Traditionally hot chocolate has been very popular in countries like Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Italy where it is often drunk instead of coffee, especially in the winter months.
Lately I have noticed that it is starting to raise its profile in places like New York, London, and of course our own Butler’s cafes have an absolutely divine hot chocolate available all year round. They even sell a DIY hot chocolate box of chocolates that you simply mix with hot milk. The best I have had was at the Belfast City Market where an artisan maker of chocolates was serving three different strengths of hot chocolate served in an espresso cup, it was quite thick and made with heaps of chocolate pieces, cream, and milk.
Unlike coffee, there is a lot of research that says dark chocolate is good for you. Dark chocolate has lots of antioxidants and the good news is that even more are released when it is heated. There are also flavanoids (same as in red wine ) which have a positive effect on blood flow. There are still, of course, calories and fats, but there are much fewer in dark chocolate than in milk and white chocolate. In fact when I recommend people to eat chocolate it is exclusively dark chocolate from 70 per cent to 90 per cent cocoa solids that I refer to.
There are some nice flavours you can add to your hot chocolate drink — a shot of espresso in a large hot chocolate is good, a shot of Kahlua or Tia Maria, a shot of Frangelico liqueur, and of course chopped marshmallows. Personally my favourite is to have a generous sprinkling of shaved dark chocolate floating on top.
A simple way to make a really nice hot chocolate is to use Green & Black’s organic cocoa powder, add a teaspoon of caster sugar, and make into a paste with a tiny drop of water. Then add equal parts of cream and milk which have been heated in a saucepan. Beat the hot milk to create a little foam and pour. Depending on your taste, you could add a little cinnamon or even chilli.
The origins of chocolate can be traced back just over 2,000 years to a Mayan tomb that had a vessel with traces of a chocolate drink. To make a chocolate drink the Maya crushed cocoa seeds into a paste and mixed it with water, cornmeal, and chillis. They then poured the drink back and forth between cups until it became frothy. The first European contact came when Cortes brought cocoa beans to Spain in 1528. Chocolate became very fashionable and was sometimes given as a dowry when Spanish nobility married aristocrats from other European countries. Up until the 1800s, chocolate always came in the form of a drink, either hot or cold.
It was not until 1828 that a machine was invented to make a chocolate bar, and it was only in 1876 that milk chocolate became available. Since then it has become a byword for pleasurable eating. About 50 per cent of people’s food cravings are for chocolate versus 12 per cent for salty foods, 11 per cent baked goods, and four per cent for fruit. The craving is highest in women at 40 per cent, and 15 per cent of men have a chocolate craving. Why do people crave it? The taste is one thing, however, it also stimulates the secretion of endorphins which produces a pleasurable sensation similar to the ‘high’ that a jogger gets after running several kilometres.
Finally, don’t feed your dog or cat chocolate as about 2oz can be lethal to a 10lb dog.
