Chocolate Is Healthy

As you may know, cacao itself is not sweet.  When chocolate is made, it’s the sugar that provides cacao with its sweetness.

In the 15th century, the spice trade brought precious goods like cardamom, pepper, mace, cloves and cacao to Europe from around the World.  Chefs began to integrate these prized ingredients into their cooking. (sometimes in unappealing amounts).  With its nuanced characteristics, cacao became a key element in Italian savory dishes  from pasta to meats that are still enjoyed in Italian regional cooking today.

“In Tuscany, chocolate is a key ingredient with venison and wild boar,” says Remo Vannini, executive chef of Florence’s L’Incontro at Hotel Savoy. “Like wine, vinegar or lemon juice, chocolate provides just the right touch of acidity. We Italians add a hint of chocolate to many sauces. Chocolate acts not only as an emulsifier, adding natural thickness to sauces, but also enhances the other flavors. It is wonderful with game meats, but lovely, too, with chicken and beef.”

As is Italian tradition, let chocolate spice up dinner – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Did you know there are some foods that may help contribute to brain health and longevity? We came across this fabulous article about the top 5 foods for enhancing your mind and body.

In addition to cacao beans making the list, there was (in no particular order) wild salmon, matcha tea, the acai berry and blueberries and coffee beans.  Any surprises?  It’s important that you seek out the specific types of food recommend in this article.  For example, any old salmon will not have the same nutrients as wild salmon.

None of these things (no, not even raw chocolate) is a wonder food, but you’re well-served incorporating these foods into your diet.

Here’s what the study has to say about our friend, the cacao bean:

“What’s healthy is the cacao bean, minimally processed. This amazing, hedonistic bean is one of the world’s longest-revered foods (think ‘time of the Aztecs’ old) and has in recent years been shown to be a veritable powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement (thanks in part to the Theobromine in cacao), antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements. In fact, chocolate has been very recently cited by some top health professionals and researchers to be THE single most exciting health food, and as more research continues to pour in, the more true this appears to be.”

The Top 5 Brain Health Foods