Category: News

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There’s more great chocolate available than ever. Here’s what to look for and how to savor it.

There’s more great chocolate available than ever. Here’s what to look for and how to savor it.

WASHINGTON POST

While most of us tend to think of chocolate as a single flavor, cocoa has more than 600 aroma compounds that reflect the plant’s genetic makeup and where it was grown, fermented and dried. These diverse aromas and tastes are usually highlighted in more specialized chocolates, but they can also be mixed and muted to achieve the consistent flavors we expect in mass-produced confections. Here’s what you need to know to find and savor your ultimate bar — or bars (CLICK HERE).

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Naturally pink chocolate is finally here. But how is it made?

Naturally pink chocolate is finally here. But how is it made?

POPULAR SCIENCE

Barry Callebaut, creators of the coveted “ruby chocolate,” says they’re finally bringing the pink-hued sweet stateside. Though the company still needs FDA approval to call the rose-colored bars “chocolate,” American consumers have been eagerly awaiting the domestic debut of the first new chocolate color in over 80 years. But how exactly Barry Callebaut produces such blush-colored bars without artificial colors is still a matter of some debate. The manufacturer is treating the process as a closely-guarded trade secret, though some industry insiders think they’re narrowing in on the truth.

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Ruby chocolate, or couverture, makes its American debut

Ruby chocolate, or couverture, makes its American debut

WASHINGTON POST

Americans can now savor chocolate that’s neither milk, white or dark, yet is an unexpectedly all-natural pink. Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut is rolling out ruby chocolate in the United States, nearly two years after unveiling its creation. It’s the first new natural shade of chocolate to enter the market since Nestle’s white bars hit store shelves in the 1930s.

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The smell of dark chocolate, demystified

The smell of dark chocolate, demystified

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Much like a fine wine, high-quality dark chocolate has a multi-layered scent and flavor, with notes of vanilla, banana or vinegar. Now, researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry which substances — and how much of them — make up this heavenly aroma. Although nearly 600 compounds have been identified in chocolate over the last century, only a fraction of them are known to contribute to the aroma.

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How to work with chocolate, and not have a meltdown doing it

How to work with chocolate, and not have a meltdown doing it

THE WASHINGTON POST

Chocolate. It’s everywhere. We know how to enjoy it, but not all of us know how best to work with it in the kitchen. Chocolate is actually an emulsion, or a suspension of cocoa solids in fat, and that’s one of the main reasons cooking with it can be tricky. So you have to take a little care, especially when it comes to heat. Matt Dixon, co-owner and head chocolate-maker at Washington-based chocolate company Harper Macaw, shared a few tips on how to get comfortable working with chocolate.

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ABC’s of Chocolate

ABC’s of Chocolate

KRON4

Studies report that chocolate is good for your health but how and which ones? Cacao, cocoa, Dutch cocoa, and chocolate, what’s the difference? Health expert, Karen Owoc, breaks it all down and explains which ones to eat and which ones to avoid.

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Tips on how to eat chocolate like a pro

Tips on how to eat chocolate like a pro

FOOD AND DRINK

Many of us love chocolate, but have you ever wondered how the professionals make sure that our delicious treats are up to scratch? If you are one of the people dedicated to teaching your taste buds to catch chocolate’s every complexity, award-winning chocolate maker, Antonino Allegra of Afrikoa Chocolate shares tips on how to taste chocolate like a master chocolatier.

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Godiva moves beyond chocolate to open 2,000 cafes

Godiva moves beyond chocolate to open 2,000 cafes

AP NEWS

Godiva is looking beyond its iconic gold gift box of chocolates. The Belgium confectioner is rolling out 2,000 cafes over the next six years that will serve a complete menu of items like the croiffle, a croissant and waffle hybrid that’s stuffed with fillings like cheese or chocolate and pressed on a waffle iron. Other items include an expanded list of coffees and a new collection of teas as well as grab-and-go items like sandwiches and yogurt parfaits.

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Barry Callebaut encourages use of all five senses in chocolate tasting

Barry Callebaut encourages use of all five senses in chocolate tasting

BAKE MAGAZINE

At a recent event at Barry Callebaut USA’s Chicago headquarters, culinary applications chef Mark Seaman discussed chocolate tasting. Attendees were given a burlap bag containing a white cocktail napkin, an eye mask, a small bottle of water, some paperwork, and a box with nine pieces of chocolate. “All five of our senses taste the chocolate. The mouth is going to be the last,” Seaman said about the tasting experience.

