This is the one we all fall for. We can never have enough.
Whether we are happy or sad, it always finds its way to our hearts.
What are we talking about...? CHOCOLATE of course!
The French (and most people!) are totally enamored with it.
But what about the US? How can we find delicious chocolate here?
Is chocolate even good for us? What makes it so addictive?
In this post, you will learn all about chocolate.
Why We Love Chocolate (A LOT!).
Adding chocolate to a dessert is a simple way to enhance most flavors. It adds depth and substance to a dessert. We can do so many pairings with chocolate that have been tested and approved: chocolate-raspberry, chocolate-oranges, chocolate-pear, chocolate-coconut, chocolate-caramel, chocolate-peanut butter, chocolate-mint, chocolate-pistachio, chocolate-almond etc...
From cinnamon to espresso, chocolate seems to go well with everything.
The chefs continue to innovate by pairing chocolate with surprising flavors such as lime.
What is YOUR favorite flavor combination?
Chocolate is also very attractive and we love the many shapes it can take. Whether it is melted, molded, shaved, dusted or whipped; it's wonderful to the eye. Our favorite way is when it is molded into shapes that are so aesthetically pleasing and perfect for gift giving. We can spend hours at chocolate shops looking at the displays and fancy packaging. (In France, our favorite chocolate store is Jeff de Bruges. Our favorite places to go to for ready-to-eat chocolate in Iowa is the chocolaterie Stam's.) Just saying! Chocolate is a great medium for art. Did you now that France has a "Salon du Chocolat" end of October? It is the biggest chocolate festival in the world! All the renowned chocolatiers go there to display their creations. You can see aerial chocolate sculptures and high-fashion chocolate dresses; it is mind-blowing. See more here!
The Origins of Chocolate.
The history of chocolate goes way, way back. It is as old as 1800 B.C. (Some say even older!) Most sources agree that the Olmec people of Mesoamerica (Central America and Mexico today) discovered the cacao seeds and started brewing them to make warm beverages. In the 8th cent. A.D., the Maya people also used the beans as a drink and as money in their trade. How did chocolate became famous in Europe? Well, Christopher Columbus brought back a bag of cocoa beans (or cacao seeds?) from his travels to "India". Then, the conquistador Herman Cortez brought it back to Spain around 1519 and they added sugar.
It was introduced in France in 1615 at the wedding of Anne of Austria with King Louis XIII. The first chocolaterie in the Paris area (Les Halles) opened in 1659 which served these beans as a drink to the aristocracy. These "chocolate houses" became popular in the US and this hot drink was even given to wounded soldiers from the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783).
A company called J.S. Fry and Sons of England adds cacao butter and produce the first solid chocolate bars which inspired chocolate makers to add milk powder. In 1820, Antoine-Brutus Menier and Rodolphe Lindt made chocolate more accessible by selling it and producing it in bigger quantities. In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt from Switzerland created a new machine which stirs chocolate until it has a creamier texture. (This technique is known as conching.) So, you can see this was a world effort!
The Many Kinds of Chocolate.
There are many types of chocolate out there: milk, semi-sweet, unsweetened, dark, white; it's not easy to know which kind is best. From snacking to gift giving and baking, chocolate has many uses. We have noticed that Americans tend to prefer milk chocolate. It is sweeter and creamier. This type pairs really well with nuts as in chocolate chip cookies. We use this type very sparingly as the sugar content is often double that of a dark chocolate.
In the world of chocolate, we refer to the cacao content in percentages to distinguish which type of chocolate is more adequate for our use. So, 70% chocolate has 70% of cocoa which means it is 70% pure with 30% that are other ingredients such as vanilla flavoring or sugar. Baking chocolate is usually around 50% cacao. Milk chocolate tends to have about 35-45% cocoa beans. The rest is flavoring, sugar and milk powder. All white chocolate must have at least 20% and is the sweetest by far.
Our Favorite Chocolate for Baking!
We often use 70% chocolate. It is great for baking since there is already sugar added to the dessert and there is no need to add more. It is easy to find in most stores and is also great for icing or decorating.
However, we like to have a bit of milk chocolate at hand.
When making a cream or mousse, we recommend replacing 1/3 of the dark chocolate with milk chocolate. This will add more depth and flavor.
We love to use white chocolate mostly to decorate our Christmas cookies or make a white chocolate cream for our crepe cake. Other than that, we stay away from white chocolate as it teds to have less cacao and more fat and sugar.
We do recommend semi-sweet chocolate chips when making chocolate chip cookies. This kind has more sugar than dark chocolate but brings great balance to a cookie with nuts.
Is Chocolate Healthy?
Dark chocolate is healthier than the other kinds which tend to have added ingredients, more fat and more sugar. Dark chocolate is known to be full of flavonoids which help with blood flow, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also has magnesium and potassium and lesser known ingredients such as copper, manganese and selenium.
For health purposes, choose an organic dark type of chocolate that is produced in South America or Africa.
Also, do not forget to look at the ingredient list and make sure the other ingredients are okay too. Most trusted brands will also add artificial flavorings.
If you are sensitive to sugar (as I am), choose 85% chocolate as 3 square pieces have only 4g of sugar, compared to 9g for 70% chocolate. (Anything above 85% is way too bitter for us!)
Carefully look at the ingredient list if you have food sensitivities as most chocolate bars have soy lecithin or dairy in them.
Lindt is by far our favorite brand for baking, snaking and gift giving. It is easy to find and it matches our budget too! We love 85% Lindt for our snacking which is easy to find and has no dairy or soy in it. Since Switzerland is the first consumer of chocolate worldwide, we figure they know what they are doing :-) We also like Ghirardelli. Just be aware that certain flavors, have added ingredients that may or may not be artificial.
What is your absolute favorite chocolate? How long can you go without eating any chocolate?Let us know in the comments below.
Visit us at the farmer's market at the RiverLoop Expo Plaza in Waterloo, IA, every Saturday from 8-noon from May-September.