Best Chocolate Book | Best Chocolate Authors
Posted in: Opinion
FYI - discoverchocolate.com now redirects here to TheChocolateLife.com.
Forum Activity for @Clay
Posted in: Opinion
FYI - discoverchocolate.com now redirects here to TheChocolateLife.com.
And, if the yolk is this warm then there's less chance of curdling when making the creme anglaise.This almost makes me want to turn my daughter's aquarium setup into a sous vide bath. There's temp control AND water circulation. Don't need to oxygenation component and it takes a long time to shift temps - but it is inexpensive compared with commercial immersion circulators.:: ClayPS Don't worry, I'd find another home for the fish and not make them my first sous vide experiment. And here's a small world connection - Georges Pralus, the inventor of the sous vide technique, is a cousin of Francois Pralus.
Lana:I think the concern is transferring anything that might be on the outside of the egg to the inside - and 80C may not be hot enough to kill any microorganisms that get transferred.My recommendation would be an alcohol-based disinfectant or similar cleaner that works by disrupting the cell membranes of germs. Use it on your hands and clean the egg shells with it. Wait for the alcohol to evaporate and you should have a kill rate of 99.99% on the bacteria. You called also use a UVC light wand.
methodology of the broma process
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Kenneth:With respect to your question about how warm the answer is the warmer the better. The higher the temperature the more fluid the fat in the chocolate liquor will be. If you have a cabinet or room where you can control the temperature I'd start about 115F to see how that works and then increase by 5F increments to see how that affects things.With respect to the fineness of the mesh. I would line a burlap sack with 2 or more layers of cheesecloth. The burlap will provide strength, the cheesecloth will strain the butter through while keeping the larger particles from seeping out.:: Clay
methodology of the broma process
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Kenneth:ChocolateLife member Langdon Stevenson replied to a this thread earlier this year in which he mentions some specifics about the broma process. You might want to read this thread and if you have more questions (one I have is about the fineness of the mesh of the bag used) you might want to respond to that thread or contact Langdon directly.:: Clay
Insert - printing solutions
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Yep. You can find some really nice textured rice and other papers that are made to go through a laser printer. Lots of ways to make the presentation special.A zero-extra-cost-yet classy option for custom jobs is to "watermark" or "ghost" the customer's logo on the key ...
Insert - printing solutions
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
One workable solution for printing keys to put into boxes that I have seen - even by very high-end chocolatiers - is the use of translucent vellum that you can run through a laser printer. You can get translucent vellum made to go through laser printers at many specialty paper stores on-line and off and many sources will cut it to exact size for you. You can print in black and white or color depending on the application. You can print only as you need them or to a production schedule - and you can alter them at will.Very flexible option.Once you run the paper through the printer it might not be sanitary any more, so you'll probably have to look into clear food-safe acetate sheets the same size or put the printed key on top of the candy pad. If you opt for the clear acetate and use very translucent vellum you may be able to see slightly through the key to the pieces below.
