Chocolate is very good for your health, depending on the concentration of cacao powder. It contains many antioxidants. Cocoa powder is even higher, containing seven times the amount of antioxidants found in the beans. In addition, chocolate possesses a surprising number of other beneficial substances including cocoa butter (shown by French studies to counteract cholesterol), calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, riboflavin, theobromine and vitamins A through E. Of course, excessive consumption of chocolate (or any single food) is not a healthy practice whether or not it involves sugar, salt and saturated fat.
Chocolate originated in Peru, just as the potato. The history of this product is long and deep. Quality is optimal and processing has superior potential compared with rest of the world especially the Ivory coast. Chocolate processing requires patience to produce a non-bitter flavor.
Cacao trees originated in the Amazon. Mesoamericans cultivated cacao for thousands of years, and chocolate was important to both Mayan and Aztec culture. The Spanish introduced the treat from the Americas to the Old World — and added the sugar. Eventually, other European powers wanted in on the action, so they exported cacao trees to their colonies — which is how Africa ended up providing much of the cacao we eat in chocolate today.
But apparently, "some of the fine flavor material wasn't moved in the beginning," says Meinhardt. So the bulk beans grown in Africa represent just a small sampling of the many flavors of cacao. Or as connoisseurs might argue, it's not the really good stuff.
The world's germplasm banks — collections of genetic material that the chocolate industry relies on to preserve cultivars — aren't much help, either. Meinhardt says, "There's not a lot of diversity in the collections." Meinhardt and his colleagues from ARS aim to change that. So they teamed up with Peru's Instituto de Cultivos Tropicales to document the genetic bounty of wild cacao in the country's Amazon Basin. The haul from expeditions in 2008 and 2009 included 342 wild cacao specimens from 12 watersheds.
Like wine, cacao flavor is influenced by the region where it's grown. The researchers want to catalog Peru's "cacao varietals," analyze their DNA and identify the so-called flavor beans that premium chocolate makers covet. It's all part of an effort to help jump-start Peru's premium chocolate industry (and lure former coca farmers to cacao.)
The big question, of course, is what these chocolate discoveries taste like. Sadly for chocoholics, it will be several years before we get to find out. Cacao is a slow-growing tree; it takes at least five years for a tree to bear pods. So it will be a long while yet before the saplings now growing at a central collection spot in Tarapoto, Peru, yield enough beans to turn into chocolate.
It's possible the taste won't amount to more than a hill of cocoa beans. Then again, several years ago, the Amazon yielded up a wild cacao strain in Bolivia that Swiss chocolate maker Felchlin released in a limited edition bar called Cru Sauvage — or Wild Vintage — for about $60 a pound. Its flavor was apparently so arresting, it inspired one writer to journey into the heart of the Amazon in search of the man who helped bring it to market.
Cacao trees originated in the Amazon. Mesoamericans cultivated cacao for thousands of years, and chocolate was important to both Mayan and Aztec culture. The Spanish introduced the treat from the Americas to the Old World — and added the sugar. Eventually, other European powers wanted in on the action, so they exported cacao trees to their colonies — which is how Africa ended up providing much of the cacao we eat in chocolate today.
But apparently, "some of the fine flavor material wasn't moved in the beginning," says Meinhardt. So the bulk beans grown in Africa represent just a small sampling of the many flavors of cacao. Or as connoisseurs might argue, it's not the really good stuff.
The world's germplasm banks — collections of genetic material that the chocolate industry relies on to preserve cultivars — aren't much help, either. Meinhardt says, "There's not a lot of diversity in the collections." Meinhardt and his colleagues from ARS aim to change that. So they teamed up with Peru's Instituto de Cultivos Tropicales to document the genetic bounty of wild cacao in the country's Amazon Basin. The haul from expeditions in 2008 and 2009 included 342 wild cacao specimens from 12 watersheds.Like wine, cacao flavor is influenced by the region where it's grown. The researchers want to catalog Peru's "cacao varietals," analyze their DNA and identify the so-called flavor beans that premium chocolate makers covet. It's all part of an effort to help jump-start Peru's premium chocolate industry (and lure former coca farmers to cacao.)
The big question, of course, is what these chocolate discoveries taste like. Sadly for chocoholics, it will be several years before we get to find out. Cacao is a slow-growing tree; it takes at least five years for a tree to bear pods. So it will be a long while yet before the saplings now growing at a central collection spot in Tarapoto, Peru, yield enough beans to turn into chocolate.It's possible the taste won't amount to more than a hill of cocoa beans. Then again, several years ago, the Amazon yielded up a wild cacao strain in Bolivia that Swiss chocolate maker Felchlin released in a limited edition bar called Cru Sauvage — or Wild Vintage — for about $60 a pound. Its flavor was apparently so arresting, it inspired one writer to journey into the heart of the Amazon in search of the man who helped bring it to market.
