WE ALWAYS SEEM TO CONNECT CHOCOLATE WITH ROMANCE. WHY?

Well, Montezuma, the Aztec king who first introduced European explorers like Cortes and Columbus to chocolate 500 years ago, apparently drank chocolate all day long (up to 50 large, pint-sized cups a day), as an aphrodisiac.

If this is true, his sexual prowess probably had a lot to do with the fact that he wasn’t sleeping much – that’s a lot of chocolate and ergo, a ton of caffeine.

One study suggests that chocolate leads to romance because it contains phenylethylamine, (Fee-nil, eth-ill, a meen) the chemical released in the brain when we fall in love.

And whether that is true or not, we are all fairly passionate about chocolate - describing it as sinful, decadent, the ultimate ecstasy.

SO CHOCOLATE ORIGINATED IN MEXICO?

The cacao bean originated in Mexico, but the sinful chocolate bars we know today were a long way off.

Montezuma’s chocolate concoction – a spicy, bitter, dark chocolate drink - was flavoured with cinnamon, anise and chilies, no sugar, so it was a far cry from the steamy mugs of sweet cocoa you or I might crave on a cold winter afternoon like today.

But it was drinking chocolate that solidly established our love of this bitter bean.

The first dried cocoa beans were shipped from the New World to Italy, Spain, Germany and France in the 1600s, and was consumed as a drink, but royals and other wealthy people.

Chocolate remained a luxury drink for the rich for nearly 200 years, until mechanical processing created cocoa for drinking, making it affordable to all. Later, in the mid-1800s, the first solid chocolate bars were invented for eating.

17th century European doctors actually prescribed chocolate as a medicine, and Quakers like the Fry’s and Cadbury’s made the first plain chocolate bars around 1850 in Britain, recommending this form of addictive stimulant as a healthy alternative to the demon gin.

It was the Swiss who first developed the conching process – churning and grinding chocolate in their water-powered mills for several days,  and combining it with cocoa butter, the natural fat in the cacao bean, to make a chocolate product that was incredibly silky and smooth.

WHERE DOES CHOCOLATE COME FROM TODAY?

The cacao bean is grown in equatorial zones all over the world today, from Sumatra, and Venezuala, to Ghana, Indonesia, Columbia, Ecuador the Ivory Coast. It’s native to the rain forests in these parts of the globe - anywhere coffee grows, chocolate grows.

Forastero is the basic bean – the Criollo are the best beans, grown in south and central America, and prized for their fruity character.

HOW IS CHOCOLATE MADE?

Cacao beans are cracked and fermented for up to 6 days, then dried in the sun for two weeks, and roasted to separate the meat or nib from the shell. The nibs are ground into a paste, called cocoa mass, while the rest is dried and ground for cocoa powder.

The cocoa mass is combined with sugar, lecithin (an emulsifier that keeps the ingredients from separating) and either cocoa butter or milk solids, for milk chocolate.

The mix is thoroughly stirred and then repeatedly heated and cooled, or tempered, to produce the glossy texture of finished chocolate.

Every company makes their chocolate slightly differently, and
Bernard Callebaut, Calgary’s chocolate guru, says European companies usually roast the beans longer than American companies to get a richer, stronger chocolate flavor.

And while high grade, pure chocolate bars – with high levels of cocoa mass, up to 70% and more – are gaining ground, unfortunately the average candy bar is really only chocolate flavored, with much more sugar and fat than real, top quality chocolate in the mix.

BUT THE TREND IN CHOCOLATE IS TO BETTER QUALITY BARS?

Yes, in recent years, sales of premium chocolate have boomed, especially expensive, high-end pure chocolate products.

Like extra virgin olive oil, coffee or single malt scotch, people are demanding intense flavor and artisan products. In the chocolate world, that means dark, bittersweet chocolate, with an intensity reminiscent of good espresso. We’re also seeing the regional, artisan trend hit the world of chocolate – now you can find organic, fair trade and even single plantation chocolate, where the provenance of the ingredients are as important as the final food product.

Like coffee, consumers are starting to appreciate the difference between an everyday bean and a top quality one. The world’s best chocolate producers - like Callebaut in Belgium and Valrhona or Michel Cluizel in France – are starting to market site-specific chocolate.

