I know there are a lot of jokes out there about girls and chocolate, although I don't quite understand how is became a gender-specific pastime. How many guys out there turn up their noses at chocolate?
Milk chocolate, once, to me, was the only true heaven. If I was ever offered anything dark, I would gag. Dark chocolate? Who would ever eat dark chocolate?
I'm not sure which is responsible; adulthood, which means the body no longer craves such copious amounts of calories to feed a growing body, or the fact that I eat better than I used to, readjusting my palate accordingly. But in any case, I find myself actually enjoying the bittersweetness of a high-percentage cacao chocolate.
Unheard of! Absurd!
When I heard how the high-percentage cacao chocolate was healthy (specifically over 70%) I took a tentative nibble. If consumed right after anything sugary, it will be a letdown, but as a "mouth-straightener" following a meal, it is pleasantly satisfying.
Modern science has proclaimed (I'll take it while it lasts) the healthiness of dark chocolate: "Why Chocolate Is Good for Us." The article mentions unsweetened cocoa powder and cacao nibs, but I wouldn't suggest the latter. It really doesn't taste like anything, and I'm not crazy about the consistency. It really is amazing how much of the flavor in chocolate as I knew it was sugar and oil.
When there is a sale in my local Jewish supermarket, I stock up on months' worth of Schmerling's 72% Cacao Chocolate. These are the only bars I can find, with the minimum percentage requirement, that are pareve.
I then discovered Ghirardelli Chocolate Intense Dark Midnight Reverie 86% Cacao Bar at my local drugstore. But they seem to sell out fast, especially when I have a coupon. It is, however, milchig. Also available on Amazon, thankfully.
This stuff is now my means of staying sane yet healthy during the week, when sugar is a no-no.
2 comments:
I think the reason I had such a strong preference for milk over dark chocolate as a kid was because I associated dark chocolate with pareve chocolate--ie, inferior chocolate that was the only available option after shabbat lunch.
Once I realized that there's good dark chocolate, and that people eat dark chocolate on purpose and not just because they're fleish and can't have milk chocolate--it was a whole new ballgame.
"Tart" is a whole new option for me. Until now, I was SUGAR! Hey, look, guys, I'm a grown-up!
Shoot.
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