Learn more for yourself by clicking on this link. You will discover an entire world of fun, excitement and flavor. Imagine the fun testing each of these exciting flavors...makes for exotic and heavenly adventure. Those interested should write me for samples. I have connections you know !!
http://www.peruvianchocolate.com/favorite-links.php
If you are similar to this person, chocolate may play a significant role in your life. There is ample proof of the use of chocolate. The first recorded evidence shows consumption of chocolate as a drink. Tombs containing royalty generally included a cocoa cup on the chest of the king or other royal figure. Chocolate played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies.
Peru has everything you would expect from an ancient and sophisticated South American civilization; fortunately for us, this includes some of the world's finest cocoa. The organic cocoa used is a blend of Trinitario and Criolla beans, best described as Ariba quality: that means the best of the very best! The cocoa from Peru comes from a cooperative made up of many tiny plantations in the San martin and Huanuco region to the east of the Andes in the tropical lowlands. That description just invites you to dive in and experience the mystery of Peru.
This chocolate contrasts interestingly to the 73% cocoa Dominican Republic chocolate, in that it has a distinctively fruity flavour with a hint of tropical flowers. No vanilla is added to this chocolate because of the naturally fruity overtones. This is a mild and natural rich chocolate which is simply brilliant! Great Taste Award 2010.
Lost in antiquity is the proof that the vanished Incas of Peru first "invented" chocolate, but there is little doubt that the Mayan Indians over 2,000 years ago created a beverage from ground cocoa beans blended with water, vanilla, black pepper and assorted spices. The liquid mixture was used during betrothal and wedding ceremonies, one of the first records of the association of chocolate and romance. It was also used for money.
Later, the Aztecs led by Montezuma II accumulated vast storehouses of cocoa beans, from which they made a drink called, "Cacahnuatt." In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez took some cocoa beans back to Spain where a similar drink was heated with sugar, probably the first known cup of hot cocoa. By the mid 1600's, the drink was praised as delicious and health-promoting and soon gained popularity in France, then on to London as the first hot chocolate shop opened there. Chocolate houses became common in England by the 1700's. Innovations continued. The steam engine soon mechanized cocoa bean grinding which reduced production costs, making chocolate affordable to most people. The first chocolate factory opened in this country in 1765 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A major step forward in appeal was begun when Swiss candymaker Daniel Peter first combined condensed milk with chocolate liquor ( a non-alcoholic product from crushed beans) yielding milk chocolate, one of today's mainstay confectionery products. Although begun in Switzerland, the milk chocolate process was perfected in England. Over the years, the naturally bitter chocolate has been variously altered and embellished to give us so many degrees and kinds of sweet chocolate.The processing can produce non bitter chocolate but costs increase in doing so.
CHOCOLATE MAKING, A PRECISE PROCESS:
God created the bean; man makes the chocolate. The miracle cacao bean originates from the tree botanically identified as Theobroma cacao which has three varieties: Criollo, sparingly produced but valued for its aroma, essential oils and complexity; Forastero, readily fruitful but with less distinctive beans; and Trinitario, a natural cross between the other two.
The commercial output of handmade chocolate products, usually at a higher price than lesser quality chocolate, is an exacting process necessitating scrupulous quality control by workers who care about the worth of the finished product. Chocolate is an emulsion with acute sensitivity to heat and moisture, requiring devoted attention and knowhow as art and science are melded. Each chocolate chef guards proprietary formulas of time intervals, temperature controls and varying proportions of ingredients. It all starts with the pod where the raw beans are extracted then dried.
After the dried beans are shipped to the foreign chocolate plants, they are cleaned and roasted, then shelled. Shattered first into nibs (large fragments), the beans are crushed between heavy steel disks (conching) where heat and grinding pressure liquefy the cocoa butter, producing a thick, dark paste(called chocolate liquor, then collected for the chocolate manufacturing process. This liquor is poured into molds where it solidifies into pressed cakes of unsweetened or bitter chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa is made by removing some of the cocoa butter, but eating-chocolate (dark, bittersweet or milk chocolate) is made by adding it. The added cocoa butter enhances flavor and makes the chocolate fluid; milk, sugar, vanilla and lecithin are usually added. HEALTH ISSUES:
"Dark chocolate and cocoa powder contain the most polyphenols that may have the protective effect against cancer and heart disease," says Carol Knight, Ph.D., vice president of Scientific Affairs for the Association. Dark chocolate contains four times the level of polyphenol antioxidants compared to kidney beans, for example, and is also comparable to other foods, such as black and green tea, red wine, apples, raisins, pinto beans and other vegetables. (A 41-gram chunk of chocolate-candy bar size-contains the same amount of phenols as a glass of red wine).
