Even at first sight, the heart-shaped silhouette of strawberry would give you a hint that it is good for you. They pack a lot of nutritional benefits like vitamin C, fiber, manganese, potassium, and also contain a great deal of antioxidant properties called polyphenols. Strawberries are free of sodium, fat, cholesterol, and are considered a low-calorie food.

Did you know that strawberry is a member of the rose family? Truth be told, it is not actually a real fruit or berry, but the enlarged receptacle of the flower. Interesting, eh?

Try this recipe if you plan on throwing a party, inviting people to come over to your house, or just because!

Bon appetit!

Its process for creation initially entails the drawing out of usable items from the cacao bean. Unlike the conventional chocolate that makes use of the cocoa powder ground from the seeds, the white version gets only the cocoa butter.

Even though the preparation of white chocolate has its similarities with dark and milk chocolate, it lacks cocoa paste, liquor, or powder. Thus, it does not contain the significant properties of chocolate such as thiamine, riboflavin, theobromine and phenylethylamine.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to be called ‘chocolate’, a product must contain chocolate liquor. Since 2004, white chocolate must be (by weight) at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, and 3.5% milk fat, and not exceeding 55% sugar or other nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners. The European Union has implemented the same regulations, but there is no limit on sugar or sweeteners.

White chocolate consists of cocoa butter, milk solids, vanilla, sugar and lecithin. Chocolatiers that use true cocoa butter create ones of higher quality compared to those who scrimp and substitute vegetable fat for the cocoa butter.

True white chocolate is characterized by a pale yellow or ivory appearance. It has an explosion of cream and vanilla in the mouth.  White creations that come from vegetable fat are no match. Their consistency, taste and shelf life are enormously different.

White chocolates melt quite easily and burn quickly as it is delicate by nature, so take extra caution when melting it for recipes like ganache or chocolate fondue.

Nevertheless, those who love the creamy vanilla taste of the white chocolate probably don’t care, just as long as they have their fix!

Did you know that the original version of the pretzel was a strip of dough, given to children as a reward for memorizing parts of the Bible? It was then called “pretiola” which is Latin for “reward.” It rapidly became popular and was prepared in other parts of Europe such as Germany, the country that coined the term “bretzel” which eventually changed into “‘pretzel.”

The crunch of the pretzel coupled with the sumptuousness of the chocolate covering never fails to leave people asking for more! You can either immediately bite while enjoying chocolate covered pretzels or let the chocolate melt in your mouth first before enjoying the pretzel.

Most people use the smooth and rounded pretzels to coat with different types of chocolate such as dark, milk, or white, just like this recipe! It is so diverse that some are using pretzel sticks or bars, some are half-covered with chocolate, while some are completely coated with it!

These fun chocolates make for fantastic gifts as well! Who wouldn’t enjoy the sweetness and saltiness rolled into one perfect bite these white chocolate covered pretzels have to offer?

Enjoy!

Pecan pie has long been a staple of many holiday meals, but there’s no reason to limit your enjoyment to the holidays. 

If you are an avid fans of pecan pie, you will definitely love it with white chocolate and almonds. All the wonderful flavors mixed together will provide you with a taste of rich, soft, and creamy filling with an addition of a sweet white chocolate flavor along with the crunchiness of pecans and almonds at every bite.

This is the perfect recipe for gatherings, reunions, and other parties.  Just make sure to bring a copy of the recipe with you. Guests will surely ask you for a copy of this tempting treat!

The chocolates are uniquely shaped in a square “cup” that holds caramel, lemon meringue, and strawberry truffle.  The molded piece is open at the top.  The Caramel Sensation is a smooth caramel inside a milk chocolate cup sprinkled with dark mini chocolate chips on the top.  The Lemon Supreme is also inside a milk chocolate cup sprinkled with crystalline sugar on the top.  And the Sumptuous Strawberry is dusted with a sweet red powder and tucked inside a white chocolate cup.

I thoroughly enjoyed the caramel, but the strawberry was way too sweet.  I liked the lemon, and had forgotten how delicious citrus and chocolate combinations are together.  I would have preferred a dark chocolate cup with the lemon, but the milk chocolate was mild and slightly fruity and blended very well as a whole.

The caramel in the caramel cup was smooth and butter.  The dark chocolate chips added a more intense chocolate note to the mix without bringing any bitterness or aftertaste in the finish.

I don’t really believe that these chocolates represent some sort of Irish tradition of chocolate making.  I think the marketing of these chocolates (suspiciously on sale in the States for St. Patrick’s Day) was to give it an Irish spin. 