Insert - printing solutions
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hey Gina:This is an open forum and any answer you have for Andre may work for other members of TheChocolateLife. So it'd be appropriate to share publicly.:: Clay
Insert - printing solutions
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Andre:Try 4over4.com.:: Clay
Chocolate and wine tasting
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Tom:My experience is that the maximum number of people for a tasting of any sort is how many people you can serve without the service being intrusive. If you're serving wines near the end of a tasting that need to be cold you need to figure out how to pour and serve at the correct temperature at the correct time without interrupting the tasting. Of course you could start with those first.Another way to look at this is the size of the pour. A 750ml bottle holds 15, 50ml pours (14, really to account for dribbles, etc. A 50ml pour may seem a lot, but when you're tasting several chocolates with each wine (as I like to do), it's pretty handy to have such generous pours. As a general rule, I figure no more than 16 people per bottle of wine + plus me. This is 17 40ml pours - plus some for dribbles and sediment on the bottom of the bottle.I have done as many as 6 wines and twice that many chocolates in a single tasting over the course of 90 minutes-two hours. Never had a complaint about there being too much.HTH,:: Clay
Alcohol in Chocolates
Posted in: Recipes
Copied from a new post by member Beth MansfieldIn the contradictory state of Ohio, no alcohol is allowed in confections without a license - and yet they have no provisions to issue licenses to confectioners. But you can add vanilla and other flavorings that contain alcohol. The key is it can't be an alcohol meant to be consumed as a drink. Who makes up these rules? How do you label alcohol that's been cooked down to reduce its percentage? And does the flavor suffer? Does anyone have any good flavor alternatives to Cointreau, Brandy, or Amaretto? I feel that in Ohio we are at a competitive disadvantage to the rest of the country. And how about the issue of shipping. Do those of you in states that allow alcohol content have to be careful not to sell to minors? And can you ship anywhere to anyone? I'm trying to decide if I should become an activist in politics. Is there a chocolate lobbying group? Jeez - Prohibition all over again. Ship truffles to Congress. Forget the budget deficit, health care reform, etc. By God, I want alcohol in my truffles! Ok, I'm done ranting. But I would like to know what y'all are doing on this topic.
The Holidays Are Upon Us - What Are YOU Making Special This Year?
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Now I really do hope that these are white chocolate shells that are filled with a gooey runny caramel center (colored red) so that when you bite into them ... well, you get the idea.
The Holidays Are Upon Us - What Are YOU Making Special This Year?
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas - the holidays are fast approaching. What special items are you making for the 2009 Holiday season? New molds, flavors, packaging concepts?Please feel free to post photos (no more than 640 pixels wide and no more than 100k file size) using the camera icon in the formatting toolbar (this is the preferred method) or you can attach them to your reply.:: Clay
updated by @Clay Gordon: 03/11/26 06:20:34
Chocolate Packaging...
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
There doesn't appear to be an ecovintagevegan.com. You can visit them on Etsy to see their line.
Writing Ingredient labels
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Carol:On a separate but related note, I am pretty sure you qualify as a "small business" so you can take advantage of the small business exemption that applies to nutrition labeling .:: Clay
Chocolate Technique: What would you like to learn more about?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Nicole:What does your reply have to do with the question? There are other ways to promote your site on TheChocolateLife.com. This is the not the right way to do it.:: Clay
Chocolate Technique: What would you like to learn more about?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Brendan:If you'd like to have a fact-checker/copy editor look at the manuscript before you release it, please consider me. I know that having editors on my book led to a far better product. As the eBook is to be free I will volunteer my services in this capacity. I am not looking to influence the content or direction, just help to make sure it's factually correct with good sentence construction and grammar.:: Clay
Where can I learn how to make my own chocolate bars from the bean?
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Skip:The discussion you are looking for is here . The PDF file is attached to the main post.:: Clay
Chocolate Stores in San Francisco
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Not strictly a chocolate shop but one of the best selection of bars on the coast is at Fog City News - Adam Smith is the proprietor.Also check out XOX, Neo Cocoa (Christine Doerr), and Jade (Mindy Fong).
Software for Chocolate Industry
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
At this point further discussion on this topic should be moved to CLASSIFIEDS. Mathew - please create a new discussion there.
Software for Chocolate Industry
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
The link appears to go to a page for a transfer sheet printer, not recipe costing software.
An interesting alternative to "conventional" fair trade certification?
Posted in: Opinion
Jim:I believe I detect more than a small amount of irony in your post.The program is managed by Associao Beneficente Tobias, who administrates it through Associao de Certificao Instituto Biodinmico (IBD). It is interesting that this is a Brasilian organization.No costs are discussed on the program's web site . Attached is an MSWord doc that discusses the steps to achieve certification.Here's the phone number: +55 [14] 3882 506 - I think it's in So Paulo. Here is the e-mail address: ecosocial@ibd.com.br.
