Chocolate is a transliteration of a foreign word chocolate. Its main raw material is cocoa beans (coconut-like fruit, which will blossom and bear fruit on the trunk). Its origin is very early. It began with Montezuma, the last emperor of the Mexican Astica dynasty. It was a society that worshipped chocolate at that time. It likes to add peppers, peppers, vanilla beans and spices to make bubbles, and drink 50CC in a golden cup every day. This is a drink for members of the court. Its scientific name, Theobroma, means "the drink of God". It is considered as a valuable cardiotonic and diuretic. It can activate protein catabolic enzyme in gastric juice and help digestion.

The earliest chocolate, which originated from ancient Indians in Mexico, is a kind of food containing cocoa powder. It tastes bitter and spicy. 1526, the Spanish explorer cortes brought it back to Spain and presented it to the king at that time, which made Europeans regard it as ecstasy and set off a frenzy. Later, around16th century, the Spanish made chocolate "sweet". They mixed cocoa powder and spices in sugarcane juice to make a sweet drink. At 1876, a Swiss named Peter was ingenious and added some milk to the above drinks, completing the whole process of modern chocolate creation. Soon, it is believed that liquid chocolate will be dehydrated and concentrated into chocolate candy bars that are easy to carry and store. 1828, Van Houten of the Netherlands thought of removing 2/3 of the fat and making it easy to drink. /kloc-at the end of 0/9, D.M. Bede of Switzerland invented adding milk to chocolate to make it taste better, which is the embryonic form of chocolate today.

There is also a legendary story in it.

15 19, an expedition led by the famous Spanish explorer cortes entered the hinterland of Mexico. The journey was hard, and the team went through hardships and reached a plateau. The players are tired, backache and exhausted, lying on the ground one by one, not wanting to move. Cortes is in a hurry, the road ahead is still long, and the players are too tired. What can we do?

Just then, a group of Indians came from the foot of the mountain. Friendly Indians saw Cortez and their listless appearance, immediately opened the bag, took out a few cocoa beans, ground them into powder, boiled them with water, and then added tree juice and pepper to the boiled cocoa water. Suddenly there was a strong fragrance in the air.

The Indians brought the black water to Cortes and them. Cortez took a sip. "Oh, bitter and spicy. It's terrible! " However, out of respect for Indian etiquette, Cortes and the team managed to have two drinks.

Unexpectedly, only after a while, the expedition members seemed to be enchanted and their physical strength recovered! Cortes was surprised and soon asked the Indians about the formula of cocoa water. The Indian told the truth about the formula and proudly said, "This is a fairy drink!" " "

1528, Cortes returned to Spain and presented this immortal drink made of cocoa to the king. However, considering the characteristics of the Spanish diet, the clever Cortes used honey instead of tree juice and pepper.

"This drink is delicious!" The king repeatedly drank and cheered, so he made Cortes a knight.

Since then, cocoa drinks have swept the whole of Spain. A businessman named Lasker made a fortune by dealing in cocoa drinks.

One day, when Lasker was cooking a drink, it occurred to him that it was too much trouble to make this drink every time! If it can be made into solid food, take a small piece when eating, and you can eat it with water or directly in your mouth.

So Lasker began to repeat the experiment. Finally, he successfully produced a solid cocoa beverage through concentration and drying. Because cocoa drinks come from Mexico and are called "Joe Clutter Lu" in Mexican dialect, Lasker called his solid cocoa drinks "chocolate".

The chocolate chip invented by Lasker is the first generation of chocolate.

Spaniards are very mysterious. They keep the recipe of cocoa drinks strictly confidential, and they also keep their mouths shut about the recipe of chocolate. Until1763,200 years later, a British businessman successfully obtained the formula and introduced chocolate to Britain. British producers add milk and cheese to their raw materials according to their own tastes, so "cream chocolate" was born.

Cream chocolate is the second generation chocolate.

At that time, chocolate tasted good, but it was not as good as it is now. This is because cocoa powder contains oil and cannot be integrated with water and milk. So the taste of chocolate is not smooth. Until 1829, Dutch scientist Hao invented the degreasing technology of cocoa beans, which made the color and taste of chocolate perfect.

The chocolate produced after degreasing is smooth, delicate and delicious. This is the third generation of chocolate we are enjoying now.

Come on, pick up a piece of chocolate and taste its fragrance!

The function of chocolate

"The mood is so annoying! Where's my chocolate? "

Many friends often ask me why you always eat chocolate. Do you really like it that much? Yes, I like chocolate very much. I don't know why chocolate has a special effect on me. It can ease my mood. I always eat chocolate when I am in a bad mood. Put the chocolate in your mouth, close your eyes and taste it. Upset things can really be left behind. In fact, chocolate itself has a factor that can relieve emotions. So chocolate has become an indispensable thing in my life.

