cacao

"The world faces a chocolate ‘drought’ over the next few years, an expert warned yesterday. Political unrest in the Ivory Coast, where 40 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown, has ‘significantly’ depleted the number of certified fair trade cocoa farmers. Many have fled the West ­African country, while fair trade training programmes have also come to a halt. Fairtrade training programmes have ground to a halt because of the danger farmers face in rural areas. The situation is already affecting chocolate manufacturers, who are facing the highest cocoa prices for over 30 years. Prices jumped by 10 per cent this month alone. Analysts are predicting they could soon hit $3,720 per metric tonne - a level last seen in January 1979. It follows a curb on international cocoa exports initiated earlier this week by the country's new president,  Alassane Ouattara. Angus Kennedy, the editor of Kennedy's Confection and a leading British chocolatier, said chocolate producers are facing 'one of the biggest challenges to hit the industry in recent history'." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says "Don't Panic". Well, Bubba sez y'all need to panic. NOW! - Bubba da Troll

""Top Tier'' Devil's Food Cake with Sour Cream Fudge Frosting http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes... Milk Chocolate Mousse with Port Ganache and Whipped Crème Fraîche http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes... Milk Chocolate-Caramel Tart with Hazelnuts and Espresso http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes... Milk Chocolate Soufflés with Nougat Whip Milk Chocolate Soufflés with Nougat Whip " - RAPatton

bravo. these looks like good - bündü

"A chemical in cocoa could soon be turned into a medicine for persistent cough, researchers claim. Scientists are carrying out the final stages of clinical trials of a drug that contains theobromine, an ingredient found in chocolate and cocoa. The UK developers say the drug could be on the market within two years. Every year in Britain an estimated 7.5m people suffer from persistent cough - a cough lasting more than two weeks. Most current medicines used to control the symptoms are opiate-based ones like cough syrups containing codeine, a narcotic. But in October the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said under-18s should not take codeine-based remedies, because the risks outweighed the benefits." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"Researchers say the new theobromine treatment should not have this problem. And being flavourless, it can be taken by those who dislike chocolate. Theobromine is thought to work by inhibiting the inappropriate firing of the vagus nerve, which is a key feature of persistent cough. The final stage of the drug's testing is set to begin in the next few months." - RAPatton

"There are certain inalienable truths about chocolate. 1) It's a health hazard if you eat too much. 2) The dark varieties are actually good for you if you eat only a little. 3) You should give it to any woman who is angry or depressed. But a few weeks ago in New York, at a huge annual trade event called the Chocolate Show, it dawned on us that perhaps the cacao seed is meant for men just as much as it is for women. At least when you mix it with stuff like wasabi. Here are the strongest, the strangest, and the hottest chocolates we sampled at the show. They're only for the brave, and for at least three of them you'll have to cross an ocean to get a taste, as they're only available in Japan." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"William Dean Chocolates, Mexican Mango bon-bon .... Kallari, 75% Cacao Single-Source Organic Chocolate .... Antidote Choco, Kakia Red Hibiscus Berry Don't let the fruit fool you. This is 84% dark chocolate and isn't for the weak. It's a bittersweet bar that you could almost put in a salad. Jacques Torres Chocolate, Dangerously Dark .... Mary Chocolate, various chocolate-covered wheat puffs: " - RAPatton

I think normal dark chocolate works just fine for men, without any wasabi. - John (bird whisperer)

"Food historian and cookbook author Francine Segan believes Americans are missing out on chocolate's full potential. But she has high hopes for those who attend a presentation she is scheduled to give at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday evening (Dec. 7). "I hope everybody will leave and walk away with the idea that a bar of chocolate should be on the pantry shelf, in the spice rack," Segan said. "Why are we denying ourselves?" Among the dishes that Segan says could benefit from a sprinkle of good quality chocolate: beef stew, chili and roasted winter vegetables." - RAPatton

"The pods grown by the cacao tree come in different sizes, so they are cut open by hand. Inside, Segan discovered something many chocolate eaters never encounter: the succulent fruit around the beans. "We don't ever get to taste that," she said. "It's like peaches with apricot and peach blossom fragrance." But eating the fruit was a no-no, since the beans must ferment in it for eight... more... - RAPatton