An interesting alternative to "conventional" fair trade certification?
Posted in: Opinion
EcoSocial Certification from IBD (Brasil).Minimum certification requirements include:1) To comply to labor, sanitary and environmental national legislation;2 ) To comply to the minimum criteria of economic development fair trade.3) To be executing at least two social programs and two environmental programsaiming the continuing improvement of the standard of socio-environmental quality in the projects.I like this third point. The entire certification guidelines run to more than 50 pages. Here are some more highlights:
EcoSocial certification aims at auditing businesses, farms and groups of producers through human, social, environmental and economical development criteria. To be certified operations must present an initial diagnostic, pointing the social and environmental demands to be overcome. The operation must present an Action Plan detailing how the improvements will be implemented, with the purpose to fulfill all the minimum criteria listed in the Guidelines and, at least, two progress criteria related to environmental development and two related to the human and social, during the year of certification. Criteria for Environmental Development: * Adjustment to environmental legislation and regularization along environment agencies;* Environmental Conservation;* Environmental Recovery;* Adequate management of water resources;* Adequate management of solid residues;* Adequate management of liquid effluents;* Adequate management of gaseous effluents;* Biodiversity conservation and increment;* Reduction of environmental impacts generated by the production activity;* Reduction in the emission of greenhouse effect gases;* Support to Environmental Education;* Other environmental aspects specific to each operation. Criteria for Human and Social Development: * Commitment to Transparency;* Lawful property;* Adjustment to labor legislation and regularization along labor agencies;* Support to union workers;* Increment on work safety and salubrity;* Equal ri9ghts and benefits to full time and part time workers;* Partaking in results;* Workers training;* Training for producers groups management;* Technical training for groups of producers;* Ban to child labor;* No discrimination: social, racial, religious, political, gender;* Support to fundamental and continued education;* Improvement on living, food and health conditions;* Support to the woman worker, support to the pregnant and lactant;* Support to the aged;* Prevention and support to addictions users of tobacco, spirits and drugs);* Support to social organization and participation;* Other social aspects specific for each operation. Criteria for Economical Development: * Promoting a fair trade relationship;* Support to open, transparent and durable negotiations among the parties;* Foment Social and Environmental Development in the productive chain, through paymentof EcoSocial Premium;* Establishment of better production practices aiming at product quality.* In EcoSocial Program, some criteria are considered critical, in other words, they determine suspension or cancelling of certification, even if other criteria are being fulfilled. They are:* Break of traceability.* Deforestation non-authorized by environment agencies.* Throw of effluents in water bodies in non conformity with Environment Laws.ECOSOCIAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAMCERTIFICATION SYSTEM ECOSOCIAL IBD 8th Edition doc 8_1_6 september 2009* Hunting, capture and trade of wild animals.* Undue exploitation of the right to property.* Inexistence of hiring and payment procedures with workers.* Existence of discrimination: social, cultural, political, religious, ethnic, racial, sexual, age.* Child labor.* Forced labor.* Workers exposed to risks without appropriate individual protection.* The use of agrochemicals must happen under the responsibility of a properly trainedprofessional, and following the countrys norms.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/21/15 23:30:05
Men (at least Kiwi men) like meat-flavoured chocolate
Posted in: News & New Products Press
A meat flavoured chocolate developed is popular with men in New Zealand, according to its creator, a food chemist-turned-chocolatier.Hanna Fredericks venison chocolate truffles are made from dark chocolate and ground salty dried meat. The opening taste is said to be smokey, followed by a strong chocolate taste, then a salami flavour to finish.The small sausage-shaped treats are being served as a starter at New Zealand's Meat Industry Association conference.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 03/11/26 06:20:34
Certified sustainable cocoa from Ivory Coast
