“Chocolate is basically fermented beans. It’s made from cocoa which is a prebiotic fiber, a type of fiber your gut microbes love to digest and turn into useful molecules for your gut,” explained National Health Service general surgeon Dr. Karan Rajan.
Scientists are getting a better taste of the early history of the domestication and use of cacao—the source of chocolate—thanks to residues detected on a batch of ancient ceramics from South and Central America. Using evidence from these artifacts, the researchers traced the rapid spread of cacao through trade routes after its initial domestication more than five millennia ago in Ecuador. They showed cacao’s dispersal to South America’s northwestern Pacific coast and later into Central America until it eventually reached Mexico 1,500 years later.
“Finer foods” such as chocolate and olive oil are about to get a lot more expensive thanks to a supply squeeze of key ingredients due to adverse weather and geopolitical unrest, fanning concerns about sticky inflation. Wet weather in West Africa has rocketed cocoa prices to all-time highs, making chocolate more expensive just before Easter.
Mars has confirmed they have discontinued one of its popular Easter treats. The milk chocolate rose gold-colored eggs, filled with crunchy caramel pieces, were launched in 2019.
Construction in Barcelona revealed a medieval mansion unknown to archaeologists with remains of a chocolate factory still within it. A construction site in Spain last year accidentally uncovered the remains of a 14th century mansion that once housed a chocolate factory. The factory helped make renowned Clemente Guardia chocolates, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Chocolate chip ice cream, once a year-round staple, has fallen out of favor. Vanilla chocolate chip ice cream, once a staple of the ice cream world and one of the top sellers of all time, has fallen out of favor. The flavor can still be found, but it has been losing ground to flavors with more stuff, like cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough. Communications specialist for Babcock Dairy Plant, which has 75 years of ice-cream making under its belt, in Madison, Wis. said that chocolate chip hasn’t been a staple for a decade – “Now it’s seasonal.” Meaning, made for summer only.
Cocoa prices soared to all-time highs last week as deteriorating weather conditions and disease challenges hammered crop yields in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, home to 60% of the world’s production. Cocoa futures have surged nearly 40% since the start of the year to notch an intraday all-time high of $5,874 per metric ton Thursday. Prices of chocolates rose 11% in the past year, according to consumer intelligence database NielsenIQ, using data compiled through Jan. 27.
On the heels of legal weed and the growing fervor around microdosing, magic mushroom chocolates have made the leap from dry caps and dank truffles to luxe candy bars and bon bons.
Candy bars have been in existence for a long time—easily more than 150 years! Although certain candy bars come and go, some popular varieties have surprisingly been around since the early days. Here are 24 of the oldest candy bars still available.
One US website has officially found a way to offend all Kiwis at once – claiming Whittaker’s is one of the worst chocolate brands worldwide. Tasting Table officially ranked 25 popular chocolate brands with Whittakers placing 24th, somehow slipping lower than the likes of Lindt, Kinder and Toblerone. (“The only reason Whittaker’s landed lower on the list is due to the shipping price for consumers outside of Australia or New Zealand,” the website states.)
A new study has found that eating dark chocolate can reduce the risk of essential hypertension.
The case is seeking damages for anyone in Florida who’s bought items including Reese’s peanut butter pumpkins, peanut butter bats, peanut butter footballs, and a Christmas assortment of peanut butter snowmen, stockings, and bells.
Check the chocolate for signs of spoiling, but it’s probably just fine. Click, HERE, for more info.
An exhibit detailing the rich history of Jews and chocolate in this country, “Sweet Treat: Chocolate and the Making of American Jews,” is on view at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, where Deborah Prinz, author of the book, “On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao,” began her career as the Reform congregation’s first female rabbi.
Chocolate prices have already surged 17% in the U.S. over the past 2 years as commodity costs from cocoa to sugar jumped, according a consumer researcher.
