Chocolate University Online Blog
Chocolates are supposed to be smooth and glossy. However, there would be instances wherein you’ll observe white blemishes on them known as called chocolate “bloom.” It can indicate that the chocolate wasn’t stored properly.
Chocolate bloom is a sandy, white film that sometimes forms on the surface of chocolate. Although not pleasant to look at, it is actually a harmless defect. Bloom can be formed from cocoa butter or sugar that has risen to the surface.
There are basically two types of chocolate bloom: sugar bloom and fat bloom. Given that chocolate contains fat, a whitish gray material will form on the surface every time it is exposed to warm temperature for a stretch of time. The heat pulls the cocoa butter out of the chocolate, thus forming a white pattern on its surface.
Another cause could be too much humidity or cold temperature. If chocolates are stored in extremely humid or cold places such as the fridge and then suddenly get exposed to warm temperature, a sugar bloom can occur. It takes place since the chocolate’s surface will condense because of moisture. Sugar crystals will stay on the surface of the chocolate after the moisture has evaporated, leaving a white coating.
Although chocolate blooms don’t exactly look appealing, a certain chocolate would still be mighty fine to eat just as long as it’s pure and has no filling. A tiny amount of chocolate bloom will not mess with the taste but the texture will not be as smooth. Chocolate blooms are not toxic and after melting and cooking the chocolate, you’re good to go once again.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: bloom, chocolate appearance, chocolate facts, Chocolates
Cacao is cultivated mainly in the lands of Asia, Central and South America, as well as in West Africa. The largest cacao producing countries are Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia. Such countries account for a huge percentage of the total worldwide production of cacao.
During the beginning of 1970, growing of cacao was almost exclusively done in countries like Brazil and Nigeria as well as Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Today, the cultivation of cacao has widened its horizons and has reached certain areas like the Pacific region, in which you can observe remarkable growth rates in terms of producing cacao with countries such as Indonesia.
Despite the fact that cacao is mainly cultivated in developing countries, it’s principally the industrialized countries that have the most consumption of cacao. Those buyers in such industrialized countries are usually the ones who process and manufacture chocolate massively. Quite a number of multinational companies are the leading in the industry of both processing and manufacturing of chocolate. When you take into consideration all the information within the last decades, you will probably notice that a surplus of cacao production has always been present.
You will observe that the principal exporters of cacao tend to be the principal producers as well. In spite of the fact that certain countries such as Malaysia and Brazil are huge producers of cacao, it doesn’t necessarily imply that they are huge exporters as well because of their processing industry size that actually consumes the local production. For instance, in Latin America, the Dominican Republic basically exports more cacao as compared to Brazil.
It’s not every day that I get so academic like this, but it just pays to be informed most of the time. And when you’re a true blue chocoholic like you claim you are, you’ll probably know where I’m coming from! 
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: cacao farms, cacao plantations, chocolate manufacturing, chocolate production
Ed O’Brien, a researcher in social psychology at the University of Michigan, has written the paper. His idea indicates that our choices are remarkably relying on the moment associated with preference. And one especially critical instant would be the end of the experience.
According to O’Brien’s hypothesis, we are enticed by endings or last chances. He said: “I think in everyday life we do have this expectation that we save the best for last.”
“When people are given awareness that something is about to end, they’re kind of motivated to make the most of that experience,” he added.
Is this even applicable to something such as taking pleasure in the last piece of chocolate? As a means to verify the idea, O’Brien along with his team got into contact with 52 students on the University of Michigan campus and requested them to be involved in a taste test.
These students tried out a variety of Hershey’s Kisses from caramel to almond to dark chocolate. After which, they were asked to rate their most favorite.
“So we had a big bag of candy that was covered from the outside and you couldn’t see what was in it or how many [chocolates were there],” he states.
For some students, they weren’t given any hint that the fifth chocolate was actually the last one they would taste. In this case, the participants claimed that the last piece of chocolate they were able to taste was their favorite about 22% of the time.
However, another group of student had been informed that the fifth piece was going to be their “last.” And O’Brien suggests that this particular awareness about how the entire experience was ending somewhat compelled them to savor the chocolate more.
He said: “The majority of people [64 percent] chose it as their favorite even though we’d randomly distributed the flavors,” .
A series of research has indicated that the last things are always more powerful. Why, you may ask. They tend to be the freshest in our thoughts, that’s why. And O’Brien believes that the last-is-best disposition might stretch out to everything about romance and relationships.