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate is aiming to have 10,000 tonnes of UTZ-certified cocoa available for the market in 2010, as the first two Ivory Coast cooperatives achieve certification and others are expected to get there soon.Cargill and a number of other big names in cocoa and chocolate, including Mars, Nestle and Dutch retailer Ahold, teamed up over a certification scheme that would make sustainably sourced products credible to the end consumer. UTZ was chosen as the certifier, and this month Cargill has announced the certification of the first two cooperatives: Co-operative Agricule de Fidifou and Coopaga.The certifications [wikipedia entry ], awarded on an annual basis, come at the end of an eight month programme that has involved training nearly 1,600 farmers in responsible and sustainable agriculture practices.Cargill, a founder member of the cocoa programme together with the NGO Solidaridad, has sourced cocoa from the Ivory Coast for the past decade.It instigated a project to shorten the fragmented supply chain and have closer contact with farmers so it could help with financing and farming practices that improve quality, and give them market access and better prices.A Cargill spokesperson said that the Ivory Coast has been the focus of such activity since it is the source of 40 per cent of the worlds cocoa, and has been hit by stagnating growth and deteriorating quality negative trends that needed to be remedied.Cargill has received increasing numbers of requests from customers for clarity in the supply chain, as the consumer movement for sustainable and fair trade type products gains momentum.The certification, which is described the certification as fair trade-like, sitting alongside other schemes like Fairtrade and the Rainforest Alliance is adding on to what we are doing already says Cargill. Labels for sustainability are all considered to be fair trade, and to watch over the element of sustainability, but they each have a slightly different focus. UTZ is focused more on the strength of the farmer.The UTZ cocoa programme is managed by a steering committee made up of industry players and NGOs, including Solidaridad and Oxfam, which has also developed the code of conduct.A company, together with NGOs, will provide funding for a cooperative, and pay a premium on sustainably produced cocoa. But the cooperatives can supply to who they want.Its a free market, but business loyalty holds true. The price in Ivory Coast is transparent and a supplier will remind you if you are not competitive.Cargill emphasised the importance of sustainable cocoa being an industry-wide movement. Not about niche market, but getting the whole sector up to standard.More companies are expected to join up, but it will take some time for cooperative certification to be achieved.Efforts like this take a bit of time. People need to understand that the effort takes investment, Cargill said. The focus is on investment, not certification. That is real sustainability.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 03/11/26 06:20:34
Decorating Chocolates
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Chef Rubber might have a kosher-certified luster dust that is FDA approved. One way to apply is to mix with melted cocoa butter and decorating the insides of the molds.
Hello Everyone, allow me to introduce myself
Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Mark:Although I understand your position here, in the end I personally am going to defer to the FDA when it comes to defining what can be called chocolate because all manufacturers are required to adhere to these definitions if they want to call their products chocolate.I take this position even though I happen to be disappointed with the standards, but they are the only reference point for what can legally be called chocolate in the US.It is true - unprocessed cacao beans cannot be called chocolate (that's covered in the standards of identity).Cacao beans that are fermented and dried are also not chocolate - and that's also covered in the standard of identity. "Chocolate liquor", "chocolate", "unsweetened chocolate", "bitter chocolate", "baking chocolate", "cooking chocolate", "chocolate coating", or "unsweetened chocolate coating" is the solid or semiplastic food prepared by finely grinding cacao nibs. Cacao nibs (they are NOT referred to as cocoa in the standards), is "the food prepared by removing the shell from cured, cleaned, dried, and cracked cacao beans." I suppose that you could construe "cured" as fermented, but cured is used to refer to a wide variety of processing techniques.From personal experience, I can tell you that unfermented, dried, and roasted beans ground and made into chocolate do have a distinct chocolate flavor but the flavor is straightforward mild chocolate with no nuances. Fermentation is responsible (at least this is my understanding from several experts from CIRAD) for the development of flavor precursors that are available to the Maillard reaction during roasting.Your issues with Xocai (and I suspect other products in this category) appear to be related to quality which the standards (rightfully) don't address. While Xocai may legally be entitled to be called chocolate, I don't think that it is very good chocolate. If you don't think that Xocai is "really" chocolate then you should file a complaint with the FDA - however, as long as the product conforms to the standard of identity and MXI doesn't make illegal health claims benefits then there's nothing you can do about that.That said, I do agree with you in general about Xocai. It is what I refer to as a "chocolate-like substance." I don't find that either the taste or the texture falls within the norms of what I consider to be edible and I cannot (and do not) recommend that people purchase it.There are far less expensive ways to get the health and wellness benefits of cacao and eat something truly enjoyable.
