Chocolate Gifts For Birthdays, Anniversaries and Valentine's : Pralines, Malt, Liquered

Buy Gourmet Chocolate Gifts Online

2007-08-14T21:29:00.001+08:00

zChocolat.com was created on April 2000 and specializes in luxury chocolates gifts that are delivered world-wide. 70% of their products are delivered within the United States. Their chocolates come from world-champion French chocolatiers and do not contain preservatives, coloring or fat other than the pure cocoa-butter. Moreover, its packaging is unique and the best way to illustrate this is to take you there.

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2007-08-06T20:26:00.000+08:00

zChocolat specialises in premier chocolate handmade by 4 award-winning French chocolatiers delivered fresh worldwide by DHL. Whether you are shipping to America, Europe, Australia, Africa or Asia, zChocolat.com guarantees on-time express delivery of the finest chocolates in perfect conditions via DHL. Whether you are planning a very special gift for a special occasion or simply to indulge in the most exquisite tastes on earth, this is the top site to search for French gourment chocolat. You will not be disappointed by both the quality of your box and the service delivery provided.

Recipe for the all-time favourite Chocolate Ice Cream!

2007-07-02T23:11:00.000+08:00

Chocolate Ice Cream (No machine needed!)

200ml single cream or whole milk
300g dark chocolate (70 % cocoa solids), finely chopped
75g caster sugar
6 medim egg yolks
750ml whipping cream
Serves 10

Put the single cream or milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.

Put the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and beat with a hand-help electric mixer until thick and creamy, about 10 min.

Put the whipping cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the hear and pour the hot cream onto the sugar and egg mxture. Stir well to mix. Rinse the pan, then pour the mixture back into it. Heat over very low heat, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle.

Pass the mixture through afine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix until smooth. Let cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator.

Pour the mixture into a shallow plastic container and freeze it. When almost solid, beat it with a hand-held electric mixer until smooth, then retrun it to the freezer. Repeat the process twice more.

'Fake' Chocolates Hard to Swallow

2007-06-28T21:22:00.000+08:00

CHOCOLATE, sweet as it is, has set of bitter conflict since even before the conquistadors found Aztecs killing one another over cacao beans. It split families and estranged friends in the candy business to such a degree that when a Cadbury walked into a funeral for a rival he had done wrong, the widow shouted across Westminister Abbey, “Get out, devil!”

The Hershey and Mars dynasties fought legendary wars – internecine and with each other – for much of the 20^th century. Now what big-time candy men had hoped would sneak by as a simple rule change has erupted into a food fight that will go far to define how America values culinary pleasure.

Real chocolate is made from crushed cacao beans, which provide not only solid cocoa mass but also coca butter that is vital to texture because, quite literally, it melts in your mouth.

Industrial confectioners have petitioned the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to be able to replace cocoa butter with cheaper fats and still can call the resulting product “chocolate”.

The reason: The substitution would allow them to user fewer beans and to sell off the butter for cosmetics and such.

Advocates of substitution claim Europeans are ready to do this. That comparision, whether a misunderstanding or an effort to mislead, is absurd.

When European companies tried to cut cocoa butter, the debate dragged on for a decade. In 2003, the European Union ruled that substitution had to be limited to 5 per cent and only by a few specific oils that chemically resemble cocoa butter. This faux chocolate is clearly labeled “contains vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter” – and is shunned by purists. The French like to call it cocholat, an epithet derived from their word for pig, cochon.

In America, the FDA can act swiftly to change rules based on what it calls a citizen’s petition. Last year, ‘citizens’ like the Grocery Manufacturers Association added new guidelines for chocolate onto an omnibus petition covering more than 200 foods that called for, among other things, altering food standards to “permit maximum flexibility in the food technology used to prepare the standardized food” and to allow “any alternative process that accomplishes the desired effect”.

This could have sweeping effects on food manufacturing overall; for chocolate in particular, the guidelines provide for no effective limit on how much cocoa butter can be substituted nor restrictions on what fats can be used. There is no attempt to mimic the right thing.

This might have passed unnoticed had a California chocolate maker, Mr Gary Guittard, not sounded the alarm. He rallied opposing forces; the FDA extended its comment period to Monday. The agency says it is not making any immediate decision.

As word of the chocolate petition spread in Europe, Old World masters reacted predictably. They had watched Americans finally catch on to the wonders of cacao and are appalled at the Genin, whose unmarked one-room Paris factory is a holy side for connoisseurs, said, everyone has a right to the joy of chocolate – and if most chocolate on the shelves is fake, only those who can afford creations like Mr. Genin’s will know how wonderful it is.

His fears are echoed among chocolatiers in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain, as well as in the United States. And those fears are real.

