"Fuel your body...Delight your senses"
Stephanie Brina-Herres, MS, RD, CDN
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Mar
20
2013
Springtime conjures up images associated with the season of specialty chocolate bunnies, Easter chocolate eggs, and more.
Easter is coming on March 31, 2013 (except for those who belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church and celebrate it on May 5, 2013). Image of chocolate eggs courtesy of gesinek at rgbstock.com.
As Lent ends, often consumers look at engaging in some type of chocolate indulgence.
Those of the Jewish faith in the USA who celebrate Passover from sunset on March 25, 2013 through April 2, 2013 may also consider a Kosher chocolate indulgence as well.
If chocolate has been properly stored, then the item(s) should have no “chocolate bloom” once any packaging is opened. If it has been improperly stored, however, then “chocolate bloom” may be evident.
Will that chocolate bloom put a damper on the experience?
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Feb
27
2013
In Part 1 of this blog series we provided some background on chocolate and cacao including some cultural information surrounding the growing of theobroma cacao trees around the world and processing cacao beans from grower through manufacturer.In our Part 2 of 3 blog post we discussed some of the best known varieties of cacao trees, as well as some of the flavor notes associated with beans grown in different places in the world.
Choco pieces courtesy of lusi via rgbstock.com.
In this blog post, we’ll provide some infotainment regarding perceptions of “chocolate cravings” and a bit about flavor sprays, as well as mention some potential antioxidant (including flavonol) health-related attributes of consumption of natural (not alkalized Dutch process) cocoa powder and prudent consumption of true dark chocolate.
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Feb
18
2013
In Part 1 of this blog series we provided some background on the highly successful, inextricable link between chocolate and Valentine’s Day.
We also mentioned some cultural information surrounding the growing of theobroma cacao trees around the world.
Finally we included some steps involved in processing cacao beans from grower through manufacturer.
Image courtesy of albion80 at rgbstock.com
Three of the best known categories of cacao beans that may make their way into chocolate worldwide include:
- Criollo which means “native” and this type of cacao bean may be found in Central America, and then in Venezuela in South America and some other locations;
- Forastero which means “foreign” and often this type of cacao bean thrives in the Amazon Basin, as well as in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and other locations. Although most Forastero variety beans have deep, classic cocoa flavor, those from Madagascar might be said to have citrus flavor elements reminiscent of tangerines, while those from São Tomé might be said to have coffee undertones; and
- Trinitario (actually a hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero) which means “sent from heaven” and often this type of cacao bean is grown mainly in the Caribbean, having actually originated in Trinidad. Trinitario cacao trees may still be found growing in Cameroon, Ecuador, the Indonesian island of Java, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Sri Lanka, and some still in Venezuela and some other locations.
Most of what is considered to be the bulk chocolate flavor in mainstream chocolate products is contributed from primarily Forastero cacao beans mainly coming out of West Africa & South Africa combined supplying ~70-80% of the world’s cacao crop.
Forastero trees are more disease resistant, which is why that category was introduced into Africa, while over the past hundreds of years since the Spanish first imported Criollo cacao beans from Venezuela, many Criollo trees have been lost to disease.
What are considered to be the flavor note cacao beans are the Criollo cacao beans and Trinitario cacao beans. Today those varieties combined only compromise some 6% of all the cacao beans grown worldwide (~1% for Criollo and ~5% for Trinitario), while a century ago combined they were closer to 50% of all the cacao beans that were grown world wide.
You may be wondering what specific types of flavor notes are considered to be found in the cacao flavor beans currently being grown around the globe.
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Dec
9
2012
Why not grab a cup of fragrant not-too-hot tea and we’ll wrap up this blog series on Christmas tea and how it can contribute to helping you and yours to stay healthier during the holidays.
We’ve already mentioned in Part 1 of this series how tea can contribute valuable flavonoids to your diet, and then in Part 2 of this series shared some thoughts concerning brewing tea and its caffeine content as well.
Now we’d like to share some other potential health benefits of drinking a not-too-hot cup of freshly steeped tea and mention just some of the supermarket accessible brands of holiday tea offerings.
Did you know that tea you brew (in either loose form or from a tea bag) can help you stay hydrated year round, may contribute to your oral and bone health, potentially help you age better, and possibly even help you lose a little excess weight?
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Dec
7
2012
It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and inadvertently forget about setting aside time to help keep yourself healthier during the holidays.
Sometimes you need to just stop, catch your breath, and maybe even sit down and treat yourself to a wonderfully aromatic warm cup of tea!
It’s important to keep up your antioxidant intake during the winter months and as we noted in Part 1 of 3 of this blog series, especially green and/or black tea made from the tea leaves of the Camellia senesis plant can be an excellent source of important flavonoids.
(Image of Christmas Tree + ornaments courtesy of dyet at rgbstock.com)
You might be wondering how to get the most “bang for your buck” out of the tea you steep, so let’s see if some researcher insights can shed some light on that.
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Dec
6
2012
Are you a tea drinker?
As of the year 2010, the Tea Association of the USA estimated that there are at least 154 million people in the US who drink some form of tea.
If their 2010 Tea Fact Sheet still holds true, then in effect before the year ends approximately 1 out of every 2 persons in the US will have consumed some form of tea this year.
(Image of Christmas Tree + ornaments courtesy of dyet at rgbstock.com)
In Part 1 of this 3 part series we’ll review a little background on tea and tea events, and mention some potential health benefits from its flavonoid content.
In Part 2 of this 3 part series we’ll discuss how to potentially obtain the most flavonoid content by how you steep your tea and some information about caffeine and tea.
In Part 3 of 3 in this series we’ll mention about some other potential health benefits & concerns surrounding tea consumption. We’ll mention tea consumption’s possible impact on hydration level, how it may contribute to better oral and bone health, how it may help with more graceful aging, and even how it might play a role in helping someone to lose a little excess weight.
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