Hello Everyone, allow me to introduce myself
Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Mark:To your point about Xocai being chocolate or not.The FDA Standard of Identity for cacao nibs doesn't say anything about fermentation (the precise language is "cured, cleaned, dried, and cracked cacao beans") as a requirement for something to be called chocolate.So, technically, I think that Xocai can be called chocolate because it falls within the strict definition for " Sweet Chocolate ."Interestingly, while there is a Standard for white chocolate , there is no standard for Dark Chocolate, and the Standard for sweet chocolate allows the use of many kinds of dairy ingredients: 163.123 (b)(4)(i ... v inclusive).I agree with you that many (though not all) of the manufacturers of "healthy chocolate" or "raw" chocolate products totally overstate the effects of processing on antioxidant levels as well as grossly misrepresent the kinds of ingredients that "unhealthy" chocolate manufacturers use in their products as scare tactics.:: Clay
Visiting London and Paris this week - which chocolate shops are must see?
Posted in: Opinion
August is tough. Lots of stores are closed on Mondays.
Visiting London and Paris this week - which chocolate shops are must see?
Posted in: Opinion
Kate:Here's my blog on my most recent trip to Paris. To Cheeb's list I would second Jacques Genin and Patrick Roger though I have to recommend A l'Etoile d'Or (address in the blog) as THE place to go if you can only make one stop - the store carries the best of the best of all France.As far as London goes - I will be making my first chocolate-specific trip there in October and I am looking forward to what you have to say as I have no personal experience. Places that have received very high marks (and are on my personal short list) include:William CurleyRococo (Chantal Coady)Paul YoungPaul Wayne GregoryLartisan du ChocolatSir Hans Sloane
2009 Euro Choc "Hit List"
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
As I plan my trip to Europe in October for the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, Eurochocolate in Perugia, and to Barcelona and London, I am taking suggestions for things to look for of special interest to ChocolateLife members.What do you want to know? What chocolates or chocolatiers or chocolate makers are of particular interest? I will do what I can to seek them out and let you know what I find.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/10/15 13:04:26
Traveling to Dominican Republic and to source organic cacao. Can you help me?
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Francisco -
You might also want to get in touch with ChocolateLife member Vaagn (member name: Marabel Farms). They have a plantation along the north coast.
:: Clay
Venezuela's Cacao Plantations Stir Bitterness
Posted in: News & New Products Press
There is an interesting article on the current state of the cacao industry in Venezuela in today's (July 29, 2007) NY Times (registration may be required after two weeks from today). Don't miss the video featuring grower Kai Rosenberg with footage of the drying patio in Chuao.From the article:
Venezuela produces about the same amount of cacao as it did three centuries ago: 15,000 tons a year, less than 1 percent of global cacao output. But that amount stirs the passions of critics and devotees, turning a luxury crop destined for foreigners into a contentious, and sometimes violent, political issue. Cacao from here is so desirable that European chocolate makers sometimes engage in cut-throat competition to gain access to it. Chocolatiers talk of the unique factors here on the Caribbeans edge in a way that resembles the got de terroir, or taste of the earth, crucial to fine wines.Venezuela is in a league of its own, said Gary Guittard, a California chocolate maker who buys Venezuelan cacao. It takes years to develop the uniqueness of the best cacao, maybe 20 or 30 years, maybe 100, so other nations need to catch up.Viewed as a treasure abroad, cacao is seen differently by many Venezuelans, from the president to the poor. A loophole for this nature reserve allows cacao haciendas to dot the forest, near villages populated by descendants of African slaves and near poor migrants who live in squatter villages in the park....Despite partnering with the government in a cacao venture in Barinas, Mr. Chvezs home state, Chocolates El Rey, a leading company in Venezuelas gourmet chocolate industry, was powerless to stop squatters who invaded the farm earlier this decade and still occupy it.We could be a world leader with cacao, what beef is for Argentina or rice for Thailand, said Jorge Redmond, Chocolates El Reys chief executive, reflecting on the industrys upheaval. Instead were faced with 52 different permits to export a container of our product, compared with four steps to export when Chvez came to power.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 03/11/26 06:20:34
