Fact or Fiction:
Chocolate is high in caffeine.
Fact: Despite public perception, milk chocolate contains relatively small amounts of caffeine – about the same as a cup of decaffeinated coffee. However, chocolate also contains theobromine, a relative of caffeine. Theobromine is much less powerful than caffeine.
Chocolate causes acne
Fact: Despite decades of teenage angst, studies dating as far back as 1960 show no link between eating chocolate and getting acne. The Journal of the American Medical Association, after reviewing extensive research on chocolate and acne, stated “diet plays no role in acne treatment in most patients… even large amounts of chocolate have not clinically exacerbated acne
Chocolate causes hyperactivity
Fact: Blame the clown. Birthday parties cause hyperactivity – not the chocolate that’s served. Studies that specifically tested chocolate failed to show any relationship between eating it and hyperactive behavior in children. It is believed the high-stimulus environment in which sugary foods are eaten, such as a birthday party, is what affects behavior.
Chocolate causes migraines
Fact: Chocolate has long been targeted as the trigger for migraines and headaches but studies have failed to show any correlation. No relationship has been found even in those migraine sufferers who believed themselves sensitive to chocolate
Chocolate causes tooth decay
Fact: Forget everything your mother ever told you about how eating too many chocolates will give you cavities. Scientists now believe the length of time food stays in your mouth, not its sugar content, is what causes cavities. Chocolate leaves your mouth relatively quickly- it’s the things that get stuck in there that are the problem, like crackers, cookies or dried fruit. Studies suggest that dark chocolate and cocoa may actually be good for dental health because flavanol antioxidants and other compounds in cocoa and chocolate slow the build-up of plaque.
People crave chocolate as if they have a biological need for it
Fact: A chocolate craving is really just a desire for pleasure, and has no physiological cause. In one study, people who reportedly craved chocolate were given cocoa, which contains all of the compounds and nutrients believed to cause chocolate cravings. However, their “cravings” were only satisfied by pieces of white and milk chocolates, which contain far fewer of these compounds. This indicates that people may have a strong desire for the taste and mouthfeel of chocolate, but this desire is not connected to a physiological dependency.
An allergy to chocolate is common
Fact: Chocolate is not a typical food allergen. Of the approximately one to two percent of American adults and five to eight percent of children that have a true food allergy, 90 percent are allergic to either milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish or shellfish. Depending on the type of chocolate, one or more of these ingredients could be present in a chocolate product. Read labels carefully.
Chocolate and cocoa naturally contain copper, magnesium and potassium, which are vital for good health. One average dark chocolate bar provides nearly 12 percent of your daily requirement for magnesium, which may be important for people at risk of several chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
About Chocolate
Chocolate is a product of the cacao bean (also known as a cocoa bean) which grows in pod-like fruits on tropical cacao trees.
Ground up and roasted, cacao beans are the all-natural raw material for the chocolate we love. Most of the chocolate we eat has its roots in Africa, which generates about 70% of the world’s cacao beans.
Top Cacao Countries:
- The West African country of Côte d’Ivoire alone produces some 1.4 million tons of beans a year.
- Ghana is the world’s second largest producer with over 600,000 tons per year.
- Other top cacao-growing countries include Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador, Togo, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.
- Cacao beans are grown also in other Latin American countries and the Caribbean, but their share of the market is smaller.
Chocolate’s flavor depends mainly on the kinds of cacao beans used to make it. Cacao beans vary widely from country to country and sometimes even from farm to farm.
How Chocolate Is Made
Hundreds of pounds of fermented and dried cacao beans bundled in burlap sacks arrive at factories around the world everyday, ready to be turned into fine bars and cocoa powder. Over a period of about one to three days, the bean is transformed from tropical seed into treasured chocolate.
Roasting
After being cleaned, the cacao beans pass to the first critical step in flavor development at the factory: roasting. There are two main approaches to roasting: roast the beans for a short time at high heat, which produces a strong chocolate flavor but eliminates any subtle, floral notes and risks the development of charred flavors from over-roasting, or roast the beans for a long time at low heat, which allows the more delicate flavors to come through but sacrifices the big, chocolate flavor.
Winnowing — Getting Rid of the Shells
After roasting, the beans are put through a winnowing machine which removes the outer husks or shells, leaving behind the roasted beans, now called nibs.
Milling — Making Cocoa Liquor
The nibs are then ground into a thick liquid called chocolate liquor, which essentially is cocoa solids suspended in cocoa butter. Despite its name, chocolate liquor contains no alcohol.
Pressing — Cocoa Powder and Cocoa Butter
The processing now goes in a couple of different directions. Some batches of chocolate liquor are pressed to extract the cocoa butter, which leaves a solid mass behind that is pulverized into cocoa powder. The remaining cocoa butter is reserved to help in chocolate-making.
