Archive for the ‘milk chocolate’ Category

There are several types of chocolate that are recognizable the world over.  Read on to see which is best for your health and taste or the health and taste of the recipient of that beautiful ballotin box full of delicious fine chocolates.

Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine (from the cacao plant) and phenethylamine, which have some physiological effects in humans, but the presence of theobromine renders it toxic to some animals, such as dogs and cats.  It has also been linked to serotonin levels in the brain.

Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions.  Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate.  It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor.  Chocolate liquor contains roughly 53 percent cocoa butter (fat), about 17 percent carbohydrates, 11 percent protein, 6 percent tannins, and 1.5 percent theobromine.

Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar.

Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk.

White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.  White chocolate is formed from a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter and milk solids. Although its texture is similar to milk and dark chocolate, it does not contain any cocoa solids, it  does not contain theobromine, meaning it can be consumed by animals.  Because it has no cocoa solids, many countries do not consider white chocolate as chocolate at all.

Dark chocolate has been promoted for its health benefits, as it seems to possess substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals.

Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat (cacao butter and/or plant oils) and sugar to the cacao mixture.  The U.S. Government calls this “sweet chocolate”, and requires a 15% concentration of chocolate liquor.  European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid (gallic acid good stuff and another topic altogether), and are thought to possess cardioprotective properties.  Dark chocolate has  been said help reduce the possibility of a heart attack (helps to lower blood pressure) when consumed regularly in small amounts.

Semisweet chocolate is a dark chocolate with a low sugar content.

Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor to which some sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin have been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking.

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Not many have heard of Daniel Peter, but Nestle is a household name.  Who would of thought that two enterprising entrepreneurs many decades ago would have such results in their quest for perfection as evidenced by the love of milk chocolate in today’s world.

Daniel Peter was a Swiss candle manufacturer in Vevey Switzerland until the use of kerosene made candle making a dying business.  Had it not been the advent of the oil lamp in the 1860’s we might well live a society today without milk chocolate.  AAckk!  What an aweful thought!

While searching for a better use of his candle factory, Peter fell in love with a chocolatier’s daughter and married her.  Following the example of his brother-in-law, Auguste Cailler, he started to manufacture chocolate in 1867.   However, even then chocolate making was competitive.

Daniel wanted something new to differentiate his product from his competitors. He had the idea of including milk into his chocolate, but found it almost impossible to do. Finally after much experimentation he was successful. However, the mixture turned sour in less than a week. He described the situation to a neighbor, Henri Nestle, who was encountering a similar stability problem with his baby food manufacturing process.

By pooling their efforts, the solution was found. Nearly all the water content was extracted from the milk before mixing it with cocoa to make chocolate. Hence, the world’s most popular confection — milk chocolate — was created in 1875 by using Henri Nestle’s “condensed” milk.

Peter refined his recipe over the next decade.  His chocolate became an international sensation.  Showered with medals at expositions, and embraced by the chocolate-loving public.
Having conquered Europe,  Peter was ready to invade the new world. In 1901, a representative of Lamont, Corliss and Company became the company’s first stateside sales representative. By 1907, a Peter’s manufacturing facility was opened in Fulton, New York.

Some years later, Lamont, Corliss and Company purchased the company, which would become Nestle’s Chocolate Company in 1951, proving how very small the world of chocolate truly is.

Since 1907 Nestle Chocolate & Confections has manufactured chocolate in the United States to the highest standard of quality. Peter’s Chocolate, a division of Nestle Food Company, continued the tradition, offering an extensive line of products known for their quality and consistency. It is a fitting tribute to Daniel Peter, the inventor of milk chocolate.
In 2002 the Peter’s brand was purchased by Cargill, Incorporated, which continues the tradition of producing milk chocolate from whole milk crumb in accordance with Daniel Peter’s original method.

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Since the discovery of chocolates, people have been crazy about it.  Today, people crave for great tasting and fine chocolates from different parts of the world. You have to admit almost everyone loves chocolates a little  all the way to the addicted and obsessed .   Especially those receiving chocolates as a gift.

Besides, who can resist a great tasting chocolate? From kids to the elders, chocolates are one of the most popular candies in the world. There are many countries that produce a particluar kind of chocolate. These countries offer great tasting fine chocolate. However, only a few countries are famous for their chocolates and one of these countries is Belgium.

Belgium is considered to be one of the best chocolate producers in the world. They produce high quality and find chocolates that everyone from all over the world love. People purchase Belgian chocolates in duty free terminals in international airports as gifts. Some travel all the way to Belgium just to get a fresh-made-today taste of the different Belgian chocolates that the country has to offer.

If you are a person who loves chocolates and you haven’t tasted Belgian chocolates yet, then do so immediately. Chocolate lovers the world over say that you can never get enough of Belgian chocolates. And you definitely cannot not try and eat just one, even if you are on a diet.

One type of Belgian chocolate to try is called the Belgian chocolate biscuit. In this type of chocolate, the biscuit is covered with creamy Belgian chocolate. It comes in different varieties of Belgian chocolate, such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate and there are also white chocolate coated biscuits available.

It has been said that you are missing a part of your life if you haven’t tasted Belgian chocolate biscuits. 

 Listed below are a variety of high quality Belgian chocolate biscuits to get you started:

These are just some of the Belgian chocolate biscuits to consider tasting. They are made from high quality biscuits and high quality Belgian chocolates.

 You will see that Belgian chocolates are different from other kinds of chocolates in that they  are creamy and offer a not-so-sweet taste.  One of the reasons why Belgian chocolates have became world famous.

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