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Friday, February 8, 2008

Crazy Chocolate for Valentine’s Day



What a sexiest and unique way to eat chocolate. This will make a full flavor of taste that you can’t imagine, sweet and creaming of chocolate adding by sweet sour taste of strawberry. For this becoming Valentine’s Day, why not you try to give this lovely recipe to your beloved one, so romantic is it? For all couples, I just want to wish happy Valentine’s Day, may your wish will come true and live happily ever after and don’t forget to make chocolate part of your Valentine’s Day celebration.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Monday, February 4, 2008

Chocolate Addicted! Is it Like Drug Addict?










Drug addicted? Of course not, similarly to other sweet food, chocolate stimulates the release of endorphins, natural body hormones that generate feelings of pleasure and well-being. General sweetness aside, there are various chemical elements specific to chocolate that may help to stimulate cravings. In fact, chocolate contains over 300 chemicals and it is not known how all of these affect humans. Research showed that many women report particular chocolate cravings when pre-menstrual. This is possibly because chocolate contains magnesium, a shortage of which can exacerbate pre-menstrual tension. Similar cravings during pregnancy could indicate mild anemia, which chocolate's iron content may help to cure.



Central nervous stimulants such as caffeine are also present in small amounts, and this has a mild effect on alertness as we know from drinking coffee. Another mild stimulant present in chocolate is theobromine, which also serves to relax the smooth muscles in the linings of the lung. The combination of these two chemicals (caffeine and theobromine) may provide the "lift" that chocolate eater’s experience. Phenylethylamine is also found in chocolate. It's related to amphetamines, which are strong stimulants. All of these stimulants increase the activity of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) in parts of the brain that control our ability to pay attention and stay alert. Next time I will tell you about why chocolate strongly interconnected with drug.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Traditional Process Making Chocolate Drink


See this picture? What do you think this is? Actually it is some kind of woodcut that called ‘metate ’. This tool used by Mesoamerican civilizations or called Mayan with an element much like a rolling pin to grind cacao beans into paste for making chocolate drinks.
The chocolate of these Mesoamerican civilizations was consumed as a refreshing and nourishing drink made of ground cacao beans and added with a variety of local ingredients.
The frothy chocolate drink, which was sometimes made with water, and sometimes with wine, could be seasoned with vanilla, pimiento, and chili pepper. This mixing beverage unfortunately have a bitter taste because of no any sweetened was add on it.

Monday, January 28, 2008

What comes chocolate?


What comes chocolate?

Did you know that the raw materials that produce cacao are mainly come from cacao? The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) is a native of Central and South America. It is Seeds from the pod of a Theobroma tree. Native to the dense tropical Amazon forests. Commercially grown worldwide in tropical rainforests within 20° latitude of the equator today, it is cultivated around the equator, and can be found in the Caribbean, Africa, South-East Asia, and even in the South Pacific Islands of Samoa and New Guinea.

There are three main varieties of cacao trees. The most common is Forastero, which accounts for nearly 90% of the world's production of cacao beans. Rarest and most prized are the beans of the Criollo variety. Their aroma and delicacy make them sought after by the world's best chocolate makers. Finally, there is the Trinitario variety of cacao, which is a cross between Criollo and Forastero.

The spread of the cacao tree started during the age of Colonialism, as did the spread of cacao beans, and of chocolate itself. Christopher Columbus was the first European to come in contact with cacao. On August 15, 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the Americas, Columbus and his crew encountered a large dugout canoe near an island off the coast of what is now Honduras. The canoe was the largest native vessel the Spaniards had seen. It was "as long as a galley," and was filled with local goods for trade -- including cacao beans. Columbus had his crew seize the vessel and its goods, and retained its skipper as his guide.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

History of Chocolate

Introduction to Chocolate

Chocolate is a most popular food or some said junk food in the world. But did u know from what that chocolate been produced. Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Native to lowland tropical South America, cacao has been cultivated for three millennia in central America and Mexico, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. All of the Mesoamerican peoples made chocolate beverages, including the Maya and Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl, a Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavor. After being roasted and ground, the resulting products are known as chocolate or cocoa.

Much of the chocolate consumed today is made into bars that combine cocoa solids, fats like cocoa butter, and sugar. Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and anandamide, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Beside its taste are so good and delicious, sweet also, it is good for our health too. So start to enjoy eating chocolate from today.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Chocolate and All Story About It



Welcome to my blog. In this blog you will get information about chocolate, story behind the chocolate and all that related to chocolate.