Re: Cocoa, Chocolate, etc.

[Guest guest]

There you go on chocolate no less!

OTOH, we don't eat that much chocolate, but the available "chocolate" is varied. I stick to Hershey's because the packages indicate it is made from cocoa butter, as opposed to palm oil, hydrogenated fat, etc.

I've noticed 3 things, cocoa, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter, (not to be confused with the designation of cocoa butter for thick coconut oil).

Some products may use cocoa liquor and hydrogenated fat, eg.

ly, if you like the taste of chocolate, I think plain cocoa in milk, like a smoothee is pretty good, without the fat.

Regards.

----- Original Message -----

From: Rodney

Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 5:04 PM

Subject: [ ] Cocoa, Chocolate, etc.

Hi folks:Something prompted me to take a look at the fat content of chocolate products. Here is some info that I found helpful and, some of it, a bit surprising.'Cocoa butter' seems like a good place to start. It is an ingredient I occasionally see listed in various products and appears to be simply 'cocoa oil' - in the same way that 'corn oil' is simply the fat squeezed out of corn.This conclusion is drawn from the fact that, according to nutritiondata.com, one hundred grams of cocoa butter contains 100 grams of fat, zero carbohydrate and zero protein. Like some other oils it also contains traces of vitamins E and K, and some phytosterols.Of that fat, ~25% is palmitic (likely not helpful); ~33% is stearic (probably harmless apart from the calories); but the good news is that the amount of lauric is zero, and myristic (bad news) is negligible. Another ~33% is oleic (depending on who you ask either somewhat helpful or somewhat harmful); and there is a small amount of linoleic (probably quite healthy?).Now, if you search nutritiondata for 'cocoa' there are ten items listed excluding cocoa butter, those with a 'high fat' designation, and excluding those with other stuff added - like sugar, coffee, marshmallows, etc. Of those ten, fat calories as a percent of total seem to range between 7% and 54%. So it does seem that even with regular products it is possible to greatly limit fat content.Of course the fat calories as a percent of total can be dramatically reduced by adding sugar. So the more desirable cocoa products would seem to be those with both a low fat content AND with a low ratio of carbohydrates to protein. (I.E. those for which the carbs have not been increased (and fat percentage reduced) by the addition of sugar).One product listed as: "Cocoa mix, no sugar added, powder [hot chocolate]" appears to be 7% fat and has 4.4 times as many grams of carbs as of protein. Another is shown to have more than seventeen times as much carbs as protein! Another, also listed as 7% fat, has, in contrast, only 1.9 times as much carbs as protein. Based on the above rather superficial analysis it seems that of the regularly available products the last one may be the healthiest for those who believe the ORAC value of cocoa is worth its caloric content. It is listed in nutritiondata.com as "Cocoa mix, NESTLE, CARNATION No Sugar Added Hot Cocoa Mix [hot chocolate]".Alternative views on this will be much appreciated. Thanks.Rodney.

[Guest guest]

Hi JW:

Yes, but according to nutritiondata.com 'cocoa butter' contains a

fair amount of palmitic acid, like palm oil. Fortunately, unlike

coconut and palm kernel oils, it contains negligible amounts of

myristic.

I certainly agree that many, including some of the more expensive and

fancy-packaged, 'chocolate' brands contain considerable amounts of

hydrogenated fats. In at least one case of a product I was given one

Easter, the entire product appeared to be hydrogenated fat, and the

words 'chocolate' and 'cocoa' did not appear in the ingredient list.

Yet the package called it " chocolate " . Yer gotta check the

ingredient lists and hope that they are accurate.

Rodney.

--- In , " jwwright " <jwwright@e...>

wrote:

I stick to Hershey's because the packages indicate it is made from

cocoa butter, as opposed to palm oil, hydrogenated fat, etc.

> I've noticed 3 things, cocoa, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter,

(not to be confused with the designation of cocoa butter for thick

coconut oil).