Other batches of chocolate liquor are used directly to make chocolate.
The Beginnings of Chocolate
To make dark chocolate, chocolate liquor, sugar and other minor ingredients such as vanilla are mixed together and kneaded until well blended.
To make milk chocolate, milk and sugar are mixed together and then blended with chocolate liquor. This sweet combination of ingredients is stirred until the flavors are thoroughly combined
Refining — Smoothing It All Out
After being mixed, both dark and milk chocolates go through the same process. The mixture travels through a series of heavy rollers which press the ingredients until the mixture is refined to a dry flake. Additional cocoa butter and a small amount of emulsifying agent are added to the flake and then mixed to make a smooth paste ready for “conching.
Conching — Kneading for Exquisite Flavor
Conching further develops flavor by putting chocolate through a kneading process. The conches, as the machines are known, have heavy rollers that plow back and forth through the chocolate mass anywhere from a few hours to up to seven days.
Tempering — Temperature Magic For A Perfect Product
The mixture is then tempered, or passed through a heating, cooling and reheating process. Tempering allows you to solidify chocolate in a way that keeps it glossy, causes it to break with a distinctive snap and allows it to melt smoothly in your mouth.
Moulding — We’re Getting Closer
The mixture is then poured into moulds and cooled in a cooling chamber.
Finally — Something We Can Eat!
Once cooled, the chocolate is demoulded, packaged for distribution and is ready for savoring.
The Difference
Cacao: pronounced Ka-Kow. Refers to the tree, its pods and the beans inside.
Cocoa: pronounced Koh-Koh. Refers to two by-products of the cacao bean – cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Both are extracted from the bean when it is processed in the factory.
Understanding The Label
Often you will see packages labeled now with “% cacao.” What that refers to is the percentage of cacao bean solids present in the bar. There is an inverse relationship between the percentage of cacao in a bar and the amount of sugar. So:
• A 75% cacao bar has 25% sugar.
• A 65% cacao bar has 35% sugar.
• The higher the % cacao, the less sweet
the bar and the stronger the
chocolate taste.
Fun Facts
Before the 1970s there were hardly any recipes containing white chocolate.
US chocolate manufacturers use 3.5 million lbs of whole milk to make chocolate every day.
Cocoa butter melts at just below human body temperature – that is why it melts in your mouth.
The biggest bar of chocolate every created was made it Italy in 2000. It weighed more than 5000 lbs.
Aztec Indians believed chocolate to be an aphrodisiac.
The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other nation on earth. That’s 22 pounds each compared to 11 pounds per person in the United States
More Fun Facts
1. Chocolate is one of the most popular foods around and is highly unlikely to ever go out of fashion.
2. The word ‘Chocolate’ comes from the Aztec word, ‘cacahuatl’ or ‘xocolatl’. This means ‘bitter water’.
3. Chocolate is derived from Cocoa Beans. It was Cacao originally, but became Cocoa as a result of misspelling.
4. Cocoa Trees require warm, moist climates and are largely found in West Africa – Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The scientific term for the Cocoa Tree is ‘Theobroma Cacao’. This is the Greek term for ‘Food for the Gods’.
5. Cocoa Trees produce pods and each pod contains about 20 to 50 Cocoa Beans. There are different varieties of Cocoa Beans with different flavors, and, just like different grapes are used to make different wines, different Cocoa Beans are used to make different kinds of Chocolates. Cocoa Beans are fermented, dried, roasted, and ground before being used to produce chocolate.
6. The Mayans and Aztecs believed that the Cocoa Beans originated from Paradise and would bring wisdom and power to anyone consuming them.
7. The Aztecs mixed Chocolate with Chilies, Cornmeal, and Hallucinogenic Mushroom. It was a bitter brew!
8. The precious Cocoa Beans were used as a currency and as a unit of calculation in the Mayan and Aztec Cultures.
9. Emperor Montezuma of Mexico partook a Chocolate drink before entering his harem. This gave rise to the notion of Chocolate having aphrodisiac properties. The Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova was another fellow who subscribed to this notion. There is some truth to the idea though, since Chocolate contains hundreds of chemicals including the feel-good stimulants – Caffeine, Theobromine, and Phenyethylamine.
10. However the amount of Caffeine in Chocolate is very little – about 5 to 10 milligrams of caffeine in one ounce of bittersweet chocolate, 5 milligrams in milk chocolate, and 10 milligrams in a six-ounce cup of cocoa. Compare this to 100-150 milligrams found in a cup of coffee.
