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Dark chocolate: health properties and 3 recipes.

To benefit from all its properties, it is very important that we consume chocolate as pure as possible, since if we add milk it will lose its antioxidant properties. Dark chocolate has innumerable studies where its multiple nutritional benefits are found. The Aztecs already used it in its pure state to remedy stomach and intestinal ailments, as well as relieve fever, which is why it was known as “the food of the gods”. Dark chocolate has aphrodisiac and even antidepressant principles, it stimulates our production of endorphins and also serotonin, essential to mitigate the effects of CFS.
This type of chocolate is one where added sugar is restricted and in which we obtain a 100% natural product. It is highly healthy and provides us with a series of very adequate calories, also taking care of our heart. All this also makes it suitable for diabetics to consume.

Nutritional benefits of dark chocolate

Remember that when we talk about dark chocolate we are referring to the pure one, which has 90% cocoa in its composition.

1. Minerals: contains phosphorus, magnesium and potassium.

2. Theobromine and caffeine: these two elements provide stimulants to the nervous system, similar to coffee or tea.

3. Stearic fatty acid: thanks to them, we reduce blood cholesterol and help our liver clean itself naturally by releasing this lipid.

4. Tryptophan: Promotes the release of serotonin, which improves our mood.

5. Anandamida: offers us relaxation and a feeling of well-being.
6. Phenylamine: Small euphoric and stimulants.
7. Epicatechin: antioxidant par excellence, helps us reduce cardiovascular diseases and alleviate the risk of arteriosclerosis. But be careful, if milk is added to dark chocolate we lose its oxidative value
8. Fiber: pure cocoa has a high fiber content that helps us promote intestinal transit.

Studies on the benefits of dark chocolate

For the heart: Carl Keen, professor at the University of California Nutrition: an ounce of dark chocolate gives us as many flavonoids as two glasses of red wine, regulating our blood pressure and preventing coronary diseases.
Antidepressant: Researchers at York's Hull Medical School have shown that taking a little dark chocolate every day combats chronic fatigue syndrome.
Muscle and Heart Improvements: Wayne State University, Detroit. Its scientists demonstrated that the consumption of dark chocolate increases the metabolism of cardiac muscles and skeletal muscles, thanks to epicatechin.

Dark chocolate: a superfood that you can make at home
If your addiction to good chocolate doesn't surprise me for something, it's because it comes from far away (okay, and because it's scandalous). The Mayas were the first civilization to cultivate the cocoa tree, the Xocoatl. In fact, in Mayan and Aztec legends, the cacao bean was a gift from the Gods. And it was so important that it was used as currency.

Although we can find good dark chocolate on the market, most of the ones that are on the market don't even come close. The usual offenders are usually low actual cocoa content. As well as the use of refined sugars or even corn syrup, dairy and soy lecithin.

Therefore, if we make our own dark chocolate tablets, cookie chips or chocolates, we can control the quality of each and every one of the ingredients that we are going to use. From cocoa butter to cocoa powder and the type and amount of sweetener: coconut sugar, xylitol, stevia... And we can make a dark chocolate of 85%, 90%, 95% or whatever you like.

Homemade dark chocolate: a recipe you don't want to miss.

Although the path to achieve the result that I am going to share with you today has not been direct. With my first attempts I was getting a rich tasting dark chocolate. But grainy in texture, matte or speckled in appearance, and melting on my fingers as soon as I took them out of the fridge.

With a little research, I learned that chocolate had to be tempered or tempered, a process with which, by melting and pre-crystallizing at specific temperatures, we achieve a smooth, shiny and crunchy chocolate. And it doesn't stick or melt on your fingers.

The art of making chocolate at home. I tell you how to make homemade dark chocolate in this post.


However, I continued studying the subject and learned that the process involved the use of marble and temperature control. And it seemed like a lot of complication to make a bar or chocolate chips from time to time. So I forgot about it, thinking that it wasn't such a big deal to have to keep the chocolate in the fridge either.

It must be that I didn't completely forget about it, because some time later I came across this page from Chef Eddy, in which he explains his preferred method of tempering chocolate. And what was my joy to discover that a marble slab is not necessary. But a thermometer and an ingredient that I am already using to make my chocolates: cocoa butter. As I was saying, the method is simple and works perfectly. And this is how Chef Eddy himself explains it:

We need 1% finely grated cocoa butter with a Microplane or similar to pre-crystallize the chocolate. That is, if we are going to make a 200-gram tablet, we would only have to add 2 grams of grated cocoa butter.
The chocolate is melted at 46 ºC in a water bath. And then it is left to cool to 35ºC (dark chocolate) and 33.5ºC (milk and white chocolate).
Immediately add the grated cocoa butter and stir until dissolved and the mixture becomes homogeneous.
According to Chef Eddy, and verified by yourselves, we will not notice any negative effect if more than 1% grated cocoa butter is added.

(You can make today's recipe without going through this tempering process. But remember that you should keep it in the fridge until serving time. And it won't be as shiny and crunchy.) Homemade dark chocolate bonbons

cocoa butter

On the other hand, cocoa butter has a high content of saturated fat, as well as monounsaturated. This butter is obtained after the fermentation and pressing of the whole cocoa beans, roasted or raw, and separated from their shells. And it takes between 2.5 – 3 kg of cocoa beans to obtain 1 kg of cocoa butter.

