Since childhood, there is only one name on all lips of the human world ........... Chocolate. The very name is so sweet that I can bet most of us must already be imagining the time when we shall next get to relish its taste.
I love chocolate in all its forms - pastry, cake , bar , éclair , ice cream , waffle , milkshake , cookies and whatever else possible way ! to this extent that I have even tried chocolate chilli cake and trust me it is marvellous...even if you don't trust me , it is worth a try guys.
So , I decided today how about I discuss something about this heavenly pleasure to the entire human existence.
Cocoa , the mother fruit of our favourite grows on the cacao trees ( Theobroma cacao) in most of western coast of Africa ( ivory coast). it had originated in the America and we can trace it back to around 1900 BC. it had been originally used as a drink.
the whole pod of the cocoa is slit with a huge knife and the pulp ( it has an awesome sour sweet taste , if you ever get to taste it . I know because once the cocoa tree in my farm in Karnataka had laid its fruit . that was the first and the last time I had tasted the pulp of the chocolate fruit .) and the bean are separated. the bean is roasted and supplied to factories to make chocolate out of it.
lets know about the different types of chocolate that exist :
milk chocolate - It is the most commonly eaten chocolate ,favourite among the little ones for its lovely sweet taste. it was first developed by in 1875 by a swiss confectioner ,Daniel Peter in association with Henri Nestle who supplied him his own invention , condensed milk which was mixed with cocoa solids and chocolate liquor. Hershey's is the leading chocolate selling brand in the United States of America while Cadbury's dominates the chocolate market in the United Kingdom.
white chocolate - it is not actually a chocolate but due to the presence of cocoa butter , we call it so . it consists of condensed milk and sugar besides cocoa butter. nevertheless , with or without cocoa , it is as tasty as its name describes it to be. also it has a very attractive ivory white colour.
dark chocolate- ie plain chocolate it is made from pure cocoa solids having all the fat content coming from cocoa butter instead of milk. it has a natural bitter sweet taste , an attribute to mature personas. it has been noted to have several health benefits especially for heart patients .
compound chocolate- it is a solidified form of sweetened cocoa solids along with vegetable fats. it is used in confectionaries and bakeries to make chocolate products like pastries , chocolate icing , donuts, waffles etc....
cocoa powder- it is the powdered form of cocoa beans used for drinking chocolate and for introducing chocolate flavour in cakes and cookies....
ruby chocolate - it is a new type of chocolate invented in 2004 by Barie Callebaut. it has an unusual sweet but sour flavour . it is made from red cocoa bean and has a red colour.( P.S. if you would like to try it out then KitKat has launched it in many countries , unfortunately not in India .)
MEDICAL BENEFITS OF CHOCOLATE.
If you buy quality dark chocolate ( not milk or mix variety) with a high cocoa content, then it is actually quite nutritious.
It contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals.
A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70–85% cocoa contains :
11 grams of fiber
67% of the RDI for iron
58% of the RDI for magnesium
89% of the RDI for copper
98% of the RDI for manganese
It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium
( RDI - reference daily intake)
Of course, 100 grams (3.5 ounces) is a fairly large amount and not something you should be consuming daily. All these nutrients also come with 600 calories and moderate amounts of sugar.
For this reason, dark chocolate is best consumed in moderation.
The fatty acid profile of cocoa and dark chocolate is also excellent. The fats are mostly saturated and monounsaturated, with small amounts of polyunsaturated fat.
It also contains stimulants like caffeine and theobromine, but is unlikely to keep you awake at night as the amount of caffeine is very small compared to coffee.
Cocoa and dark chocolate have a wide variety of powerful antioxidants. In fact, they have way more than most other foods.
the bioactive compounds in cocoa may improve blood flow in the arteries and cause a small but statistically significant decrease in blood pressure.
Dark chocolate improves several important risk factors for disease. It lowers the susceptibility of LDL( low density lipoprotein commonly known as good cholesterol) to oxidative damage while increasing HDL( high density lipoprotein) and improving insulin sensitivity.
Observational studies show a drastic reduction in heart disease risk among those who consume the most chocolate.
Studies show that the flavanols from cocoa can improve blood flow to the skin and protect it from sun damage.
Cocoa or dark chocolate may improve brain function by increasing blood flow. It also contains stimulants like caffeine and theobromine.
CREDIT for information on health benefits of chocolate :Kris Gunnars -https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate
credit for all images : google devta..
I hope you all enjoyed reading this small bit of sweetness as much as I did while writing it.
white chocolate - it is not actually a chocolate but due to the presence of cocoa butter , we call it so . it consists of condensed milk and sugar besides cocoa butter. nevertheless , with or without cocoa , it is as tasty as its name describes it to be. also it has a very attractive ivory white colour.
( P.S. if you would like to try it out then KitKat has launched it in many countries , unfortunately not in India .)
Nice and very informative, keep writing.
ReplyDeleteOh hi aditi thank you
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