Categories: chocolate in the news, fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate science, chocolate studies
In 1907, an exquisite brand-new candy was released, and it was called Hershey’s Kisses. Hershey’s Kisses is chocolate brand created by The Hershey Company. They are bite-sized and possess a unique shape, typically referred to as flat-bottomed teardrops.
33 million Hershey Kisses are produced in one day in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Curiously, the city was originally named Derry Church, Pennsylvania. It was renamed Hershey in 1906 (one year before the Kiss was developed) after the growing popularity of Hershey’s Chocolate.
Hershey’s Kisses are individually wrapped in small squares of lightweight aluminum foil which includes a thin strip of paper sticking out from the top. The reason behind its name is not precisely known, but theory has it that they were named after the machine that makes them which looks like lips.
Ever since it was launched, the wrapping process of Kisses has always been the exact same. The tiny flag sticking out of the candy was put in 1924. Currently, their machines could easily wrap around 1,300 of these treats in a minute.
The very first Kisses were wrapped exclusively in silver-colored foil during the earlier times. However, come 1962, colored foils made their way into the picture. This started off a trend over the following years to be able to complement just about any holiday. Red, green, and silver foils were made available during the Christmas season; pastel pink, blue and green foils to celebrate Easter; lastly red and silver foil to harmonize with Valentine’s Day.
Up until 1990, no enhancements were done to the chocolate itself. Now, Hershey’s franchise put almonds into the candies. They were instantly and popularly accepted and have never gone away. And they’ve added other variations since.
After more than a hundred years, Hershey’s Kisses continue to be a darling in the simple silver foil packaging. The sweet and smooth chocolate flavor has stayed pretty much pristine. They are widely known throughout the world and are recognized right away by practically anybody as one of the little pleasures in life.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate facts, chocolate history, Hershey Company, Hershey's Kisses
Valentine’s Day is many things to different people. It can be a shot at new beginnings, rekindling old flames, or a chance to show your special someone how you feel about them. To others, it can be a cold splash of reminder that they are alone on a supposedly lovey-dovey day. No matter what your expectations and reservations about Valentine’s Day are, you cannot deny the fact that chocolate is a staple during Valentine’s Day.
From the time of the Aztecs, chocolate has always been an effective gift. For a reason not fully known to man, it is, by some means, a magical way to say “I love you.” Chocolate is a lot more than just food. A quote from Patrick Skene Catling, the author of the children’s book entitled The Chocolate Touch, even says “Other things are just food. But chocolate’s chocolate.” True enough, even the scientific name of the tree which chocolate has been derived from, Theobroma cacao, translated from Greek, means “food of the gods.”
How come chocolate stirs up countless emotions and thoughts as well as attachments in us? It has always been linked to passion, romance, and love. This particular connection is traced back to the Aztecs. They had always reckoned chocolate as a great source of spiritual wisdom, extraordinary vitality along with heightened sexual strength. Chocolate had been traditionally used as a nuptial aid and was regarded as a commonplace during wedding ceremonies.
The establishment of Valentine’s Day in 496 A.D. by Pope Galasius I, every 14th of February, served as being one particular day when lovers show their fascination with the other person. It is typically expressed by means of giving romantic gifts to each other, thus setting off the actual desire for Valentine chocolate.
We have witnessed a consistently escalating necessity for Valentine’s chocolate in the market. As the demand for it gets bigger, the manufacturing of the majority of high-quality Valentine’s chocolate has been constantly cutthroat. They certainly get better with time. They differ from taste, texture, color, smell, shape, as well as presentation. Valentine’s chocolates generally come in fancy and heart-shaped boxes, but some can be creative.
Chocolate as a Valentine’s gift may be a dated, old-fashioned, and uncreative way to express emotions to some. But to others, chocolate always works magic. Happy Valentine’s Day! 
Categories: chocolate in the news, fun chocolate facts
Tags: aztecs, chocolate celebrations, chocolate gifts, chocolate holidays, holidays, Valentine's Day
Suffice it to say, chocolate is all the rage this time of the year since it’s already Valentine’s Day next week. Chocolates have always had a track record of being a delectable treat yet considered as a no-no food, especially with the figure-conscious. In the present day, studies have revealed that chocolate turns out to have a handful of nutritional benefits and is not conclusively a food taboo.
Regardless of the fact that chocolate contains saturated fat, scientific studies indicate that consumption of chocolate does not have any influence on the level of cholesterol in your blood. This is possible for the reason that not every saturated fat is the same. The fat found in chocolate is derived from cocoa butter, the natural fat present in cocoa beans.