The best chocolate is made from the highest quality food grade cocoa butter. And we can not only use it to make chocolates. Instead, it brings a smooth, delicate chocolate flavor to cakes, cookies, shakes, and other indulgences. And you can even use it (and I highly recommend it) to cook with it meats, chicken and tubers.the. Test it. You don't need to thank me.

Cocoa Powder

The solids that remain after the cocoa beans are pressed are the low-fat component of chocolate. And the cocoa powder is what gives the characteristic flavor and color to the chocolate. In fact, this is the element that contains most of the antioxidants associated with this product.

Additionally, cocoa powder also contains the highest concentration of the psychoactive chemicals (caffeine and theobromine) that are virtually absent in cocoa butter.

An important note:

Skip refined cocoa powder such as Dutch-process cocoa or alkalinized (processed with alkali) cocoa. This cocoa is the one commonly found for sale in Europe. And its process neutralizes its acidity, softens the flavor and dissolves more easily in milk or water. In addition, it usually contains 20-22% fat. Although it tastes good, the chemical refining process removes its healthy antioxidants.
How to make dark chocolate at home

You will no longer have excuses for not making homemade dark chocolate
And now, after having released the roll, let's go with the recipe, which I know is what interests you. I share the basic recipe for a 90% chocolate. From there, you can vary the proportions to a higher or lower percentage.

You can also play with the flavors, add cinnamon and a touch of chili powder, to make a Mexican chocolate. Or sprinkle with a little fleur de sel or orange zest. As well as adding a few teaspoons of chia seeds or making a tablet with almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and raisins…. Very Christmassy, so take the opportunity to kill Suchard! (Iolanda, it's for you 😉 ).

Recipe: Homemade Dark Chocolate

Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
total time 25 minutes

1. Recipe to make a 90% dark chocolate For: 200 grams

Ingredients

• 110 grams of food-grade cocoa butter (or cocoa mass cut into small pieces + 2 grams of finely grated cocoa butter)
• 70 grams of cocoa powder
• 20 grams of coconut sugar (or the sweetener of your choice - I still have to do some more testing to see the results with raw honey)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
• Or a teaspoon of vanilla extract (some say that extracts should not be mixed in the chocolate, it has worked well for me)
• A pinch of gray or Himalayan salt
• You will also need a large casserole filled with water about ¼ full, a bowl to place in the casserole in a water bath, a digital thermometer, and a hand dipstick.

Instructions
Grind the coconut sugar together with the vanilla in an electric grinder until it has the consistency of icing sugar. If you don't have a grinder (it's also very useful for grinding spices, dried chili peppers, and seaweed, among others), you can grind a larger amount (no less than 250 grams) in a powerful robot or thermomix. And you can leave the sugar unground. But you may notice its texture in the chocolate.
Heat the water in the casserole until bubbles begin to appear at the bottom and keep it at that temperature.
Melt the cocoa butter in the bowl in a water bath. Control the temperature so that it does not exceed 46ºC. If you see it getting close to that temperature and the butter hasn't melted yet, remove the bowl from the pot. And let it continue to melt on the counter.
Add the cocoa powder, ground sugar (or raw sugar and vanilla extract, or the scraped-out interior of a vanilla pod), and salt.
Beat well with a manual whisk until smooth. And let the temperature of the mixture drop to 35 ºC.
Immediately add the grated cocoa butter and beat well with the whisk until fully incorporated.
Fill chocolate molds or a rectangular dish or mold of approximately 25 cm x 15 cm lined with baking paper.
Add the ingredients you want: pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, chia seeds (these can be added to the mixture after step 6), grated coconut, fleur de sel, orange zest. ..
Let it solidify at room temperature.
If you do not want to temper the chocolate, you should put it in the fridge to solidify it.

2. Normal Recipes with dark chocolate

Ingredients

• 4 large, ripe peaches
• 2 oranges.
• 50 grams of ground almonds.
• 250 grams of dark chocolate chopped

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, and then start peeling the peaches, cutting them in half and removing the central bone.
We take the peaches: 2 of them we cut into slices or slices. We will use the other two to get a kind of cream.
Then, we take the two oranges, squeeze them to get the juice and mix it with those small pieces of peach, adding a little of the orange peel zest.
We melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie.
Mix the peach pulp, orange juice, ground almonds and dark chocolate until smooth. If it is bitter you can add more sugar
On a plate we will have the previously cut peach slices prepared, now we will pour the previous mixture on top.

3. Nut bars with dark chocolate.

Ingredients

• 225 grams of oats
• 25 grams of dry coconut.
• 100 grams of butter
• 10 tablespoons of orange juice
• 100 grams of nuts.
• 50 grams of laminated almonds.
• 90 grams of dark chocolate.

Preparation.
We preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Melt the butter in a bain-marie and add the tablespoons of orange juice, or its equivalent, a small glass. We remove it over low heat so that a slightly thick liquid remains.
Without lowering the heat, add the oats and coconut. When it takes about ten minutes, remove this mixture and take it to a square mold previously greased with butter. Press the mixture well into the mold.

Add the nuts, squeezing well, pressing, then add the pieces of dark chocolate. We bake until we see that it takes a pale golden color. It won't be more than 10 or 15 minutes. When we take them out and it is still hot, we mark squares with a knife to facilitate cutting when it cools. It is tasty and very energetic.