Now that I have your attention…Friday, July 30th is National Cheesecake Day and in honor of the occasion, The Cheesecake Factory is offering half off per slice- off ANY cheesecake. That means, yes, chocolate cheesecake included! (It’s dine in only though, so plan accordingly!)
You need to be a fan to get the printed invitation from their Facebook page, so fan up and don’t leave home without it!
Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake
All right Godiva, you’re fancy, we know it. But now you’re appearing in grocery stores, bookstores and drugstores with your truffle bar line. It’s not cheap as far as grocery store chocolate bars go (about $2.50-4.00 a bar) but it is cheaper in the “Godiva” sense. The question is- does this chocolate truffle candy bar stand up to the Godiva name or will chocolate chip mint be just too weird for anyone?
Last month we reviewed Bissinger’s Naturals which of course led to a tour through their website, catalog and the image that caused both Cocoazilla and Vegan Chocoholic to stop and think “that is the best picture of chocolate I have ever seen, must buy it now….”
Chocolate is a wonderful thing. It is projected that chocolate lovers all over the world will spend even more – as much as $12.9 billion by 2011. Most people are happy with just eating it, but I found some things that might just make you raise your brow.
Ok, I know ‘chocolate’ is in the name, but trust me it’s not really chocolate. Technically, for something to be considered a chocolate, it has to contain a certain amount of cocoa. White chocolate is actually a mix of a minimum of 20% cocoa butter, 3.5% milk fat, 14% milk solids and less than 55% sugar as stated by the FDA. No cocoa. at. all.
And the white color – it’s from the lack of a chemical called theobromine.
That’s crazy… I mean they can survive after drinking from a porcelain throne filled with potentially harmful bacteria – how can they be poisoned by such an innocuous treat enjoyed by their human counterparts?
I remember almost accidentally ‘rewarding’ my friend’s dog for something, probably for just being cute, but the next thing I know, I am almost tackled to the ground. I thought he was crazy.
Remember our friend theobromine? While it gives chocolate its nice brown color, it’s also the naturally occurring chemical in chocolate which causes a toxic reaction in our canine companion. Aside from white chocolate, each type of chocolate, whether it’s milk chocolate, semi-sweet or the like, has different amounts of this chemical. And just like arsenic for humans, there’s no real cure so the best bet is to get it out the way it went down ASAP.
courtesy of discovery channel
Well, we can’t be number one at everything (j/k). On average, Americans eat up to 11 pounds of chocolate per year. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly the size of two bowling balls.
It may come as no surprise, then, that the chocolate capital of the world (or the place best known for its chocolate), Switzerland, takes the prize for eating the most chocolate in the world at twice the amount – 22 lbs! Four bowling balls!
I know what you’re thinking… But, this is how the Swiss get their chocolate – they’re not for the dogs
We’re all familiar with the traditional form of hot cocoa or hot chocolate that’s usually enjoyed on a cold winter night. That’s not the chocolate I’m talking about. The hot chocolate we’re used to is loaded with sugar and it is done so it does not offend our delicate palates. We’re such pansies nowadays.
This wasn’t so for the hardcore Aztecs from several millennia back. They would enjoy this hot, spicy and bitter beverage all the time. I would think it would be something like drinking a hot and spicy cup of lemon juice. Delicious.
That’s the Aztec emperor drinking 50 solid gold chalices of this hot chocolate. Every. Single. Day.
Looks like I have a lot of chocolate to drink in my near future
If you think those chocolate facts were interesting, there’s more chocolate-y fact goodness here
Special Chocolate Guest Blogger!
As I was walking past the aisles of my local Freddy’s, I reached what I like to call the “sin aisle” of my local Freddy’s, the candy aisle, and decided to find something to satisfy my sweet tooth. Now, I’m no chocolate connoisseur, but I do love most any chocolate candy.
Read the rest of this entry »
15 Jul
Once in awhile Cocoazilla crosses paths with a Vegan Chocoholic. Vegan Chocoholic has made it a hobby to test, try and collect vegan friendly chocolate recipes for all sort of dishes. So as a service to all you vegan chocoholics out there (and even if you’re not) here is a list of some tasty vegan chocolate recipes.
