Make your own organic raw chocolate with health benefits

Chocolate, chocolate. Many of us love chocolate.

Consuming chocolate can give an inner feeling of well-being, security, and a rush of happiness while also providing a taste sensation.

There is a connection between eating chocolate and feeling happiness

Many say they become happy and feel secure when eating chocolate, what could this be due to? Perhaps this:

• Theobromine, which naturally occurs in cocoa, is a stimulant that dilates blood vessels in the same way caffeine affects the body.
• Cocoa is said to make the brain produce more of a molecule called anandamide, which may explain the euphoric feeling some experience when eating chocolate. Anandamide is also produced in the body during exercise.
• Phenylethylamine (PEA) is a chemical that increases feelings of love, focus, and attention. PEA is noticeably abundant in the brains of happy people, and when we are in love, our PEA levels rise. Dark cocoa has been shown to provide some PEA (also found in blue-green algae). This is likely why chocolate and falling in love are often linked.
• The amino acid tryptophan naturally occurs in cocoa. Tryptophan is essential for the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin increases well-being and relaxation.

What is the difference between cocoa powder, cocoa mass, and cocoa butter?

• Cocoa beans grow on the tropical tree Theobroma cacao. The tree’s large seeds are the source of chocolate in its many forms. Raw cocoa is rich in antioxidants and also high in magnesium, calcium, zinc, and iron.
• Cocoa mass is the whole cocoa bean ground into a homogeneous mass. That’s why it is brown and has a very intense cocoa flavor. It produces a dark, rich chocolate. Cocoa nibs are also whole cocoa beans that have been crushed.
• Cocoa powder is made by removing cocoa butter (fat) from the cocoa beans. This process leaves a powder with a slightly bitter taste that is rich in fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients. The powder tastes similar to dark chocolate.
• Cocoa butter is only the fat separated from the cocoa bean. It is white in color and has a mild, quite distinctive flavor similar to white chocolate but without sugar.

Why not try making raw, organic chocolate at home with your own ingredients?

Making your own chocolate is both simple and satisfying as you can experiment with texture and flavors yourself. Here we share a basic recipe you can use to make chocolate eggs, pralines, chocolate bars, etc.

Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2.5 dl cocoa butter
• 2.5 dl cocoa mass or 2.5 dl cocoa powder.
• 2-3 tbsp honey, agave syrup, coconut sugar, yacon syrup, or another sweetener of your choice.
• Flavoring: Fill the chocolate with what you love most. Coconut flakes, blueberries, raspberries, chopped nuts, a pinch of sea salt, puffed quinoa, goji berries, spirulina, licorice powder, chaga, lucuma, maca, mesquite, baobab, vanilla powder, cardamom, cinnamon, mint flavor, pink pepper, etc.

Instructions:

• Place the cocoa butter in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water. Let the butter slowly melt while stirring.
• Also place the cocoa mass in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water. Let the mass slowly melt while stirring. Cocoa butter and cocoa mass need to be melted separately.
• Then mix them together in a bowl and add the sweetener as well as cocoa powder if you are using it instead of cocoa mass. Stir thoroughly.
• You can now add your flavorings and other tasty ingredients.
• Place a chocolate mold (preferably silicone) on a tray, pour the chocolate mixture into the mold; this can get messy and requires patience. Panduro has many very nice silicone molds, including one shaped like eggs. If you don’t have a mold, you can spread the chocolate on baking paper.
• Carefully place in the freezer and let set for 15-30 minutes, or until completely firm.
• If you want to fill your chocolate eggs or pralines, put some chocolate batter at the bottom of the mold cavity, add the filling, and cover with chocolate batter.
• Silicone molds make it very easy to release the chocolate when it’s ready. Then just enjoy.

If you don’t want to make your own chocolate, we offer the wonderfully delicious organic chocolate from Wermlands Choklad, which is handmade in Värmland.