www.cravechocolates.com

Difference Between Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Bittersweet Chocolate

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The forms and flavors of chocolate have continued to multiply since chocolate was first sold as a confection in the late 19th century. You may wish to use chocolate’s distinctive taste in baking, or enjoy it straight out of its foil wrapping, but either way, it is good to be familiar with the different varieties of chocolate. Here we will discuss three of the most popular kinds.
Dark chocolate has an intense, complex flavor as result of its high concentration of cocoa, ranging from 30-80%. Unlike baking chocolate, however, it has some sweetener. This pleasingly sets off its rich, somewhat bitter flavor. It is well suited to baking.
Bittersweet chocolate, a type of dark, is the kind most commonly used in baking. By FDA standards it must be at least 35% cocoa, although usually it contains 50% or higher. This gives it an especially robust taste.
Milk chocolate is the most popular kind for simple out of hand eating. The sweet, creamy flavor of milk chocolate is made by adding milk to the mix, and usually more sugar than the other two. It contains only about 20-30% cocoa. If you use milk chocolate in baking, be careful to use a recipe specifically designed for it, as it reacts to heat quite differently from other chocolates.
Each kind of chocolate has its own unique characteristics. Knowing these allows you to use them to their best advantage, whether you are an experienced cook or simply a lover of fine tastes.

Eat Chocolate To Improve Your Cardiovascular Health

admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Good cardiovascular health is essential to a long life. In order for your heart to function well, your arteries must be free of blockages and flexible. One way to ensure that your heart is working at maximum efficiency is to eat dark chocolate. Cocoa and dark chocolate have been proven effective in reducing blood pressure and improving blood flow throughout the body.

The main reason that dark chocolate improves cardiovascular health is because it contains high levels of antioxidants. The antioxidants that give dark chocolate it cardiovascular benefits are called flavanols. There are the same sub-class of antioxidants that are in red wine and tea. Flavanols deactivate free radicals in your blood system that can clog your arteries.

Cocoa is known to widen and relax arteries, which helps keep blood pressure in the low to normal range. Because high blood pressure is a serious cardiovascular concern, dark chocolate and cocoa help increase longevity. In addition to lowering blood pressure, the antioxidants help to prevent damage to arteries from bad cholesterol. Cocoa may even contain anticoagulant properties similar to baby aspirin.

Why Dark Chocolate Is An Anti-oxidant Powerhouse

admin — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Antioxidants are enzymes and nutrients that combat aging skin, and repair and prevent further damage to the body tissue due to sun damage, and stress. Dark chocolate is a powerhouse of antioxidants because it is made highly of cocoa beans, which are make up a high concentrated content of antioxidants and flavonoids. Cocoa and dark chocolate combined have higher levels of antioxidants than four cups of green tea.
The high amounts of antioxidants and flavonoids found in dark chocolate have shown many health benefits to the body, such as maintained skin collagen, lower blood pressure, reduced cholesterol, protects against inflammation, cancer, and viral ailments. The flavonoids and antioxidants also eliminate free radicals in the body, which are unstable molecules that can lead to blood clots and blocked arteries. Dark chocolate also improves blood flow by relaxing the arteries through increased generation of nitric oxide. Dark chocolate also produces a pleasurable, happy feeling because of the release of endorphins upon consumption, and also help to ease headaches.

Know Your Chocolate

www.cravechocolates.com — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

There have been a plethora of great chocolate shows on all the direct tv channels lately but that doesn’t mean the layman still has a clue what makes great cocoa. Here are a few tips for talking about chocolate and looking like you know what’s up
Mexican Hot Chocolate: All true aficionados of the stuff know what Mexican hot chocolate is. If you haven’t tried this thick, spicy combination of cocoa and chili peppers you’re missing out and in the dark.
Percentage of Cocoa: You really know your stuff if you choose your chocolate bars based on their percentage of cocoa, not the pretty wrapper. Generally, the higher the percentage the better but the higher also means more bitter taste – ease in slowly if you’re used to milk chocolate only.
Cocoa Nibs: A great new treat in urban areas, cocoa nibs are tiny coffee bean textured bits of chocolate that tastewellit’s hard to describe. You can keep a tin in your desk to get a jolt of that dark chocolate flavor from time to time and can even find them at stores like Trader Joes.

Adjusting Recipes When Using Dark Chocolate

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dark chocolate is the new “little black dress” of the baking world. However, many home cooks are accustomed to using milk or semi-sweet chocolate. Most of the time honored recipes that we use call for those specific ingredients and not dark chocolate. Many are afraid to try it. Fear not! You can use dark chocolate in Grandma’s Famous Cookies and they will still taste delicious!

Dark chocolate is claimed to actually be good for you and there are claims that it can help fight heart disease, high blood pressure and other ailments. So, now would be a great time to adjust some of your favorite chocolate recipes. You will want to look for bittersweet chocolate or German chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate has a high percentage of cocoa but less sugar. German chocolate is sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate.

Adjusting your recipes will be very simple. Instead of using the chocolate you normally would, add the bittersweet or the German into your recipe. You will use the same amount of chocolate that your recipe calls for.

So enjoy your “healthier” cookies and cakes. Remember that eating the dark chocolate is actually a health benefit. A piece of dark chocolate a day, can help keep the doctor away.

The Best Way To Store Chocolate

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This article will explain the best way to store chocolate that will prevent the candy from melting or becoming soft. Chocolate that is not properly stored can also crystallize, causing a dusty gray residue to form on the surface. This leaves the candy with an unpleasant and unappetizing appearance. To insure that the candy remains fresh tasting, the conditions must be just right for proper storage. Listed below are three steps to storing chocolate.