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Eating Chocolate Is Good for Your Brain and Other Body Organs, Scientists Say

Eating Chocolate Is Good for Your Brain and Other Body Organs, Scientists Say

THE EPOCH TIMES

Chocolate contains a plant-based group of compounds known as flavanols. Studies reveal that these flavanols directly impact an individual’s ability to concentrate and absorb information, leading to better information retention and understanding. Other studies show benefits to the heart and skin with the consumption of chocolate. “Eat and be healthy”!

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Woman angry over lack of chocolate ice cream takes baseball bat to Central West End Rally’s

Woman angry over lack of chocolate ice cream takes baseball bat to Central West End Rally’s

KMOV4

A woman reportedly used an aluminum baseball to break windows at a Central West End fast food restaurant after becoming angry over chocolate ice cream. The woman was angry because employees told her they only had vanilla ice cream and she wanted chocolate.

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Store pulls chocolate ducklings over racism complaint

Store pulls chocolate ducklings over racism complaint

KEYT

UK grocery chain Waitrose has apologized after being accused of racism over the names of three chocolate ducklings. The “Waitrose Trio of Chocolate Easter Ducklings” contains a white, milk and dark chocolate version, which were named “Fluffy,” “Crispy” and “Ugly” (as in “the ugly duckling” who turns into a “swan” in the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale!) respectively.

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5 Foods That Help Fight Disease, According To a Doctor

5 Foods That Help Fight Disease, According To a Doctor

RACHEL

And Chocolate is one of them! Research has shown that you can actually drink dark chocolate as hot cocoa. As long as it’s 70% dark chocolate (or higher), melting it down and mixing with the milk of your choice is good for you. “If you drink two of these a day, it will actually double the number of stem cells in your bloodstream, which improves regeneration.”

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Mars Wrigley is hiring a paid intern who will sample unreleased chocolate and candy and receive a year’s worth of treats as a bonus

Mars Wrigley is hiring a paid intern who will sample unreleased chocolate and candy and receive a year’s worth of treats as a bonus

INSIDER

Mars Wrigley is hiring a paid intern who will receive a year’s worth of candy! They will be able to sample unreleased products at trips to manufacturing sites. They will also help organize events to “give back to the community.”

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Chocolate is a big no-no for your doggo

Chocolate is a big no-no for your doggo

NEWCASTLE HERALD

As Easter approaches we can all feel the excitement building or the big weekend, because we know there will soon be a day we can eat as much chocolate as we desire and no one will bat an eyelid. Among the enjoyment of hot cross buns for breakfast and Easter egg hunts with the family, we can often forget one very important thing – just how toxic chocolate can be to dogs.

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Chocolate Seder gives the story of Passover a sugar high

Chocolate Seder gives the story of Passover a sugar high

PRESS HERALD

When Rabbi Laura Boenisch was a kid she envied her non-Jewish friends gorge on solid chocolate Easter bunnies and cream-filled chocolate eggs while she nibbled on dry matzo at Passover. She has put an end to such childhood jealousies by creating a chocolate Sedar, with all the symbolic foods of Sedar made of chocolate, including a chocolate Sedar plate and even mention of chocolate in the Sedar service!

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Why is it so hard to stop eating chocolate? Drexel scientist’s bittersweet research

Why is it so hard to stop eating chocolate? Drexel scientist’s bittersweet research

WHYW

An associate professor of nutrition sciences at Drexel University, noticed something you may have seen too: “People will say, ‘Oh, I love chocolate, if I eat one piece, I can’t stop.’ ” She partnered with a research biologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find out why. They designed a recently published study in which people ate chocolate, then filled out the same questionnaires used to measure responses to an addictive drug such as morphine.

