fun chocolate facts

Chocolate as Favorite Food

June 17, 2011

Is chocolate your favorite food?  Recently a study was completed that asked an open-ended question of people from 17 different countries to name their favorite food.  Chocolate made the published list of top 15 favorites in only 5 of those countries.

Today we can celebrate with the Australians.  Australia was the only country on the list that named chocolate as its number 1 favorite food!  A total of 8.9% of the surveyed population gave that answer.  I'm going to have to visit Australia and hang out with the abundance of chocolate lovers.
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Chocolate and Countries

May 26, 2011

Here’s are some facts and tidbits of the early history of the use of cacao tree, the main source of chocolate!

Chocolate was first developed in the area now called Mexico. In 1519 it was served during breakfast by emperor Moctezuma to his guest, Hernan Cortes Pizarro. 

The Spanish conquistador was so impressed with the delicious taste of the “chocolatl” made from cocoa beans that he brought the recipe back home to Spain.  He also brought cacao trees with him and he named it the precious tree.
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Chocolate Lava Cake

May 16, 2011

I remember a certain look on my babies’ faces after they finished filling their tummies with milk.  Their sleepy smiles were a mixture of deep satisfaction and complete happiness.  Life was good.

I think I had a similar look on my face one evening while enjoying a molten chocolate lava cake for dessert.  After finishing our meals at a local restaurant (D Mo's Pasta & Chop House at The Clarke Hotel), my husband suggested we try this dessert.  Ah, life was good.
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Ooh La La – Chocolate and Kissing

February 18, 2011

Now here is a research study that will make your day!

According to a study done in the UK, chocolate and kissing stimulate the body in very similar physiological ways.

The researchers studied six couples and measured brain waves during various activities including kissing and letting a piece of chocolate melt in their mouths.

Both kissing and eating chocolate increased the activity in the brain that signals alertness and relaxation.
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Chocolate Trivia

January 27, 2011

Here are some interesting numbers related to the chocolate and candy industries in the United States.

1,317............
the number of U.S. manufacturers that produced chocolate and cocoa products a year.

38,369............
the number of people employed in the chocolate and cocoa products industry in U.S.
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Vietnam Cacao Production

January 20, 2011

Here's an update on cacao sourced from Vietnam...

Back in October of 2010, I wrote in my blog about the introduction of a limited edition of Scharffen Berger 72% Vietnamese single-origin chocolate bar.

Now, a Belgian chocolate manufacturer has launched the first ever, 100% Vietnamese chocolate available for wholesale, a new business-to-business operation.

Vietnam is new to cacao production.  Plantations have had many setbacks over the years, but since 2005 the production has increased. 
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Lost Cacao Rediscovered in Peru

December 30, 2010

A rare variety of cacao called Pure Nacional thought lost or extinct has been rediscovered in Peru.

Pure Nacional, once famous for its fruity and floral flavor notes, was wiped out by disease within a three year time period in Ecuador and Peru.  At least 95% of the cacao trees died out during that plague.

However, some unusual cacao trees growing pods containing white beans were discovered in a remote canyon in Peru’s Maranon Canyon.  Samples were sent to the United States Department of Agriculture for testing.  The USDA recently confirmed these were Pure Nacional variety of cacao.
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Chocolate Cough Medicine?

December 23, 2010

Theobromine is a predominant chemical found in chocolate and is often the subject of research studies looking into its affect on the body.

One such study has proclaimed that theobromine can be used as a treatment for the hard-to-get-rid-of cough.

Results from this study are promising.  Persistent coughing, one that stays around for at least two weeks, is quieted when test subjects consumed chocolate-based cough remedies.
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Chocolate in the Freezer?

December 17, 2010

A question I hear somewhat frequently is, "Should I store chocolate in the freezer?"

A friend once told me that the best place to store chocolate is in your mouth.  🙂

Now for a more serious answer, the best place to store chocolate is in an odor-free, air-tight container surrounded by a 65 to 68 F air temperature with no more than 50% relative humidity.  How’s that for precise?
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Chocolate and Orange

November 30, 2010

If you like the flavor combination of chocolate and orange, did you know you could enjoy it three different ways?

  1. chocolate-covered orange peel
  2. chocolate coated orange jelly sticks
  3. orange flavor-infused chocolate

Perhaps you are already of lover of Terry’s Chocolate Orange, the one that you bang on the counter and sections of chocolate wedges that look like an orange come apart.
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