Chocolate

Chocolate is made from seeds of the cacao tree, native to equatorial regions of the Americas.

Cacao grows only between the 22° parallel latitudes north and south of the equator, from 30 to 300 meters above sea level, and in temperatures ranging from 20 to 35°C. It requires abundant, well-distributed rain without damaging downpours, high humidity and deep fertile soil.

At five years of age, cacao trees start producing elongated, tapering red-yellow fruit about 18cm long and 8cm wide. A ribbed shell surrounds the pulp which envelopes from 30 to 50 little oval seeds arranged in tightly packed overlapping rows.

Harvesting takes place twice a year, near the solstices, when the dry and rainy seasons begin.

Chocolate Therapy

The size, shape and type of chocolate we choose can tell us a lot about ourselves. Whether it is dark chocolate or milk chocolate ... the choice reveals characteristics about your personality and how you deal with people.

This was demonstrated in a study by Murray Langham, a New Zealand psychotherapist and author of the book "Chocolate Therapy: Dare To Discover Your Inner Self."

Langham's study seeks to explain the correlation between our choices in chocolate, even how we dispose of the wrapper, and our personality.

Money Tree

The word chocolate comes from chocolatl-cacautl which in the language of Mexcian and Central American Indians means money, for these people used cacao beans as coins, a practice continued into the early 1900s... Thus, when Europeans first saw this plant in the 1500, they called it 'money tree.'

Cacautl was also the name ot the "bitter water," the hot, dark, dense beverage that by 600 BC both the Mayas ad Aztec Indians were making from their "coins." For them, the tree was of divine origin, from paradise, and the drink it produced was sacred. ~ Chocolate, Truffles, and other Treasures of Italy's Piedmont Cuisine

The Darker The Better

Dark chocolate is believed to provide multiple health benefits because of its high levels of flavonoids, which are antioxidants that protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can alter and weaken cells, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Research has found that flavanols, which are the main type of flavonoid found in cocoa and chocolate, have potential influences on vascular health, including lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the brain and heart, and making blood platelets less sticky and less likely to clot.

Milk chocolate doesn't provide the same health benefits. Generally speaking, dark chocolate has more cocoa than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate also has fewer unhealthy sugars and saturated fats than milk chocolate. Researchers at Harvard University Medical School suggest choosing chocolate that has at least 70% cocoa or more.