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CHEF ON A MISSION TO HELP CANCER PATIENTS RECONNECT WITH CHOCOLATE FLAVORS

CHEF ON A MISSION TO HELP CANCER PATIENTS RECONNECT WITH CHOCOLATE FLAVORS

EWN

The Michelin-starred Spanish pastry chef Jordi Roca suffers from a rare neurological disease that affects his voice and throat. It made him wonder: what if he totally lost his sense of taste? The he challenge faced by the chef was to help the patients reconnect with chocolate flavors they had lost, via “other aural, visual and tactile sensations,” he said.

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Customers Shocked By Marks And Spencer’s ‘Suggestive’ Chocolate Bunny

Customers Shocked By Marks And Spencer’s ‘Suggestive’ Chocolate Bunny

LADBIBLE

Shops are filled wall-to-wall with chocolate, which makes it difficult for manufacturers to get their chocolate to stand out from the rest. It looks like Marks and Spencer have pulled a blinder this year though, with their ‘yoga bunny’, grabbing all the chocolate-based headlines.

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Dark Chocolate Is The Breakout Spring Hair-Color Trend Of 2019

Dark Chocolate Is The Breakout Spring Hair-Color Trend Of 2019

REFINERY 29

Typically, the first sign of spring triggers the sudden urge to book a salon appointment to revive your bright-blonde highlights before summer. But this season, if you’re influenced by the hair-color trends that are everywhere right now, you may find yourself side-stepping the peroxide bowl altogether for the dimensional dark-brunette shade du jour: a rich brown that we’re calling “chocolate glaze.”

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The Russell Stover Chocolate Egg Flavors For 2019 Will Make You Want To Collect Them All

The Russell Stover Chocolate Egg Flavors For 2019 Will Make You Want To Collect Them All

BUSTLE

Easter is right around the corner, and that means one important thing: chocolate eggs. Russell Stover is the holy grail when it comes to a delicious variety of chocolate eggs. In the spirit of that, here’s a full list of Russell Stover chocolate egg flavors for Easter 2019, so we can let the springtime candy hunt officially begin.

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Entrepreneur uses bicycle to make organic chocolate

Entrepreneur uses bicycle to make organic chocolate

AFRICA NEWS

In Ivory Coast, Dana Mroueh’s chocolate factory is a rarity – and not only because the world’s top cocoa grower produces precious little finished chocolate. In the middle of the floor of her company Mon Choco’s factory sits a grinding bike, surrounded by large trays of carefully sorted cocoa beans. Poured in a funnel, beans are transformed into a paste by a grinder activated through pedaling.

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How to ward off chocolate cravings

How to ward off chocolate cravings

WSLS

One recent poll shows chocolate is the No. 1 craved food in the US. According to the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Susan Albers, our brains are wired so when the thought of chocolate pops into our heads, our brains begin to elaborate on it. She says before we know it, we’re thinking about how it smells and tastes, and then we want more. To diffuse those consuming thoughts, think about something else as quickly as possible.

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The WWII Bomber Who Dropped Chocolate Over Germany

The WWII Bomber Who Dropped Chocolate Over Germany

TOWN NEWS

At the end of World War II, Germany was divided. Berlin, its capital, was in crisis. The city was partially controlled by the Soviets, who held it under a siege. In order to save millions from starvation, the United States and England devised a plan: They would send in basic supplies by air and defy the Soviets. But candy? Well that was just a sweet surprise.

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Inside Newcastle’s Nestlé chocolate factory – how tons of favorite sweets are made

Inside Newcastle’s Nestlé chocolate factory – how tons of favorite sweets are made

CHRONICLE LIVE

Business editor Graeme Whitfield is given a tour of the Nestlé plant at Fawdon. The plant, which opened in 1958 when then owners Rowntree needed to add capacity to its York factory, covers more than 100,000 square meters and employs almost 600 people to churn out hundreds of tons of sweet treats every week. It makes some of the best known names on the sweet aisle, from Rolos and Toffee Crisps to Fruit Pastilles, Caramac and Matchmakers.

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Chocolate Maker Stakes Health Claim

Chocolate Maker Stakes Health Claim

FOOD PROCESSING

Barry Callebaut is trying to convince the FDA that chocolate is health food—or at least, has a health benefit. The Swiss-based chocolate manufacturer petitioned the FDA to be allowed to claim on packaging and in advertising that chocolate has cardiovascular benefits. The petition refers to studies that flavanols found in cocoa can have a beneficial effect on blood vessel dilation, improving blood flow and possibly lowering blood pressure.

