Do You Know Your Valentine's Chocolate?

By Casey Meserve

Chocolate is a staple of Valentine's Day, and for good reason. It's a sinfully sweet treat, of course, but it also contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant that has been shown to have health benefits for the very target of Cupid's arrow—the heart. But not all chocolate products are created equal: they can vary wildly in flavonoid content, fat and calories, and quality of ingredients. So how can you be sure you're expressing your love with the most healthful chocolate option?
According to dietitian Gloria Tsang, many products you might find in the chocolates section of your grocery store or gift shop have much more sugar and fat than real chocolate. "It's always a good idea to stick to real chocolate rather than candies and bars with chocolate flavoring," Tsang says. "But even when you're buying real chocolate, there are major nutritional differences between types that you may not be aware of."
Here's how some common chocolates stack up against each other:

1. Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder ranks highest in flavonoids, and is also lower in calories than dark or milk chocolate. Try creating a custom cocoa drink for your sweetie, or look for chocolates dusted with real cocoa powder. 
2. Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate is a great source of flavonoids, though it contains about twice the fat and calories of cocoa powder. Its intense flavor makes it best for savoring, meaning one small square can often satisfy a sweet tooth craving. Look for the highest cocoa content you can find.
3. Milk chocolate: Milk chocolate has about the same calories as dark chocolate, but it often contains no flavonoids at all. Flavonoids are only present if you find cocoa solids or cocoa liquor on the ingredient list, so if you're looking for heart benefits, check to make sure you know what you're getting.
4. Chocolate candies: Chocolate candies (like M&Ms) have similar fat and calories as straight-up chocolate, but they tend to have candy shells that add artificial colors and flavors to the mix. Again, check for cocoa solids or cocoa liquor if your'e looking for flavonoids – it's likely you won't find them.  
5. White chocolate: White chocolate does contain cocoa butter, but it does not contain any cocoa solids or cocoa liquor, so it does not offer any heart health benefits. It's a bit of a stretch to call it chocolate at all! 

No matter which chocolate you choose to give this Valentine's Day, focus on quality, not quantity. A rich square of quality chocolate is a much more luxurious eating experience than gorging on cheaper chocolate candies, and it's much more healthful, too.
Where can you get the best chocolate in Plymouth? Here are some suggestions:
Fedele's "Let's do...Chocolate": This sweet shop in the Village Landing Marketplace on the Waterfront offers the most amazing chocolates. They're so good, you don't even need the heart-shaped box. The shop also offers hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries. Mmmmmmm.
The Plymouth Winter-into-Spring Market at Plimoth Plantation offers all the romantic, and local, ingredients for Valentine's Day. Along with locally made wine,  Sirenetta Seaside Chocolatier from Scituate will have samples from its new collection of artisanal valentine chocolates including Champagne Bon Bons, Berry Smitten and Vanilla Tryst, Solid Chocolate Kiss Me Frog, and Cabernet Truffle Bites.
"Our passion for true flavor begins with only the best ingredients. Ganaches are created using fresh herbs, local when available, fresh cream, nuts, liqueurs, fruits and spices. Our confections are never chemically altered." Come talk to the chocolatier and try an intense taste experience that will melt slowly and linger on your tongue.
Edible Arrangements always has chocolate dipped treats. For Valentine's Day the chain store offers bouquets of heart-shape pineapple and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
Whatever you decide, make sure to order early.

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Healthy Dark Chocolate Brands Revealed

How to Choose the Perfect Chocolate

Chocolate makes a perfect gift, for almost any occasion. Chocolate is considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures, and there are very few people that don't appreciate the chance to indulge in this popular, creamy confection. When you are choosing the perfect chocolate for your friend, family member, or loved one, there are just a few things to pay attention to.

What is Chocolate?

Chocolate has been around for centuries, and was originally used by South American Indians as a stimulating drink. When the Spanish arrived, they realized that, by mixing the substance with sugar, the flavor was greatly improved. Upon bringing the beans to Europe, a more sophisticated process was developed to separate the cocoa solids from the cocoa butter. Chocolate connoisseurs also developed methods to add the creaminess that is recognized as modern chocolate. Today, both milk and dark chocolate use the cocoa solids and cocoa butter in the manufacturing process, while white chocolate takes the cocoa butter and flavors it independently of the cocoa solids.

Quality is Important

The biggest factor for determining how suitable a particular chocolate will be for gifting is quality. There are several factors that go into determining the quality of a chocolate. First, the tempering process needs to have been done correctly. Otherwise, your chocolate will be grainy or have the wrong texture. It is also important that the beans were roasted to the optimal level. Beans that are over roasted can leave a bitter flavor. Finally, the cocoa butter to cocoa solid ratio should be correct for the particular type of chocolate that you prefer.

Low quality chocolate is a poor choice for a gift, so buy the best that you can afford.

White, Milk, or Dark?