11. Theobromine helps boost low blood-sugar levels and another chemical, Chromium, helps to control blood sugar.
12. Theobromine, however, is highly toxic to dogs, cats, and other household pets. It overstimulates their cardiac and nervous systems, and can cause instant death.
13. For humans though, Chocolate is a wonderful energy source. Napoleon supposedly carried along Chocolate on his military campaigns, and always ate it to restore energy. Nowadays Sports-persons are often given Chocolate energy bars after sporting activities to restore carbohydrates.
14. Even though Chocolate is high in fat, it does not appear to raise blood cholesterol.
15. Despite the popular, lingering myth, Chocolate does not cause acne. Acne is usually due to an improper diet or a hormone imbalance.
16. Also, contrary to another popular myth, Chocolates are not responsible for causing headaches. Headaches, again, have different reasons – stress, hunger, irregular sleep patterns, and hormone changes.
17. Allergies to chocolate are very uncommon.
17. Cocoa butter, which is the fat extract from roasted and crushed Cocoa Beans, is often used as a massage cream.
18. It is also used to make White, Caffeine-less Chocolate.
19. Cocoa Beans were first brought to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors in 1528.
20. Chocolate soon became very popular and was taken as a sweet drink with sugar and vanilla.
21. Henri Nestle of Switzerland was the first to create Milk Chocolate by adding condensed milk to the mixture when making chocolate bars.
22. Rudolphe Lindt of Switzerland in 1879 was the first to develop a method to give Chocolate a smooth consistency.
23. Chocolate has over 500 flavor components. This is double the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.
24. Chocolate is a great economy booster. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages approximately 600,000 tons per year. Consumers worldwide spend more than $20 billion a year on Chocolate.
25. Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, “Psycho”. This scene, which is of 45 seconds, actually took 7 days to shoot.
Cadbury’s in England produced the first ever bar of chocolate in 1842.
And here are even some more fun chocolate facts:
65% of Americans prefer milk chocolate to plain chocolate or white chocolate.
52% of Americans prefer chocolate to any other flavor. Vanilla and berry tie at 2nd place.
60% of Americans claim to have given boxed chocolates as a winter holiday gift.
63% of Americans buy chocolate for themselves when buying it for someone else.
40% of women and 15% of men regularly crave chocolate but it is not physically addictive.
51% choose a chocolate from a selection box depending on its shape.
40% of the almonds and 25% of the peanuts produced in the United States are used in chocolate production.
Tempering chocolate
Tempering chocolate is the technique used to stabilize good quality chocolate through a melting and cooling process so the chocolate will set firm and shiny at room temperature.
For white and milk chocolate: Heat to 116 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit; cool to 80 degrees Fahrenheit; reheat to 85 to 87 degrees Fahrenheit.
For dark chocolate: Heat to 118 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; cool to 80 degrees Fahrenheit; reheat to 88 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit.
Good Coulverture Chocolate temper to 105 than to 90
White Chocolate
By definition, white chocolate is not actually chocolate. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, a product of the cocoa bean that is also used to produce chocolate. The cocoa butter, which does have a faint chocolate flavor is combined with milk, sugar and often other flavoring ingredients such as vanilla in order to create the creamy confection known as white chocolate.
In order to be labeled chocolate (as defined in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration) a product must also contain cocoa solids from chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is not alcohol. Rather, it is the thick liquid produced when fermented, dried and roasted cocoa beans are shelled, then ground. This ground up inner bean is known as chocolate liquor and is the key ingredient in all of the chocolates on the market except for white chocolate.
When the chocolate liquor is pressed, the fat can be removed from it. This fat is called cocoa butter, and it is the primary ingredient in white chocolate. In plain chocolate, the cocoa butter is reblended with the cocoa solids from the separation process in order to make unsweetened chocolate. It may also be sweetened and blended with additional ingredients such as milk to make the chocolate confection we commonly eat. However, with white chocolate the cocoa butter is not reunited with the cocoa powder. Instead, sugar and milk are added to create the final treat. Since the caffeine in chocolate is found in the cocoa solids and not the cocoa butter, white chocolate does not contain any caffeine.
Just like regular chocolate, white chocolate is then heated, cooled and processed to attain the desired consistency, texture and sheen. This processing is known as conching and tempering. The final product may then be placed into molds in order to attain the final shape in which the chocolate will be marketed. White chocolate has gained popularity in recent years and is often used in baking and candy making, either alone or in conjunction with other chocolates. Since the creamy white color and the mellow flavor of white chocolate provide a nice contrast to other chocolates, they are often paired for both visual appeal and flavor.
White chocolate chips can be found routinely next to the semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips in the grocery store baking aisles. Gourmet treats such as chocolate dipped strawberries are regularly available in white chocolate varieties.