In fact, chocolate has many functions and can also relieve pain, especially for girls. Very clever! Of course, it is still divided. Nothing is suitable for everyone.

Chocolate also has the function of losing weight! Surprised? Hehe, are you asking how chocolate can lose weight? Isn't it just fattening food? Eating too much chocolate will of course become fattening food! But eating a small amount of chocolate helps to lose weight. If you don't believe me, you can try! Of course, that sentence may not apply to everyone.

Chocolate has many functions, but these three are the most effective ones for me now, so I'll share them with you. You can discover other functions by yourself!

Pharmacological knowledge of chocolate

Chocolate contains more than 300 known chemicals. For hundreds of years, scientists have analyzed and experimented with these substances one by one, and in the process, they have continuously discovered and proved the vivid pharmacological effects of various components of chocolate on human body.

Chocolate is a natural guardian against heart disease.

Chocolate is rich in multi-source phenolic compounds, which plays a considerable role in preventing the oxidation or accumulation of fatty substances in human arteries.

The main symptom of heart disease is coronary heart disease, which is usually caused by the oxidation of LDL (low concentration lipoprotein) in human blood, thus causing cardiovascular obstruction.

Phenolic compounds in chocolate can not only prevent the fat in chocolate from rotting and turning sour, but also be quickly absorbed by blood vessels after eating into human body, and the antioxidant components in blood are obviously increased, which quickly exerts a powerful antioxidant effect, prevents LDL oxidation and inhibits platelet activity in blood vessels. These subcomponents play an important role in maintaining smooth blood flow in human blood vessels.

Nutritionists have proved that fruits, vegetables, red wine, tea and other plant foods contain such natural antioxidant phenolic compounds.

Strawberry has the strongest antioxidant capacity among fruits, but the antioxidant content of chocolate is 8 times higher than that of strawberry.

50 grams (one or two) of chocolate and 150 grams (three or two) of fine red wine are basically the same.

Experiments show that it comes from:

Andrew waterhouse is an expert in grape growing and brewing at the University of California.

Penny Kris-Etherton, Professor of Nutrition, University of Pennsylvania

Professor, School of Nutrition, Institute of Internal Medicine, University of California.

Cesar Fraga, Professor of Physical Chemistry, School of Medicine and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires.

Common sense of eating chocolate

Is dark chocolate better or milk chocolate better?

Dark chocolate is pure chocolate, and milk chocolate tastes different. The difference between the two is that the fat of dark chocolate is lower than that of milk chocolate (dark chocolate contains 24 grams of fat per100g, while milk chocolate contains 33 grams), and dark chocolate contains less salt (12 micrograms to 84 micrograms) and more sugar (64 grams to 55 grams). People who really eat chocolate only like dark chocolate. Some chocolate gourmets also get together regularly to taste various famous chocolates. Just like famous wine and delicious coffee, there are many famous varieties of dark chocolate according to the origin and development methods of cocoa beans.

Does chocolate make people fat?

Only eating too much chocolate can make people fat. Judging from the heat released, there is no need to worry about the danger that chocolate will make people fat. A whole plate of chocolate (100g) contains no more calories than a portion of McDonald's fries (200g). Some manufacturers advise people to eat light chocolate, which contains more fat than pure chocolate. In fact, light chocolate mainly reduces the sugar content (using sweet substances instead of sugar). In absolute value, light chocolate only has 14% less calories than ordinary chocolate. Moreover, the taste of light chocolate is very general. In fact, only when you are worried about diabetes will you eat light chocolate.

What harm will it do if I eat too much chocolate?

It's harmless to your liver. Eating more chocolate will never affect the liver. Eating too much chocolate will only cause digestive problems. Just like all foods with high fat content (above 30%), eating too much chocolate can also cause stomach pain (such as stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea or constipation). ). Especially light chocolate is rich in fat and polyol (if you eat too much, you will have stomach cramps or diarrhea). The remedy for eating too much chocolate is to drink a cup of green tea to warm your stomach.

Why do I like chocolate?

Because chocolate can inhibit depression and make people feel happy, especially dark chocolate with more cocoa content, which is rich in phenylethylamine, this substance can play an important role in people's emotional regulation. Many doctors even use chocolate as a natural medicine for mild depression, because chocolate is rich in magnesium (4 100 micrograms per gram of chocolate), and magnesium has the effect of calming the nerves and relieving depression. According to a recent poll, 34% of French women and 38% of Canadian women admit that they like to eat chocolate to improve their happiness in sexual life.

How about eating chocolate before bed?