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How cocoa turned into chocolate: Chocolate history and how it’s made

How cocoa turned into chocolate: Chocolate history and how it’s made

SCIENCE MEETS FOOD

From the “food of the gods”, to being used to pay taxes and playing important roles in religious ceremonies, to its recognizable uses in romance, chocolate has always been important one way or another, serving various purposes at different points in history and geography.

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Want to Get Paid to Eat Chocolate and Take a Road Trip? We’ve Got the Gig for You

Want to Get Paid to Eat Chocolate and Take a Road Trip? We’ve Got the Gig for You

WTOL

Are you a chocolate lover with a bit of wanderlust? Well, there are three open positions at Tony’s Chocolonely that you should apply for ASAP. The Portland-based candy company is looking for one captain and two co-pilots to take charge of its “Chocotruck” this spring.

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Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Benefits of Dark Chocolate

REFLECTOR

If you are a chocolate lover, you will be delighted over this scrumptious finding: research suggests that dark chocolate may be good for your love muscle — the heart. The cocoa in dark chocolate naturally contains anti-oxidants, protecting your heart and blood vessels from damage and disease.

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Here’s What Assorted Chocolate You Are, Based on Your Zodiac Sign

Here’s What Assorted Chocolate You Are, Based on Your Zodiac Sign

KITCHN

Reading your horoscope is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get. Look to the stars to find out which chocolate-covered surprise is most like you inside. Are you mushy? Brittle? Crunchy? Oozy? Unexpected? Do you take a bite out of every single one, hate them all, and put them back? These are the assorted chocolates that most define you.

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Japanese Women Leave Valentine’s Day Tradition Of “Obligation Chocolate”

Japanese Women Leave Valentine’s Day Tradition Of “Obligation Chocolate”

NDTV

Japanese women have ditched a workplace tradition that dictates they must give chocolates to male colleagues on Valentines Day, with growing anger at the practice of “forced giving”. The tradition is called “giri choco” which literally means “obligation chocolates”, a tradition started in the mid-50’s.

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Keep chocolate away from your pets on Valentine’s Day

Keep chocolate away from your pets on Valentine’s Day

LODI NEWS

The onset of symptoms of chocolate toxicity in pets can be very rapid and include, but are not limited to, vomiting, diarrhea, rapid heart rate, excitement, drinking a lot, poor balance, muscle tremors, seizures, collapse and even death. Chocolate is a concern not only for the theobromine component, but it also contains caffeine. Chocolate affects the gastrointestinal tract, heart, nervous system, musculoskeletal system, kidneys, respiratory system and hormones.

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Cadbury chocolate may NEVER be same after Brit sweets giant LOSES trademark

Cadbury chocolate may NEVER be same after Brit sweets giant LOSES trademark

DAILY STAR UK

The popular confectioner has lost a long-running legal battle over the purple color of its wrapping. It has voluntarily given up its 1995 trademark of the color, called Pantone 2685C, after losing a court appeal. This means any company could now attempt to make chocolate wrapping with the same color as the iconic one of Cadbury.

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A fifth of people would dodge the law to get their hands on chocolate if they had to.

A fifth of people would dodge the law to get their hands on chocolate if they had to.

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION

A survey by the British Heart Foundation highlighted the UK’s obsession with cocoa. 2.7 million people would leave the UK if there was a chocolate ban. Over a third of those polled claimed that nothing would make a ban on chocolate acceptable, even saving the planet.

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The Australian Chocolate Market is Anticipated to Exceed $4.3 Billion by 2023

The Australian Chocolate Market is Anticipated to Exceed $4.3 Billion by 2023

BUSINESS WIRE

The chocolate market is projected to surpass $4.3 billion by 2023, on the back of growing chocolate consumption and rising demand for niche product categories such as organic chocolate products. Moreover, increasing focus of chocolate manufacturers on offering innovative products; for instance, Mondelez launching Cadbury Dairy Milk with Oreo in mint and strawberry flavors, is expected to positively influence the country’s chocolate market in the coming years.Rising number of health-conscious consumers, increasing demand for premium chocolates and rapid expansion of e-commerce in FMCG are some of the other factors that would fuel growth in Australia chocolate market during the forecast period.