Since white chocolate labels are not currently standardized, some manufacturers market products that do not even contain cocoa butter as white chocolate. Usually, these candies contain vegetable oil and lack the rich and creamy flavor that “real” white chocolate boasts. It is important to check package labels to ensure you purchase the best white chocolate since both product types may be labeled similarly.
The cocoa butter used to make white chocolate is a very stable fat and has a long lifespan without spoiling. It contains several natural antioxidants and it has a shelf life of several years. It is also used in products other than chocolate and white chocolate, such as soaps, moisturizers and other skin care products.
Milk Chocolate
Pure chocolate liquor is turned into baker’s chocolate, which you may be familiar with. If you have ever bitten into a piece of baker’s chocolate, you also know that it is extremely bitter, due to the alkaloids in chocolate. Therefore, chocolate liquor is often mixed with sugar and other ingredients to make candy bars and other sweet chocolate products.
Typical milk chocolate includes 10% chocolate liquor, along with an additional percentage of pure cocoa solids; in Europe, milk chocolate must contain at least 25% cocoa solids. Around 12% of milk chocolate contains milk solids, and another 3.7% is composed of milkfat. Sugar and vanilla are also added to make milk chocolate creamy and to enhance the flavor. Either condensed or powdered milk may be used, depending on the manufacturer.
Chocolate is a popular ingredient and is available in many types. Different forms and flavours of chocolate are produced by varying the quantities of the different ingredients. Other flavours can be obtained by varying the time and temperature when roasting the beans. Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate, mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavour. With the addition of sugar, however, it is used as the base for cakes, brownies, confections, and cookies.
Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to cacao. It is chocolate without milk as an additive. It is sometimes called “plain chocolate”. The U.S. Government has no definition for dark chocolate, only “sweet chocolate”, which requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. Sweet chocolate is not necessarily dark chocolate as there is no restriction of milk in it. European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.[2]
Milk chocolate is chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added. The U.S. Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids.[2] In the 1870s, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter invented the process of solidifying milk chocolate using condensed milk, which was invented by Henri Nestlé in the 1800′s.[3]
Hershey process milk chocolate, invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company , is able to be produced more economically, by being less sensitive to freshness of the milk. Although the process is still a trade secret, experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, “tangy” taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.[3]
Semisweet chocolate is often used for cooking purposes. It is a dark chocolate with a low (typically half) sugar content.
Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as ‘couverture’ (chocolate that contains at least 32 percent cocoa butter); many brands now print on the package the percentage of cocoa (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter) contained. The rule is that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate will be. The American FDA classifies chocolate as either “bittersweet” or “semisweet” that contain at least 35% cacao (either cacao solids or butter from the cacao beans).[4]
Couverture is a term used for chocolates rich in cocoa butter. Popular brands of couverture used by professional pastry chefs and often sold in gourmet and specialty food stores include: Valrhona, Felchlin, Lindt & Sprüngli, Scharffen Berger, Cacao Barry, Callebaut, and Guittard. These chocolates contain a high percentage of cocoa (sometimes 70% or more) and have a total fat content of 30-40%.
White chocolate is a confection based on sugar and fat (either cocoa butter or vegetable oils) without the cocoa solids. Technically white chocolate is not chocolate, because of the lack of cocoa solids.
Cocoa powder: There are two types of unsweetened baking cocoa available: natural cocoa (like the sort produced by Hershey’s and Nestlé using the Broma process), and Dutch-process cocoa (such as the Hershey’s European Style Cocoa and the Droste brand). Both are made by pulverising partially defatted chocolate liquor and removing nearly all the cocoa butter. Natural cocoa is light in colour and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavour. Natural cocoa is commonly used in recipes which call for baking soda. Because baking soda is an alkali, combining it with natural cocoa creates a leavening action that allows the batter to rise during baking.
Dutch-process cocoa is processed with alkali to neutralise its natural acidity. Dutch cocoa is slightly milder in taste, with a deeper and warmer colour than natural cocoa. Dutch-process cocoa is frequently used for chocolate drinks such as hot chocolate due to its ease in blending with liquids. Unfortunately, Dutch processing destroys most of the flavonoids present in cocoa.
Compound chocolate is the technical term for a confection combining cocoa with vegetable fat, usually tropical fats and/or hydrogenated fats, as a replacement for cocoa butter. It is primarily used for candy bar coatings, but because it does not contain cocoa butter, in the US it is not allowed to be called “chocolate.” This is especially true for much candy passed as “white chocolate” , which need not contain anything from the cacao bush at all. This can translate to poor taste, texture and possibly health concerns, particularly when partially hydrogenated oils are used to replace cacao butter.
Tags: desserts
