Chocolate Intended For Breakfast? The Spanish Approach Seems Good to Me!

I did an internet search and found over one million hits when I entered "Chocolate Used for Breakfast". There are also numerous cookbooks out on the topic as well. One of many articles that I read actually said that eating chocolate for breakfast helps you shed weight! Maybe I'll give it a try. Many of the articles spoke about adding chocolate to foods that you might normally eat for breakfast in the U.S. Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Chocolate Chip Muffins, put on the top of cupcakes, drop chocolate chips in your cereal, eat a chocolate cake, and so on. Forget about the stores that sell cake decorating supplies, like chocolate molds, lollipop sticks and so forth. Just buy chocolate, melt it down, and swallow it! The Spanish have it right; they'll go ahead and just consume plain chocolate for breakfast.

The Spanish are nuts about chocolate. In Spain you will find chocolate drinking stores called chocolaterias. In Madrid chocolate is a standard breakfast drink. Also hot chocolate with fried fritters is a well-liked breakfast all around Spain. Cafeterias stay open over the night to serve the night owls and early-rising tourists, chocolate con churros, a breakfast or afternoon snack that involves dipping fried dough - churros - right into a cup of warm, melted drinking chocolate. The churros are created from flour, water and butter and can be shaped into any form. Many Spanish residences are equipped with small deep fryers so it's not unusual to have home-produced churros for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Small children in Spain snack on chocolate sandwiches, made with bread in the form of a hot dog bun full of chocolate paste.

Chocolate can be described as a delicacy from the New World that was introduced back to Spain. Some history majors believe the word "chocolate" comes from the Aztecs word xocolatl. Still, others believe it is from the Mayan chocol haa, which means "hot water." The Mayans used chocolate mixed with chilies to make a spicy drink for holy ceremonies and traded with the Aztecs, who weren't able to grow cacao themselves. "Theobroma Cacao" also known as the cacao tree or cocoa tree is a small 15 to 26 foot tall evergreen tree native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. This is the tree from which the cocoa bean comes from.

It is alleged that Christopher Columbus discovered the cacao beans in 1502. Hernan Cortez tried the beverage and he's credited with transporting cacao beans back to Spain in 1544. The Spanish explorers loved the drink produced from cacao, but added something that the Mayans and Aztecs couldn't - sugar. Once the rest of Europe tasted this novel drink, about one hundred years later on, it became a fad that swept across the continent. The aristocracy and elite of Europe were the only ones who could pay to drink chocolate, since it had been made form two costly imports - cane sugar and cacao. My preferred brand of melting chocolate is Merckens ®.

Throughout the 1800's the expertise of the economic revolution helped transform chocolate from a liquid form into solid bars and mass assembly made the delicacy affordable for the masses. For more information about melting chocolate visit our internet site.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Kaneff 

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Why Chocolate Turns White and Strawberry Looks Red

Chocolate is a man processed product, while the strawberry is a natural product. Chocolate is made from cacao beans fermented for several days then dried out in the sun. The beans are then roasted and winnowed. The chocolate bars sold at supermarkets are made when the inner nibs of the cacao beans are heated to melt the cocoa butter and then ground to a paste. Strawberries are one of the yummiest and juiciest fruits around the world. They are used in making desserts, juices and shakes. It is loved by both children and adults for its mouth-watering scent and delicious flavor.

As fat content is present in chocolate, a whitish gray material will form on its surface when it has been exposed to warm temperature for a long time. The heat drives the cocoa butter out of the chocolate and forms a white coat on the surface. This is one reason why the chocolate turns white and it is also known as fat bloom.

One wants to know why strawberries appear bright red from outside and pinkish from the inside. This is because of the natural pigment called anthocyanin which is produced naturally by plants. It can be found in the leaves, stems, flowers and fruits. The pigment may appear red, blue or purple depending on the acidity of the plant part. Too much excess of anthocyanins in the fruit's skin will make it appear a rusty red or brown instead of red.

The pigment is also classified as a flavonoid which is a chemical that gives flavor to fruits and plants. As a flavonoid, anthocyanins are seen as derivatives of anthocyanidins which include pendant sugars in the composition. This is the reason which makes the fruit's flavor naturally sweet.
 
The strawberry is rich in anthocyanins and it does not only give color to the fruit but they are powerful antioxidants which is the reason why fruits with colorful skins and pulps are considered nutritious. According to research, anthocyanin is potential, protects health and effects against the development of diseases like cancer, aging and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes and bacterial infections.

If a chocolate turns white, another cause is also either too much humidity or cold temperature. If the chocolate is stored in an excessively humid or a very cold place like the fridge and then quickly exposed to a warm temperature, there can be a sugar bloom. This happens because the surface of the chocolate condenses with moisture. Sugar crystals remain on the surface after the moisture has drawn the sugar out of the chocolate forming a white coating.

Even if the chocolate looks unappetizing but it is still okay to eat as long as it's pure and not filled. Fortunately a bloomed chocolate is not poisonous. Once the bloomed chocolate has been melted and cooked, it will still be good enough to eat.


Learn in details why does chocolate turn white? and why does a strawberry look red?


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tauqeer_Ul_Hassan 

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