Bitter-sweet facts about chocolate

Today is World Chocolate Day. And here are some facts you can savour with your bar

Nine out of ten people like chocolate and the tenth person always lies. Or so chocolate lovers say. On World Chocolate Day, Metrolife brings you trivia to go with your chocofix.

Feline friendly
Chocolate is bad for dogs, but it’s not so bad for no problem. They won’t fall sick or die if they have a bite. Another reason for the dog and cat world to fight about!

Oops, sorry! If you thought white chocolate is chocolate, well, you’re wrong. In fact, it contains no cocoa solids or liquor. It’s made from a blend of cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, milk fat and lecithin.

Dark secret

Lovers of bitter chocolate, rejoice! Amul, the Indian company giving big international brands a run for their money, has just come up with a chocolate with 90 per cent cocoa. And they are promising an even darker version soon!

Cacao vs cocoa

The tree, pod and seed are called cacao. Cocoa refers to the bean after fermentation, when it is dried and roasted.

Take your fill

Dark chocolate has high satiety: it makes you feel full, and for long. And the best part? It curbs weight gain if you eat it as dessert after your meals, according to some studies. But remember, most chocolates contain generous amounts of sugar, and that’s not really something your fitness guru would approve of.

How is chocolate produced?

The main ingredient in chocolate is cacoa. It is a fruit that thrives on a mix of hot temperatures, rain and shade. The pods are usually in yellow or orange. The seeds are removed, cleaned and exposed to light to turn purplish. A fermentation process follows. It takes about two to nine days before you can recognise the beans as cocoa. The cocoa is dried under the sun for seven to 14 days. It is then graded, packed, bundled and checked for quality. Depending on which chocolate you’re making, you can pick your ingredients from cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, milk and sweetener.

Record this

Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur made it to the Limca Book of World Records for building India’s largest chocolate eclair tower measuring 26 feet and 8 inches. It took him 20,000 choco-eclairs and 500 kg of chocolate to make it to the list.