The proposal would widen the gap between good and awful. Industrial food companies could sell their waxy cocholat for less. But purveyors of the real thing have no corners to cuts. While discerning chocoholics will fork over whatever it takes, those who can’t pay will never know chocolate.

Proponents cloud the issue with dubious claims. Some say, for instance, the change would help growers and African children who toil for a pittance in cacao fields, without explaining exactly how. But in fact, it would lower the demand for beans.

When Americans learnt to love olive oil, growers improved quality. In the same way, a chocolate revolution put a premium on better beans. But 90 per cent of cacao farmers barely scratch by. They would suffer from lower demand, and so would their product.

Too much of what we eat is already ersatz-virtual, like “farm-fresh” Frankenstein produce or “home-baked” chemical cookies. No one who has savoured real chocolate can be eager to see our beloved Theobroma cacao, the elixir of the gods, suffer this fate.

Mort Rosenblum is the author of Chocolate: A Bittersweet Sage of Dark and Light.

Choosing Your Quality of Chocolates

2007-06-24T14:17:00.000+08:00

By: Charles Allen

Many people spend tons of money on fine wines and often pay an extraordinary amount of money for a single bottle of wine. Not many people would guess that it could be true for chocolates as well, not even gourmet chocolate.However, nowadays there are chocolate manufacturers that specifically target the higher end of the chocolate market. One of these companies is Amadei. Their chocolates have brought the term terroir to the chocolate world.

Terroir is most often associated with wines. It is used to describe the wine flavors and tones that are associated with a specific winegrowing region. Amadei was established in the early 90s and is placed in Italy. Chocolate connoisseurs are going crazy over their gourmet chocolates.Their unique gourmet chocolates like Chuao and Porcelana can easily cost you more than $200 for 1 kg!Those prices are in line with what people would be willing to pay for an expensive wine. Just like money does not matter for the true wine lover, for the true chocolate connoisseur these prices are negligible if the chocolate is of outstanding quality. Amadei is unquestionably amongst the finest of gourmet chocolates around.

If those kinds of prices scare you off then a good alternative, but still an excellent choice, is the Godiva line of chocolates. Their dark gourmet chocolates will cost you approximately $70 for 1 kg. Apart from Godiva, there are also several other excellent gourmet chocolate choices, such as Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, plus other smaller local manufacturers. The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory in Hawaii grows their own cocoa and produces their own chocolates locally.If truffles are your weakness then you absolutely have to try the Amadei truffles. They are not as pricey as the chocolate squares.It is very difficult to go wrong with chocolate. When you look for new and interesting choices that you haven't tried before you're bound to find more than what you can reasonably afford. Since chocolate is so popular, there are many websites devoted to the topic of gourmet chocolates.

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Chocolates To Win Her Heart

2007-06-23T14:38:00.000+08:00

Do you want to win your girl’s heart? Get her chocolates! Better still, bake her a chocolate dessert! Girls are very fond of chocolate.

Chocolate is a very good mood booster. It can bring a smile on your face even when you are angry or sad. Moreover, chocolate is known to boost up the sexual desire as well. It is much better than a tranquilizer. It has been scientifically proven that chocolate is good for aged men and women. It has been suggested that chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disorders. It is also good for those who suffer from sleeping disorders. Since ages, chocolate is considered to be a symbol of love and friendship. No doubt, chocolate is the best gift and it can be gifted on any occasion.

There are several kinds of chocolate. The main ones are as follows:

• 'Truffle' has a smooth center full of cocoa and ganache butter. The outside is just chocolate.
• 'Pave Glace' is 75% dark chocolate. But, it is soft and squishy. In my view, this is the best chocolate you can ever get to taste.
• 'Cherry Liquor' contains a real cherry dipped in chocolate sauce.
• 'Praline' chocolate is any chocolate that has nuts.
• 'Milk chocolate' has only 50% dark chocolate. Rest is made out of cocoa beans and sugar.
• 'Caprice' contains hazelnut paste and milk chocolate. It has praline covered in dark chocolate.

No matter what kind of chocolate you end up with, it will definitely show you the magic of its taste. Get Easy To Do Delicious Chocolate Recipes

Chocolate Cake

2007-06-23T14:21:00.000+08:00

By Nur Ainee Muhammad

There’s an old saying that says that ‘you will not know whats heaven like until you have not tasted chocolate’. For a chocolate lover like me, I couldn’t agree more. My heartfelt sympathy goes to those who are allergic to this heavenly gift. For the rest of us, then I'm sure that you’re already aware the chocolate cake (or anything that has chocolate in it for that matter) is the best ever and most popular dessert ever created.

