Benefits Of Chocolate

The chocoholics of the world may have something to celebrate. The latest news is there may actually be some benefits of chocolate. It's very possible that chocolate may be more than just candy.

Researchers have found that most people experience a pleasurable feeling after eating chocolate and they may have discovered some health benefits of chocolate too.

Scientists are working on identifying specific chemicals and chemical combinations in chocolate with hopes to better explain why these pleasurable responses happen.

The researchers found that chocolate contains over 300 known chemicals and a benefit of chocolate is it is a very efficient energy source for your body.

A single chocolate chip can provide enough food energy for an average adult to walk 150 feet. Many armies today issue their soldiers rations of chocolate containing over 80% chocolate solids to use in case of emergencies. Even Napoleon knew the benefits of chocolate and carried it on his military campaigns.

Cocoa, which is used to make chocolate, is used for a lot more than for just making candy. Recently there is news that cocoa contains a powerful mixture of health-enhancing antioxidants.

Cocoa comes from a rainforest herb technically known as Theobroma Cacao. Indigenous tribes in South and Central America have used the cocoa bean for thousands of years.

These tribes still use cacao to combat parasites, to counteract the effects of snakebites and as a general antiseptic. Western researchers are just beginning to recognize the powerful benefits of chocolate and the healing properties of this amazing herb, Theobroma Cacao.

Scientists are also studying the fact that chocolate may contain psychoactive compounds that create genuine chemical addictions that alter the mood of those who consume it.

So when people say they are addicted to chocolate, it's just possible they could be right. For chocohalics everywhere the benefits of chocolate is very good news. Let's just hope the FDA doesn't find out and try to regulate it.

This article courtesy of Chocolate Recipes For Chocolate Lovers Cookbook.

Coffee Facts

The best way to preserve coffee, whether it's ground or whole bean is to store it in an opaque, airtight container with minimal air at the top.

If you use a coffee maker with an "interrupt brewing" option that allows you to sneak a cup in the middle of the brewing cycle, try to ignore it. The strongest coffee brews first, so the rest of your pot will be weaker and unbalanced.

The ideal temperature for coffee brewing is between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use metal filters instead of paper ones because metal filters allow more flavor-enhancing particles through.

If you run out of paper filters don't use paper towels because they are usually filled with bleaches, resins, and inks and will give your coffee a bitter taste.

Colloids, microscopic particles in coffee that are too big to fully dissolve, are what give coffee its texture.

Non-dairy creamer should be in the cup before the coffee, so coffee will not cool below 170 degrees, to allow the creamer to dissolve properly.

The strength of coffee refers to how much coffee there is in the brew, whereas the body is a measure of the richness or heaviness of the coffee taste.

Coffee is 98% water so using hard water will produce bitter tasting coffee. For best results use clean, filtered water.

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Coffee Trivia

To reduce wrinkles and improve their skin, the Japanese have been known to bathe in coffee grounds fermented with pineapple pulp.

Coffee beans are roasted because the carbohydrates in green coffee beans need to be heated to develop flavors.

Coffee is the only product wherein the fruit is discarded, and we consume the seeds, which are the coffee beans.

Many Turks drink a staggering twenty to thirty cups of tea per day.

Coffee has more than 60 different varieties.

The dried pulp from coffee cherries is often used as fuel for the heat needed to dry green coffee beans to their required eleven to twelve percent moisture content.

In the 18th century British coffeehouses boiled coffee which was often laced with eggs, mustard, and an assortment of other tasty treats to add flavor.

Green coffee beans nearly double in size during roasting, but shrink 16% by weight.

Roasted coffee beans give off carbon dioxide over a period of weeks.

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Mocha Ice Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS:
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons hot milk
2/3 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 quart chocolate ice cream, softened
2 teaspoons instant coffee, dissolved in a teaspoon of water
1/4 cup chopped pecans
whipped topping
pecan halves and shaved chocolate, for garnish


DIRECTIONS:
Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring to blend.
Stir hot milk into the confectioners' sugar; add to chocolate mixture and stir to mix well.
Stir in coconut.
Press mixture into the bottom and up sides of 9-inch buttered pie plate.
Chill in refrigerator.
Stir softened ice cream; stir in coffee and chopped pecans.
Spread in chilled pie shell, swirling top.
Decorate with dollops of whipped topping, pecan halves, and shaved chocolate.
Freeze mocha ice cream pie until firm.
Serves 6.

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