patrick.net

HeadSet,

thanks for the tips, I will go for a try. The only problem is, I am spoilt by 70% cocoa content :-)

Also, most chocolate companies no longer offer undutched cocoa powder, which is really a big shame. 95% of the anti-oxidant ingredients in cocoa, which in powder form as a drink offers a much higher anti-oxidant capacity than the usual suspects like grapes and green tea, is lost in the dutching process (alkalinazation). It is very difficult to find undutched cocoa powder out there, which was the reason that got me into Scharffen Berger. I have never seen Hershey's or any major brands offering undutched cocoa powder.

Okay, so that means about $2500/ton == $2.50/kg for cocoa. That is higher than sugar and perhaps corn syrup.

So what happens is that some bean counter (heh) near the top of the food chain makes the case that he should get a $100k bonus by reducing the cocoa content by a few percentage points and replace with some combination of butter and sugar.

Typical mass production scenario. What else is new.

I submit that the price of raw material is a small fraction of the price of chocolate.

Anti-oxydants:

I think this whole anti-oxydant craze us a big fraud. Your stomach is one big oxidizer that oxidizes (burns) food to extract energy in the form of heat, and to break down food into building blocks you otherwise need. Exercise creates lots of oxidation. Is exercise bad for your health?

I think a lot of this anti-oxidant stuff is very marginal science. It will be de-bunked in due time, not that it is very convincing to begin with.

The best anti-oxidant is to hold your breath.

Fed currency swaps extended until 30. october:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aBH3xG1Wrt80&refer=home

I still have trouble understanding the Fed motivation behind the currency swaps. What does the extension mean for the dollar in the short term?

OO Says:
OK, what is the plan B for chocolates when Scharffen Berger becomes Hershey’s? Now that SB and JS are gone, are we supposed to support European chocolates now? I’d like to buy American if I can, unless they insist on shoveling down corn-syrup down my throat.

Dagoba is a decent american brand. There was another micro-chocolatier in Burlingame, but I forget the name.

Among european brands, Neuhaus (belgian) is pretty good. Lindt & Sprungli is okay, though they have a factory in Mexico, so the stuff they sell in the US is probably made there.

JustMe:

I take it you stayed far, far away from Chemistry and Biology while pursuing your education?

I don't doubt you're skeptical about anti-oxidants, seeing they suppress the creation of "Free Radicals." Such Bushitler molecules!

(Not that I buy the bit about chocolate as a *health* food... That'd spoil the fun!)

Cocoa is health food! A super-food even! It's just the sugar/corn syrup that is bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa#Health_benefits_of_cocoa_consumption

I have a kefir/blueberries/walnuts/raw cocoa smoothie every morning and its literally changed my life. Never felt better!

MST,

Actually, no, chemistry used to be a favorite topic of mine during my otherwise lengthy education. However, I find that the popular press has extrapolated the effect of otherwise naturally occurring free radicals (and their reduction via food) way out of the proven territory.

The wikipedia articles on "anti-oxidants" and "free radicals" are relatively somber, filled with cautionary words such as "may".

Even the mainstream press, always to be counted upon as a cheerleader for substances that have marginal health effect (red wine, chocolate, ...) sometimes uses the weasel-word "linked" when the evidence clearly is much too weak to imply a strong effect or causation.

I'm generally sceptical of such claims.

I agree, chocolate is more fun if one allows the sin-factor in full.

Kewp,

How about the kefir? Is it possible that the kefir is more significant than the cocoa?

SP,

thanks for the suggestion, I am going to order a couple samples from Dagoba's website.

Lindt is what I grew up with, it was very big in Asia, being advertised as a made-in-Switzerland chocolate. Maybe the Lindt here is produced elsewhere, but I was not impressed with the Lindt that I grew up with, it was better than Cadbury, but quite a notch away from gourmet chocolate.

How about the kefir? Is it possible that the kefir is more significant than the cocoa?

Possibly; but dairy isn't all that good for you. I try to minimize the downside by sticking to low-fat, organic kefir. Raw cacao is actually an extremely healthy food.

http://www.brainready.com/blog/thetop5brainhealthfoods.html

I got the idea for the smoothie from this article:

http://leftofzen.com/brain-food/2008/01/04/

My current recipe is as follows:

1 cup organic kefir (I like the Lifeway Acai/Pomegranite)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup walnuts (halves and pieces)
2 tbsp cocoa nibs
1 tbsp Trader Joe's 'Very Green' mix
1 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric

I might try adding some raw almonds to the mix at some point.