If the last kind of chocolate you bought was a Hershey’s bar, listen up. The baking aisle in the supermarket is filled with all types of chocolate from milk chocolate morsels to flavored morsels to block chocolate to gourmet varieties. What you choose depends on why you need it.

1.      Dark chocolate or milk chocolate bars – With or without the nuts or fruit pieces, these are great for eating. If you are trying to get your daily dose of chocolate, eating a dark variety without the nuts or fruit will be the best overall as far as calories. Dark chocolate has many health benefits. Milk chocolate is creamy but the added milk also adds calories and fat. Eating a specialty or gourmet chocolate bar will yield a smoother taste. Depending on the chocolate manufacturer, you may get a different taste with each brand you try.

2.      Cocoa powder – This is where the chocolate begins as a presscake once the cocoa butter is removed. The presscake can then be packaged as cocoa powder for hot chocolate and also for baking. Unsweetened baking cocoa is best for recipes. Hot chocolate has other dried ingredients added like sugar and dehydrated marshmallows. It is just for drinking.

Have fun. If you are an avid baker, try different types of chocolate to make your creations. Gourmet chocolates are usually made from different types of cocoa beans which can intensify the flavor. Keep a variety of chocolate products on hand so that you are always prepared to whip up something good when the mood hits you.

All you used to have to do is check out the candy aisle for some great-tasting chocolate. But, chocolate comes in many forms not just to eat but to bake and create. The next time you are buying chocolate for your recipes, use the following tips.

1.      Semisweet morsels – Everybody loves chocolate chip cookies. They are a favorite after-dinner or party-time treat. So, what chocolate do you reach for? Most people reach for the semi-sweet chocolate morsels or chips. They hold their shape and are not bitter. Once you bite into them, they melt into sweet goodness. Use them also for muffins and pancakes.

2.      Semisweet chocolate bricks – This is primarily baking chocolate. It can be cut up and melted for chocolate candy, chocolate cakes and icings.

3.      Unsweetened dark chocolate bars – Unsweetened chocolate is used for recipes that call for other sweet ingredients like sugar or honey to offset the bitter taste. Many unsweetened dark chocolate bars don’t contain anything but cocoa solids so they are safe for those with food allergies.

European Enlightenment

The civilizations of this region enjoyed hundreds of years of good fortune with the cocoa bean, hidden from the outside world. It wasn’t until the 16^th century when European explorers discovered the region that cocoa and chocolate was introduced to the rest of the world.

The European explorers found the chocolate drink quite bitter. They did, however, notice the magnificent effects that the food had on the natives and their culture. They were allowed to carry beans back to Europe. They used their sweeteners like honey to add a more flavorful taste to the drink. When sugar was imported to Spain and other European countries, they used that to flavor their chocolate drinks, in search of the perfect taste.

The drink took off in Europe. It was the newest thing and caught the eye of royalty and the priesthood alike.

The Europeans had to tinker with their newfound creation so they began to manufacture it themselves. They developed the first press to remove the cocoa butter from the paste and leave them with powder. The powder was mixed with other liquids to create a better drink. They also found that by adding in some of the cocoa butter they could create a molded bar from the cocoa beans – bar chocolate.

This was less than 200 years ago. Now, we reap the fruits of their ingenuity. Since then, chocolate has enjoyed a rich and tasty place in the world of confections.

We’d all like to think that chocolate just fell from the skies like nectar from the gods but that’s not so. It did have a little ways to go to be considered sweet to the taste. Here is a little background on the evolution of chocolate.

Mesoamerica

Chocolate, namely cocoa beans have been used for thousands of years. As early as 250 A.D., ancient civilizations of Mexico and South America used the cocoa bean. It was used as currency.

The trees grew under shade cover on the rainforest floor. Over centuries, natives cultivated the plant and moved it to their villages where each could grow their own. Maybe that’s where the phrase “money growing on trees” came from. Literally, they could grow their own currency. That was one importance of the bean.

Secondly, the cocoa bean was used as a drink. The beans were fermented, roasted and then ground into a paste. Mixed with water, spices and sometimes cornmeal, the drink was quite popular. The commoner got to drink it during celebrations, but the chocolate drink, called xocoatl was reserved mostly for the upper echelons of society – the Emperor (of course), soldiers and priests.

Because the drink contained almost 100% cocoa solids, the effects that we have discovered today were quite prominent back then. The drink increases stamina, endurance, mood and was used as an aphrodisiac by Montezuma.

People who eat chocolate, dark chocolate that is, also have lower blood sugar. Unlike other chocolate varieties, dark chocolate doesn’t spike blood sugar levels. This is a great thing because now you can eat dark chocolate, satisfy your craving and not crave any more afterwards.

What about your brain?

Chocolate helps there too. Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine. It acts like caffeine to give you a little “pick-me-up” when you need it.

Chocolate also triggers the brain to release those good feeling endorphins. You know the ones – they are accessed when you exercise. So, eating chocolate has a soothing effect on the brain, helping to reduce stress and improve clarity in the mind (even if only for a little while).

Don’t forget that over eating any food, especially chocolate, can have negative effects. In other words, we’re not suggesting you sit down and eat an entire box of candy bars. However, if you do, be prepared for the crash that will come once the sugar high is gone.

Who knew that chocolate was good for your heart and your mind? Will it replace the apple a day to keep the doctor away? Maybe not, but it is the sweetest way to help your health that we know of.

Chocolate has always been a forbidden food. We love it but we aren’t supposed to. Now you can love it, like it and have more of it if you want. The experts have found out that there really ARE health benefits to eating your chocolate.

Where does chocolate come from?

Chocolate has enjoyed a long history but, suffice it to say, it comes from the cacao tree. Large pod-like fruits grow on these trees (out of the trunk to be exact) and they are cracked open to reveal a fleshy fruit and their seeds, cocoa beans. It is the seeds that are used to produce chocolate.

New Discoveries Regarding Chocolate

Like we said, chocolate has gotten a bad rap, until now. With the various types of chocolate, the one thing that is different is the amount of cocoa solids in each. Cocoa solids are made up of cocoa butter and cocoa.

The health benefits of the world’s favorite sinful treat come from the cocoa bean. Chocolate varieties that contain the most cocoa solids are the best for you.  

So, here’s the skinny. Chocolate is found to contain antioxidants. As we all are aware, antioxidants are substances that everyone wants to get their hands on these days. They help the body fight the ravages of time by combating free radicals in the body. The type of antioxidant found in chocolate is a flavonoid called flavonol.

Flavonoids work on the cardiovascular system. In any artery, high cholesterol levels can lead to fatty deposits adhering to the walls. These hard deposits are called plaques. They narrow the opening of the artery leading to an increase in blood pressure and the possibility of stroke.

High levels of flavonoids help to reduce that risk. They prevent cholesterol plaques from forming and ruining blood vessels. Cocoa beans have as much antioxidant flavonoids as red wine, blueberries, tea and other food substances that are antioxidant-rich.