Valrhona has its Grand Cru line which includes Caraibe semi-sweet from Caribbean beans, Manjari made with beans from growers near the Indian Ocean, and bittersweet Guanaja, made with cocoa beans from South America.

Michel Cluizel, has an entire line of 1er Crus plantation chocolates – which is like wine from a specific growing region, and a specific grower – the kind of chocolate that comes with tasting notes.

For example, there’s a chocolate from the Rizek family cocoa bean plantation in Saint Dominique, an island in the Caribbean, which they describe as having “licorice at the front of the palate, red fruits and a finish of green olives, raisins and apricots.” That sounds like a fine cabernet. On the other hand, they say their chocolate made from beans on the island of Madagascar, tastes like “exotic fruit” with “aromas of gingerbread and citrus notes.” They have five different products, from islands off Africa, the Caribbean, the Australian coast, even Venezuela.

I also recently tasted a delicious chocolate bar, the Sarotti No. 1 from Ecuador – another 72% cacao chocolate that contains nothing but cocoa mass, sugar and lecithin as an emulsifier. Sarotti, which is a German manufacturer, also makes single origin chocolates from Papua, New Guinea, and Java.

These are the kinds of flavours that the top chocolate blenders – like the top winemakers – consider when making their chocolate blends.

Many chocolate makers still choose to blend chocolate – like a fine winemaker would blend wines from different vineyards to get various flavors in the finished product. Bernard Callebaut, for example, uses his own custom blend, made with chocolate from various regions of the world.

IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CHOCOLATE TASTING, LIKE WINE TASTINGS?

Like wine tastings, chocolate tastings are apparently becoming popular. The Valrhona website (www.valrhona.com) recommends tasting three or four chocolates in succession – from the sweetest to the most bitter. Because cocoa butter melts at 93°F (34°C) chocolate that is pure should melt instantly on the tongue. To evaluate chocolate, put a small piece on your tongue and just let it melt. Try three or four bars and sip water between tastes. You are looking for flavours akin to wine – flower blossoms, citrus and red berry fruit, freshly mown hay and green tea. The finish – or the length of time the flavours linger in your mouth – should be long.

Low grade chocolate, the kind that’s loaded with saturated animal or vegetable fats, sugar and preservatives, will feel waxy in your mouth. Think about the usual chocolate Easter bunny – smells tempting but it’s cloyingly sweet and has a strange mouth feel. It usually has a very large percentage of sugar, and will likely taste very sweet, sometimes with strong caramel overtones.

WHAT ABOUT ORGANIC AND FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE?

Like coffee, there is controversy surrounding the harvesting and sale of chocolate. The Ivory Coast of West Africa, the source of 43% of the world’s chocolate, has been criticized for using child labour and not returning a fair portion of the profit to growers. The only way to insure that the chocolate you are buying is not harvested by children working in these unsafe conditions, is by looking for products with the Fair Trade label.

Starbucks sells Fair Trade chocolate, as do shops like Community Natural Foods and the Mennonite Ten Thousand Villages stores. So you can make a difference by making these kinds of choices when you’re buying chocolate.

SO IS CHOCOLATE HEALTHY OR A GUILTY INDULGENCE?

Chocolate itself is a healthy food, but like all things, in moderation.

Real chocolate contains flavinoids – that can reduce cholestrol and – much like the flavinoids found in tea, or red wine or many fruits and vegetables, from apples to cranberries, Unfortunately, chocolate also comes with high levels of cocoa butter, a saturated vegtetable fat, which can be detrimental to your health. So you can’t go overboard with chocolate.

But the best chocolate – the kind with the highest cocoa content – has the least sugar and fat, and is actually recommended on some of the new high protein, low carbohydrate diets and even, in moderation, to diabetics.

Dark chocolate, when eaten in moderation, may help prevent cancer and heart disease, and may also boost serotonin, the brain chemical that controls mood. And while chocolate has been suspected as the cause of everything from acne to migraines, current research refutes those theories.

According to a study published in American Journal of Hypertension eating dark chocolate may have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system in healthy people.

