cHoCoLaTe....... yuMMyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chocolate has been called an antidepressant, tonifier, stimulant, euphoriant, and even aphrodisiac.
What is chocolate in reality?
Chocolate is a mixture of cocoa paste, cocoa butter, and sugar. Nowadays, we know its precise chemical composition. It is considered as a complimentary food, since all three organic substances exist (although not well balanced): carbohydrates (starch, diverse sugars), fats (cocoa butter), and vegetable proteins. Minerals can also be found in chocolate: potassium and magnesium in large amounts, calcium and sodium in small amounts, and iron in trace amounts. Chocolate also contains vitamins A1, B1, B2, D, and E.
History of chocolate
The history of chocolate is almost as interesting as the confection itself. In its native South America, chocolate was prepared in drinks reserved for royalty and high ranking members of society. When European explorers visited, they were introduced to chocolate, and upon bringing the food back to Europe, it became a big hit. Eventually, Europeans started exploring with their chocolate, adding sugar and other ingredients and ultimately developing a process which would allow them to make bars in addition to chocolate drinks. With the development of bar chocolate, confectioners realized that chocolate had a wide range of possibilities, from candy bar coating to truffles, and the once rare luxury turned into an extremely profitable global industry.
Making of chocolates
Making chocolate is a time consuming process. Cacao plants are grown on plantation
s in South America, where the plant is native, and in parts of Africa. There are actually several varieties of cacao plant, all of which produce chocolates with slightly different flavours, and the flavour is also impacted by where the chocolate is grown, how it is handled after harvest, and how it is processed. Chocolate companies invest a great deal of money in developing ideal blends of cacao beans to create the flavours their consumers are used to.Cacao beans grow in large pods which are harvested once they ripen and then allowed to ferment. Initially, the cacao beans are extremely bitter; the fermentation process softens the bitterness, allowing producers to move on the next steps, roasting and hulling. Roasting helps to develop the flavour of the beans, while shelling exposes the cacao nibs, the portion of the bean which has the entire flavour.Once press cake has been created, producers have a number of options. To make cocoa, they can squeeze the press cake even more to isolate the cocoa solids before allowing it to dry and then pulverizing it. They can also blend some of the cocoa butter back in, along with sugar and other ingredients, to produce eating chocolate, which is subjected to a process called conching to create a smooth, creamy confection without any traces of grittiness. Eating chocolate can also be adulterated with milk, creating milk chocolate, and the level of sweetness can vary widely. For white, chocolate cocoa butter is mixed with vanilla and milk.
Making chocolate today
Today’s chocolate production results from process and manufacturing technology improvements made over many years. The traditional way of manufacturing chocolate is to take the beans [from the cacao pod] and ferment them after harvesting to remove the bitterness. They are then thoroughly dried. Next they are roasted to expose the inside, which is called the nib. Various bean nibs are blended together to obtain the flavour desired and then ground up. The resulting paste, called cocoa mass is the heart and soul of chocolate’s flavour. The cocoa mass is enhanced with sugar, bars were actually marketed about 1850 by an Englishman, Joseph Fry. Of course we all know chocolate is an “international food” and now we are beginning to see why. Everyone helped make it what it is today. In the mid 19th century (about 1879) the Swiss chemist, Henri Nestle & Rodolphe Lint [also Swiss] develop a process called “conching”, a procedure that enhances both texture and flavour. The result was a smooth chocolate, replacing the rough and grainy products made up to then. Swiss chocolate became the world standard for the chocolate bar then and there. Conching is both a lengthy and costly procedure. Today some chocolate is made [of inferior quality] where the cocoa butter is replaced with a synthetic substitute, and “conching” replaced with the addition of soy lecithin[for smoothness]. The good news is that by law, a product that is madewithout cocoa butter, cannot be labelled as chocolate.
High energy in tiny squares
Considering its ingredients, chocolate has exceptional nutritional qualities. It is, therefore, a high-energy food in relatively small volume; athletic people are among those who eat chocolate regularly , since it offers rapidly available energy. It is considered a food for effort whether intellectual or physical. What, however, is accurate concerning its other attributed mentioned above?
The benefits of chocolate
The pharmaco-dynamic substances (those whose action is similar to medications) found in chocolate are responsible for its reputation concerning its abilities. Four of these such substances can be found in chocolate: theobromine, caffeine, phenylethylamine, and serotonin. They appear in a negligible quantity, but each in infinitely small quantities plays an important role. Theobromine stimulates the central nervous system, facilitates muscular efforts, as well as having diuretic and cardiotonic action. It is an orexigan (appetite stimulator). Caffeine increases resistance towards fatigue, favorises intellectual activity, and increases watchfulness. Concerning phenylethylamine, it has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines and therefore contains psycho-stimulating properties. Serotonin, on the other hand, is a neurotransmitter (substance freed by the nerve endings) in the cerebral cortex--its quantity is often found to be lower during certain nervous depression states. The serotonin found in chocolate helps correct its initial loss. Likewise, the caffeine and saccharose stimulate the body's stimulation of serotonin. Finally, due to the pleasure it offers, chocolate stimulates endorphin secretion thus procuring naturally the same effects as opium. With this description of chocolate's chemical composition, it's never-ending list of vertues are easily explained.
