Take a bite into that sweet dessert and close your eyes as you start chewing. It slowly melts in your mouth and it feels like you have a piece of heaven in your mouth. You take another bite of this pure, satisfying happiness and perhaps it’s time to open your eyes before you get some weird looks from people around you.
Yes, we are talking about chocolate! Made from the seed of the tropical cacao tree, it has been cultivated for at least three millennia with its earliest documentation by the Mesoamerican people who made beverages out of it.
The seeds of the cacao tree are originally bitter and must be fermented to develop the flavor. After fermentation, they are dried, cleaned and roasted. The shell is removed to produce cacao nibs and the nibs are then ground to cocoa mass which is pure chocolate in rough form.
Although it is always good to know how the food you’re eating comes from, but when it comes to chocolate, that is the least of your concern. What you want to know is what type of chocolate can you choose from – milk, dark or white chocolate? Chocolate with nuts, mixed fruits or liquor? Should you buy bars of chocolates or a ganache? As innovation comes with the changes of time, chocolate has been used to enhance flavours for other dessert besides coming in the usual candy bar form. For example, chocolate cake, chocolate milk shake, chocolate pudding, chocolate chip cookies and many more.
It is irrefutable that we are spoilt for choices when it comes to chocolates, especially during those special occasions such as Christmas or Easter. For Valentine’s Day, people of all ages would look around at the chocolates on the display in shops, ready to buy them as gifts. The chocolates come in various shapes and flavours, arranged creatively in their boxes and wrapped with a ribbon to hold all the love and chocolate for that special person.
But for us, we all know that it is silly to wait for a special time of the year to enjoy this irresistible, luscious and mouth watering confectionary. Any time of the day, just grab a chocolate and let it stimulate the endorphins in your brains. Endorphins are the happy neurotransmitters that lessen pain and decrease stress. If that is too scientific for you, just enjoy your chocolate as a comfort food and relax!
And now to debunk the myths of chocolate – no, they don’t cause acne and pimples. On average, chocolate contains 50% fat but the main type of saturated fat, stearic acid, has no effect on blood cholesterol level at all. In fact, the antioxidants in chocolate can protect the body from heart diseases and cancer. Some might worry about obesity, but eating chocolates alone will not cause weight problem. Obesity occurs when a person eats more food than the body requires.
So, chocolate should be consumed in moderation. But with that addictive rich flavor, who can resist the chocolaty goodness melting in their mouth?