Each person has their own preference when it comes to chocolate. Some people can not stand the strong flavor of dark chocolate, while others equally can't stand to indulge in the more mild flavor of milk chocolate. In rare instances, your gift recipient may not enjoy the flavor of cocoa at all. In that case, you will probably be looking at white chocolates to meet their needs. Some people might appreciate a mix of all three choices, if they don't have a specific preference. If you aren't sure as to their tastes, select milk chocolate, as it is generally universally liked.

Chocolates for Gifts

There are several types of chocolate that are ideal for gift giving. First, chocolate bars can make an excellent gift, if you pay attention to both quality and presentation. Chocolate bars can be personalized and wrapped in pretty papers for gifts. Truffles are another fantastic choice when you are giving chocolate as a gift. Truffles are a luxurious type of chocolate, both rich and sophisticated. Chocolate candies are another fantastic choice. Consider chocolate turtles, chocolate caramels, or chocolate covered nuts.

Gift baskets

If you need a bit more hand holding to purchase your gift, or just need a pre-selected variety, the best idea is to purchase a gift basket. These baskets can be purchased with an already determined selection, or you can custom pack a gift basket to fit your loved one's personality.

You can find plenty of places to find gift baskets, including http://www.indulgeinchocolate.com. Online retailers also sell individual chocolates that are ideal for gifts.

Ryan Wilson
To see our excellent selection of chocolates, please visit our website: http://www.indulgeinchocolate.com.

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


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Chocolate Can Be Good For You

Did you know that chocolate can be really good for your health? Yes chocolate is actually healthy for you Scientists have proven. Now I am not talking about eating chocolate in huge amounts here but eating it in regular servings. Chocolate has sugar in it and we all know that too much sugar can cause weight gain.

I am not talking about the cheap chocolate you buy in the stores either. You will want high quality chocolate, chocolate that has not been too refined as this can cause the chocolate to lose the things that make it healthy such as its antioxidants.

Dark chocolate is the healthy stuff and can really help your body. Milk chocolate is sorta watered down if I can say that. Even milk chocolate should have some health benefits but no where near that of the high cocoa chocolate. A study was done at the Journal of the American Heart Association and it was shown that eating dark chocolate can help you lower your blood pressure. Yes chocolate, that wonderful, sweet snack can help your blood pressure out.

Not only that but the same study showed that the people eating the high cocoa chocolate lowered their Cholesterol by 10 points. Now again, this is in the proper serving amount as in not eating a lot of it. Even eating too much fruit can have negative side affects (and we all know what that means) so just consume that wonderful dark chocolate in small portions and enjoy the taste AND the health benefits! Hi, I'm James Winsoar and I have a chocolate business retailing Xocai healthy chocolate. My website address is http://www.buyxocai.co.uk/

Xocai (pronounced Show-Sigh) is the worlds first guilt-free diabetic friendly delicious high antioxidant cold-processed raw cacao delicious decadent Belgian chocolate. It has added Acai berry which is another high antioxidant superfood (recommended by Oprah Winfrey).

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

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Once Reserved For Royalty, Now Chocolate Is For Everyone

Many of us like or even love chocolate in at least one of its forms. Chocolate can be found in a variety of forms. All chocolate starts out as beans, we most of us enjoy it either as a powder or liquid you can add to drinks, or as candy bars. Even though many of us like chocolate we really don't know where it all started.

When chocolate was first brought to England by the Spanish it was as a drink. The drink was bittersweet due to the fact that it was made with chili peppers. It did not take long for the chili peppers to be replaced with sugar and make the drink even better. Many people could not afford this luxury drink, but it was enjoyed by the royalty.

It did not take long for other countries to challenge Spain's monopoly on cocoa. After cocoa became more available the price went down and more people could enjoy it. This would also lead to people experimenting with cocoa and using it in cakes and pastries.

When people first starting eating candy bars they were also bittersweet just like the drink. Henry Nestle, the maker of evaporated milk, and Daniel Peter, a chocolate maker, got together and made milk chocolate. This milk chocolate bar is now preferred by 80% of the world's population.

In 1893 there was a World's Fair held in Chicago that Milton S. Hershey attended. It was at this fair that he spotted the chocolate making machinery that was on display. Hershey had made his fortune in the caramel business, but saw the potential chocolate had. Hershey decided to install the machinery in his factory and started producing candy bars in 1894. It did not take long for other Americans to start adding ingredients to the candy bars to make new candy bars.

Even though candy bars were becoming more popular, they didn't get a lot of attention until World War I. During the war chocolate manufacturers sent 20 to 40 pound blocks of chocolate to the bases. These big blocks of chocolate were split up into smaller pieces and distributed to the soldiers. By the time the war was over and the dough boys returned they had come to like chocolate. The popularity of chocolate spread from them to the general public.

The war is what insured that the chocolate business would make it. Soon after chocolate gained popularity more and more manufacturers began to manufacture chocolate. Soon the chocolate industry had 40,000 varieties available. The twenties became the high point in the candy bar industry which remains popular to this day.

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About the Author : teahupoo

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Personalized Candy Bar Wrapper at http://www.printedcandybarwrappers.com
  

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