Chocolate is a mixture of cocoa paste, cocoa butter, and sugar. Nowadays, we know its precise chemical composition. It is considered as a complimentary food, since all three organic substances exist (although not well balanced): carbohydrates (starch, diverse sugars), fats (cocoa butter), and vegetable proteins. Minerals can also be found in chocolate: potassium and magnesium in large amounts, calcium and sodium in small amounts, and iron in trace amounts. Chocolate also contains vitamins A1, B1, B2, D, and E.
History of chocolate
The history of chocolate is almost as interesting as the confection itself. In its native South America, chocolate was prepared in drinks reserved for royalty and high ranking members of society. When European explorers visited, they were introduced to chocolate, and upon bringing the food back to Europe, it became a big hit. Eventually, Europeans started exploring with their chocolate, adding sugar and other ingredients and ultimately developing a process which would allow them to make bars in addition to chocolate drinks. With the development of bar chocolate, confectioners realized that chocolate had a wide range of possibilities, from candy bar coating to truffles, and the once rare luxury turned into an extremely profitable global industry.
Making of chocolates
Making chocolate is a time consuming process. Cacao plants are grown on plantation
s in South America, where the plant is native, and in parts of Africa. There are actually several varieties of cacao plant, all of which produce chocolates with slightly different flavours, and the flavour is also impacted by where the chocolate is grown, how it is handled after harvest, and how it is processed. Chocolate companies invest a great deal of money in developing ideal blends of cacao beans to create the flavours their consumers are used to.Cacao beans grow in large pods which are harvested once they ripen and then allowed to ferment. Initially, the cacao beans are extremely bitter; the fermentation process softens the bitterness, allowing producers to move on the next steps, roasting and hulling. Roasting helps to develop the flavour of the beans, while shelling exposes the cacao nibs, the portion of the bean which has the entire flavour.Once press cake has been created, producers have a number of options. To make cocoa, they can squeeze the press cake even more to isolate the cocoa solids before allowing it to dry and then pulverizing it. They can also blend some of the cocoa butter back in, along with sugar and other ingredients, to produce eating chocolate, which is subjected to a process called conching to create a smooth, creamy confection without any traces of grittiness. Eating chocolate can also be adulterated with milk, creating milk chocolate, and the level of sweetness can vary widely. For white, chocolate cocoa butter is mixed with vanilla and milk.Making chocolate today
Today’s chocolate production results from process and manufacturing technology improvements made over many years. The traditional way of manufacturing chocolate is to take the beans [from the cacao pod] and ferment them after harvesting to remove the bitterness. They are then thoroughly dried. Next they are roasted to expose the inside, which is called the nib. Various bean nibs are blended together to obtain the flavour desired and then ground up. The resulting paste, called cocoa mass is the heart and soul of chocolate’s flavour. The cocoa mass is enhanced with sugar, bars were actually marketed about 1850 by an Englishman, Joseph Fry. Of course we all know chocolate is an “international food” and now we are beginning to see why. Everyone helped make it what it is today. In the mid 19th century (about 1879) the Swiss chemist, Henri Nestle & Rodolphe Lint [also Swiss] develop a process called “conching”, a procedure that enhances both texture and flavour. The result was a smooth chocolate, replacing the rough and grainy products made up to then. Swiss chocolate became the world standard for the chocolate bar then and there. Conching is both a lengthy and costly procedure. Today some chocolate is made [of inferior quality] where the cocoa butter is replaced with a synthetic substitute, and “conching” replaced with the addition of soy lecithin[for smoothness]. The good news is that by law, a product that is madewithout cocoa butter, cannot be labelled as chocolate.
High energy in tiny squares
Considering its ingredients, chocolate has exceptional nutritional qualities. It is, therefore, a high-energy food in relatively small volume; athletic people are among those who eat chocolate regularly , since it offers rapidly available energy. It is considered a food for effort whether intellectual or physical. What, however, is accurate concerning its other attributed mentioned above?
The benefits of chocolate
The pharmaco-dynamic substances (those whose action is similar to medications) found in chocolate are responsible for its reputation concerning its abilities. Four of these such substances can be found in chocolate: theobromine, caffeine, phenylethylamine, and serotonin. They appear in a negligible quantity, but each in infinitely small quantities plays an important role. Theobromine stimulates the central nervous system, facilitates muscular efforts, as well as having diuretic and cardiotonic action. It is an orexigan (appetite stimulator). Caffeine increases resistance towards fatigue, favorises intellectual activity, and increases watchfulness. Concerning phenylethylamine, it has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines and therefore contains psycho-stimulating properties. Serotonin, on the other hand, is a neurotransmitter (substance freed by the nerve endings) in the cerebral cortex--its quantity is often found to be lower during certain nervous depression states. The serotonin found in chocolate helps correct its initial loss. Likewise, the caffeine and saccharose stimulate the body's stimulation of serotonin. Finally, due to the pleasure it offers, chocolate stimulates endorphin secretion thus procuring naturally the same effects as opium. With this description of chocolate's chemical composition, it's never-ending list of vertues are easily explained.
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