~ Cammie-stry ~: ~ ♥ Yummy yummy!!! I love chocolate!!! ♥ ~

WOOHOOO~~~
I like chocolate…it’s make me happier when eating it^^
You can try one when you are very stress, you will feel better and become more energetic after consume it…=D
I found out that it is a so called “happy food” in my friend- Jhun Yuan chemistry’s blog.^^

There are several types of chocolate.

1) Pure, unsweetened chocolate ♥
It contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions, but normally we didin’t consume it in this form.

2) Sweet chocolate ♥
It is combining chocolate and sugar.

3) Milk chocolate ♥
It is a sweet chocolate adding condensed milk or milk powder.

4) White chocolate ♥
It contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids but no cocoa solids.
(It does not contain any cocoa solids. Because of this, many countries do not consider white chocolate as chocolate at all. =.=”)

5) Dark Chocolate ♥♥♥ [Highly Recommended^^]
It is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture.

6) Semisweet chocolate ♥
It is a chocolate with a low sugar content.

7) Bittersweet chocolate ♥
It is a chocolate liquor to which some sugar , more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin have been added.

8) Unsweetened chocolate ♥
A pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate. It is unadulterated chocolate: the pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans impart a strong, deep chocolate flavor.

Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree.

Cacao tree seed

Chocolate
Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenetylamine, which have some physiological effects in humans. (For the “theobromine”, I had already analyse it in my previous blog ”You like Coca-Cola?”. So, I’ll just analyse phenethylamine here.)

Phenethylamine
Phenethylamine (PEA) is an alkaloid and monoamine compound. Phenethylamine is a natural compound biosynthesized from the amino acid phenylalanine by enzymatic decarboxylation. It is also found in many foods such as chocolate, especially after microbial fermentation.

Phenethylamine structural formula

About chemical properties
Phenethylamine is an aromatic amine, which is a colorless liquid at room temperature. It is soluble in water, ethanol, and ether. Similar to other low-molecular-weight amines, it has a fishy odor. Upon exposure to air, it forms a solid carbonate salt with carbon dioxide. Phenethylamine is strongly basic and forms a stable crystalline hydrochloride salt with a melting point of 217 °C. Phenethylamine is also a skin irritant and possible sensitizer.

[Highly recommended à Dark chocolate]
Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties. Dark chocolate has also been said to reduce the possiblility of a heart attack when consumed regularly in small amounts.
Ingredients of dark chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla

Circulatory benefits caused by epicatechin
Cocoa or dark chocolate benefits the circulatory system. Other beneficial effects suggested include anticancer, brain stimulator, cough preventor and antidiarrhoeal effects.

Epicatechin (Catechin)
Catechin was first isolated from the plant extract catechu. They are present in nearly all teas. The health benefits of catechins have been studied extensively in humans and in animal models. Reduction in atherosclerosis plaque was seen in animal models.

Structural formula of epicatechin

There are also some bad effect from others chocolate (not dark chocolate!!!) Please refer the above diagram.

Reminder!!!
Storage of chocolate
-- Ideal storage temperature : between 15°C and 17 °C
-- Relative humidity of less than 50%
-- Stored away from other foods as it can absorb different aromas
-- Stored in a dark place

Many people don’t like chocolate because they think it will cause obesity…
How about dark chocolate?
If you consume it in a moderate way. It is also a healthy food for us~~~
ENJOY YOUR DARK CHOCOLATE!!! ^^
Hoho~~~ Let’s share some cute chocolate photos here^^