Is Chocolate Healthy? II
Posted in: Opinion
Mark:Do you have a reference to cite for the 80% figure? If I think I understand what you're saying then if (say) a serving of chocolate has 100 calories from fat the actual update/metabolization of those 100 calories is only 20?Also, found a citation specifically on anthocyanin intake affecting cholesterol:Source: American Journal of Clinical NutritionPublished online ahead of press, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27814Anthocyanin supplementation improves serum LDL- and HDL-cholesterol concentrations associated with the inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein in dyslipidemic subjectsAuthors: Y. Qin, M. Xia, J. Ma, Y. Hao, J. Liu, H. Mou, L. Cao, W. LingIncreased intakes of antioxidant anthocyanins may improve levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol, according to results of a new human study with 120 people.Consumption of berry-derived anthocyanin supplements resulted in a 13.7 per cent increase in levels of HDL cholesterol, and a 13.6 per cent reduction in levels LDL cholesterol, according to findings published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.[snip ... ]In terms of the potential mechanism, the activity of a protein called plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) was studied. CETP works by collecting triglycerides from LDL and exchanging them for cholesteryl esters from HDL, and also the reverse.Supplements of the anthocyanins was found to reduce the activity of CETP by 6.3 per cent, while CETP activity fell by only 1.1 per cent in the placebo group, said the researchers.The change in HDL cholesterol was negatively correlated with the change in CETP activity, they wrote. The change in LDL cholesterol was positively correlated with the change in CETP mass, they added.Anthocyanin supplementation in humans improves LDL- and HDL-cholesterol concentrations and enhances the cellular cholesterol efflux to serum, wrote the researchers. These benefits may be due to the inhibition of CETP, they concluded.
Is Chocolate Healthy? II
Posted in: Opinion
This just in on adding stuff to chocolate to make it healthier:
New blend makes antioxidant rich chocolate easier to create, says Wild Chocolate products full of natural antioxidants are growing in popularity as consumers associate antioxidants with healthy living.But to create antioxidant rich products manufacturers normally have to buy special quality cocoa beans, with high levels of antioxidants. Furthermore, processing has to be gentle to ensure that the finished product is still high in antioxidants, said a Wild spokesperson.Natural powder blendWith its new natural powder blend, Wild plans to make it easer for chocolate makers to formulate antioxidant rich chocolate products.The blend itself contains plant extracts from green and white tea as well as green rooibos and grape seeds, which all have high and standardised levels of polyphenols, according to Wild.The powder blend can be added to chocolate bars or pralines, with or without fruit fillings, to boost antioxidant levels and allow manufacturers to use less rarified cocoa beans.In addition, the blend can be added to the chocolate mass after conching so that the polyphenols, or antioxidants, are not destroyed by the processing.The consistency and taste of the chocolate is unaffected by the addition of the powder blend, said the company spokesperson.
Is Chocolate Healthy? II
Posted in: Opinion
Ted:I have to agree with Samantha on this one: when you make claims like "Now, with this state-of-the-art, cold-pressed method, solid chocolate (bars) have the exact same nutritional components as in their raw powdered form" I think you have to be able to back them up. I've know about Xocai since very early days and if I felt comfortable with the company's claims (and with the product itself - I don't like either the taste or the texture) I would be representing it myself.There are a lot of people on TheChocolateLife who are interested in knowing about the patent and other independent verification of the claims. For example, Brunswick labs could analyze a sample of nibs before pressing and (with sufficient proof that the chain of custody was not broken) the powder cold-pressed from those nibs. Otherwise there is no way to validate the claim, "the exact same nutritional components."I've been looking for this support for years, perhaps you can get it for us?