More or less, 36% of cocoa bean fat is deemed “good fat”, be it monosaturated or polyunsaturated fat, and oleic acid accounts for the biggest percentage. Among the saturated fat that cocoa butter contains, more than 50% stems from stearic acid. Stearic acid is proven in a number of studies to have a fairly neutral influence over cholesterol in the blood.
The key reason may very well be that stearic acid is converted from a saturated fat to an unsaturated fat after being metabolized in the liver. Numerous studies have shown that cocoa is one of the richest sources of stearic acid in the food that we usually eat. You can easily get about 500 mg of stearic acid by consuming a bar of chocolate. On the other hand, a dietary supplement generally consists of between 1% – 2% stearic acid or 10 mg – 20 mg of stearic acid for every capsule, or 1000 mg to 2000 mg for each bottle, that’s between 20% – 40% of a chocolate bar for the whole bottle!
Stearic acid can also be commonly present in our typical food supply such as beef, chicken, fish, grains, eggs, butter, and certain dairy products. In meat, it can be 1/3 of the saturated fat. The average consumption of stearic acid in American women on a daily basis is 5700 mg, and 8400 mg in men.
Your chocolate cravings aren’t so bad after all. Just always remember to keep your chocolate intake at a moderate level and stick to dark chocolate as much as you possibly can.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate science, chocolate studies, health benefits, health problems
Chocolate, a native to Mexico, has been a staple there for centuries already. Initially, they enjoyed chocolate as a drink. They made variations og chocolate by incorporating different flavors and ingredients such as honey, spices, and nuts, among many others. The chocolate beverages they made did not have a sweet taste to them. Nevertheless, it was well-loved by the Aztec and Mayan royalty.
The Aztecs were whipping up and enjoying their hot chocolate drinks when the Spaniards arrived. They took the cacao beans along with them as they headed home, and started enhancing the flavors by adding milk and sugar. You can trace the roots of the hot chocolate drink recipe back to that. Shortly thereafter, chocolate became all the rage in European royal places. Special china pots and cups were produced, intended only for drinking hot chocolate. Nowadays, such kitchenware are considered as collectors’ items and can sell for a fortune if they come in a complete set.
  Hot chocolate drinks are still enjoyed by the people of Mexico today, and the rest of the world, for that matter. They prepare it with cinnamon and authentic Mexican chocolate. And if you have access to a disk of Mexican chocolate in local Latino markets, then your chocolate drink gets all the more authentic. Otherwise, just opt for unsweetened chocolate.
And among the things that make a real Mexican hot chocolate such a winner is the frothiness. In contemporary times, mixers or immersion blenders are utilized to create froth, but the authentic way to do so is by means of using a whisk called molinillo.
A molinillo is a wooden tool which was invented by the Spaniards in the 17th century in Mexico. The molinillo is held between the palms and rotated by rubbing the palms together. By doing so, you create froth in the drink. Molinillo’s are actually still available even in this day and age. You can look them up and buy them online.
But before anybody was able to come up with the idea of creating the molinillo, they used to create froth by pouring hot chocolate back and forth using two cups. This certain frothing process tends to make hot chocolate cool down, and you wouldn’t want your hot chocolate cold, do you?
Today, frothy chocolate is made using machines. But if authentic Mexican hot chocolate is your thing, a molinillo can always come in handy!
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: aztecs, chocolate drinks, chocolate facts, chocolate history, hot chocolate, mayans
Chocolate never fails to give an enjoyable experience, especially if you are enjoying quality chocolate. It provides rich and intricate flavors that vary from one chocolate to another.
Truth be told, the flavor components found in chocolate are more than those of red wine. You get the full experience in eating chocolate if you savor it by eating slowly. Every type of chocolate offers a different set of flavor profiles.
We know all too well that chocolate is derived from cacao beans, like wine comes from grapes. The flavors of the cacao beans are hugely affected by certain factors, namely geographical location, climate, conditions of the soil they’re planted into, the processes they undergo after being harvested, and their unique genotypes. And since there are a lot of factors that influence the flavor of a single chocolate bar, it’s crucial to taste meticulously to get the fullest flavor it can give.
And just like the unique characteristics of coffee and wine, chocolate is bursting in different complex and unique notes. The differences can bring about subtle distinctiveness in a particular chocolate. For example, cacao beans cultivated in the mountains yield a nutty flavor, while coastal Venezuelan beans give a dairy flavor. A lot of European or English milk chocolates give out a caramel flavor which is actually caused by the milk being caramelized.
Advances in chocolate-making today have reached the point of coming up with out of the ordinary flavors. You can even taste chilli in some chocolates. Other exotic notes include coconut, pineapple, cinnamon, and orchid, among many others.
