How can you use chocolate to add flavor to your foods and drink
(June 9, 2010)
Chocolate can add a delicious flavor to any food and drink in your everyday diet. Chocolate is made from cacao beans which contain at least 50% of fat. A one ounce serving of chocolate contains about 150 calories and about 8.5 grams of fat. Chocolates are generally low in saturated fats and are thus not very harmful in your everyday diet. Cacao beans are also rich in flavonoids, an excellent antioxidant.
This antioxidant content of chocolate helps prevent heart disease, cancer and strokes. When consumed in moderation, thus, chocolates can be a beneficial addition to your diet. There are several forms of chocolate available for consumption and for cooking in the market. In addition, you can make your own delicious chocolate preparations at home to add to your recipes. It is important however, to familiarize yourself with the many different varieties of chocolate that are available and their specific uses. For instance, chocolate required for baking is different from milk chocolate found in most candy bars. If a recipe calls for a particular kind of chocolate therefore, you should avoid substituting the kind of chocolate required for the best results. One of the most common varieties of chocolate is chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is the paste made from ground and roasted cocoa beans and forms the foundation for all kinds of chocolate. Baking chocolate is primarily used for baking cakes, cookies and brownies and is basically hardened chocolate liquor. This kind of chocolate is unsweetened and is used as a primary ingredient while baking with chocolate. Semi-sweet chocolate is also very popular and contains no more than 15 percent of chocolate liquor. Other varieties of chocolate include milk chocolate and cocoa powder. Milk chocolate forms the basis for most candy bars and contains sugar, chocolate liquor and milk. Cocoa powder is dehydrated chocolate liquor that is used in several chocolate recipes. Once you have familiarized yourself with the varieties of chocolate available, you can enliven your everyday diet by adding chocolate to it.
You can add chocolate to any recipe, provided it is in the right texture and consistency. Chocolate is an excellent addition to a fruit salad and adds a great flavor to it. Top your fruit salad with some homemade chocolate sauce and fresh cream to make it a delicious treat. In addition, you can top your desserts with grated chocolate or chocolate shavings to transform their flavor and appearance. You can add a scoop of chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce to your chilled coffee to enhance the flavor and texture of the drink. Chocolate sauce can also be served with milk as hot chocolate, a popular chocolate-based hot beverage. Add chocolate chips to your milkshake recipes to make them delicious and exciting.