"The public release of the genome of the cacao tree - from which chocolate is made - will save the chocolate industry from collapse, a scientist has said. Howard Yana-Shapiro, a researcher for Mars, said that without engineering higher-yielding cacao trees, demand would outstrip supply within 50 years. Dr Yana-Shapiro said such strains will also help biodiversity and farmers' welfare in cacao-growing regions. The genome's availability will likely lead to healthier, tastier chocolate. The sequencing of the genome was an international, multidisciplinary effort between firms including Mars and IBM, the US department of agriculture and a number of universities, and was announced in September. Dr Shapiro, once described as a "biodiversifarian", was speaking at an event at IBM's research labs in Zurich when he called the date the genome was released "the greatest day of my life". "In late 2007, it became very apparent to me that we would not have a continuous supply of cocoa going into the future if we did not intervene on a massive scale to secure our supply chain."" - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

\(^_^)/ - Jenny H

"It's every sweet tooth's dream. A steady stream of studies has linked chocolate to a variety of health benefits, including decreased blood pressure, lower cholesterol, reduced risk of heart disease, even effects on mood. But the evidence, all of it, is preliminary. "I love chocolate as much as the next person, but it's candy, not a health food," says Marion Nestle (no relation to the famous candy maker), professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. Evidence linking consumption of chocolate — or, more specifically, cocoa — to better health first emerged more than 10 years ago from studies of the Kuna people, natives of the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

Also, how did I not see this back on May 31 when it was originally posted?!?! Yum. - Lisa | #TeamMonique

"It's famous, it's infamous, it's notorious. It has destroyed diets and led to love affairs. Marriages have been proposed over it, couples have been wed in it, princes have been made from it. People have traveled from all corners of the world for just one sip of our creamy, dreamy, icy blend of chocolatey goodness. It'll make you want to blow bubbles through your straw. It makes everyone a child again. For years, fans begged and plead and offered firstborn sons for the recipe, but we three princes guarded the formula with our lives. It was such a closely kept secret that not even the White House could gain access to it. Jackie Kennedy once requested the recipe so that it could be served at a gala evening at the While House. I offered to travel to Washington to make it myself, but when my security clearance didn't come through in time, I refused to hand over the secret formula — not even to the First Lady herself! When customers asked how it was made, we would respond that we had a... more... - RAPatton

A: it's every bit as good as you imagine it will be. Maybe better. - Bren from iPhone

"Savor that leftover Halloween candy, because in the future, you won’t be able to afford it. Chocolate consumption is increasing faster than cocoa production, according to the Cocoa Research Association, and that means prohibitively expensive chocolate is in our future. Since even before Choc Finger started hoarding it, cocoa prices have been on the rise, doubling in the past six years. The cacao plant can only be grown in latitudes within 10 degrees of the equator, but cacao farmers (largely in developing nations) lack incentives to re-plant their trees as they die off, according to a report in the Independent. Competing efforts at chocolate giants Hershey and Mars Inc. have sequenced the cacao genome, which could improve efforts to breed more resilient, higher-yielding trees. But better chocolate plants will still have to compete for acreage with engineered corn, soybeans and even palm oil, which are used for biofuel as well as food. Those plants could help farmers reap greater rewards, according to Tony Lass, chairman of the Cocoa Research Association and a former Cadbury’s trader." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

I think cacao can be grown further than a mere 10 degrees from the equator. However. it probably cannot be grown as cheaply/efficiently outside of those equatorial zones. Remember that the Aztecs had chocolate and Mexico is 10 degrees or less from the equator. - Spidra Webster

"ALL summer and fall, as candidates battled across the country, a different campaign was being waged in the restaurant kitchens of New York. The chief strategist was not a politician, but rather a middleman: John Magazino. In recent months, he has presented samples of a new high-end chocolate called Tcho to 40 or 50 of the city’s premier pastry chefs. He’s offered them a taste. Discussed cost and melting points. Proffered bulk samples. And some chefs listened. Others were wholly uninterested, or forgot that they’d ever tried it. “And some chefs were so busy they didn’t have the time to taste it,” he said. At stake is a toehold in the lucrative American market for millions of pounds of gastronomic chocolate, a sumptuous food-service product that is used by pastry chefs and bakers in white-table restaurants and by fine chocolatiers. Tcho also makes chocolate bars, in gold-embossed wrappers, that are sold in some Whole Foods stores, Macy’s, Garden of Eden and 5,500 Starbucks across the... more... - RAPatton

"These days, fine chocolate is the product of an arcane international culinary mélange of trade arbitrage, genetics, technology, biology, farming, politics and artful fermentation that winemakers might applaud. Gastronomic chocolate — most of it dark — was only a sliver of the $16.9 billion United States chocolate market in 2009, according to the National Confectioners Association. The... more... - RAPatton

