tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31912959909501626752012-02-16T15:01:15.721-08:00chocolatholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04833957067196666001noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3191295990950162675.post-20866913588348964292008-10-16T00:14:00.000-07:002008-10-16T00:17:18.344-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FGvWJr4yfGA/SPbqGkmGMgI/AAAAAAAAAAU/0QjdFNMQaoc/s1600-h/imagesc1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FGvWJr4yfGA/SPbqGkmGMgI/AAAAAAAAAAU/0QjdFNMQaoc/s400/imagesc1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257647013625213442" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);"><b>Chocolate</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA" title="Help:IPA" class="mw-redirect">pronounced</a> <span class="IPA audiolink nounderlines" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/En-us-chocolate.ogg" class="internal" title="En-us-chocolate.ogg">/ˈtʃɒklət/</a></span><span class="metadata audiolinkinfo"> <small>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help" title="Wikipedia:Media help">help</a>·<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:En-us-chocolate.ogg" title="Image:En-us-chocolate.ogg">info</a>)</small></span> or /-ˈələt/) comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacao" title="Cacao">cacao</a> tree. Native to lowland, tropical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America" title="South America">South America</a>, cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America" title="Central America">Central America</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican peoples made chocolate beverages, including the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization" title="Maya civilization">Maya</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec" title="Aztec">Aztecs</a>, who made it into a beverage known as <i>xocolātl</i>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuatl" title="Nahuatl">Nahuatl</a> word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_%28taste%29" title="Bitter (taste)" class="mw-redirect">bitter</a> taste, and must be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation_%28food%29" title="Fermentation (food)">fermented</a> to develop the flavor. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted, and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs. The nibs are then ground and liquified, resulting in pure chocolate in fluid form: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_liquor" title="Chocolate liquor">chocolate liquor</a>. The liquor can be further processed into two components: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_solids" title="Cocoa solids">cocoa solids</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_butter" title="Cocoa butter">cocoa butter</a>.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_chocolate" title="Sweet chocolate" class="mw-redirect">sweet chocolate</a>, combining chocolate with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar" title="Sugar">sugar</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_chocolate" title="Milk chocolate" class="mw-redirect">Milk chocolate</a> is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_chocolate" title="White chocolate">White chocolate</a>" contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids (and thus does not qualify to be considered true chocolate). Chocolate contains <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaloid" title="Alkaloid">alkaloids</a> such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine" title="Theobromine">theobromine</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenethylamine" title="Phenethylamine">phenethylamine</a>, which have some physiological effects in humans, but the presence of theobromine renders it toxic to some animals, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog" title="Dog">dogs</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat" title="Cat">cats</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-dogs_0-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate#cite_note-dogs-0" title="">[1]</a></sup>. It has been linked to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin" title="Serotonin">serotonin</a> levels in the brain. Scientists claim that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_pressure" title="Blood pressure">blood pressure</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-pantograph_1-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate#cite_note-pantograph-1" title="">[2]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_chocolate" title="Dark chocolate" class="mw-redirect">Dark chocolate</a> has recently been promoted for its health benefits, as it seems to possess substantial amount of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant" title="Antioxidant">antioxidants</a> that reduce the formation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_radical" title="Free radical" class="mw-redirect">free radicals</a>.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_bunny" title="Easter bunny" class="mw-redirect">bunnies</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg" title="Easter egg">eggs</a> are popular on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter" title="Easter">Easter</a>, chocolate coins on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah" title="Hanukkah">Hanukkah</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus" title="Santa Claus">Santa Claus</a> and other holiday symbols on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas" title="Christmas">Christmas</a>, and hearts on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day" title="Valentine's Day">Valentine's Day</a>. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_milk" title="Chocolate milk">chocolate milk</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chocolate" title="Hot chocolate">hot chocolate</a>.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3191295990950162675-2086691358834896429?l=chocolatever.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>chocolatholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04833957067196666001noreply@blogger.com0