Chocolate

=**Chocolate **=

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. When you think of chocolate what comes to mind? For many it would be a sweet and divine treat sent down from above. In fact, "Theobroma," the name of the tree from which cocoa beans come from means, "food of the gods" and the name of chocolate comes from the Aztecs' word "xocolate," meaning " bitter water. Truly a miracle, chocolate can satisfy people in so many ways.

People are mostly familiar with the candy form of chocolate, like chocolate bars, chocolate chips, truffles, and more! There are so many forms of choclate, but how? Where does it all come from? __**From the Tree**__ It all starts with a tree: the cacao tree, (//Theobroma cacao// is the scientific name), which can only be cultivated in tropical areas within 20 degrees of the equator. Cacao trees grow to about 25 ft., some 40 ft. in the wild. The tree produces flowers, leaves, and pod-shaped fruits. The fruit grown, when ripe, may be red, yellow, golden, pale green, or a combination of the colors listed. The fruit inside holds about 20-40 seeds. These are cacao (or cocoa) seeds. They are usually the size of a lima bean and range in color from light brown to purple.


 * Most people reading this may find themselves confused from the spelling of "cacao." Most probably are thinking it should be spelled "cocoa." This confusion is present due to the spelling mistake of English importers many years ago; therefore the cacao beans are known as "cocoa" beans to many in English speaking countries. The majority of cacao beans are produced in on the west coast of Afica with Indonesia, Brazil, and Ghana as other major producers.

To harvest the seeds, the fruit is first cut from the tree using machetes or knives attached to long poles. The pods are then cut open and the seeds are scooped out. The seeds of the tree are very bitter and so they are fermented for flavor. After fermentation, the seeds are dried, cleaned and roasted. After this the shell is removed and you are left with what is called cacao nibs. These nibs are ground up to make cocoa mass, also known as pure chocolate in a rough form. When cocoa mass is liquified, it is known as chocolate liquor. The liquor can be processed to produce 2 things: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. cocoa solids are very low in fat and when sold, it is commonly known as cocoa powder. Cocoa butter on the other hand is all fat. it is actually the fat component of chocolate liquour and is edible vegetable fat. Depending on how much of each component you put in will define a chocolate, along with some other ingredients. Dark chocolates, like "Baking chocolate" (unsweetend, bitter) is primarily made up of cocoa solids. Most of the chocolate we eat ("sweet chocolate") contains both cocoa solids and cocoa butter along with other fat and sugar. Milk chocolate is a type of "sweet chocolate" that contains milk solids. White chocolate however does not contain any cocoa solids, only cocoa butter in its ingredients.
 * __Processing__**


 * Ziegler, Gregory R. "Chocolate." // World Book Student. // World Book, 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.
 * Seigler, David S. "Cacao." // World Book Student. // World Book, 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2010
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__Unsweetened Chocolate__: It is a tuype of dark chocolate, conataining mostly cocoa solids. There is no sugar added to it and it is very bitter. Unsweetend chocolate is sometimes known as baking chocolate for it is commonly used when baking, but is not directly eaten.
 * __Glossary of Chocolate__**

__Bittersweet Chocolate__: Dark chocolate that is small step-up from unsweetened chocolate. It is still bitter but a little bit of sugar is added, along with more cocoa butter, lecithin, and vanilla. This chocolate is also commonly used in baking.

__Semisweet Chocolate__: It is mainly used in the making of frostings, mousses, fillings, and sauces for its higher sweetness, but still, only a little amount of sugar is added.

__German Chocolate__: Don't be fooled by the name. German chocolate is not actually German. It was created by a man named German. German chocolate is sweeter then semisweet, but is still considered dark chocolate.

__Sweet/Milk Chocolate__: It is also known as "candy bar chocolate." This form of chocolate has much more sugar and cocoa butter added to it and its key ingredient: milk. It is rarely used in baking. The proteins from the added milk would interfere with the texture of the baked good.

