Who does not love the warm, heady embrace of superior quality chocolate melting on the tongue? There are literally thousands of recipes involving chocolate, from your favourite chocolate chip cookie to a $250 French Madeline chocolate truffle.
But what is this mysterious elixir that can be a sophisticated aphrodisiac, or comfort food eaten in pajamas?
Chocolate comes from the Cacao tree. Many people would not recognize the large pods that grow on the trunk and limbs of this tree, much less the beans inside, as chocolate. And in fact, there are two different versions of this product: cacoa and cocoa. Cacoa is the raw version of chocolate (think cacoa butter, nibs or powder) that is made by cold-pressing the unroasted, fermented, dried cacoa beans, while cocoa powder is made by roasting the fermented, dried cacoa beans.
We carry Organic Traditions Cacao butter, for eating or making your own potions, as well as Navita's Cacao powder.*
Try making your own chocolate by combining 4 ounces of cacoa butter, melted gently in a bowl over hot water, with 1/4 cup cacoa powder, 2 tbsp honey, and a quarter teaspoon vanilla. Pour into molds and refrigerate until hard.
*To order any of these products mentioned, call us at 1-877-366-3437. We'll be happy to ship them to you!
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