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Cocoa contains phenylethylamine, a chemical which is produced by the brain when you fall in love. No wonder! The main ingredient in chocolate, of course, is cocoa—got from cocoa beans that grow on a tropical plant known as Theobroma Cacao.
Theobroma means ‘food of the Gods’ in Latin.
The cocoa bean has been harvested, processed and consumed as a spicy hot beverage in Latin America and Mexico for a couple of thousand years. But, chocolate as we know it—as a sweet confection—has been around for only about 160 years. And here lies the difference.
Cocoa is great but white sugar and chemicals are not worthy of the Gods or aspiring humans. It is said that when the Spanish discovered the Americas, they took cocoa solids back and added vanilla and cinnamon to it.
The British added sugar and condensed milk. The Swiss came along and tweaked it further into a sensational offering and then chocolate became a must for desserts and baking in general.
Today, it is the world’s most favourite flavour and mass-produced chocolate is an industry worth billions.
For most of its existence, cocoa, and then chocolate, were a food for the wealthy—until Hershey, Cadbury and others came along and created a ‘pedestrian’ bar of chocolate for a nickel in the early 1900s.
Well, naturally, the expensive parts of the ingredients got toned down. Cocoa content was brought down, hydrogenated oil substituted for most of the proportion of cocoa butter (which has good fats and also prevents tooth decay)… milk solids added along with emulsifiers, preservatives, and so on.
The most widely sold brands have only 15%-26% cocoa or less, which is why they add ‘nature-identical and artificial flavours’. However, a fast-growing segment is premium dark chocolate like Lindt with 65%; also, dark chocolates touting 70% to 85% cocoa solids upfront, with more cocoa butter, crude sugar and very little milk solids or traces of it.
This has been the response of chocolate majors as news of the health benefits of cocoa has gained ground and its gourmet appeal is finding more takers.
Brands like Cadbury and Nestle may seem affordable but only because you are buying 40 grams or so at a time. For a kilo, that works out to anywhere between Rs 400 for milk chocolate, to Rs 700-Rs 800 for ones with nuts and raisins. So, you can afford to buy handmade chocolate from confectioners regularly! It costs upwards of Rs 500 a kg only.
This will also buy you many health benefits like anti-oxidants galore, iron, Vitamin B and flavonols that reduce blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health and protect against some cancers.
So make sure you get more of the cocoa when you choose a chocolate—good dark chocolate, more cocoa butter minus the hydrogenated fat, chemicals, etc.
To enjoy the benefits of cocoa, have hot or cold milk with dark cocoa and handmade chocolates. Surely this is reason enough to feel good and reach out…! Mmmmm.
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