1. If the chocolate has been opened, wrap the candy in aluminum foil before storing.

2. Store the chocolate in a cool, dark place, such as on the shelf of a storage pantry or in a wine cellar. Keep the humidity below 50 percent and the room temperature between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Chocolate can absorb unpleasant odors. Never store chocolate candy near onions or other strong smelling foods.

The amount of storage time differs for each type of chocolate candy. To insure the candy retains its freshness, never leave stored past the recommended amount of time. The desired storage time for filled chocolate candy is two weeks. Solid dark chocolate can be stored for one year and sold milk chocolate for 18 months.

Chocolate Does Not Cause Hyperactivity In Kids

www.cravechocolates.com — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For children, chocolate has long been a favorite candy, but chocolate has also been many parents’ worst nightmare due to the common misconception that chocolate causes hyperactivity in kids. The thought behind this myth is that many people associate sugar, caffeine and hyperactivity since chocolate has both traces of caffeine and high amounts of sugar then it must cause hyperactivity in children. This is especially true with parents that have kids with ADHD since they have personally had to deal with hyperactivity and do not want to give their children anything that can worsen the symptoms that cause this disorder.

According to the journal, Food Science and Nutrition hyperactivity is not caused or increased by chocolate no matter how severe a child has ADHD. There are 12 studies that have been recently done and all have concluded that each ingredient found in chocolate is in no way associated with hyperactivity in kids. The FDA has also recently experienced the same findings after extensive research. Many experts suggest that parents associate sugar and hyperactivity primarily because of past beliefs and some experts even say that children tend to be more excited during events that feature sugary snacks. It is still true that too much chocolate is still unhealthy, but small amounts sparingly is OK and has nothing to do with hyperactivity.

Lift Your Mood By Eating Chocolate

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Chocolate is the sweet elixir that soothes not only our sweet tooth, but sometimes the mood and soul. Its rich, warm, inviting color, texture, aroma and, most certainly, its taste are part of chocolate’s allure — as if any one of those qualities wouldn’t be more than enough to satisfy the desire for rich sweetness, but chocolate gives us a chance to elevate our mood.

Containing phenylethylamine, a mood-regulator chemical that is found in the brain, chocolate may spark the brain’s production of serotonin, which is the body’s own antidepressant. By eating chocolate, we trigger our own internal sense of well-being and serenity. Chocolate’s ability to reduce anxiety and increase a happier mood may be the very reasons that we have the sometimes ravenous chocolate cravings that we do since our body’s chemistry is telling us what will indeed make it happy. Our body is telling us to stoke its fire with serotonin, endorphins and phenylethylamine.

In addition to the presence of phenylethylamine, chocolate also contains caffeine, a stimulant, which works as a stimulant. Our body craves that extra bit of get up and go that caffeine offers, helping spur on the mood lifting benefits of chocolate.

Focusing on macronutrients that our body needs helps us to understand another reason that chocolate works as a mood elevator. Sugar, which is a carbohydrate, acts as a catalyst to release the serotonin into our body, and the fat in chocolate helps to bolster the carbohydrates and gives us a sense of satiety.

Other contributing factors for chocolate’s mood enhancing properties are the presence of vitamins and minerals, including iron, calcium and magnesium.

The only time chocolate doesn’t serve to increase the quality of our moods is when we indulge in too much of it, so finding moderation will give the most benefits.

Eating Chocolate Is Good For Health

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

So many times when you hear about a certain food being good for you it’s something that will cause you or your family to put up a wall of resistance. One exception to that might be chocolate. Chocolate has numerous health benefits and can be enjoyed in so many ways that getting the beneficial amount of it is a delightful experience.

Chocolate contains antioxidants that protect the body against aging. It protects against heart disease. It is beneficial in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

Dark chocolate is the most beneficial. Just because chocolate is good for you doesn’t mean you should over indulge in it. The suggested amount of dark chocolate you should consume daily is 3.5 ounces. Consider the calories this will add to your diet and limit the remainder of sweet foods you consume.

Chocolate is one health food you can enjoy by savoring the flavor. When eaten slowly, chocolate generates a pleasurable sensation. It can simply make you feel good.

You can consume your daily amount of chocolate all at one time or in various ways throughout the day. Shavings of dark chocolate sprinkled on ice cream or desserts is just one way to extend the pleasure.

Decorating Desserts With Chocolate Shavings And Curls

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Decorating deserts with Chocolate shavings and curls can be fun and creative. Curls of chocolate add a lot of style and creativity to deserts. A simple chocolate cake can be transformed into a deco tent creation. Through the use of chocolate shavings a cake can be covered with white or dark chocolate and look beautiful. It is also helpful for covering slight imperfections in the cake. When your cake doesn’t turn out just right and the frosting isn’t the way you would like it. A few chocolate shavings and curls can go a long way in covering it up.

Making Chocolate shavings and curls is very easy to do as well. There are different methods for creating them. You can make your own flavorful shavings by melting the chocolate down with some flavoring for mint, vanilla, orange. There are a variety of flavors you can do. Then you refrigerate it and let it cool. You can also choose to buy the premade blocks. The process is much like grading cheese. There are graters and shavers that you can buy to make it easier for you. Most of them are inexpensive and can be found in the local baking or craft shop. You will soon find that you can use chocolate in so many ways to transform your creations a work of art.