Yep, that’s right, an aroma like brownies baking in an oven.  I use cocoa bean shells for mulch and it is true that when it gets wet, it smells delightfully like chocolate.

As the name indicates, cocoa shell mulch is made from the shell of the cocoa bean.  These shells come off the bean either during or just prior to the roasting process.  The shells are cleaned and packaged for sale as mulch.

Cocoa mulch retains moisture very well and is an excellent protector and insulator for the root systems of plants and shrubs.  It lasts longer than regular mulch, smells great and darkens with age.

When shell mulch breaks down, it becomes nutrient rich humus.  It is particularly suited for acid-loving plants.  My beautiful lavender-pink Rhododendron thanks me every year.

Possibly the only down side is that its not dog-friendly.  I don’t own a dog, so I don’t have any direct experience with this, but I have read that dogs are attracted to the chocolate smell and may try to eat the cocoa shells. 

Chocolate is dangerous to dogs if they eat it, but there is not enough of the chemical (theobromine) in the shell to cause as serious an injury as a piece of chocolate.  If the shells are eaten, the dog may get an upset stomach or an increase in the heart rate.  Still, something to think about if you have dog-owning neighbors you want to keep happy!

If there are no dog concerns then pour on the cocoa bean shells.  You’ll have the best smelling landscape in your neighborhood.

Like chocolate, for instance.

Chocolate and romance go together. 

Throughout history, people have believed chocolate to be an aphrodisiac.  It is said that Montezuma drank chocolate to increase his amorous energy and stamina. From ancient Mexico to Europe and then to America, this legend spread across the globe and survived the centuries as a powerful love potion.

Chocolate is a complex food and scientists try to unlock its secrets. When eaten, it changes human behavior, especially in women. Chocolate contains two substances called Phenylethylamine and Seratonin.  These are responsible for lifting one’s mood and making us experience feelings of well being, love and happiness.

When Phenylethylamine and Seratonin are released into the body, they can produce arousing effects and give us instant energy.  No wonder chocolate has gained a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Women are more susceptible to the effects of Phenylethylamine and Seratonin than men.

Still, the debate continues as to whether or not there is scientific evidence proving chocolate as an aphrodisiac.  Sure, there are chemicals in chocolate that makes us “feel good” but so does the act of eating the chocolate because it TASTES good.  And I, for one, feel good when I receive chocolate as a gift.  It gives me feelings of being loved.

There is no doubt about one thing – chocolate and romance do go together.

Enjoy some chocolate this Valentines Day!

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 Store page.  Enjoy!

She said I did a great job pointing out the reasons to fall in love with gourmet chocolate, but that sometimes she just wants a big handful of M&Ms.  She wondered if something was wrong with her.

Perhaps there are many things wrong with her, but I don’t think craving M&M’s is one of them!    A large part of enjoying chocolate involves memories of our early chocolate experiences.  Children as young as age 9-11 start to prefer chocolate over other candy.

(Some of my early chocolate memories don’t involve Hershey bars or M&M’s so maybe that is why I don’t reach for them when I have a chocolate craving.  My Dad introduced me to Marshall Field’s Frango™ Mints and Dark Chocolate Covered Orange Peel at an early age.  Thank you, Dad!)

If you crave mass-produced candy bars you are not alone.  The top ten most popular chocolate bars in the U.S. (based on sales in US Dollars) are:

1. Snickers
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
3. Kit Kat
4. Butterfinger
5. Milky Way
6. 3 Musketeers
7. Baby Ruth
8. M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies
9. Oh Henry
10. Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar

Snickers tops the list with over 2 BILLION dollars in global annual sales!

Sometimes our past favorites are not made anymore.  Do you remember any of these candy bars?

1. Bar None
2. Caravelle Bar
3. Chocolate Babies
4. Chocolate Cow
5. Chocolite
6. Forever Yours
7. Rally Bar
8. Marathon
9. Mars Bar
10. Milkshake Candy Bar
11. Nestle Alpine White Bar
12. PBMax Candy Bar
13. Peanut Butter No Jelly Bar
14. Seven-Up Bar
15. Willie Wonka Oompas

I will always recommend you choose fine premium chocolate over the vending machine candy bar.  But, if you need a trip down memory lane, I say go for it.  And after you have satisfied that urge, promise me you’ll take a moment and enjoy a fresh chocolate truffle or a rich butter cream.

While there is no one particular person who invented chocolate, most experts believe the ancient Maya discovered the delicious secrets of chocolate between 250-900 A.D.

They learned how to harvest cacao (the fruit/pod of the Cacao tree), then ferment, roast, and grind the seeds found within.  The Maya used liquid chocolate in their religious and social lives.  The seeds (cocoa beans) were considered to be very valuable and were often used as currency.

