Chocolate University Online Blog
According to the USDA website, www.usda.gov, chocolate and cocoa powder contain “hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids…..antioxidants are thought to be effective in helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke.”
How do anti-oxidants help us? “Anti”-oxidants counteract the negative effects of oxidation on our bodies. Oxidation damages cells and tissues. What is oxidation, you ask?
 Here’s a simple example that you’re familiar with. Think of a slice of apple turning brown shortly after you cut it. This is discoloring demonstrates the damage that oxidation causes on the cells of the apple. If instead of leaving the slice out in the open air, you dip immediately in some lemon juice, the brown oxidative damage slows w-a-y down. In this case the lemon juice is the antioxidant.
Our bodies are naturally good at fighting oxidation but it becomes more difficult as we grow older. Eating foods high in antioxidants can give our aging bodies a boost. Research has shown that red and purple colored fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, but chocolate and cocoa are among the highest in antioxidant power!
Researchers measure the effectiveness of foods containing antioxidants. Here is a handy chart of the top five foods packing a punch.
| Foods High in Antioxidants |
ORAC Score* |
| Unprocessed Cacao Bean |
26,000 |
| Goji Berries |
25,300 |
| Acai Berries |
18,000 |
| Dark Chocolate |
13,120 |
| Black Raspberries |
7,700 |
* Note that numbers will vary based on sample and other factors, but generally the order remains the same.
By the way, milk chocolate comes in a little lower, with an ORAC score of 6,740.
Some studies suggest that we should eat between 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units a day, while the average person only takes in about 1,200 ORAC units per day.
You know what that means, don’t you? EAT MORE CHOCOLATE. You don’t have to tell me twice!
Categories: chocolate education
Tags: antioxidants, cocoa, dark chocolate, healthy chocolate, milk chocolate, research
 I was recently introduced to of Seattle Reign a coffee from North Star Fine Coffees. This morning I sipped a delicious brew of the coffee and quietly ate my chocolate donut, trying to get some work done.
At one point I was rolling the two around my mouth at the same time, coffee and chocolate, chocolate and coffee… Then I experienced a new flavor emerge as I swallowed.
This got me thinking about chocolate and coffee pairings!
I grabbed the first chocolate I could find in my drawer (we all have a secret stash of chocolate nearby, right?) and pulled out a mostly Ecuadorian blend of 73% cacao dark chocolate. I let my coffee cool down just a bit so that I could better taste its subtle flavors.
First, I enjoyed the aroma of the chocolate, identified some familiar flavors and then took a bite. I allowed the chocolate to coat my mouth and took in the smooth texture.
As the chocolate melted, the flavors really exploded. Ecuadorian chocolate has one of my favorite flavor profiles. It is fruity, with a hint of nut, and the finish is intensely chocolate and astringent on the tongue.
Next, I smelled the coffee and identified as many flavors as I could just before taking a sip. Seattle Reign is a gem of a coffee with rich flavors of roasted chocolate, mixed with mild earthy and nutty notes.
The chocolate and coffee blended very well and introduced me to a new level of flavor complexity. I really enjoyed this pairing.
Since I am not as familiar with the flavor profiles of coffees as I am with chocolates, I will need to do some more research and some more pairings. That means spending more mornings drinking coffee and eating chocolate.
Oh darn. 
Categories: chocolate pairings, fine foods & beverages
Tags: chocolate and coffee, coffee, dark chocolate, tasting
It has been a while since I had Cheerios for breakfast. For me, Cheerios was the cereal I fed my toddler to keep him quiet in church, not something I was interested in eating for breakfast. What got my attention recently is the new Chocolate Cheerios.
 According to the Cheerios website, Chocolate Cheerios is “a perfect balance of whole grain goodness and a delicious touch of chocolate taste in every bite.”
I am a fan of whole grain goodness, but I am even more a fan of chocolate!
Chocolate cheerios is delicious. I prefer it in milk as the chocolate flavor is more pronounced, but a handful of the dry cereal makes a great snack at the office. In addition to the chocolaty flavor, there are only 9 grams of sugar per serving.
The cheerios are coated in cocoa processed with alkali. What does that mean?
Cocoa powder is made when chocolate liquor (made from ground up cocoa beans) is pressed to remove most of the cocoa butter. The cocoa solids that remain are processed to make a fine unsweetened powder. There are two types of cocoa powder: natural and processed with alkali, also called Dutched cocoa.
Dutch-Processed or Alkalized Processed Cocoa Powder is treated with an alkali to neutralize its acids. The result of this process turns the cocoa powder a deeper, darker color and provides a more well- rounded, less bitter chocolate flavor.
Dutched cocoa has many applications. And, now with Chocolate Cheerios, there’s another.
Categories: chocolate education, chocolate review
Tags: chocolate cereal, cocoa, dutched cocoa, grocery product
 Back in 1909 Walter Baker & Co., Ltd. published a little book called Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes By Miss Parloa and Home Made Candy Recipes By Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill.
The staff here at Chocolate University Online have created a special 100th anniversary edition of this book and released it in a PDF download format.
In addition to the original text and 138 recipes, the book contains an all new introduction by CUO staff. We also took each of the pictures and moved them to the same page as their corresponding recipes. It’s much more convenient to see the picture right there rather than looking at various photo pages to get an idea of the finished product.
Furthermore, we added a great new alphabetical index. Now if you know the name of the recipe you’ll be able to find it quickly. That makes the book much friendlier than the original which, quite uselessly, listed all recipes in page number order.
The new version is for sale and immediate download at our Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes page. Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes, fun chocolate facts, shameless self promotion
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate candy, chocolate dessert, chocolate history, hot chocolate, nostalgia
I dislike grocery shopping. Yet, once in a while, I do have brief feelings of enjoyment when I discover something unexpected.
During my most recent trip to the store I found myself downright giddy. My thrill came from a new addition in the candy/chocolate aisle – a line of chocolate bars from Valrhona. It was like finding gemstones among rocks.
Valrhona is known as a top leader in the world of chocolate, Le Grand Chocolat. They were founded in 1922 in France. They have a reputation for supplying the finest chocolate ingredients to restaurants, bakeries, and chocolate shops.
Their retail chocolate bars are made exclusively from Grand Cru chocolates. Grand Cru, usually used in reference to wine, is a term in the chocolate industry which means the cacao beans come from specific plantations famous for their distinctive flavor characteristics.
The bar I especially enjoy is the Grand Cru Manjari with Orange. This chocolate originates in Madagascar and offers “a fresh, acidic, sharp bouquet with red fruit notes.” The natural terroir, another adopted wine term, of this chocolate (fruity and tangy notes) blends nicely with the “citrus sweetness of orange comfit.”
Yes, it does taste as good as it sounds! I bought mine for $4.49 at the nearby Pick ‘N Save grocery store. The price is twice as much compared to the surrounding chocolate bars, but a bargain in my eyes. This is top of line deliciousness!
Shopping for groceries may not be so bad after all. Next time I go, I will reward myself with a Grand Cru Caraïbe with hazelnuts!
Categories: chocolate review
Tags: chocolate bars, chocolate companies, favorite chocolate, flavors, grocery product
|
