Passion for Chocolate

Chocolate and contentment go together like winter and snow, hot dogs and baseball or peanut butter and jelly. This heavenly delight, which is considered devil's food, is so rich that it was once reserved for royalty only.

Where and when was this pure indulgence known as chocolate first sampled? In Europe, when Columbus came to the New World. But it was the conquistadors who traveled with Hernando Cortes (Spanish explorer and conqueror of Mexico) that really introduced chocolate to Europeans.

What started as a drink made from ground cocoa beans, water, chili powder and corn is now a confection that captivates--whether it's in a candy bar, cake, truffle, pie or pudding.

Semisweet (bittersweet) chocolate--It's a chocolate liqueur to which sweeteners and cocoa butter have been added; also known as dark chocolate. According to government standards, it must contain at least 35 percent chocolate liqueur. Its fat content averages 27 percent.

Sweet chocolate--It contains more sweeteners than semisweet chocolate and at least 15 percent chocolate liqueur. Sweet chocolate is used mostly for decorating and garnishing. The fat content is similar to semisweet.

Milk chocolate--Cocoa butter, milk, sweeteners and flavorings are added to chocolate liqueur. It lends itself to good use for garnishes and candy coatings. All milk chocolate made in the United States contains at least 10 percent chocolate liqueur and 12 percent whole milk.

Chocolate liqueur--It's produced by grinding the cocoa bean nib (center) to a smooth, liquid state. The chocolate liqueur can then be cooled and molded into blocks that are also known as unsweetened baking chocolate. The liqueur and blocks contain roughly 53 percent cocoa butter.

White chocolate--Although there is not yet a formal definition, white chocolate contains cocoa butter but no nonfat cocoa solids. It's mostly used as a coating and contains sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids and flavorings. Ever wonder what to do with leftover chocolate? Watch the video for a couple of ideas:

• Gather pretzels, potato chips or dried fruit, such as apricots, and just dip them in melted white and dark chocolate.

• Chocolate swirls can be used to decorate any dessert, such as ice cream or cakes. Just melt semisweet chocolate and cool it slightly before putting it in a piping bag. With a small nozzle, pipe designs onto waxed paper. Be creative! Cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes before removing paper.

The candy bar as we know it got its start around World War I, but during World War II it became standard issue for the GIs. There were a lot of advertisements at that time to sell chocolate to civilians, and one of the things they said was, "Our boys are marching to war on chocolate. Use it as an energy source here on the home front."

Nutritional Information
(based on 1 teaspoon chocolate)

calories: 143.2
fat: 9.7 grams
saturated fat: 5.7
percentage of calories from fat: 54.8
caffeine: 18.7 mg