Ancient chocolate was very different from the chocolate we know today.  The ground cacao seeds were mixed with water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and spices to form a paste.  Then they used the paste to make a frothy, spicy chocolate drink.  The drink was unsweetened.

Chocolate was first brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortez.

Christopher Columbus is believed to be the first to bring cacao seeds to Europe when he returned from his fourth voyage to the new world (landed on the island of Guanaja off the coast of Honduras) in 1502.

In 1519 Cortéz reached Mexico City and was received by Montezuma, the Aztec emperor.  Cortéz recognized the value of the cacao bean, he drank the chocolate, and learned its formula.

When he returned to Spain he presented the beans as a gift to King Charles V. He also brought back the knowledge of how to make the chocolate beverage. Later, monasteries were designated as storehouses of the beans, and monks were charged with making the chocolate drink.

It is believed that the Aztecs drank their chocolate cold.  In Spain in the 1500’s, purveyors of the drink served it hot.

Around 1830, a solid form of chocolate was developed by a British chocolate maker named Joseph Fry.  He called it “eating chocolate.”  In 1847, the Fry’s chocolate factory molded the first ever chocolate bar that was suitable for widespread consumption. 

Thus it was the Fry family who first brought chocolate to the masses in a form most recognizable today (though having had today’s chocolates you probably wouldn’t like their earlier version).  Others have since refined their processes and formulas to give us the variety of wonderful options we have now.

Fudge is a treat anytime of year, but for me, it is especially meaningful during the holidays. 

As a child, I remember my mother and grandmother walking around the house stirring, and stirring, and stirring that bowl of fudge.  Sometime they would pause to watch TV, I suppose to prevent boredom, stirring all the while.

Fudge is an American invention.  There are several stories about how fudge first came to exist.  Most food historians agree that fudge was invented in the late 1800’s.  At least one story claims that fudge was the result of a batch of caramels gone wrong and the name came from the exclamation, “Oh fudge!”  Before becoming “fudge”, it first may have been called “Divinity” because it tasted “divine.” 

Crystal formation is the key to making great fudge.  It is the super small crystals of sugar in fudge that give fudge a firm but smooth texture.  Forming crystals at just the right time and in just the right size is the secret to successful fudge.  When the crystals are small enough, they won’t feel grainy in your mouth.

Making non-grainy fudge is all in the cooling and stirring.  A typical recipe will require you to heat the ingredients and then cool undisturbed until a certain temperature is reached.  If you disturb the fudge during this time you risk the formation of large crystals of sugar and thus a grainy fudge.

When the fudge has cooled, you must begin proper crystal formation.  Here is where the stirring comes in.  You start to stir, and keep stirring, until the fudge becomes thick.  The more you stir, the more crystals you get; lots and lots of tiny crystals.  You should end up with a firm, smooth fudge.

When your finished stirring, your arm feels like it’s about to fall off.  Yeah, but s-o-o-o worth the sacrifice!

White chocolate is a blend of cocoa butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla.  There is no chocolate liquor (chocolate solids) present, so, can you really call it chocolate?  Perhaps not.

However, there is a legal definition for white chocolate to separate it from other “white stuff,” so perhaps yes.

According to U.S. regulations, white chocolate needs to be at least 20% cocoa butter and at least 14% total milk solids.

Beware – there are white chocolate look-a-likes out there!

If white chocolate doesn’t contain cocoa butter then it is made with a vegetable fat like partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil.  A product containing this type of fat is called white confectionery coating and cannot be called white chocolate.  White confectionery coating can also be called white almond bark or white candy coating.

I think white chocolate looks and tastes remarkably different than white confectionery.  Compare these two items sometime, side by side, and you’ll understand what I mean. 

Look at the difference.  The first thing you will notice is that white chocolate looks pale yellow when compared to white confectionery.  This color difference is due to the cocoa butter which is naturally more yellow in color than other vegetable oils.

Taste the difference.  The cocoa butter in white chocolate provides a subtle, but distinct “chocolate” flavor which is lacking in white confectionery coating.  More often than not, white confectionery coatings are sweeter and less milky tasting than white chocolate.

Now that you know the difference, which do you prefer?

Why is the cake called Devil’s Food?

Folk lore says that a group of Pilgrims that lived next door to a Chocolate House in Amsterdam in the late 1600’s, witnessed chocolate house patrons cavorting and making merry while they consumed chocolate.  The Pilgrims were convinced that chocolate was made from the devil.  They named chocolate “Devil’s Food.”   Later on, when dark chocolate cake gained in popularity, it was named Devil’s Food Cake for its sinfully delicious nature.

Devil’s food cake is moist, airy, and rich.  It is multi-layered and covered in lots of thick chocolate frosting.  Yum!

