Dark chocolates products

U.S. definitions and standards for chocolate are quite specific (19). Sweet chocolate must contain at least 15% chocolate Hquor by weight and must be sweetened with sucrose or mixtures of sucrose, dextrose, and com symp soflds ia specific ratios. Semisweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate, though often referred to as sweet chocolate, must contain a minimum of 35% chocolate Hquor. The three products, sweet chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate, are often simply called chocolate or dark chocolate to distinguish them from milk chocolate. Table 6 gives some typical formulations for sweet chocolates (5). 

Chocolate has antioxidant properties for low-density lipoproteins and hence could prevent heart disease. Foods and beverages derived from cocoa beans have been consumed by humans since 460 a.d. Cocoa pods from the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) are harvested and the beans removed and fermented. Dried and roasted beans contain about 300 chemicals including caffeine, theobromine, and phenethylamine. Chocolate liquor is prepared by finely grinding the nib of the cocoa bean and is the basis for all chocolate products. Cocoa powder is made by removing part of the cocoabutter from the liquor. Bittersweet chocolate, sometimes called dark chocolate, contains between 15 and 60% chocolate liquor, the remainder being cocoa butter, sugar, and other additives. Milk chocolate is the predominant form of chocolate consumed in the U.S. and typically contains 10 to 12% chocolate liquor. 

One such study came from the University of L Aquila in Italy where researchers have been busily looking into the cardiovascular benefits of the fiavonols, a type of polyphenol, that are found in cocoa products. Dr. Claudio Ferri and his colleagues, in collaboration with investigators at Tufts University in Boston, learned that flavonol-rich dark chocolate reduces blood pressure during both the day and the night in patients with hypertension. 

Due to the low level of milkfat in dark chocolate, fat bloom is a problem with this product. The hard fraction of milkfat (milkfat stearin) has been reported to act as an antibloom in dark chocolate, giving the chocolate an increased shelf life. However, the use of hardened milkfat is limited in several major chocolate producing countries (133). 

Some mushrooms, some cocoa powders, dark chocolate, blue poppy seeds, semi-finished products from poppy seeds, marine mussels... 

Mushrooms differ strongly in Cd content, dark chocolate from particular cocoa represents only a very small percentage of total chocolate products... 

Hundreds of foods available in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Denmark have been analyzed for nickel by HAAS (Ellen et al. 1978, Evans et al. 1978, Koivistoinen 1980, Nielsen and Elyvholm 1984, Veien and Andersen 1986), and in most samples, the nickel content vas <0.5 mg kg h Nickel concentrations in nuts and cocoa ranged up to 5 and 10 mg kg respectively. Eoods vith mean nickel concentrations > 1 mg kg included oatmeal, vheat bran, dried beans, soya products, soup po vder, tea leaves, hazelnuts, peanuts, lucerne seeds, sunflo ver seeds, licorice, spices, cocoa, and dark chocolate. 

In this example, 11 dark chocolates from the French market were analysed (Table 6.1). As can be seen, this selection includes chocolates made with various cocoa contents. Some products are from major brands, as well as from private labels, and two products are fair trade and organic chocolates. 

In most product optimization procedures which exphcitly estimate ideal points (LSA, EDIPM, BaSic, etc.), it is assumed that each consumer is associating the product set to one unique ideal product. Although this assumption is reasonable in the case where the product set consists of very similar prodncts, it is not necessarily correct when the products are more heterogeneous. Let us consider a test in which milk chocolates and dark chocolates are compared. In such case, it is fair to say that consumers might like both the milk and the dark chocolates, and hence have one ideal for the milk chocolates and one ideal for the dark chocolate. The optimization procedure should then associate the milk chocolates with the ideal of reference defined for the milk chocolates, and the dark chocolates with the ideal of reference defined for the dark chocolates. 

In recent years, the studies of cocoa and cocoa products (cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and cocoa liquor) and their related products have become an area of interest given their health-promoting properties due to the presence of bioactive compounds such as the flavanols (catechins and proanthocyanins), the flavonoids subgroup, and alkaloids (methylxanthines). Several in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that polyphenols may protect against many degenerative diseases. A relation has been found in some of these between the consumption of cocoa derivatives and their cardiovascular effect [1,2],... 

These minor components of cocoa have become an intense focus of research interest because of their demonstrated beneficial effect on health. The interest has been recently reinforced by the scientific opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to cocoa flavanols and the maintenance of normal endothelium-dependent vasodilation issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) [3], In order to obtain the claimed effect, 200 mg of cocoa fiavanols should be consumed daily. This amount could be provided by 2.5 g of high-fiavanol cocoa powder or 10 g of high-flavanol dark chocolate. This reinforces the scientific interest in the development of sensitive and rapid analytical methods for determining these minor components in cocoa, cocoa products, and chocolate. Another important aspect is related to the development of analytical methodologies for sensitive and selective identification and quantification of the main metabolites of cocoa polyphenols in biological samples in order to understand their bioavailability and their contribution to health. 

Among the most common transformations affecting xenobiotics, dehydroxylation, decarboxylation, dealkylation, dehalogenation and deamination reactions have been reported as gut microflora-mediated processes. In addition, gut microflora stability itself can be affected by xenobiotics. " As an example, natural compounds found in dark chocolate, pomegranate by-products or probiotics have also been shown to modulate the gut microflora environment. 

Over the last two decades, the scientific community has become aware of the potential health-related benefits of antioxidants and the properties of polyphenols-rich dark chocolate and cocoa. More than 200 studies were reported on bioactive compounds, chemical compositions, and health benefits of cocoa and cocoa products. Many of the proposed health-protective activities associated with the crmsumption of cocoa and chocolate have been attributed to flavan-3-ols, including monomers. Reported pharmacological activities of procyanidins include antioxidative and anticancer effects, protection against cardiovascular disease, risk reduction of blood clotting, protection against urinary tract infectirms, decrease of LDL-c, decrease of blood pressure, and improvement of endothelium vasodilatation. Moreover, there is some scientific evidence about an increase in blood flow and perfusion of the brain by... 

For instance, the bakery has no interest in the production of solid dark chocolate because it is acquired from a supplier (the solid chocolate is therefore called consumable material). Each consumable material and each subproduct has to follow specific characteristics because it influences the function of the product— like the portion of cacao fat, sugar, and milk of chocolate influences the expected taste of the chocolate gloss and the reflectivity of its surface. 

A more complex flavor development occurs in the production of chocolate. The chocolate beans are first fermented to develop fewer complex flavor precursors upon roasting, these give the chocolate aroma. The beans from unfermented cocoa do not develop the chocolate notes (84—88) (see Chocolate and cocoa). The flavor development process with vanilla beans also allows for the formation of flavor precursors. The green vanilla beans, which have Htfle aroma or flavor, are scalded, removed, and allowed to perspire, which lowers the moisture content and retards the enzymatic activity. This process results in the formation of the vanilla aroma and flavor, and the dark-colored beans that after drying are the product of commerce. 

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