World chocolate day

The most indulgent day of the year
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26.09.2017
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This year and for the 7th year in a row, the world Cocoa and Chocolate day will take place on October 1st. This day was created in 2010, on an idea from the French Chocolate Academy. It aims not only at celebrating the delicious cocoa bean but also at promoting the work of the all the planters in the countries which produce cocoa.

For the occasion, we have written for you this little article focusing on chocolate. Be careful, you are likely to fall… for a piece of chocolate.

 

Several kinds of chocolate…

 

Black chocolate is the more natural one. It is a mix between cocoa and sugar, which has to contain at least 35% of cocoa. The amount of sugar used depends on the bitterness and of the variety of the cocoa.

Taste our chocolate cake Elle & Vire Style.

Milk chocolate is obtained by adding powder or concentrate milk to chocolate. European and Swiss legislations require at least 25% of cocoa but only 10% in the USA. However, it usually has around 40% cocoa. 

Enjoy this delicious chocolate milk mousse designed by Elle & Vire.

White chocolate is made out of cocoa butter, sugar, milk and aroma. It is called chocolate even if it does not contain cocoa.

Celebrate this day too with Elle & Vire with this semi-frozen log with white chocolate and fruit heart

 

… For several ways to taste it.

 

It can be cooked as well as a beverage (usually with milk) or as bars, as bites, as ice creams, as cakes, or as chocolate spread ... Chocolate goes also well with alcohols and dry fruits. 

 

Why should you eat chocolate ?

 

Cocoa contains a substance named anandamide, also known as the “happiness molecule”, which creates a feeling of euphoria. Thus, you are more likely to be in a good mood if you eat a piece of chocolate at the end of your meal.

Broadly speaking, chocolate is full of minerals and gives a strong boost when you feel a little tired, and without much soliciting your nervous system.

Another component of cocoa triggers endorphins in your brain. The latters are naturally delivered when you fall in love and are an unsuspected source of energy. This is probably the reason why chocolate is often offered for Valentine’s Day.

Cocoa contains many antioxidants, which are protecting your heart from cardiovascular diseases and lengthen skin-ageing process.

 

A bit of History :

 

The cocoa tree comes from the tropical plains of Southern and Central America. It has been cultured at least for three millenniums in these areas and in the current Mexico. At that time, cocoa beans were considered as a luxury good and often used as a currency (for bartering and taxes). In the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, cocoa was used as a beverage and more scarcely eaten by kings and notables with their meat.  

Even if chocolate has been discovered in 1502 by Christophe Colomb, it has only been imported in Europe since the Aztec conquests. It has soon become very prized in the Spanish court. The first commercial shipping would have taken place in 1585. At that time, chocolate was still used as a beverage but Europeans used to add sugar and milk to conceal its bitter taste.

As it has also been the case for tea and coffee, the Church has long discussed the issue of knowing wether chocolate was food or a source of enjoyment. In 1662, chocolate was declared lean and people were even authorized to eat some during Lent.

At the beginning of the 18th century, mechanic mills were used to extract cocoa butter, which helped to create a chocolate that was staying solid. When the industrial revolution ran out, companies promoted this new invention to sell chocolate in its current shapes.

At the beginning of the XIXth century, the first chocolate factories appeared in Europe (especially in Switzerland, in France and in the Netherlands). The supremacy of the Swiss chocolate industry, which spearheaded technology and marketing, lasted only the first half of the XXth century, until the arrival of big American companies.  

 


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