"“We took direction from the Europeans for a long time, until we asserted ourselves in thinking: how good can we make things here?” Mr. Rossetto said. “As with wine in America, it was time to apply a higher level of intelligence to the process of making chocolate.” The company says it has brought high-tech efficiency and streamlined production to a primitive traditional business. It... more... - RAPatton

Trick or treat? - RAPatton from iPhone

so I'm not alone *grin* - Michael W. May

"Excited. It always comes safely tucked away in plastic wrap and tearing it open, exposing the pages within is not unlike christmas morning. I’m pretty sure that on average I spend more time each day on the computer than not on the computer. So keep that in mind when I say that I prefer reading the magazine in my hands for a subscription fee instead of on my screen for free. The glossy pictures, the small joy in each new page turned, I’m hooked. To a food magazine. Usually, after perusing the entire issue, I have a couple recipes that I have mentally marked as intriguing that I go back to and decide which one of them makes the cut (if I made every single recipe I found interesting, I would have no time for my day job.) Occasionally, however, I come across a recipe that makes me stop in my tracks, my hands refusing to flip to the next page. I am suddenly overcome with a desire to create what I see on the pages in front of me, before I even finish the issue. This is one of those recipes. The Chocolate-Malt Cake by Christina Tosi." - RAPatton

"In a monumental step for chocolate lovers — ah, let’s be honest, the whole of humankind — scientists announced today they have completed a preliminary genome sequence for the cacao tree. OK, maybe it’s not that monumental; new genomes are sequenced all the time. But this one is special — cacao is no ordinary plant. Who cares about the corn genome when you can study chocolate instead? The genome sequence, which enters the public domain today, is the result of a partnership among a few unlikely bedfellows: Mars Inc., maker of M&Ms, Milky Way bars and other treats; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service; and IBM. The trio hopes international agricultural researchers will immediately start refining the sequence. As with any gene mapping project, decoding the complete genome will take some time. The preliminary results will be available via the Cacao Genome Database, to ensure that the data remains perpetually patent-free. As the main backer of the effort, Mars... more... - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"Juan Carlos Motamayor, senior cacao scientist at Mars, said breeders have been studying cacao genes for about 20 years. The genome sequence will help researchers determine specific links among genes, genetic markers and certain traits, he said. Despite its importance to 6.5 million farmers worldwide, cacao is considered an "orphan crop" because it is not as well studied as corn, rice... more... - RAPatton

"Chocolate lovers can revel in the sweet smell of excess during a weekend festival planned in San Francisco Sept. 11-12. The 15th annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival, expected to draw 40,000 chocoholics, will feature  chocolatiers, artisans and chefs showcasing chocolate delicacies and desserts.  In addition, the two-day event will offer family-friendly activities such as a  “hands-free”  ice cream sundae-eating contest in which participants dive head-first into giant sundaes. The festival is free, but tickets for chocolate tastings cost $20 for 15 samples. Tickets may be purchased online in advance or on the day of the event, which will be held at the Ghirardelli Square complex,  900 Point St." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"The US group, which owns Cadbury, has begun searching for hi-tech "thin film" packaging for its chocolate bars to "minimise melting" in temperatures of up to 40C. The packaging could also prevent the white "bloom" discoloration that appears on chocolate if it is stored in direct sunlight. NineSigma, a US consultancy, has issued the design tender on Kraft's behalf, as part of its open innovation programme." - RAPatton

If you want chocolate that doesn't melt, just get a cookie or piece of cake. :) - DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE

"Older women who eat dark chocolate once or twice a week could be lowering their risk of heart failure, says a US study. It found those eating chocolate once or twice a week cut the risk of developing heart failure by a third, but those eating it every day did not benefit. The Boston study, in a journal of the American Heart Association, looked at nearly 32,000 Swedish women aged between 48 and 83 over nine years. Dieticians say eating chocolate too often can be damaging and unhealthy. The study notes that one or two 19 to 30 gram servings of dark chocolate a week led to a 32% reduction in heart failure risk. This fell to 26% when one to three servings a month were eaten. But those who ate chocolate every day did not appear to reduce their risk of heart failure at all." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"For those suffering from high blood pressure the effect of chocolate was so dramatic it could reduce their chances of having a heart attack or stroke by 20 per cent over five years. Chocolate – and especially dark chocolate – contains chemicals known as flavanols which naturally open up blood vessels in the body. That means blood flows more easily and the pressure drops. "You don't always need medication to reduce blood pressure," said Dr Karin Ried, at Adelaide University who carried out the research. "This shows that there are some foods that can help."" - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"For the latest research, Dr Ried and her team combined the results of 15 other studies looking at chocolate and cocoa between 1955 and 2009 covering hundreds of people. They found that for people with hypertension, eating chocolate could reduce the blood pressure by up to five per cent. For those with normal pressure it had no effect. "This is a significant finding," said Dr Ried.... more... - RAPatton