There are different variations of Devil’s Food cake such as Red Velvet, Red Devil, Waldorf Astoria Cake, and $100 Dollar Cake.

Red velvet cake has a more pronounced red color because the high concentration of baking soda caused a reddening of the cocoa powder when baked.  Today, red food coloring is sometimes used. 

Feeling a craving for Devil’s Food cake?  Here is a good recipe:

By the way, there is a National Devil’s Food Cake Day!  It is May 19.

If you enjoy baking cakes here’s a chocolate cake recipe book that might interest you.  It is published by Frances Moore of Painless Cooking.

By the way, the Devil’s Food Cake recipe above is not from this book.

For access to Frances time-proven recipes visit the Chocolate Cakes Recipes page.

You might think, “there’s nothing confusing about chocolate — you buy it, you eat it!“  The reality is, the chocolate world has its own lingo, with terms and definitions that apply to the tasting of chocolate, the baking and cooking of chocolate, and the making of chocolate confections. 

To help you keep it all straight, here is a list of some common chocolate vocabulary along with their definitions…

Cocoa bean (or nib):
The cocoa bean is the seed from the pod, or fruit, of the chocolate tree — Theobroma cacao.  The cocoa bean has a shell surrounding it.  When it is removed, the nib, or the center, is revealed.  The nib is typically roasted and then crushed into chocolate liquor.

Baking chocolate (or chocolate liquor):
Baking chocolate is made from finely ground and roasted cocoa beans.  There is no sugar in baking chocolate.

Cocoa butter:
The fat present in cocoa beans is called cocoa butter.  The term “butter” does not mean that cocoa butter is a dairy product.

Cocoa powder:
Cocoa powder comes from removing the cocoa butter from the nib and then grinding the remaining solids into a powder.  The terms cocoa and cocoa powder can be used interchangeably.

Bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate:
Bittersweet chocolate must contain at least 35% chocolate liquor and only cocoa butter as a fat, according to U.S. Standards of Identity.  Both bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate terms can be used interchangeably.

Milk chocolate:
The most commonly consumed form of chocolate is milk chocolate.  Milk chocolate must contain a minimum of 10% chocolate liquor and at least 12% milk solids.  Milk fat and cocoa butter are the only fats that can be used.

White chocolate:
White chocolate is a blend of cocoa butter, milk, and sugar.  There are no chocolate solids present, which is why it lacks the typical brown color of chocolate.  U.S. regulations requires white chocolate to contain at least 20% (by weight) cocoa butter and at least 14% total milk solids.

Dutch processed chocolate:
This process darkens the color of the chocolate and releases a milder chocolate flavor.  The chocolate liquor or cocoa solids are treated with an alkaline solution.  The terms “dutched” or “alkalized” are listed on the ingredient statement for products sold in the U.S.

Chocolate flavored coating (or confectionary coating):
Chocolate that is made using a blend of vegetable fats either in addition to or other than cocoa butter.  Chocolate flavored coatings are similar in color to “real” chocolate coatings but taste very different and usually do not need to be tempered.  These coatings that contain vegetable fats cannot legally be called “chocolate” in the US.

Here are some examples:

• January 16 — National Fig Newton Day
• February 7 — National Fettuccine Alfredo Day
• March 23 — National Chip and Dip Day
• April 6 — National Caramel Popcorn Day
• May 7 — National Roast Leg of Lamb Day

And so on…

That all sounds real good, but as a lover of all things chocolate, a subset of the master list fits my style better:

• National Chocolate Mint Day — February 19
• National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day — March 24
• National Chocolate Chip Day — May 15
• National Chocolate Ice Cream Day — June 7
• National Chocolate Eclair Day — June 22
• National Chocolate Pudding Day — June 26
• National Milk Chocolate Day — July 28
• National Chocolate Milkshake Day — September 12
• National Chocolate Day — October 28
• National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day — November 7
• National Chocolate Covered Anything Day — December 16
• National Chocolate Day — December 28
• National Chocolate Day — December 29

As I write this blog, October 28 is coming up fast – National Chocolate Day. Notice, there is not one, but THREE National Chocolate Days.  That’s more days than the number of national days set aside for Christmas.  Of course, you may like to recognize the Twelve Days of Christmas.  In that case three National Chocolate Days comes in second.

Take another look at the list and you’ll see this doesn’t even count Valentine’s Day, Easter, Sweetest Day, or Halloween – four more holidays that often result in the giving and consumption of chocolate!

Do you want a clever and unique idea on how to celebrate National Chocolate Day?  Give the gift of chocolate lessons.  As a student of Chocolate University Online, you or your special someone will receive a chocolate lesson filled with facts and fun EACH WEEK for 40 weeks, spanning across many chocolate holidays!   That’s even more excitement than the 12 Days of Christmas!