7 Facts You Need to Know About Chocolate

There is no good day to speak about this sweet brown hero because life and its happy moments are incomplete without these little treats to your taste buds. 

I am sure all of us have tasted chocolates, and most of us love them. 

Today, we will see how cocoa and other ingredients that make-up chocolate are transformed into the heck of a delight that it is.

1. Chocolates are known as the food of the Gods, and in today’s world, backed by science and research, they are upgraded to the list of functional foods. 

2. The flavonol and other antioxidant components present in cocoa makes it a healthy option.

3. If you want to reap the benefit of the highest level of antioxidants, always remember to go for less sugar and more cocoa chocolate. 

 4. Pick chocolates in which 55% to 95 % cocoa is present.

5. The darker the chocolate you consume, the fitter you become.  

6. Bitter the better is true for chocolates.

 7. There is only a letter difference between fit and fat, do not eat more than one ounce or 28 grams of dark chocolate per day.

The fresh cocoa beans are fermented and dried and sent to the chocolate factory. There are four steps in chocolate making in the factory.

1. Roasting gives the desired brown colour and aroma to the beans.
2. Winnowing removes the shells and separates the cocoa nib. 
3. The cocoa nib is ground with sugar and cocoa butter to obtain the cocoa mass.
4. Conching is mixing the liquid chocolate making sure cocoa butter is evenly distributed within the chocolate and gives uniform flavour and texture.
5. Tempering is heating and cooling the chocolate to obtain the desired particle size. This process gives a glossy and smooth finish to the chocolate.

Health benefits of dark chocolate

Dark chocolate is nutritious and also has polyphenols, flavanols and catechins that exhibit antioxidant activity.

Eating Dark Chocolate not only reduces blood pressure but improves heart health as it lowers LDL or bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. It reduces insulin resistance and improves blood flow to the brain. 

The latest researches show that dark chocolate relieves symptoms of depression and ensures good mental health.

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The post is a part of #MyFriendAlexa2021 by Blogchatter.