"The research was published in the journal BMC Medicine. People with high blood pressure are seen to have it consistently higher than 140mm Hg systolic or 90mm Hg diastolic. Normal is 90/60. The results showed that chocolate would make it drop 5mm in systolic pressure which is comparable to the known effects of 30 daily minutes of moderate physical activity such as brisk walking or swimming. ... However the health giving benefits have to be weighed against its contribution to obesity." - RAPatton

"But this nasty complaint is blighting the crops of thousands of cocoa growers in the Ivory Coast - by far the world's biggest exporter. This single African country accounts for almost 40pc of the 3.5m tonnes of cocoa that end up as plastic-packaged chocolate bars and luxury boxes of truffles across the globe. Now its spreading plant disease, heavy rains and failing infrastructure means the nation is churning out 20,000 tonnes less than it was the year before, pushing prices to a near 33-year high in London. Cocoa futures for July delivery jumped 1.5pc on the Liffe exchange to more than £2,588 this week. At one point it reached £2,606 a tonne, its highest since October 1977. Meanwhile, the industry benchmark contract, known as the second front-month, gained 0.7pc to £2,416, just almost reaching a 33-year high of £2,430." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"Cocoa wasn't always this expensive. The crop was introduced to the Ivory Coast from Latin America in the 1970s in an attempt to create a thriving, reliable export and it turned out to be perfectly suited to the African nation's growing conditions. About 10 years ago a tonne cost just £600 but over the last half of the decade, the price has been gradually rising and only recently tipped... more... - RAPatton

"The world's largest chocolate maker says it may have come up with a chocolate bar that could fight wrinkles and slow the ageing process, making it the latest food group to tap the appetite for healthier living. Eating 20g of its specially developed chocolate packed with antioxidants, or flavanols, each day may help prevent wrinkles and make skin more radiant by boosting elasticity and improving hydration, studies carried out by Barry Callebaut showed. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the nutritional value of what they eat, and Barry Callebaut's claims come as food giants such as Nestle and Danone also push into the healthy eating arena." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

Getting fat also reduces wrinkles. - Morton Fox

"Dark chocolate can reduce brain damage following a stroke, a study suggests. Scientists have discovered that a compound called epicatechin, commonly found in dark chocolate, protects the brain against strokes by shielding nerve cells. They based their findings on tests in mice and hope the effects can be replicated in humans. The U.S. researchers gave the mice a dose of epicatechin - a flavanol - and then 90 minutes later induced a stroke in the animals by cutting off the blood supply to their brains. They found that the mice that had taken the epicatechin had 'significantly less' brain damage than those that had not. The researchers, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, also discovered that epicatechin had a protective effect when given to mice after they had a stroke. " - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

I'm covered. - m9m, Crone of FriendFeed

"People who regularly eat chocolate are more depressive, experts have found. Research in Archives of Internal Medicine shows those who eat at least a bar every week are more glum than those who only eat chocolate now and again. Many believe chocolate has the power to lift mood, and the US team say this may be true, although scientific proof for this is lacking. But they say they cannot rule out that chocolate may be a cause rather than the cure for being depressed. In the study, which included nearly 1,000 adults, the more chocolate the men and women consumed the lower their mood. Those who ate the most - more than six regular 28g size bars a month - scored the highest on depression, using a recognised scale. None of the men and women were on antidepressants or had been diagnosed as clinically depressed by a doctor." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"Haggis has been deep fried, smothered in whisky cream and rolled in oats but now the great chieftain o' the puddin' race has undergone the final indignity: it has been made into chocolate. Whether Robert Burns's Rustic, who set the earth "trembling" with his "haggis-fed tred", would have had the same seismic force had his dinner been rolled into delicate, truffle-shaped balls can only be surmised. But Nadia Ellingham, an artisan chocolate maker from Edinburgh, is prepared to bet that, had the poet tasted her variation on Scotland's national dish, he would have raised a toast in its honour. "Most people screw their faces up or look a bit horrified when I tell them I make haggis chocolates, but once I explain how I make them they understand that it does actually make sense," said Ellingham, founder of the Thinking Chocolate firm. Ellingham created the chocolates for a Burns' Night supper but her guests were so complimentary that she has started selling them commercially." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

um, ewww! - Kelly W.