> Some products may use cocoa liquor and hydrogenated fat, eg.

> ly, if you like the taste of chocolate, I think plain cocoa in

milk, like a smoothee is pretty good, without the fat.

>

> Regards.

[Guest guest]

>

> I stick to Hershey's because the packages indicate it is made from

> cocoa butter, as opposed to palm oil, hydrogenated fat, etc.

> > I've noticed 3 things, cocoa, chocolate liquor, and cocoa

butter,

> (not to be confused with the designation of cocoa butter for thick

> coconut oil).

> > Some products may use cocoa liquor and hydrogenated fat, eg.

> > ly, if you like the taste of chocolate, I think plain cocoa

in

> milk, like a smoothee is pretty good, without the fat.

> >

> > Regards.

[Guest guest]

Sorry about that last empty post;

I hit <Enter> without really being in the text edit field.

I reckon you guys aren't eating very good chocolate. Check out a

site like chocosphere.com, which sells the best gourmet chocolate,

and go for the high cocao percentages.

-

>

> I stick to Hershey's because the packages indicate it is made from

> cocoa butter, as opposed to palm oil, hydrogenated fat, etc.

> > I've noticed 3 things, cocoa, chocolate liquor, and cocoa

butter,

> (not to be confused with the designation of cocoa butter for thick

> coconut oil).

> > Some products may use cocoa liquor and hydrogenated fat, eg.

> > ly, if you like the taste of chocolate, I think plain cocoa

in

> milk, like a smoothee is pretty good, without the fat.

> >

> > Regards.

[Guest guest]

Hi :

Is there a way to determine the healthiness of the products available

at Chocosphere.com? In my experience of examining ingredient lists

on chocolate products I have found that if I don't read the fine

print I can easily confuse 'gourmet' with fancy packaging and high

price. (Of course, the same is sometimes true of cars, and many

other products also).

I didn't see ingredient lists for any of the three products there

that I took a look at. Nor a nutrient breakdown. It would be nice

to be able to calculate the grams of fat, carbs and protein per

hundred grams, and a breakout of the fats by type. Hydrogenated

vegetable oils and sugar are readily available and cheaper than cocoa

products so there will always be a temptation to use them to reduce

costs. And added fats and sugar can make just about anything taste

better too, of course.

Excerpt from Encyclopaedia Britannica: " In making chocolate, the

kernels of fermented and roasted cacao beans are ground into a paste

called chocolate liquor, which may be hardened in molds to form

baking (bitter) chocolate, pressed to reduce the cocoa butter

(vegetable fat) content and then pulverized to make cocoa powder, or

mixed with sugar and additional cocoa butter to make sweet (eating)

chocolate. The addition of concentrated milk to sweet chocolate

produces milk chocolate. White chocolate, made from cocoa butter,

sugar, milk, and vanilla, contains no cocoa solids " . Perhaps they

could have added that the product tastes about the same if they

replace the expensive cocoa butter with hydrogenated palm kernel oil.

All of which helps explain my desire to see the fine print!

Rodney.

> >

> > I stick to Hershey's because the packages indicate it is made

from

> > cocoa butter, as opposed to palm oil, hydrogenated fat, etc.

> > > I've noticed 3 things, cocoa, chocolate liquor, and cocoa

> butter,

> > (not to be confused with the designation of cocoa butter for

thick

> > coconut oil).

> > > Some products may use cocoa liquor and hydrogenated fat, eg.

> > > ly, if you like the taste of chocolate, I think plain

cocoa

> in

> > milk, like a smoothee is pretty good, without the fat.

> > >

> > > Regards.

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Rodney " <perspect1111@y...>

wrote:

>

> Hi :

>

> Is there a way to determine the healthiness of the products

available

> at Chocosphere.com? In my experience of examining ingredient lists

> on chocolate products I have found that if I don't read the fine

> print I can easily confuse 'gourmet' with fancy packaging and high

> price. (Of course, the same is sometimes true of cars, and many

> other products also).

