Dark chocolate has been proven to have great heart health benefits and to release ‘happy hormones’ in the brain. Dark chocolate also contains eight times the polyphenol antioxidants found in strawberries, so strawberries dipped in dark chocolate are the perfect treat to share with your valentine.
Cocoa is grown on plantations located twenty degrees from the equator in a rainforest atmosphere. This provides the right temperature for optimal growth and for the rainforest midge, insects that pollinate the cocoa tree’s flowers. It isn’t until the cocoa tree is four or five years old that it begins to produce fruit or pods, with an average tree producing only one or two pounds of dried beans a year. The cocoa seeds are in the pod and are harvested twice a year. The pods are cut from the tree, the seeds removed and laid out in trays to ferment for five days. At this point the seeds turn brown and lose some of their bitterness. The seeds are dried and shipped to factories for processing.
The cocoa beans are roasted for up to thirty hours. The outer shell is then removed to reveal the cocoa nib inside. This cocoa nib is then ground into a liquid called cocoa liquor, which contains both the cocoa and cocoa butter. To separate the two, a giant press is used to squeeze out the cocoa butter, leaving behind the cocoa, which is then ground down to cocoa powder.
In 1850, the Cadbury and Fry chocolate companies came up with the idea to take the cocoa powder and cocoa butter and mix them with milk and sugar to form a solid milk chocolate bar. And the rest, as they say, is history. Today many other ingredients are added to chocolate to change the flavour and texture. For the most health benefits, choose chocolate that has at least a seventy percent cocoa content as this is where most of the nutrients are. Avoid chocolate that contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil, preservatives, artificial flavours and high quantities of sugar.
Chocolate contains over three hundred chemicals which have scientists working overtime to unlock its secrets. Some of the most prominent research that has been done is on the antioxidants found in cocoa. A recent study by Holland’s National Insitute of Public Health and Environment, shows that dark chocolate contains up to four times the antioxidant catechins found in green tea. The American Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry tested the levels of antioxidants in various foods and found that dark chocolate scored very highly across the board with twice as much polyphenol antioxidants as red wine. These antioxidants have terrific benefits for heart health by lowering high blood pressure through relaxing the blood vessels and improving cholesterol levels. The antioxidants also protect arteries from free radical damage which the body would ‘plaque up’ with cholesterol, like plastering a crack.
The Neurosciences Institute in California continue to research our love affair with chocolate and why we crave, drool over and blissfully enjoy it. Theobromine, a caffeine-like substance, plus almost three hundred other substances in chocolate including phenylethylamine (a stimulant) and anandamide (a feel good chemical), are some of the reasons why eating chocolate is so intensely pleasurable. Physical reactions can range from greater alertness, contentment, cravings for more chocolate and a pharmacological reaction similar to smoking marijauna! While the studies do not imply that chocolate will get you high, it does go some way to explain why we derive such immense joy from eating chocolate.
However ,theobromine, when taken in excess, can cause feelings of anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, heart disease, intestinal and stomach problems and mood swings. For this reason, children with hyperactivity and concentration problems can react badly to chocolate. Many migraine sufferes have also discovered that chocolate, and more than likely the theobromine, can bring on an attack.
A study by Dr van Praag published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that a compound in chocolate called epicatechin, can improve brain function. Epicatechin is part of a group of chemicals called flavonols, which have been shown to improve cardiovascular function during exercise and increase blood flow to the brain. Dr Praag’s study suggests that a diet rich in flavonols could be useful in reducing the neurological effects of ageing and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
To get the nutritional benefits from chocolate, quality and quantity are key. To increase your gastronomic enjoyment, proper storage will keep the chocolate at its best.
Top Tips For Enjoying Chocolate:
• Choose a chocolate with a cocoa content of at least seventy percent
• Enjoy one or two blocks a day and up to 100g a week. Reduce the amount if you feel unpleasant stimulant effects
• Avoid ‘junky’ chocolate with little cocoa and lots of additives and sugar
• Try dark chocolate with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon for a taste sensation and double the antioxidants!
• For after dinner nibbles, put out a bowl of small dark chocolate pieces, dried cranberries and hazelnuts to nibble on
• Alternatively, try dark chocolate pieces with salty peanuts-addictive!
• Store in a cool, dark place with good air circulation. Dark chocolate will last up to a year (if you can resist eating it!)
• To avoid the ‘sugar bloom’ on chocolate when storing in the fridge, wrap in several layers of foil and then clingfilm
• The ‘sugar bloom’ is when moisture condenses on the surface of the chocolate, drawing the sugar to the surface to crystallize forming grey or whitish streaks
• If you store your chocolate in the freezer, wrap well and allow to defrost in the fridge