No thank you. - Jen (SquirrelGirl)

"JUST before you ripped into your Easter egg at the weekend, did you take a moment to have a good sniff of the unwrapped egg? While just eating chocolate is enough to put most of us in a good frame of mind, latest research suggests "odour du chocolat" – just the smell of it – can improve your mood. This happy news comes from the Human Olfaction Laboratory at Middlesex University, where Neil Martin, a reader in psychology, investigates the effects of room smells on human behaviour. In his laboratory Martin has a square box called an AromaCube, which heats up "odorants" and percolates the smell around the room. From that box, he discovered the power of chocolate in an experiment where he filled rooms with three smells, one of chocolate, a "malodour" of machine oil, which most people find unpleasant, and a lemony, pleasant-but-alerting odour, then monitored testers' moods." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

Smelling chocolate improves my mood as long as smelling leads to eating. - John (bird whisperer)

"A study of nearly 50,000 people found that those eating chocolate were 22 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke than those that didn't. And those who did suffer a stroke but had indulged in chocolate were 46 per cent less likely to die as a result.The reason is believed to be that the food is rich in flavanoids, a healthy anti-oxidant, although researchers at the University of Toronto are keen to carry out extra studies. Sarah Sahib, the study author of the University of Toronto in Canada, said: "More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others." She worked alongside colleague Dr Gustavo Saposnik and they found that 44,489 people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22 per cent less likely to have a stroke than people who ate no chocolate." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

I think I need to be part of clinical study for this. I would like to be in the group that gets the real chocolate, thank you very much. - Katy S

Your Heart's Desires (http://www.southernliving.com/food...), Chocolate-Amaretto Heart(http://www.southernliving.com/food...), Buttermilk-Mexican Chocolate Pound Cake (http://www.southernliving.com/food...), Chocolate-Key Lime Cupcake Pies (http://www.southernliving.com/food...), Brownie Tiramisù (http://www.southernliving.com/food...), Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies (http://www.southernliving.com/food...), Sweetheart Jamwiches... more... - RAPatton

I can't help Shey the all three of his FF Daily occurrences, but Food Porn I can handle - RAPatton

"Frances Cooley is a boutique cake maker and chocolatier, and owner of Clifton Cakes. She has been creating distinctive, ‘one-of-a-kind’ cakes for over a decade. An artist, with a background in design, and an expert passion for chocolate, Frances has developed a new range of unique chocolate shoes and handbags under the name ‘Choc Chic.’ This fabulous new range of beautifully designed and packaged chocolate shoes and handbags are handcrafted out of the finest Belgian chocolate. Chocolate stilettos combine two things women love – chocolate and gorgeous shoes. Ideal special occasion gifts to admire, eat, or even wear, (depending on your shoe size!) Our stunning chocolate handbags coordinate with the shoe range, or can be made to order. Standard ‘Choc Chic’ shoes and handbags are 17 cm long, and the small sizes are 8cm long. Both are packaged in clear plastic cases and can last for 6 months if kept cool and dry (not refrigerated.)" - RAPatton

I just heard back from them; they do ship to the US, it usually takes 5 days and depending on the order the minimum post and packaging cost is £12.50 - RAPatton from iPhone

"A gourmet desert designer has created the ultimate woman's fantasy - stiletto heels and handbags made of pure chocolate. Frances Cooley, from Clifton, Bristol, launched the range after finding a vintage chocolate shoe mould in Belgium" - RAPatton

Those chocolate shoes, especially the pink one, are very cute - RAPatton

mmmmmm, deliscious! - francie tanner

"A new Willy Wonka-style theme park is due to open on the Olympic Green, near the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing this week" - RAPatton

*starts saving* Wo hui qu Zhongguo! - MiniMage

Now I know what I *need* to add to my breakfast to make it complete!-) - George Frink

Hi evdenevenakliyat(do you have a shorter first name?), wow this is an old post but I'm sure still delicious. :)) Here are a few more you may enjoy: http://ff.im/eM5SP http://ff.im/eLqwA and how's this last one: http://ff.im/eLqgb - Myrna