Chocolate comes from the cacao plant. Chocolate is made from cacao solids (also called cocoa powder) and ocoa butter, both found naturally in cacao pods.

• botanical information
• origin
• history
• nutritional information
• preparation
• cautions and contraindications

botanical information:

    Chocolate comes from cacao beans. Cacao beans are the seeds of the cocao tree.

origin:

    Origin: Mexico and Central America.

history:

    History: The Aztecs and the Mayans had the first cacao plantations.

nutritional information:

    Dark chocolate is single greatest source of antioxidants of any commonly available food.

    Chocolate is a source of copper.

    An Aztec drink called chocolati was made by mixing crushed cacao beans and water. Chili peppers and vanilla were sometimes added for flavoring. Montezuma II (emperor of the Aztecs from 1502 to 1520) drank chocolati from golden goblets. He said “It is the divine drink that builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.”.

    Europeans added cane sugar to make modern chocolate.

    Mole poblano is a common Mexican sauce made from cacao and chiles and used on chicken and turkey. This sauce was created by nuns at the convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla, Mexico, in the 17th century.

preparation:

    Sprinkle cinnamon on hot chocolate.

cautions and contraindications:

    Toxic to animals: Chocolate (especially dark chocolate) should never be fed to cats or dogs.

save real chocolate:

    U.S. corporate interests, led by Hershey, are trying to get federal law changed to take away your real chocolate.

    Under current U.S. law, real chocolate has to be made with cacao solids and cocoa butter, both products of the cacao tree’s natural cacao pods. And milk chocolate must be made with whole milk.

    Under the proposed changes, real chocolate will become a specialty product reserved solely for the very rich, and the word “chocolate” would be used for fake chocolate that substitutes non-cacao products, including using cheap vegetable oils instead of real cocoa butter and using milk protein concentrates instead of whole milk in milk chocolate.

    Under current law, these kinds of fake chocolate must be called “chocolate flavored”, “chocolaty”, or “cocoalicious”, making clear to thew consumer that they are fakes that have no health benefits.

    Real chocolate reduces the risk of stroke and heart failure and has strong anti-cancer benefits. The fake chocolate increases health risks.

    In order to increase corporate profits at the expense of the nation’s health, Hershey Co. got the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Snack Food Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to submit a “citizen’s petition” to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claiming that Americans no longer wanted real chocolate.

    These corporate thugs lied to the FDA under oath and falsely claimed “Consumer expectations still define the basic nature of food. There are, however, no generally held consumer expectations today concerning the precise technical elements by which commonly recognized foods are produced. Consumers, therefore, are not likely to have formed expectations as to production methods, aging time or specific ingredients used for technical improvements, including manufacturing efficiencies.”

    The corporations are claiming that Americans don’t want real chocolate when they purchase an item labelled choclate!

    The only way to stop this corporate travesty is to flood the FDA with protests, but the FDA has purposely hidden the method for real citizens to protest the proposed change by burying the comment on their website under the bureaucratic title “2007P-0085: Adopt Regulations of General Applicability to All Food Standards that Would Permit, Within Stated Boundaries, Deviations from the Requirements of the Individual Food Standrads of Identity”.

    You need to get your comment in to protest this corporate thievery. The website Don’t Mess With Our Chocolate has specific instructions on how you can wade through the ridiculous government standards designed to prevent citizen comments.

    Comment and get your friends who enjoy chocolate to comemnt. And get your comments in by April 25, 2007.

    To take action, go to Don’t Mess With Our Chocolate.

    You can also boycott Hershey Co. for their attempts to destroy American choclate. Among their chocolate brands to permanently avoid ever buying are: Almond Joy, Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s, Cadbury, La Dulceria Thalia, 5th Avenue cnady bar, Heath toffee bar, Hershey’s chocolate bar, Hershey’s Extra Dark, Hershey’s Pot of Gold, Hershey’s Sticks, Kissables, Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat, Krackel, Mauna Loa, Milk Duds, Hershey’s Miniatures, Mounds, Mr. Goodbar, Hershey’s Nuggets, Payday, Reese’s Fast Break, Reese’s Nutrageous, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Reese’s Pieces, Reesesticks, Rolo caramels, Hershey;s S’Mores, Skor toffee bar, Special Dark, Hershey’s Symphany, Take 5, Whatchamacallit, Whoppers, and York peppermint pattie.

    Herhsey products to boycott include: Almond Joy, Hershey’s Bake Shoppe, Breathsavers mints, Bubble Yum, Cacao Reserve by hershey’s, Cadbury chocolates, Hershey’s chocolate Milk Mix, Hershey’s cocoa, Hershey’s hot cocoa mix, Hershey’s Cookies, La Dulceria Thalia, Hershey’s Extra Dark, Reese’s Fast Break, 5th Avenue, Good & Plenty, Hershey’s Mini Kisses Cookies, Hershey’s Sticks, Heath toffee bar, Hershey’s Bake Shoppe, Hershey’s Brownies, Hershey’s chocolate bar, Hershey’s chocolate milk mix, Herhsey’s cocoa, Hershey’s Cookies, Hershey’s dessert toppings, Hershey’s Extra Dark, Hershey’s hot cocoa mix, Hershey’s Mini Kisses Cookies, Herhsey’s Pot of Gold, Herhsey’s Really Nuts, Hershey’s Sandwich Cookies, Snacksters, Hershey’s Syrup, Ice Breakers chewing gum, Ice Breakers Liquid Ice mints, Ice Breakers mints, Jolly Rancher fruit chews candy, Jolly Rancher gummies candies, Jolly Rancher hard candy, Jolly Rancher jelly beans, Jolly Rancher lollipops, Jolly Rancher Screaming Sours candies, Kissables, hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat wafer bar, Krackel chocolate bar, Mauna Loa, Milk Duds candy, Hershey’s Miniatures, Mounds candy bar, Mounds sweetened coconut flakes, Mr. Goodbar chocolate bar, Hershey’s Nuggets, Reese’s Nutrageous candy bar, 100 Calorie Bars, Hershey’s Sticks, Payday peanut caramel bar, Hershey’s Pot of Gold, Hershey’s Really Nuts, Hershey’s Brownies, Reese’s Fast Break, Reese’s Nutrageous candy bar, Reese’s peanut butter, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Rese’s Pieces candy, Hershey’s Sandwich Cookies, Reesesticks wafer bars, Rolo caramels in milk chocolate, Hershey’s S’Mores, Skor toffee bar, Snack Barz, Snacksters, Special Dark, Hershey’s Sugar Free candy, Hershey’s Sweet & Salty granola bars, Hershey’s Symphony, Hershey’s Syrup, Take 5 candy bar, La Dulceria Thalia, Hershey’s desert toppings, Twizzlers candy, Twizzlers cherry bites candies, Twizzlers Nibs candy, Twizzlers Twerpz candy, Whatchamacallit candy bar, Whoopers malted milk balls, York peppermint pattie, Zagnut candy bar, and Zero candy bar.

    Let’s put Hershey’s out of business.

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