At least they were good, in spite of the marketing fluff!

Perhaps you already know that your son or daughter is crazy about Zombies and will attack a defenseless chocolate bunny by not just eating its ears first, but by going straight for its brains.  Maybe it’s time to play along and consider giving the bunny that fights back – a chocolate zombie bunny!

Who knew that the Zombie virus could attack the flesh of little chocolate rabbits.  Well now you do.  Let this little bad boy loose on your unsuspecting child, and it will be the perfect Easter Zombie attack.

This chocolate bunny is made of solid white chocolate, mostly colored green, except for its beady yellow eyes, the dripping red blood, and part of its exposed rib cage.  I guess even bunny zombies lose track of their own flesh.

Now instead of feeling sorry for the bunny whose head gets chomped first, you can encourage your child to stop the spread of the Zombies.  No stopping with a double-tap.  You can tell him to hold tight, open wide, and put this chocolate Easter bunny out of its misery in one swift cut of the teeth!  Chew and swallow.  Yum.

I have purchased other silly things from ThinkGeek in the past.  When I saw their Chocolate Zombie Bunny April Fool’s gag I couldn’t resist posting.  Due to popularity, they’ve been out of stock but should have a new supply available sometime today (April 15, 2011).

Oh yes! – velvety smooth melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate ganache center enrobed in a creamy, white chocolate coating.  Pardon me while I wipe away the drool.

The chocolate ganache was nutty, a little earthy, and intensely chocolate.  There’s a l-o-n-g finish with a bit of spice at the very end. 

Nothing beats a freshly made truffle.  Really.

The truffle cost $3.00, which is a typical price in these parts.  It’s worth every penny.  After eating a Charley’s truffle, hand-rolled or coated, you’ll be completely satisfied.  I mean, after you indulge in the good stuff, you’ll NEVER eat handfuls of M&Ms or raid the vending machine for an afternoon candy bar again! 

Before you put another Kiss in your mouth, hustle down to your local chocolates shop and truffle up.

Enjoy!

While on my first visit to Germany this past summer, I tried many delicious Austrian, Swiss and German chocolate bars.  I decided Ritter Sport was one of my favorite brands.  When we returned home, I was pleased to discover a local store carried an assortment of mini bars in one box—7 different varieties, 10 bars to the box.  I enjoyed each one—just some more than others.    Each one had good chocolate flavor whether milk or dark. 

After we arrived in Yuma this fall, I was further pleased to discover full-size Ritter Sport chocolate bars at my favorite Yuma supermarkets.  I decided to try one I hadn’t tried before—White Chocolate with whole Hazelnuts.  First sniff as I opened the wrapper was the roasted hazelnuts and crisped rice.  The cocoa butter flavor followed once I took a bite.  It is a very sweet bar but then sugar is the first (thus the largest quantity) ingredient.  The chocolate is definitely creamy with the crunch coming from the nuts and the crispy rice. 

This bar is not a typical bar shape.  It is a square.  The package is an eye-catching creamy yellow square with whole hazelnuts pictured.  Pulling the entire bar out of the package you’re greeted with a 3½ x 3½ inch square, divided into 16 small squares.  I bought the 3.5 oz.  bar on sale for $1.99, but even at the regular price of $3.49, I would buy it again.

I have had several blog posts in the past showing off many chocolatiers’ incredible artistic skills.

Most, if not all, of those were carved from milk or semi-sweet chocolate.

Recently, one of Italy’s well known chocolatiers, Mirco Della Vecchia, formed his creation from white chocolate.

His project was to sculpt and display famous tourist destinations from around the world.

Here is one I especially like, a model of Stonehenge in white chocolate.  The worn look on the stone is so realistic!

Besides England’s Stonehenge, the artist also used white chocolate to portray Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, Greece’s Parthenon, Italy’s leaning Tower of Pisa, and Egyptian temples.

All these are on exhibit in Hong Kong at the Chocolate World Heritage show.

Vecchia started entering competitions in 1996.  He currently holds the Guinness World Record award for the largest chocolate sculpture in the world – he and his team created a white chocolate “Dome of Milan” which measured at 1.5 meters tall, 2.5 meters long and weighed 5.37 tons.

The roots of biscotti can be traced back to Roman times, although modern biscotti are associated with the Tuscan region of Italy.  The original purpose for baking the dough a second time was to dry out the cookie in order to make it last during long-distance travel.

The longest distance my biscotti travel is from my oven to my mouth.  So, why do I bother putting up with all this work?  It is so worth it!  Make a batch and find out for yourself.