Is Chocolate Healthy? II
Posted in: Opinion
Sam:I was looking for the patent (it's been awarded, apparently, to a chocolate manufacturer in Belgium) and I saw that your reply, above, appeared as the #9 hit in Google for the search 'patent cacao cold-pressed' - after only 12 hours.I guess Google sees TheChocolateLife as being an authority on subjects about chocolate.
Is Chocolate Healthy? II
Posted in: Opinion
Frank:I don't think you'll find anyone on TheChocolateLife who disputes that chocolate (or more accurately cacao) is a part of a healthy diet and can have a positive affect on virtually every system in the body. Where I think you'll find dispute is the extent to which chocolate is "healthy." Some see chocolate as a panacea for virtually every possible ailment - chocolate alone can cure cancer, diabetes, and depression and improve your libido while helping you achieve your ideal body weight at the same time. Others see more subtle benefits.In the Kuna study, from what I remember, the subjects were consuming relatively unprocessed cacao in the form of a beverage, not solid chocolate bars as we think of chocolate. This makes a huge difference when interpreting the findings of the study.From what I've learned, it's impossible to point to a single chemical constituent of chocolate and say, "This is where the health-giving properties lie." Chocolate is a complex food and it is very likely that it is both the variety and the quantity of chemicals in chocolate that make it so "healthy." Even the fat in cocoa is a "good" fat even though it is technically saturated, and there is evidence which suggests that it is cocoa butter which has an effect on cholesterol metabolism.However, there is a great deal of debate (and a whole lot of contradictory research) on how various forms of processing contribute to the degradation of the health-giving chemical constituents of chocolate. A number (i.e., 70 percent) is not an indicator of whether chocolate is healthy for you - it depends on many complex factors starting from the original levels of these chemicals in the cacao seed and including all of the post-harvest processing and other processing steps. In a perfect world you'd run an ORAC test (and several other, related analyses) on EVERY BATCH of chocolate in order to understand what that specific batch contains. It is impossible to accurately generalize.The irony is that pretty much everything that's done to make chocolate taste better is done at the expense of the health-giving chemicals in the chocolate.Another challenge is that chocolate is a high-fat food and so eating enough chocolate to get adequate nutritional benefits often carries a hefty load of calories. So my advice has always been to see the health and wellness potential of chocolate as a benefit of eating chocolate, not a reason for eating chocolate. I also counsel seeing chocolate as one part of an overall approach to diet which also incorporates reducing or eliminating red meats and most prepared foods in favor of as much fresh, raw foods as you can accommodate.
Is Chocolate Healthy?
Posted in: Opinion
All of Mr Cera's other contributions have been deleted because they were determined to be spam. Mr Cera has been warned that continued postings of this nature will result in his membership being revoked.
Salon du Chocolat 2009 in Paris
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Lana:The Professional Salon takes place every other year. So, the next is in 2011. The next World Chocolate Masters will take place in 2011 - maybe at the professional salon, maybe not.The exhibitors are a mix of industrial chocolate makers, growers associations, equipment makers, and the like. If you are looking for inspiration by looking at others' work then the consumer show is where you should spend your time.You can see all you need to see at the consumer salon in at most two full days - one if you really hurry and don't spend any time talking to anyone; just looking. There is not a lot of free tasting going on. However, not everyone involved in chocolate in Paris (let alone France) exhibits at the salon so you'll want to spend at least a couple of days in Paris on your own visiting shops around the city.:: Clay
Salon du Chocolat 2009 in Paris
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
The 15th it is. Same hotel, same time.