__White Chocolate__: A lot of the time, white chocolate is not thought of as "real chocolate." White chocolate is made from sweetened cocoa butter and mixed with milk solids and sometimes vanilla.


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__** A Healthy Treat **__ With all the sugar and extra additives, chocolate is delicious, but often not healthy. Researchers, however, have found health benfits in chocolate(mostly dark). Natural cocoa has more antioxidants than green tea, blueberries, and red wine. The flavanols, the type of antioxidant found in dark chocolate and cocoa powder have been reasearched and found to help in some ways with heart health. The natural compunds that are found in dark chocolate and cocoa help improve blood flow. Many plants and vegetables produce their own antioxidants and since the core in ingredient of chocolate is a seed, which came from a tree, why would it be any exception?

To get a better view of how chocolate can be good for your health, here's a description of antioxodants. Antioxidants are chemical compounds that protect cell damage by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that lose electrons through oxidation. Cells create free radicals when oxygen molecules combine with those of food in the human body. Because free radicals are formed by losing electrons, they usually want to regain an electron. Free radicals can attract and take electrons from nearby molecules. Taking electrons from these other molecules can cause damage to cells. To prevent this, antioxidants are able to provide an electron to free radicals before they cause damage to the cells. Naturally, the human body produces some of its own antioxidants. Unfortunately, as we get older, the antioxidants our body creates start to decline and it is harder for them to fight off free radicals. However, you can still get antioxidants through your diet. Vitamin C and E are antioxidants that can be retrieved through consumption. Vitamin C is found in many citrus fruits and Vitamin E is commonly found in nuts and vegetable oils. Other antioxidants that can be retrieved through diet are carotenoids and flavanoids, which are normally found in certain plants. Some studies have showed that a diet filled with antioxidants can reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and cataracts among older people.
 * [[image:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_t95kaWUN5hQ/TOAetqG7r1I/AAAAAAAAAA8/QcO6p-R82EQ/s1600/oranges-vitamin-c-lg%255B1%255D.jpg width="178" height="200" align="left" caption="Oranges are good sources of Vitamin C"]] -Antioxidants **

Flavanoids are chemicals made by plants that are essential for their life cycle. Certain types of flavanoids help prevent blood clots and lessens the build up of cholesterol in arteries. Flavanols are a type of flavanoids found in plants and are commonly found in things such as apples, grapes, cherries, tea, and cocoa. Click on the link below to read an interesting article studying chocolate and its possible benefits: []
 * Blumberg, Jeffrey B. "Antioxidant." // World Book Student. // World Book, 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010
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 * -Flavanols **


 * McIntosh, Cecilia A. "Flavonoid." // World Book Student. // World Book, 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.
 * University of California - San Francisco. "Cocoa Flavanols Improve Vascular and Blood Pressure Measures for Coronary Artery Disease Patients." //ScienceDaily//, 6 July 2010. Web. 14 November 2010. [/releases/2010/07/100706093233.htm].

**Me:** Please respond back with anything you feel like telling me about chocolate with the knowledge you have of it. It doesn't have to be anything long or too much into detail. If you know anything about health benefits for dark chocolate that would be great to know. You can also say something about chocolate companies like hershey or anything else. Different terms for chocolate like: dark, white, milk, bittersweet, or anything like that would be good. You could even ask me a questions that you have and I could try to resaerch it. If you could get back to me with the smallest amount of detail that would be wonderful. Thanks a bunch! **Judy Saler:** Hi there, I am hesitant to preach about a subject that I don't know much about. I do know that dark choc. is good for the heart and has less sugar than milk choc. I believe[but am not sure] that it works as a vasodilator of the heart...Also Chocolate causes the release of serotonin, a natural opiate-like substance in the brain which helps people relax and calm their nerves.
 * __What do the people know about chocolate?: An email exchange with Judy Saler__. **