Because dark chocolate, rich in flavonoids, significantly dilated arteries and increased good cholesterol.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also linked dark chocolate with improved blood pressure. While another study showed that dark chocolate consumption reduced the “stickiness” of blood, reducing clots and clumps in an aspirin-like manner.

WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IF YOU WANT TO EAT HEALTHY CHOCOLATE?

By law, chocolate labeled “bittersweet” or “semisweet” must have at least 35% cocoa mass. But the better chocolate makers far exceed those minimums. Bernard Callebaut’s semi sweet is 60% cocoa and the bittersweet is 72%

Some premium dark chocolates are up to 85% cocoa mass. Michel Cluizel actually sells chocolate with 99% cocoa content but I think that’s too high – the chocolate starts to taste far too bitter for my palate. I think 70-75% is perfect, for an intense shot of chocolate flavour and the health properties you want.

The other great thing about this kind of chocolate is that, like a good piece of intensely flavoured cheese, a little is enough, and you’re not tempted to over indulge.

Just read the label – what you want to see if cocoa mass or cocoa solids as the first ingredient, then sugar and lecithin, the stabilizer. The more cocoa mass, the less sugar.

WHAT ABOUT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES – LIKE THE CHOCOLATES MADE BY OUR OWN BELGIAN CHOCOLATIER BERNARD CALLEBAUT AND OTHERS?

Well, the good news is that Bernard Callebaut has been recognized as one of the top chocolatiers in the world and he uses top quality, pure chocolate, a special blend from the Callebaut plant in Belgium, which was owned by his family when he was growing up there as a child.

Bernard Callebaut also uses other good ingredients in his hand-made chocolates (which, in fact are all made in his chocolate shop in Calgary and shipped to more than 35 shops across North America – he can make 100,000 chocolates here every day).

Unfortunately, when you combine chocolate with those other delicious things – like real butter and cream, nuts, liqueur, fruit purees and sugar – it’s not quite the same as eating a small piece of pure dark chocolate.

Still, it’s better than your average candy bar – that’s all sugar and hydrogenated fat. And of course, because these little morsels are so incredibly rich and flavorful, usually one or two is enough. So you don’t really consume as much sugar and fat as you might.

I am a huge fan of Bernard Callebaut and his chocolates – so I would never refuse a box of Callebaut chocolates for Valentine’s Day. After all, it’s only once a year -  and sometimes it’s just better to spread the love.

DID YOU BRING A CHOCOLATE RECIPE?

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK PEANUT COOKIES

For chocoholics everywhere, these are the ultimate way to end a meal (or start one). I first obtained this recipe is from my old friend Marianne Sanders, a fine pastry chef who knows a good cookie when she sees one, and I published it in my cookbook High Plains: the joy of Alberta cuisine (Fifth House). Don't overbake these addictive chocolate cookies - they should be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

1 cup butter 250 ml

1 1/2 cups sugar 325 ml

7/8 cup Dutch process cocoa

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla 10 ml

1 teaspoon baking powder 5 ml

1 1/4 cups flour 300 ml

1/4 pound white chocolate chunks (preferably Callebaut) 100 g

3/4 cup salted peanuts 175 ml

1. Cream butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa and mix to incorporate. Add the eggs, one at a time, at medium speed, then the vanilla.

2. Combine the baking powder and flour and fold into the batter to combine. Fold in the white chocolate chunks and peanuts.

3. Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, using about 2 tablespoons of batter per cookie and leaving 2 inches between cookies to allow them to spread. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes.  Makes 2 dozen.

HOT CHOCOLATE

Bernard Callebaut wouldn’t think of making hot chocolate with cocoa powder and sugar. He sells milk and dark chocolate shavings designed to melt instantly into hot milk. To make it more decadent, top the hot chocolate with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

1 cup of skim or whole milk (even soya milk)

2 heaping tablespoons of good quality chocolate, chopped or shaved

Whipped cream to garnish (optional)

Heat the milk to a simmer. Whisk in the chopped chocolate until completely melted and smooth. Serves 1.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/chocolate/

http://chocolocate.com/

©Cinda Chavich 2007

www.tastereport.com