Purists know the beneficence of cocoa butter. It not only gives chocolate its uniquely smooth texture; despite its high saturated fat content it also does not raise cholesterol, apparently, because of the presence of stearic acid. Some low-grade chocolate concoctions, however, are potentially injurious. Chocolate blends use large amounts of sugar while substituting palm oil, shea nut butter or other vegetable or animal fat instead of cocoa butter. "Some even contains vanillin, a synthetic flavor chemically derived from wood chips," says Carol Anderson, researcher/writer for THE CALIFORNIAN. The "pre-melted" liquid chocolate, packaged in foil packets meant to replace a square of unsweetened chocolate, is not true chocolate but a combination of cocoa powder and vegetable oils. It doesn't taste the same as whole chocolate; nothing does. HARBOR SWEETS, EXEMPLARY CHOCOLATE CANDYMAKER. The melt-in-your-mouth quality of fine chocolate is achieved by adhering to time-honored recipes and unerring attention to the details of the handmade process.
Only a limited number of chocolatiers have the mix of attitude and performance which contributes to the production of superlative handmade chocolate. Such an example who ranks among the best in the nation is a specialty candymaker in Salem, Massachusetts: Harbor Sweets, founded by Ben Strohecker. (His factory is relatively small compared to the multi-product manufacturers who make a variety of items which often includes baker's chocolate, cocoa mix, chocolate syrup, pudding, frosting mix, candy, cakes, cookies, etc.).
Strohecker is the embodiment of Willy Wonka, making handmade chocolate candy since 1974 and selling it at luxury prices to customers who are pleased to pay it.
His specialty chocolates are Marblehead Mints (sweet dark chocolate flavored with peppermint), Barque Sarah ( milk chocolate and toasted almonds), Sweet Shells (dark chocolate spiced with orange), Sand Dollars (pecan halves wrapped in butter carmel and dark chocolate), Sweet Sloops (Strohecker's flagship candy of almond butter crunch), Periwinkles (smooth milk chocolate) and some peanut butter and milk chocolate blends. They constitute what is perhaps "the most expensive handmade chocolates in the world," says Strohecker. The old dictum of 'you get what you pay for,' applies. Ben Strohecker's stated philosophy is no mere public relations puffery but an actual working mechanism in his mind and the minds of his employees.Along with his new president/owner, Phyllis LeBlanc, the driving philosophy is "to serve the employees and customers, not stockholders," he says. The majority of his 140 employees work part-time (20 hours a week) "choosing which four-hour shifts best suit their personal schedules, as well as the particular job each would like to do-dipping, culling, wrapping or molding, for example. "Our only rule," he explains, "is if you're not having fun, you're fired." Surprisingly, Ben has no secrets from them. "The monthly profit/loss statements are posted next to our time clocks," he adds. "Trust is what runs Harbor Sweets."
LeBlanc started at Harbor Sweets over 21 years ago as a dipper while a student at Salem State College and persisted later as a Master's student while still working. Today, she works with Ben various hours each day, as he gives advice. Her continued emphasis on the highest quality, "using no artificial ingredients, no synthetic flavors and absolutely no shortcuts keeps Harbor Sweets' chocolates in the very expensive category, priced by the piece rather than by weight," she explains. LeBlanc perpetuates Strohecker's belief that if you care about your customers getting their money's worth with genuinely luscious chocolates, you will care about the precise steps in the process to achieve that goal, and you will care about your employees. It will all fall in place.
Eating a chocolate dessert or a piece of chocolate candy might be considered a relatively trivial act in a society struggling with a number of unsolved social, political and economic problems, yet it is more civilized than indulgent in a not-quite-civilized world. Silly Willy Wonka, to think that the product of the cacao tree could influence the course of human happiness. But it does....in its own proportionate way, nothing quite compares to the pleasure of chocolate.
Cacao beans, used to make chocolate, are advocated as an alternative crop to coca, used to make cocaine. In the country that ranks second in the harvest of coca, the plant whose leaves are used in the production of cocaine, the idea to get Peruvian farmers to plant alternative crops is not new.
Traditionally, the idea has been met with criticism -- why would growers switch to crops that bring less income, economists ask -- but may have finally found a foothold in Peru, thanks to the success of a growing industry in cacao beans, used in the production of chocolate.
Read all about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate
