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Here's a historical footnote on chocolate...In the 1600s, porcelain chocolate pots - a tall pot with a detachable cap or finial in the lid through which a wooden stirrer, or molinet could be inserted - were all the rage.

Chocolate isn't a food but an Experience, Few words evoke the emotional enthusiasm which people feel toward chocolate. It has a treasured place in our personal collection of memories - the Easter baskets, the birthday treats, the candy displays at Christmas, the heart that told you someone loves you and many more.During our special times, chocolate was there as an integral part of the event. Taste of one chocolate makes the mouth water and the emotional associations rush in. It brings back the multitude of fondly-remembered feel-good experiences which we don't want to end.So a great-testing piece of chocolate unavoidably makes us happy inside. Of course, it doesn't hurt that chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA), a natural material that's reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love. Chocolates are meant to be Shared in all occasion whether its small or big. Its so apparent that it makes a person's soul happy. It gives a combination of three great things - chocolate, fun, and doing well through the charity.Ashish:):):)

LONDON (AFP) Scientists are looking for women willing to eat chocolate every day for a year -- all in the name of medical science.Researchers at the University of East Anglia and a hospital in Norwich, eastern England are trying to find out whether chocolate can cut the risk of heart disease and need 40 women to step forward and help.Most of the women will have to eat two bars of "super-strength chocolate specially formulated by Belgian chocolatiers" daily for one year and undergo several tests to measure how healthy their hearts are.The others will have to eat regular chocolate as a placebo.One possible catch, for chocolate fans spotting an opportunity: volunteers for the research should be menopausal but aged under 75 and have type two diabetes.Study coordinator Peter Curtis said: "A successful outcome could be the first step in developing new ways to improve the lives of people at increased risk of heart disease."

Here's an article from Cornell University dated 12-19 -2003:ITHACA, N.Y. -- There is a new reason to enjoy hot cocoa on a cold winter's night in front of a cozy fire. Consider it a health drink.Beyond the froth, cocoa teems with antioxidants that prevent cancer, Cornell University food scientists say. Comparing the chemical anti-cancer activity in beverages known to contain antioxidants, they have found that cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to three times those found in green tea.Their finding will be published Dec. 3 in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry , a peer-reviewed publication.Scientists have long known that cocoa contains antioxidants, but no one knew just how plentiful they were compared with those in red wine and green tea.The Cornell researchers, led by Chang Y. (Cy) Lee, chairman of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the university's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., say the reason that cocoa leads the other drinks is its high content of compounds called phenolic phytochemicals, or flavonoids, indicating the presence of known antioxidants that can stave off cancer, heart disease and other ailments. They discovered 611 milligrams of the phenolic compound gallic acid equivalents (GAE) and 564 milligrams of the flavonoid epicatechin equivalents (ECE) in a single serving of cocoa. Examining a glass of red wine, the researchers found 340 milligrams of GAE and 163 milligrams of ECE. In a cup of green tea, they found 165 milligrams of GAE and 47 milligrams of ECE."If I had made a prediction before conducting the tests, I would have picked green tea as having the most antioxidant activity," said Lee. "When we compared one serving of each beverage, the cocoa turned out to be the highest in antioxidant activity, and that was surprising to me."Phenolic compounds protect plants against insects and pathogens, and they remain active even after food processing. A decade ago "food scientists did not know that phenolics had an important role in human health," says Lee.Lee and his colleagues used two chemical tests that measured how well the cocoa compounds scavenge for free radicals -- agents that cause cancer, heart disease and other diseases.In the paper, the researchers discuss eating chocolate bars instead of drinking cocoa. "Although a bar of chocolate exhibits strong antioxidant activity, the health benefits are still controversial because of the saturated fats present," the researchers write. They explain that cocoa has about one-third of a gram of fat per one-cup serving, compared with eight grams of fat in a standard-size 40-gram chocolate bar.Faced with the confusing prospect of drinking red wine or green tea or cocoa, Lee suggests enjoying all three in different parts of the day. "Personally, I would drink hot cocoa in the morning, green tea in the afternoon and a glass of red wine in the evening. That's a good combination," he says.The research paper is titled "Cocoa Has More Phenolic Phytochemicals and a Higher Antioxidant Capacity than Teas and Red Wine." Lee's collaborators are his former graduate student, Ki Won Lee; Hyong Joo Lee, a professor at Seoul National University, South Korea; and Young Jun Kim, a post-doctoral researcher at Cornell. The research was funded in part by the BioGreen 21 Program, Rural Development Administration, Republic of South Korea.

Dark chocolate and red winefind yourself floating up to heaven just thinking about the combination?!Keep flying and Ill fill you in on the results of a wine and chocolate pairing I recently did at my house.There were 11 of us 2 sommeliers, 8 admitted chocoholics and one who just isnt into desserts.I made a variety of truffles including a creamy white chocolate & goat cheese dipped in dark chocolate, a dark chocolate sprinkled with rose infused sugar and a lavender infused dark chocolate. Also, we had a chipotle, cinnamon chocolate bar and a delicious dark chocolate flourless cake. WowIm craving chocolate all over again.Red wine can be a most delightful accompaniment to chocolate, so we had four of those to work with and one sparkling.The wine choices were a delicate sparkling rose Baumard Cremant de Loire (one of my favs for the price), a M. Chapoutier Banyuls, 06 Hartford Zinfandel, 05 Faust Cabernet Sauvignon and a Villa Pozzi Nero dAvola (Italian red).The results of the pairing were interesting in that nothing was agreed to unanimously which shows you how subjective wine tasting can be, but there were some pairings that almost everyone agreed to.1. Most everyone thought the sparkling paired best with the goat cheese truffle2. The Bayuls went well with everything although it was a bit sweet for a few in our group3. The Faust Cab was a hit with the chocolate/lavender truffle in particular and the dark chocolate cake4. The Hartford Zinfandel paired nicely with the chile/cinnamon chocolate5. And almost unanimously, everyone liked the Villa Pozzi with the dark chocolate truffles and cake.A huge thanks to the ladies who agreed to spend part of their Saturday afternoon on such a tough assignment.We did all the hard work for you so grab a glass of red wine, a rich dark piece of chocolate and relaxtheyre both good for you!To see HOW good, check out my blog post at http://goodtastewithtanji.com/tanjis-tanjents/2009/02/07/chocolate-sensual-pleasures-your-health/

Hi,I have a private label that is looking for a dark and a milk chocolate bar, 3oz, to use for our label. Would love a bean to bar manufacturer if it is possible. We will be using our bars to raise money for charitable organizations. If anyone out there is or knows of someone that would be a good fit please respond.looking forward to your response,Steven

Time Magazine reporter Joel Stein visits the restaurant Animal and cooks a very manly bacon chocolate bar with owner/chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. Part of an article set on Bacon for Dessert .The video can be seen by clicking this link .

Ive always loved Patrick Roger s chocolates and his chocolate sculptures . But with the window display at his new Faubourg Saint-Honor boutique, my appreciation is going to new heights (hardy har har). To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon, hes whipped up this clever little chocolate sculpture. My American pride prompted me to celebrate with a few bonbonsamong them, lemon-basil, passionfruit, salted caramel and a couple good old pralins.199 Faubourg Saint-Honor8eme

Check this out.http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/19/top-food-gadgetsEven more rewarding as every other chocolatier in UK has copied our caramels but ours still rock!

A couple of months ago, one of our regular transatlantic customers paid for a large order of our dark chocolate coated candied gingers. I am proud to say that they are now traveling with her in space. Apparently food tastes less in zero gravity so the intense ginger and chocolate combination seem to be a favourite with her and the rest of the crew. How cool is that?