There’s just something magical about a piece of dark, moist, rich piece of chocolate cake with a layer of sinful looking creamy chocolate frosting on it, Smiles appear, happy moods return, grumbles turn into giggles. I'm convinced that anyone can find a type of chocolate cake that he or she loves. Here’s a lit for the still uninitiated. The list is endless :-

Here goes:
Chocolate chip cheese cake, German chocolate cake, jelly roll chocolate cake, chocolate kraut bundt cake, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate mud cake, chocolate crème cake, chocolate eruption cake, best ever chocolate cake, chocolate caramel cake, rich chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate and orange cake, sour cream cake with chocolate, chocolate lava cake, chocolate banana cake, royal chocolate cake, molten chocolate cake, chocolate cherry cake, chocolate chip cookie cake, chocolate walnut cake, chocolate pudding cake, sinless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse cake, chocolate mayonnaise cake, chocolate chip pound cake, double chocolate chocolate cake, chocolate rum cake, low fat chocolate cake, chocolate zucchini cake etc etc ...........

If you still can’t find something you like, you don’ know what you’re missing. It doesnt matter what you put in , just make sure its moist and taste good. It will bound to put a smile even on the most grumpy of all grouches. Find out the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

Magical Chocolates

2007-06-23T14:14:00.000+08:00

The Health Benefits of Sugar Free Chocolates

2007-06-23T14:02:00.000+08:00

by Natalie Aranda
Romance, music and chocolates - what would life be without these?

One of the most pleasurable activities in life is eating chocolates, second only to romance. The melting of the brown pieces in the mouth give feelings that is akin to being in love. Eating chocolates result in releasing of endorphins, the feel good hormones. The good thing about eating chocolates does not stop with altering the mood for the better. Eating chocolates is said to be beneficial to your health. These health benefits of eating chocolates are backed up by scientific studies. Here chocolate does not mean the kinds of chocolates that are popularly available in the market - high in calories.

Chocolate here refers to the ones that are sugar free and hence low in calories. However, the chocolates available in the market are rich in calories because of two ingredients: sugar and milk. Additionally most of the flavonoids are lost as a result of processing. The darker the chocolate the better, as it contains more cocoa but less milk and sugar. Normally, sugar free chocolate candies are prepared for diabetics. Therefore, the milk and sugar content in this type of chocolates are very low and the cocoa content is high. Sugar free chocolate candy bars have more antioxidants than red wine or green tea. Chocolate contain flavonoids that is good for the heart. It thins the blood platelets and prevents clotting. In addition, flavonoids may be helpful in the prevention of cancer.

A study of 8000 male Harvard students showed that chocoholics lived longer than the abstainers. Evidence shows that cocoa from which chocolate is made is rich in antioxidants that helps ward off heart diseases, prevents strokes and thins the blood. Scientists concur on this. Consuming large amounts of cocoa lowers the risk of high blood pressure too. People belonging to the Kuna tribe who live in isolated islands in Panama are said to have no high blood pressure. The reason is attributed to their regular consumption of cocoa. Cocoa contains nitric acid and the nitric oxide connection to blood pressure is well established.

Chocolate is rich in iron content and has more iron than beef liver. Chocolate is also the second highest source of magnesium among all foods, after seaweed.Researchers have found that eating 1 oz. of chocolate per day can have significant health benefits.Sugar free candies and chocolates can be ordered online from stores all over the USA. Sugar free chocolates that are low in milk content can be good for those with diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, if taken in moderation.

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She contributes to Ecommerce Guide and Gift Ideas for Wedding and Valentines.

Chocolates for Dogs?

2007-06-21T23:29:00.001+08:00

My West Highland Terrier - all shaved!!! He was so saaaaad!
Why is chocolate harmful to a dogs health?Chocolate, as you know, is made with cocoa beans. And cocoa beans contain methylxanthine alkaloids in the form of theobromine and caffeinea, which are toxic to dogs. Chocolate can also contain high amounts of fat which can put your dogs health in jeopardy as well.

People stop eating chocolate before getting to toxic levels, but dogs don't!What are the warning signs of a problem?Any dog who's eaten chocolate should be watched closely for symptoms, particularly smaller dogs, "seniors", and dogs with health problems. Symptoms may range from from vomiting and diarrhea to panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death in severe cases.

What can be done once chocolate is ingested?Make note of the type of chocolate ingested and how much was eaten, if possible.Theobromine will stay in the bloodstream between 14 and 20 hours. Within two hours of ingestion, try inducing vomiting unless your dog is over stimulated, comatose, or has lost the gag reflex.If your dog has eaten a considerable amount of chocolate, or displays any of the above symptoms, take her to the vet right away. If her symptoms are minor, make her eat activated charcoal. The unabsorbed theobromine binds to it and be passed out of the system.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr.Carolyn Schweitzer, a former family dentsit, is a PowerSeller on eBay and owner and editor of several websites, including http://www.great-dog-gift.com/.