When you do chocolate tasting, you also get to notice varying textures such as being buttery, sugary, and the like. The most common flavors you are likely to taste are nuts, herbals, and floral. These are specific to cacao beans, but some flavors are added by chocolate makers to somehow balance the mixture of chocolates, especially those of sweeter types like milk chocolate.
You may even read on the label that vanilla, or vanallin, is added into certain bars of chocolate. Vanilla is known to balance certain blends and by some means intensify or deepen the flavors present in chocolate. Some chocolate makers even drop in a teeny weeny bit of salt, especially to milk chocolate.
If ever chocolate tasting tweaks your fancy, you’re always free to come up with your own descriptions of chocolate. Eat your heart out as you scrutinize the distinct flavors of chocolate!
And review these other resources at Chocolate University Online:
2 minute chocolate tasting interview (video)
basic chocolate tasting
Of course, for the full chocolate tasting experience, become a student at here at CUO. The first 10 weeks of study are all about chocolate tasting.
Categories: chocolate education, fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate facts, flavors, tasting
It’s hard to resist chocolates, no argument there. What if they’re made with more cocoa butter than the regular ones? How mouth-watering could that get?
Couverture chocolate is a special form of high-class chocolate used by chocolate companies and chocolatiers. It has a way richer and creamier consistency as compared to regular chocolate due to the fact that it contains a higher amount of cocoa butter. And with the right tempering, you get a more polished and glossier chocolate with a crisper “snap” when broken. It’s perfect for coating, molding, garnishing and dipping.
Not more than 100 firms worldwide manufacture couverture chocolate. Some of them create exclusively for their own private usage, while others market to other chocolatiers who don’t possess enough capacity to make their own couverture.
Couverture chocolate outstands the regular chocolate by its unique properties. One of which is its quality. Couverture chocolate specialized chocolate gets help from chocolate scouts who go on a hunt for the best cacao beans in the world, and meticulous research is being done in order to come up with the perfect bean blend for that very distinct flavor profile.
In order to be considered couverture, the chocolate should contain 32 to 39% of cocoa butter and the overall percentage of the cocoa butter together with the cocoa solids must reach at least 54%.
Never get couverture chocolate confused with confectionery chocolate or compound chocolate as these contain much less cocoa butter, if any. In addition to that, they may also have vegetable/coconut/palm oil, hydrogenated fats, and even artificial chocolate flavoring in them.
Couverture chocolate is normally not blended in with any other ingredients due to its high price and quality. It is meant to stand out on its own as an ingredient. It is perfect for chocolate fountains, the cocoa butter acts as a lubricant to prevent the chocolate from getting stickier than it should.
When you plan on trying it out for taste, you can order samples from certain companies to get the flavor profile you personally like since couverture chocolates have varying tastes depending on the source of the beans and the process they undergo.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate formulas, chocolate fountain, cocoa butter, couverture, temper, working with chocolate
For such a valued and delectable dessert, information about the origins of chocolate mousse is rather sparse.
The word “mousse” is a French word which means “foam” or “lather”. A mousse is a certain type of food that incorporates air bubbles to give it an airy texture. Depending on how you prepare it, it can turn out light and fluffy or creamy and thick.
It made its way into the culinary world in the 18th century which was the period when chefs in Europe, especially in France, learned about the frothing power of eggs. A French writer Menon recorded the recipes which mostly involved different kinds of dishes from fish to vegetables. It didn’t take too long until the infamous 19th century French painter and cook Henri de Toulouse came up with the idea of mixing in chocolate with mousse. He originally called it “chocolate mayonnaise”, which we now know by the more appealing name “chocolate mousse”.
In the United States, the earliest printed references to chocolate mousse supposedly come from a Food Exposition which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1892.
Mousse, as we know it today, is yielded by the introduction of egg whites. The invention of electric mixers definitely made life easier, as doing the foaming process by hand is downright agonizing and it’s just not as effective.
Nowadays, there are endless possibilities with regard to working with chocolate mousse. Some recipes even have fancy liqueurs in them, but the main ingredients stay the same, namely chocolate, egg whites, and sugar.
However you plan on presenting your chocolate mousse, as with any other recipe, it all boils down to the quality of ingredients you use. Opt for only the finest ones and not just anything you can get your hands on. Your chocolate mousse is only as good as your chocolate, or so they say. So you better get the best chocolate you can.
Categories: fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate dessert, chocolate facts, chocolate history, mousse
« Newer Posts — Older Posts »
|