Dogs and cats love food, but they are not supposed to have certain foods such as coffee, chives, onions, grapes, and garlic. But one very dangerous food for both dogs and cats is something many humans love: chocolate. When it comes to chocolate, it is toxic for both dogs and cats. This is because chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine, which is used medicinally as a blood vessel dilator, heart stimulant, and for other purposes. To learn more, click HERE.
Chocolate is just not a big source of either lead or cadmium in diets! The news that chocolate contained lead and cadmium made waves last year. But, a closer look at the data—as well as reactions from actual medical toxicologists—indicates that the risk of heavy metals in chocolate is actually pretty low. CR used a very conservative threshold for determining “high” levels of the metals, which are not backed by major regulatory and health agencies, including the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration. While pressuring chocolate companies to do more to keep contaminants out of our treats is a reasonable goal, this is not something anyone needs to fret about. For more details, click HERE.
Oscar winner shares photo of sculpture, modelled on his Gladiator strongman Maximus, made for chocolate festival in Malta. (click HERE)
Oct 17, 2023 – Prices for cocoa, the main ingredient used to make chocolate, rose to the highest ever on Tuesday as demand for the beans appears to be holding well despite the constant increase in costs, experts said. Financial investors were said to be the main driver of prices on the Intercontinental Exchange in London, where the March cocoa contract hit a peak of 3,155 pounds per metric ton, the highest price since cocoa futures started trading there in 1920. The March contract last traded 1% up at 3,140 pounds/ton.
Mars Inc have announced the Galaxy bar will be the latest sweet treat to shrink, going from 110g to 100g per chocolate bar.
Created by Doug Bouton, co-founder of Halo Top Ice Cream, and Ryan Bouton, the first employee of Halo Top Ice Cream, Gatsby Chocolate is determined to rewrite the rules of the chocolate industry, just as its predecessor transformed the world of ice cream. According to the company, Gatsby Chocolate boasts half the calories of premium chocolate brands like Godiva, Ghirardelli, and Lily’s, with 80-90 percent less sugar, carbs, and fat per serving.
For nearly 70 years, workers minted Frango chocolates on the 13th floor of the Marshall Field & Co. building on State Street. Frango production moved out of state in 1999 to the dismay of civic leaders and local mint chocolate aficionados. More than two decades later, chocolate has made its return to the upper floors of the building now anchored by the Macy’s department store, where candy giant Ferrero is opening its first North American research and development lab and innovation center.
Guests aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice-class Celebrity Equinox have reported a new $2 (USD) charge for chocolate chip cookies, with a 20% gratuity added to the cost – making each sweet treat $2.40.
Emerging science tells us we are what we eat in more ways than one. Not only does the food we consume impact our gut health, our gut health also impacts our brain and other body systems. In an interview with CBS News, Dr. Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist and author of “This Is Your Brain on Food,” shared the key elements to include in your diet for boosting both physical and mental health – including chocolate!
Bitzel’s Chocolate says it is offering a ‘Willy Wonka-Style Experience’ at its new 7,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, when it opens its doors in Suwanee, Georgia, USA, in the autumn. Click, HERE, for more info.
Interstate 80 near Colfax, Calif., was recently America’s sweetest motorway. That’s because a truck there carrying 40,000 pounds of chocolate caught fire. Luckily, no injuries were reported, and firefighters were able to put out the fire quickly. The incident did, however, result in a humongous pile of melted chocolate on the road. Now, how sweet would it have been to have a truck hauling marshmallows and graham crackers show up?!
A man in the United Kingdom who stole 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs weeks before Easter has been sentenced to 18 months in jail. Joby Pool, 32, stole about $40,000 worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs on Feb. 11. Pool broke into an industrial unit and took off with the chocolates in a stolen truck. Pool was sentenced to a year and a half in jail. Half of that time will be spent behind bars, with the other half on license along with the previous six months in custody counting toward his sentence.
“Chocolate” represents a diverse category of products with distinctive and delicious flavors, often with pleasant “mouth feel,” and a range of sweetness. These items are mostly enjoyed as luxury foods and beverages, but for many people, chocolate is a “priority indulgence.” For now, these items are available and relatively affordable, but that isn’t something that should be taken for granted.