>

> I didn't see ingredient lists for any of the three products there

> that I took a look at. Nor a nutrient breakdown. It would be nice

> to be able to calculate the grams of fat, carbs and protein per

> hundred grams, and a breakout of the fats by type. Hydrogenated

> vegetable oils and sugar are readily available and cheaper than

cocoa

> products so there will always be a temptation to use them to reduce

> costs. And added fats and sugar can make just about anything taste

> better too, of course.

Well, I have purchased many of the the chocolates sold therein

and have inspected the ingredients list. I have found nothing

offensive yet. The typical composition (i.e., for E.Guittard

Ambanja 65%, Chocovic Ocumare 71%, and El Rey Gran Saman 70%)

is: cocao liquor/mass, sugar, cocoa butter, and soya lecithin.

The first and last of the examples above also list vanilla.

As for nutrition facts, the Chocovic Ocumare 71% shows:

serving: 10 g

total fat: 4 g

sat fat: 3 g

cholesterol: 0 g

sodium: 2 mg

total carbs: 4 g

fiber: 1 g

sugars: 3 g

protein: 1 g

vit A: 0 %

vit C: 0 %

calcium: 0.89% (other brands aren't this specific)

iron: 4.71%

Hope this helps,

-

[Guest guest]

Hi :

Yes. Thanks. That is helpful. The ingredient list does not show

any hydrogenated oils. The data for the product you show there

indicate it is at the high end of chocolate fat content, and moderate

in added sugar content. Total calories appear to be 56 and fat

calories 36, which is 64% of total calories. Carbohydrates are four

times the protein content which suggests a fair amount (but not a

huge amount) of added sugar.

It probably tastes delicious, but if the fat content was reduced to

~10% (less cocoa butter) and the carbohydrate grams (added sugar)

reduced to two times protein grams then, while it might not taste as

good, it would provide a lot more anti-oxidants per calorie.

If it was me I would keep that for a special occasion treat, and try

to satisfy my chocolate fix with a much less fat/less sugar version

most of the time. I am going to have to experiment with the '7%

fat/carbs = two times protein' version mentioned in a previous post

and see what I can come up with. Sucralose is a possibility for a

substitute for the sugar.

Rodney.

> >

> > Hi :

> >

> > Is there a way to determine the healthiness of the products

> available

> > at Chocosphere.com? In my experience of examining ingredient

lists

> > on chocolate products I have found that if I don't read the fine

> > print I can easily confuse 'gourmet' with fancy packaging and

high

> > price. (Of course, the same is sometimes true of cars, and many

> > other products also).

> >

> > I didn't see ingredient lists for any of the three products there

> > that I took a look at. Nor a nutrient breakdown. It would be

nice

> > to be able to calculate the grams of fat, carbs and protein per

> > hundred grams, and a breakout of the fats by type. Hydrogenated

> > vegetable oils and sugar are readily available and cheaper than

> cocoa

> > products so there will always be a temptation to use them to

reduce

> > costs. And added fats and sugar can make just about anything

taste

> > better too, of course.

>

> Well, I have purchased many of the the chocolates sold therein

> and have inspected the ingredients list. I have found nothing

> offensive yet. The typical composition (i.e., for E.Guittard

> Ambanja 65%, Chocovic Ocumare 71%, and El Rey Gran Saman 70%)

> is: cocao liquor/mass, sugar, cocoa butter, and soya lecithin.

> The first and last of the examples above also list vanilla.

>

> As for nutrition facts, the Chocovic Ocumare 71% shows:

> serving: 10 g

> total fat: 4 g

> sat fat: 3 g

> cholesterol: 0 g

> sodium: 2 mg

> total carbs: 4 g

> fiber: 1 g

> sugars: 3 g

> protein: 1 g

> vit A: 0 %

> vit C: 0 %

> calcium: 0.89% (other brands aren't this specific)

> iron: 4.71%

>

> Hope this helps,

> -