Is it delicious? Eating a lot of chocolate before going to bed is not a good idea. Because, like coffee and strong tea, chocolate has an exciting effect, which makes it more difficult for people with poor sleep to fall asleep. However, eating chocolate before going to bed also has its advantages, which is because of the sexual stimulation of chocolate. It can not only make people feel euphoric and get through all kinds of jams, but also contain theobromine and caffeine, two important mental excitement substances. Chocolate can arouse people's physiological senses and improve mental excitement. It can not only make people energetic like coffee and strong tea, but also make people more sexy and charming.

Does eating too much chocolate really make people have a headache?

Yes, because chocolate, cheese and red wine contain tyramine, which is an active acid and one of the main causes of headache. This substance can cause the body to produce hormones that can constrict blood vessels, and blood vessels continue to expand to resist this contraction, resulting in annoying headaches. Similarly, if you suffer from menstrual syndrome, which is a common disease among women of childbearing age from 1/3 to 1/2, I suggest you eat less chocolate. People have noticed that although chocolate can make people feel euphoric for a short time, eating too much chocolate during menstruation will aggravate menstrual irritability and breast pain.

Am I addicted to chocolate?

Maybe. It has been noticed that during the period of female menstrual syndrome, when people are depressed due to seasonal changes, or at the moment of emotional collapse, people prefer to eat chocolate, and the daily consumption even reaches 500 grams. According to statistics, every Frenchman eats 6.69 kilograms of chocolate every year, the Greeks eat 2.84 kilograms of chocolate and the British eat 8.59 kilograms. Germans consume the most chocolate in the world. On average, each German consumes 10. 12 kg of chocolate every year. Eat as much as you want, and you won't get liver disease anyway.

The misunderstanding of eating chocolate

Myth 1: Eating chocolate will make you fat.

Fact: This is the most unscientific misunderstanding of chocolate. Everyone should know that if the body consumes less calories than it takes in, it will gain weight day by day. Each 1.4 ounce (about 40 grams) of milk chocolate can provide 2 10 calories, which are generated by the sugar and cocoa butter in chocolate, accounting for only one tenth of the 2,000 calories needed by the human body every day. That is to say, it is not surprising to enjoy about 40 grams of chocolate every day. What's more, modern technology can already produce "bodybuilding chocolate" (that is, sugar-free chocolate). This kind of bodybuilding chocolate is good news for diabetics and dieters, because it will not bring the danger of sugar intake, while retaining the original flavor of chocolate.

Nutrition experts remind that the human body needs to consume a certain amount of fat and sugar every day to maintain the normal function of all parts of the body, especially to provide energy, help the body absorb important nutrients and maintain the normal operation of brain function.

Source: Belgian Garibal Company-one of the largest manufacturers of chocolate raw materials in the world.

Myth 2: Chocolate is a sugary food without nutrition.

Fact: Chocolate is actually a kind of sugary food with great nutritional value. Chocolate can provide a considerable amount of nutrients that the human body needs every day. Only 1.4 ounces (about 40 grams) of milk chocolate contains 3 grams of protein, which is 15% of vitamin B2, 9% of calcium, 7% of iron, 9% of phosphorus, 6% of magnesium and 8% of copper, and contains more zinc, potassium and furuncle-resistant vitamins than ordinary milk.

If your child loves candy, chocolate will be a very wise choice, because it is definitely more nutritious than other sugary foods, and it can also meet the requirements of children's gluttony.

Source: International Cocoa Organization, International Food Information Committee, American Human Nutrition Information Service Center.

Myth 3: Eating chocolate can lead to tooth decay.

Fact: If sugar in any food stays in your mouth for a long time, it will cause various dental diseases, and chocolate is no exception. However, chocolate contains a natural ingredient, which can resist the acidic substances in sugar that easily damage gums and cause tooth decay. Protein, calcium, phosphate and other minerals contained in chocolate cocoa butter have obvious protective effects on gums and can slow down the formation of dental plaque. In addition, the sugar in chocolate dissolves in the mouth faster than any other food, so eating chocolate has less influence on tooth decay than eating any other sugary food.

Sources: Boston Foces Dental Center, School of Dentistry, University of Pennsylvania, Hysmans Dental Center, Lochester, new york.

Myth 4: Eat chocolate acne.

Fact: Eating chocolate will neither cause nor aggravate acne. Acne was not caused by any diet at first.

Source: College of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.

Myth 5: Chocolate contains a lot of coffee, which leads to "eating addiction"

Fact: 1.4 ounces (about 40 grams) of milk chocolate contains only 6 milligrams of caffeine, which is only one twentieth of the content of a cup of ordinary coffee. Therefore, the problem of caffeine in chocolate is no longer the object of study. If people are addicted to eating chocolate, it is definitely just the special natural taste of chocolate itself and the ever-changing connotation of adding it.