If one of your health goals is to eat healthy, nutrient-rich foods, you may assume that means saying goodbye to anything chocolatey. Good news: There’s 100 percent a place for chocolate in a balanced diet—especially if you go dark.
A tin of Cadbury chocolates that has been perfectly preserved for 121 years will go to auction soon. The confectionery was originally given to nine-year-old Mary Ann Blackmore to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on June 26 1902. Cadbury adorned the special tins of vanilla chocolates with the two monarchs to mark the event. Blackmore kept the chocolates in tact for her entire life; her family have now brought the treats to Hanson’s Auctioneers in Derby. Auctioneer Morven Fairlie said: “If you do open the tin, it does smell of chocolate, but I wouldn’t want to risk it.”
Chocolate Lake Co. has a production capacity of 2,600 tons a month and exports to over 32 countries. It plans on breaking into the Latin American market.
That chocolate craving is going to get harder to satisfy. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria account for nearly 75% of the world’s cocoa bean harvest. Right now, El Niño is threatening western African crops, which could create higher prices come 2024.
Theo Chocolate is shutting down its Seattle manufacturing operations and cutting dozens of jobs amid a merger with the American Licorice Company.
Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican from Wisconsin, introduced legislation to stop the White House from excluding flavored milk in schools. The MILK Act, which stands for “Milk is Indisputably Liked by Kids,” proposes amending the National School Lunch Act to require schools to offer flavored milk in their lunch programs. “The Biden administration wants to exclude chocolate milk from being offered at schools across America. We believe that milk should be offered, including chocolate milk,” Rep. Tiffany said. “In fact, I think it’s a great tradition. I remember back when I was in school—every Friday, we had chocolate milk.”
Chocolate prices have risen by 14% in the past year, according to consumer intelligence database NielsenIQ. Sugar, another principal ingredient of chocolate, is also seeing price spikes — breaching an 11-year high in April. Among the different varieties of chocolate, prices of dark will reportedly be the hardest hit.
Production of cocoa beans in West Africa — the largest growing region — may fall in the next season by as much as 8% on adverse weather, according to Fuad Mohammed Abubakar, head of Ghana Cocoa Marketing Company. Cocoa prices already surged to the highest in seven years this season following a disappointing harvest in top exporter Ivory Coast that worsened the global deficit.
Hershey’s Kisses are instantly recognizable as being the flat-bottom tear drops wrapped in foil. And they always have a strip of parchment paper – called a ‘plume’ – completing the aesthetic. As with many success stories, there are multiple versions of how the distinctive confectionery got its iconic name. But the one theory that seems to be most widely accepted is that it is all to do with the sound and motion of the machines that make the sweet treat. Not only does the dispenser appear to ‘kiss’ the convey belt as it deposits the chocolate but also makes a similar ‘kissing’ sound during production.
Softs sector markets have taken turns rallying over the last few years, with most of the moves tied to global weather. One of the latest to make a strong move is cocoa, with the majority of key growing areas seeing weather patterns reducing production. However, supply driven markets are usually short-term meaning the dynamics of the market change with the weather.
For a combination of rich, satisfying flavor and healthy nutrients, it’s hard to beat chocolate. It’s the cacao in chocolate that provides its health benefits—as well as its unique taste. A single ounce of dark chocolate (70 to 85% cacao content) provides 42% of the iron, 56% of the copper, 24% of the manganese, and 15% of the magnesium you need daily. It also contains flavanols, antioxidants, and healthy fats. Click HERE for more ways chocolate can boost your health.
Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury has announced its intention to make a huge change to its chocolate bars. Cadbury will create recipes using plant-based fibers in an effort to cut up to 75 per cent of sugar and fat.
Chocolate milk, long a school-cafeteria mainstay, could be coming off the menu. Concerned about the amount of added sugars children are consuming, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a ban on flavored milk— including chocolate, strawberry and other varieties—in elementary and middle schools when it adopts new standards for school meals.
