Delicious Facts about Chocolate

Nothing wraps its way around the tongue like a rich, bitter/sweet chocolate. It is one of the great pleasures of life celebrated across the world. It finds its way into the best ice creams, biscuits and cakes. It is a favorite in top New York restaurants as much as grocery stores across the land,

It is also a substance surrounded by myth and mystery with all kinds of strange effects and miraculous powers assigned to it. It has been used as a stimulant, an aphrodisiac, a medicine and it is said to make horses run faster.

Here are a few of the true facts about chocolate- they are remarkable enough to fascinate without any embroidery.

The History of Chocolate

• Chocolate has been consumed by human beings for over 3000 years.
• It comes from the cacao plant that is native to Central America.
• The Mayans, Toltecs and Aztecs used it as a currency and occasionally went to war over it. If you are interested in early exchange rates-one turkey cost 100 cacao beans and one fresh avocado was worth 3 beans.
• The plant is short and hates direct sun so is usually grown under larger trees like coconut or banana. A double blessing!
• The name xocolātl was the Central American name for the chocolate drink made from cacao and means bitter water. Often it was flavored with peppers.
• When first taken to Europe by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, it quickly became the favored drink of the aristocracy and was wildly expensive. To meet demand, the Spanish enslaved whole populations of Native Central Americans to grow it.
• In England, chocolate was taken up by professionals and merchants and the first chocolate house opened in London in 1657. It was said to promote conversation and liberate the imagination. Strangely, dreams of rivers of chocolate and houses made of chocolate linger to this day.

Chocolate as we Know it Now

For the first 2,500 years of its use, chocolate was consumed as a drink, often combined with hot spices. Once it had reached Europe, many different recipes were developed but it was only in the nineteenth century that the technology (powerful presses to crush and extract cocoa butter) was developed to make solid chocolate bars. Their popularity has never declined and probably never will.

Making Dark, Milk and White Chocolate

The seeds of the cacao plant need to be fermented to bring out the taste then partially dried and pressed. When pressed, the fatty part of the seed is extracted as cocoa butter. What remains is cocoa paste which becomes cocoa powder when completely dry.

• Dark chocolate is made from cocoa paste + cocoa butter + sugar
• Milk chocolate is made from the cocoa paste + cocoa butter + sugar + milk powder
• White chocolate contains: only cocoa butter + sugar + milk powder. The cocoa powder is left out.

This is only a small part of the story, of course. Top quality chocolates contain different varieties of cacao seed mixed together in secret recipes and flavored with many different spices, including a Mayan favorite, vanilla.

Most countries regulate what forms of candy can be called chocolate by specifying the concentration of cocoa powder or chocolate liquor. In America, chocolate must have at least, a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor. In Europe cocoa solids must make up 35% of chocolate. What is called chocolate in the UK would be called 'vegolate' in Europe because it has too much vegetable oil and too little cocoa.

Health Benefits Of Chocolate

The medical professional will always argue over what is good for you and what is not. There is wide agreement, though, that chocolate is beneficial in small quantities. Its nutritional qualities are excellent and it contains some of the most important minerals and vitamins that human beings need.

• There is also a high concentration of antioxidants in chocolate helping to protect arteries from damage.
• Regular consumption of dark chocolate reduces the risk of heart attacks.
• The fat content of chocolate does not raise the level of cholesterol in the human blood stream.
• It helps to ease coughs and respiratory problems, including asthma.
• It increases serotonin levels in the brain and promotes feelings of well being. One study found that eating chocolate produces brain activity similar to a passionate kiss but more intense. The myth that chocolate is an aphrodisiac may have more than a grain of truth!
• A substance called theobromine present in chocolate is widely seen as a stimulant in human beings. This might explain why Mayans used it to combat fatigue. The same substance is banned for race horses where its stimulant properties are very powerful (and were once very profitable for race horse owners).
• Of course, for real fans, the main health benefit of chocolate is that it just makes life so much more worth living!

Chocolate Myths

Chocolate makes you fat:

A quality chocolate bar has no more calories than an apple or a slice of bread. Cheaper chocolate with high sugar and fat levels, eaten in large quantities will contribute to obesity, of course. Life is unfair.

Chocolate causes Constipation:

This is completely untrue.Tannins in chocolate stimulate the contraction of smooth muscle cells in the intestinal wall, thus promoting peristalsis (the movement of the food through the intestine). Also, 100 gms of dark chocolate contains about 15 grams of total dietary fiber! Chocolate is a food that promotes bowel movements and not constipation.

Chocolate promotes acne:

Acne is caused by obstruction of sebaceous glands. There is no known connection to chocolate consumption.

Chocolate causes Headaches

Extensive testing (some of it by myself) has never demonstrated this to be true.

Chocolate is Addictive

Some people may eat a lot more chocolate than is good for them but there are no addictive chemicals in chocolate. It is just that ever-seductive taste.

One Final Fact about Chocolate

While chocolate might make race horses may run faster and humans swoon with pure pleasure, it is actually poisonous to dogs. So, sadly, they should miss out on this treat. I am relieved to have this excuse not to share my chocolate with my greedy, furry friends.