One food that most people, no matter how young or old can usually agree is delicious, is chocolate. Otherwise known as the “food of the gods”, chocolate is good in the summer in the form of Ice cream, it’s great in the winter as hot chocolate. It comes in many forms, so just about any palette can appreciate it in some form. It comes in creamy white, sweet and milky milk chocolate, and several varieties of dark, ranging from semi-sweet to unsweetened baking chocolate. Very few foods have such die-hard fans as chocolate. Many people display their affections in the form of buttons that read “Gimme chocolate and nobody gets hurt” to fridge magnets reading “Chocolate is not a matter of life and death, it’s more important than that!” These little mantras assure us that for many people, chocolate is serious business, and you may lose a limb if you get in the way of their chocolaty treats. It’s a versatile food that can be used in sweet and savory dishes, or just eaten in one of its many forms with a smile.
Chocolate is made from the Cacao bean. Cacao is a tree native to South America of which the seeds are the source of Cocoa and chocolate. Botanists believe that cacao trees grew in the Amazon, but the use of the Cacao for cooking purposes didn’t begin until it reached Mexico over about 3,000 years ago. Cacao beans were very valuable in Ancient Mexico, and the Mayan, Aztec and Toltec used them as currency. They realized when they threw the cacao seeds on a fire, it smelled very tantalizing, which convinced them to experiment with the seed, crushing them between stones to grind them into a creamy paste. The first time chocolate was made into a solid food is believed to be in Mexico in the 1700’s. Two British companies, Cadbury, and Fry and Sons began to make chocolate confections in the 1840’s. 1871 was a big year for American chocoholics, when the nineteen year old Milton Hershey founded his company in Pensylvania. Americans have chosen chocolate over vanilla in taste tests for a long time. In the year 2000, 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate were eaten in the United States. In the year 1861, Richard Cadbury came up with the idea for the first heart-shaped box of chocolates that is one of the most popular presents exchanged between love-birds around Valentine’s day. Americans eat an average of twenty-two pounds of candy each year, or about 2.8 billion pounds annually. When choosing a good chocolate bar, there are some things that you can inspect on your treat to ensure its utmost freshness. A good bar should look shiny and even, and it should smell like chocolate, not plastic or wax. A piece should snap off and leave a few traces of crumb. Bendy chocolate, or chocolate with a dusty appearance may be old and not the best choice for an appetizing snack. Chocolate has a shelf life of about a year, and freezes very well, so there’s really no need to eat bad chocolate.
In addition to being a favorite food of so many, chocolate may have some health benefits too. Not all chocolate is created equal when it comes to health boosts though, it’s recommended that the chocolate contain at least 60 percent cocoa. Milk chocolate usually has about 15 % to 25 % cocoa, and dark has 50-80%. To get these health benefits, portion size is key. About 6 grams of dark chocolate a day, or about one square will provide these health benefits. Eating large amounts will cancel out the benefits, since it does contain a significant amount of fat in large amounts. *.Source Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-mchi/4927.html ) The flavonoids in dark chocolate have been associating cholesterol, as well as lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It contains a chemical known as phenylethylamine, which along with the sugar, fat and caffeine in chocolate releases serotonin and endorphins, two feel good chemicals. Chocolate does contain a small amount of caffeine, an 8 o.z. piece of dark chocolate or a 16 o.z. serving of milk chocolate has the equivalent of a cup of coffee.
Chocolate lovers are a vast majority of the people you see on the street every day, with their stashes of chocolaty goodness tucked away in their purses and desk drawers. It is at least a functional addiction, and unless you stab someone in the hand for reaching for your truffle, nobody usually gets hurt. There are so many fun recipes for chocolate, almost everyone I know has a favorite. Cookies, cakes, homemade hot chocolate, fudge, truffles, mole, there are quite possibly an infinite number of confections to be made from chocolate. One dessert recipe that always gets people debating whether or not to ask for my hand in marriage is the chocolate Pots de crème. While I have seen this recipe in many incantations, from complex to quite easy, I am a firm believer in the fact that a dessert needn’t be incredibly complex to be amazing. The following recipe is very easy to complete with just a candy thermometer and the desire to knock you friends socks off at your next potluck.
Chocolate Pots de crème Chocolate Pots de crème
-10 oz. good quality dark chocolate, such as Ghirardelli
-5 egg yolks
-1 cup heavy cream
-3/4 cup whole milk or half and half
-1 T. vanilla
-3/4 cup salt
-1/4 t. Salt
Directions: Chop the chocolate up into small pieces in a mixing bowl and set aside. Whisk the sugar, milk and cream, egg yolks and half of the vanilla in a sauce-pan. Turn heat on medium-low, and continue to whisk mixture until it reads 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. (mixture should coat a spoon) Pour through a wire strainer over the chopped chocolate. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk the mixture, and add the salt and rest of vanilla. Refridgerate in ramekins or serving cups for at least 2 hours. Serve garnished with freshly whipped cream if desired.
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