“My mama always said, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”
— Forrest Gump
what forrest’s mama didn’t know about chocolates is that you can find them in nommish granola
The lovely sweet stuff that we see in desserts, candy and snacks has some pretty interesting characteristics.
unexpected nutrition
Fibre, iron, magnesium, copper manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium. You can find all these in dark chocolate and scientists say they’re good. This doesn’t mean you should start hunting for the nearest dark chocolate fondue buffet, as most chocolates are packed with a lots of sugars. But between dark chocolate and that pack of Haribo you’re looking at, cocoa might be the winner.
ORAC - Oxygen radical absorbance capacity
Yes, it’s a mouthful. What you should know is that unprocessed cocoa beans are amongst the highest scoring ORAC foods. This means it’s got great antioxidant properties which can help in fighting diseases.
don’t go breaking my heart
The compounds in dark chocolate appear to be highly protective against the oxidation of LDL (low-density lipoprotein). That should lower the risk of heart disease in the long run as it would cause much less cholesterol to lodge in the arteries. In a study of 470 elderly men, cocoa was found to reduce the risk of death from heart disease by a whopping 50% over a 15 year period.
columbus’ greatest discovery
Christopher Columbus was said to have discovered the first cocoa beans, and the returning crew of his fourth voyage took them back to Europe. To date it is unclear if he was searching for more cocoa or gold.
choc(K) full of surprises
In the 1940s, American physicist Percy Spencer was standing next to a military-grade magnetron (just imagine magnets on steroids), which caused a chocolate bar in his pocket to melt. The accident inspired Percy to investigate radar technology even further, which led to the invention of one of the greatest taboos for pro chefs - the microwave.