Pray that Chocolate Stays Pure

Another battle is brewing over the purity of ingredients and how they affect the essence of a product. And this time the victim may be chocolate.

According to an article in today's New York Times, "Real chocolate is made from crushed cacao beans, which provide not only solid cocoa mass but also cocoa butter that is vital to texture because, quite literally, it melts in your mouth. Industrial confectioners have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to be able to replace cocoa butter with cheaper fats and still call the resulting product “chocolate.” The reason: the substitution would allow them to use fewer beans and to sell off the butter for cosmetics and such."

It's becoming an increasingly prominent issue where market demands often compromise the integrity of what we eat. " Too much of what we eat is already ersatz-virtual, like “farm-fresh” Frankenstein produce or “home-baked” chemical cookies. No one who has savored real chocolate can be eager to see our beloved Theobroma cacao, the elixir of the gods, suffer this fate."

For the complete story, take a bite here.

EAT MORE CHOCOLATE