Does dark chocolate prevent cardiovascular diseases? What is dark chocolate? Dark chocolate is a form of confectionery made without milk solids and has a more pronounced taste of chocolate. It is more prone to a dry, chalky texture and a bitter aftertaste due to deficiency of milk additives. How is it processed? Cacao beans, produced from a tree called Theobroma cacao, are the source of dark chocolate. These beans undergo a series of steps that include fermentation, roasting and milling to alter their physical and chemical properties as they are not palatable in raw form. Dark chocolate is often distinguished by the proportion of cocoa solids in the bar which range from 30% (sweet dark) to 70% - 75%, or even above 80% for immensely dark bars. Based on these …show more content…
Anthocyanin • Flavonone • Flavonol (ex. Quercitin) 2. Proanthocyanin • Flavonol (ex. Epicatechin, Catechin) 3. Isoflavone • Flavone Flavonols are the dominant type of flavonoid found in cocoa beans. These agents also inhibit oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) to hinder lipid peroxidation, which is a major contributor to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular dysfunction. In addition to flavonoids, dark chocolate contains a composition of fats which originate from cocoa butter. It is made up of oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid in equal proportions. Oleic acid is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil. Stearic acid is a form of saturated fat which is generally considered bad for heart; however research has shown that stearic acid found in dark chocolate has neutral effect on body. Palmitic acid on the other hand, does affect cholesterol levels, it simply accounts for one-third of the total fat calories in dark chocolate. Apart from anti-oxidant properties, cocoa also helps: • Lower blood pressure • Improve blood flow to the heart and brain • Enhance platelet function • Restore flexibility of arteries • Prevent white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood
Zak, L. (2009, 04). Not all's fair in love of chocolate. Food Magazine, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198287549?accountid=12964
Starting with the dark chocolate; this type of chocolate has a natural source of antioxidants. Then in 2008, Hershey began making chocolate with vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter (Hershey, n.d.). No milk chocolate is not a healthy snack but popping one in your mouth is only 25 calories (Sun-Sentinel, 2007). These improvements modified the chocolate recipe to attract more clientele (Hershey, n.d.).
Chocolate: A bittersweet saga of dark and light. New York: North Point P, 2005. McNeill, J. R. "The Columbian Exchange. " The Columbian Exchange.
There are many moments in life that are symbolic. The kind gestures one does to their significant other. That person is flabbergasted with a sensation of butterflies inside of oneself. One cannot get over that feeling, or the moment when they receive a gift from that person. The item then reminds them of the love of their life, but then later those feelings and moments end. There is a sudden numbness one feels when their love of their life cant continue to date due to a conflict. One suddenly feels lost and cold with nothing to do. In the novel entitled, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel Tita has to watch Pedro who is the love of her life marry her sister Rosura. Titas mother Mama Elen is against her marrying anyone since Tita is the
Throughout lifetime, human’s definiton of love has always been obscure. In Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel portrays love in many forms; her ideas often being ambiguous. Based in Mexico, the novel explores the life of a young girl named Tita, who faces the challenges of family traditions. Throughout the book Tita seems to experience love in the untraditional sense and also in the form of cooking; often using that as a way to communicate her love. Esquivel uses magical realism and inanimate objects to portray how love can both come and be ignited from different sources.
What is magical realism? Magical realism by definition is: A literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction according to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11 Edition). What this means is that the majority of the novel is real, but there are obviously fictional parts that we must accept as real. How is magical realism used in the book Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel? In this essay, we will discuss three different incidences of magical realism in the book written by Ms. Esquivel. Some of the topics that will be discussed are how the author turns “tears into salt.” Another is when Tita makes a cake and all the guests eat it, how
Chocolate or cacao was first discovered by the Europeans as a New World plant, as the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. In Latin, Theobroma literally means: “food of the Gods” (Bugbee, Cacao and Chocolate: A Short History of Their Production and Use). Originally found and cultivated in Mexico, Central America and Northern South America, its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl, a Nahuatl word meaning “bitter water” (Grivetti; Howard-Yana, Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage). It was also a beverage in Mayan tradition that served a function as a ceremonial item. The cacao plant is g...
Feminism and Magical Realism: A Monthly Dose of Recipe for Love and Passion in Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate
When cacao became available in Spain, it was modified with cinnamon and other spices; sugar was used to sweeten the mix. Somehow they were able to keep their drink invention among them for nearly 100 years before it escaped to Europe. Sweetened chocolate became an extreme craze for the continent. In a letter of 1779, a viceroy noted: “In this country [New Spain] cacao is primary food not only for persons of means as in other countries, but also among the poor people.” It seems that the people of Spain were content with sharing this savory chocolate among all the people, rather than those in other parts of Europe.
Before looking into the chemical and psychological effects of chocolate, it is important to go back in time and see where chocolate originated. Even from the very beginning chocolate was viewed as a powerful food. The idea of chocolate first began in 1500 BC when the Pre-Olmecs and Mokaya peoples found that the beans that grew on the cacao trees could be used as food (Semenak, "Chocolate in History"). Moving forward to 600, the Mayan and Aztec civilizations used the chocolate beans in a more meaningful way. The Mayans created a drink from the beans and drank it during weddings and other important ceremonies. Only those of the highest class could indulge in what the Mayans referred to as the “God Food” ("Food: The History of Chocolate"). Similarly, the Aztecs created a drink out of the cacao beans, and according to Susan Semenak’s 2012 newspaper article, “Chocolate in History,” the Aztecs used it as a “love potion.” Pretty soon, the beans became so c...
Cocoa solids are valuable for their flavanol antioxidants and alkaloids which have physiological effects on the body and influence the levels of serotonin in the body meaning that they simply bring the perception of “happiness”. Chocolate is one of the most popular foods in the world and is applied widely in the food industry.
Central Idea: Explain how cocoa beans are processed to produce the chocolate we all know and love
Overall, this career is important to our society because nobody wants bad ice cream. And no one by ice cream the company will have to cut back. This then will cause people to loose their jobs. Then the unemployment rate + poverty will rise. Finally our country will fall and become a waste land (that escalated quickly). I think this career would be good for me because I will be making money doing something I love (eating).
The dark chocolate, on the other hand is a strong, somewhat bitter, deep chocolate flavor, a lower amount of sugar and milk fats, and more cocoa butter, and flavor enhancers such as vanilla, chili peppers, orange and mint. Dark chocol...
The Theobroma cacao tree is where it all started. Olmecs, Aztecs, and Mayans were the original consumers of cocoa: they would form it into a drink and ingest it for medicinal reasons (Allen Par. 7). The Spanish then brought it back to Europe and continued to treat a variety of ailments with it (Allen Par. 7). In the last 40 years people have started to question the health benefits of chocolate, but new research is starting to prove that the Olmecs, Aztecs, Mayans and Spaniards were not too far off. Now, the pods from the tree containing cocoa beans are collected, and the cocoa beans are taken out of the pod (Healing Foods Pyramid Par. 15). The beans are then fermented, dried, roasted, then ground to make cocoa liquor (Healing Foods Pyramid Par. 15). The cocoa liquor is then combined with sugar, vanilla, and cocoa butter to make what is now known as chocolate (Healing Foods Pyramid Par. 15). Controversy over the health benefits and detriments of chocolate is slowly subsiding, but there are many things that a lot of people still do not know about how chocolate can affect ones health. Chocolate is misunderstood.