legumes, which include garbanzo beans, lentils, soybeans and peas, must be eaten at least three times a week. Additionally, you should eat fish or seafood three times a week, with at least one meal of a fatty fish like salmon, tuna or sardines.
Bite Someone’s Chocolate Head Off
February 22, 2013
Giving heart-shaped chocolates on Valentine’s Day is so last week. Well, that's certainly true, since it was last week.
But here's an interesting twist that comes out of Japan. We all know how high-end their technology can get. A Tokyo design firm offered up its 3D scanner to come up with miniature chocolate rip-off of faces.
KS Design Lab invited certain individuals to get scanned using its 3D body scanner to make silicon moulds in their heads’ shape. Participants then filled it with chocolate to come up with their own unique treat on a stick, mini-me style!
"I didn't actually think it would turn out to look this much like me, so I'm a bit surprised," said Mariya Kawae, 30, who wanted to send out mini heads to her husband and co-workers.
Luxury Chocolates in Developed Markets
February 8, 2013
Considering the chocolate-lovers phenomenon, it's no wonder why chocolate gift boxes make the perfect present for almost anybody. Experts have expressed that chocolate makers have to invest in luxury and premium chocolates in order to help sales boom in well-developed markets.
The global chocolate market is estimated to be around US$107 billion for 2012 according to Euromonitor data.
A senior foods analyst from Euromonitor International, Francisco Redruello, has stated that manufacturers in the developed markets have to focus on quality while increasing investment and innovation. The only possible exception to the quality focus would be in the U.S. and Germany where there's much greater price consciousness.
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Shots, Shots, Shots, Truffle Shots, Everybody!
February 1, 2013
When Sherri Athay was in a chocolate-making class, she remembered intricately making chocolate truffles only to discard the shell and eat the centers.
"I thought there must be a better way to get to the best part of the truffle, without all that work," she said. It was a light bulb moment after seeing a set of tall shot glasses while shopping with her daughter. Truffle shots!
After some years, they made the idea tangible. They came up with unique confections from a storefront in Essex, Connecticut, and worldwide from their website. Truffle Shots display what Sherri Athay considered as "good stuff" in a truffle, layered in a two-ounce shot glass.
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Chocolate Flavored Envelopes… Yum?
January 25, 2013
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and we all know that Valentine’s would be so bland without chocolate, well, at least to me.
Valentine cards also happen to be a big part of the celebration of love, but we’re not exactly thrilled about licking the envelopes we put those cards in. Imagine the horror of having to lick envelopes for a living, so my heart goes out to those who have to mail out sales letters for days on end. However, I believe the advent of Chocolate Flavored Envelopes will make things much more bearable for them.
Imagine, how much of a help this would be during the holidays when you put tons of cards into envelopes and have to taste the glue. It’s not exactly delightful. Too bad they’re only releasing them now, but who cares, right. All the ladies will dig it for sure, and of course, their male significant halves who have to do all the licking.
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