Was chocolate originally a drink? And you had to add chili to it!!

Do you remember the feeling of eating chocolate for the first time? No matter you feel guilty after eating it, or you want to have another piece, when the chocolate melts in your mouth, the pure and rich, smooth and delicate taste, the bitter and sweet taste, will definitely make you want to have another piece regardless of all the "sin". However, you just eat the chocolate into your stomach, how much do you know about the gossip about chocolate?

01The History of Chocolate

When a foodie is craving for chocolate, he will walk into a store and say to the salesperson, "Give me a piece of chocolate!" But more than a hundred years ago, if a child had the same idea, he would say to the salesperson, "Give me a cup of chocolate!" Wait, a cup? Chocolate can be sold by the cup? Yes, the earliest chocolate was a beverage.

In faraway South America, there grows a strange plant - the cocoa tree, which bears cocoa fruit, which is full of cocoa beans. This cocoa bean is a great treasure, and it can be used to make delicious chocolate.

Roasted cocoa beans contain more than 50% oil, and oil is usually in liquid form. Therefore, the earliest chocolate was actually a greasy drink. Thousands of years ago, residents of Central and South America would fry cocoa beans with chili peppers, vanilla, etc. to make a drink. Such a drink may taste strange to us, but to them, it is a magical drink that makes people feel happy and energetic.

Image source: Pixabay

With the discovery of the New World, cocoa drinks began to spread to countries such as Spain, France, Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. This drink was also highly sought after as a high-end drink. Some people said it could be used to treat diseases because people who drank this drink would feel refreshed and full of energy; but some people thought it was a devil's food because they would have trouble sleeping after drinking it and wanted to stay away from it.

In 1828, Dutch chemist Johannes (1801-1887) invented a method to extract the fat from cocoa beans. This method can remove most of the fat from cocoa beans and grind the cocoa beans into finer cocoa powder, making the cocoa drink softer and smoother without too much fat. In 1847, the British used cocoa powder to make the first solid chocolate. From then on, people went from drinking chocolate to eating chocolate.

02Gangs and vests

Since the birth of chocolate, there have been many members, and they have formed gangs and factions. Now, there are three main gangs: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate.

Dark chocolate is made of cocoa powder and cocoa butter, with a cocoa content of more than 43%. Due to the small amount of milk and sugar, the cocoa aroma will not be masked by other flavors.

Milk chocolate is made by replacing cocoa butter with milk, and contains at least 10% cocoa. Among the three major gangs, milk chocolate is the most common. This type of chocolate has equal flavors of milk and cocoa.

White chocolate does not use cocoa powder. The main ingredient is cocoa butter, plus milk powder, sugar, and vanilla extract. The taste variation is limited and the calories are high. It only has the aroma of cocoa, and the taste is different from ordinary chocolate.

If you are a chocolate lover, after you have tasted chocolates from all three gangs, you will find that some chocolates always taste different, especially the cheap domestic products. Yes, you have eaten the knockoff version! Once the knockoff version is put on a vest and placed next to the original, it is really hard to tell the real from the fake. If you want to know whether you are eating a knockoff version, pick up the wrapping paper and take a look. Do you see the "cocoa butter substitute"? That "substitute" is not put on casually or accidentally. I still recognize you even if you put on a vest!

We know that cocoa butter is the oil extracted from cocoa beans, but cocoa butter substitutes are processed from palm oil, butter, soybean oil, peanut oil, etc., which not only do not contain flavanols, but also contain trans fatty acids that are harmful to the human body. The amount of non-cocoa plant fat added to real chocolate cannot exceed 5%, but because the price of cocoa butter is much more expensive than cocoa butter substitutes, most of the low-end chocolates in China are added with cocoa butter substitutes instead of cocoa butter. So, foodies, please pay attention, when you go to the store to buy, don't just look at the beautiful pictures on the package, but also read the small text.

03How is the nutrition?

People who like to eat chocolate think it smells good. Where does the smell come from? Modern food analysis has found that the smell of chocolate is mainly due to the flavor of cocoa itself. Cocoa contains theobromine and caffeine, which bring a pleasant bitter taste. The tannins in cocoa also have a light astringency. Cocoa butter can produce a rich and smooth taste.

The main ingredients of chocolate are cocoa butter and cocoa powder made from cocoa beans. It also contains rich polyphenol antioxidants. Among them, the most famous is flavanol. Flavanol compounds are a class of polyphenol compounds widely found in natural plants, which have good antioxidant properties. Part of the unique bitterness of chocolate comes from flavanols.

Clinical dietary intervention studies have also found that flavanols are beneficial to cardiovascular health, can promote human brain cognitive ability, lower blood pressure, prevent cardiovascular disease and other health effects. A study conducted a follow-up survey of more than 114,000 volunteers for 8 to 16 years and found that the incidence of cardiovascular disease was 37% lower and the incidence of stroke was 29% lower among those who ate the most chocolate than those who ate the least. It seems that we can become healthy and happy while enjoying the deliciousness of chocolate.

Image source: Pixabay

In addition, the flavanol content of different chocolates varies greatly. Dark chocolate contains the most total cocoa solids, up to 30%. The flavanol content of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate decreases in turn. White chocolate also lacks theobromine (which also helps blood vessel health) and contains other fat ingredients. Therefore, if you want a healthy piece of chocolate rich in flavanols, it is best to choose dark chocolate.

04Is it a healthy food?

Chocolate has so many benefits, so can we eat as much chocolate as we want? Do you really think chocolate is a health angel? If you take it seriously, you lose!

Although chocolate is healthy, don't ignore the sugar and fat in it. A piece of ordinary chocolate contains 50% carbohydrates and 30% fat, which is very high in energy and cannot be considered a very healthy food. Therefore, when we hope to obtain healthy flavanols from chocolate, we should also avoid eating too much and causing obesity, especially for children and women who love sweets. In the face of obesity, the health care effect of flavanols is absolutely lightweight.

However, foods rich in flavanols are not limited to dark chocolate. Green tea, red wine, fruits (such as apples and strawberries), vegetables (such as broccoli), etc. are also ideal foods for consuming flavanols. We can eat a little bit of each, which is more in line with the principle of a balanced diet.

Although chocolate is a delicacy and there is nothing wrong with liking to eat it, it is best not to eat too much!

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Master of Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University

Audit expert: Li Chunli

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