Chocolate – the king’s drink

Each person has their own passions for food and drinks, but not everyone is able to improve their mood, feel joy and peace in bad weather. An exquisite and fragrant product, appreciated in many countries of the world, a delicacy familiar to everyone since childhood – of course, we will talk about chocolate. How and to whom is it useful, and who should not abuse it? How, from what chocolate, what drinks can be prepared from it? We will answer these questions today.

The birthplace of cocoa beans, the raw material for chocolate, is known to be South America. In the Mayan and Aztec tribes, this drink was treated with great reverence and only selected mortals and leaders were allowed to drink. Hot chocolate was considered not just a delicacy, but also a real medicine, because they drank it in a completely different way than it is now. Cocoa beans were roasted, then ground into a pulp, cold water was added and sprinkled with chili peppers. The Europeans changed the recipe, they began to warm up the drink so that it would dissolve faster, and the pepper was replaced with sugar. And already in this form, hot chocolate came to the courts of the reigning persons, both in Europe and in Asia. In Russia, at the court, hot chocolate was drunk from special elegant dishes.

Cocoa was originally only a drink, and only at the end of the 19th century did bar chocolate and sweets appear.

Today, in order to feel the taste of a fragrant, invigorating drink, it is enough to do simple actions in any modern kitchen, because, as devices for making hot chocolate have long been invented, you can also cook it in a Turk or a small saucepan on an ordinary stove.

If you take high-quality bar chocolate to make a drink, it will have less sugar, then you can drink it during a diet. The choice of chocolate must be approached carefully. First, buy the best quality, the composition should not contain any preservatives and dyes. Dark or sweeter milk chocolate is suitable for making a drink. High-quality cocoa powder is also quite ready to form the basis for the preparation of the drink.

If you make a drink just on the water, it will not be so pronounced, lighter. Well, if you decide to cook it with milk or add cream, the taste will change quite a lot for the better, but the number of calories will also increase. Milk can be whipped.

If you really watch your weight, prepare a drink by mixing milk and water. Thus, the aroma and taste remain, but the drink will be more delicate.

So how do you cook right? hot chocolate.

We need 600 ml. milk, 3 tbsp. spoons of cocoa powder, 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar, 150 ml. low-fat cream, a pinch of ground ginger, ground pepper, 1 cinnamon stick, if desired, you can add 150 ml of brandy.

Mix milk, cocoa, sugar, ground spices, cream, cinnamon stick and brandy. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. We whip the cream.

Remove the cinnamon stick, pour hot chocolate into cups. On top, you can put 1 tbsp. spoonful of whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Chocolate is a drink for the whole family. Because experts do not recommend chocolate only for children under 6 years old and adults suffering from hypertension. The effect of theobromine contained in it is milder than that of caffeine in coffee, this component stimulates the efficiency and creative activity of a person. And thanks to tryptophan, mood improves, anxiety is removed and depression is softened. When buying a bar of chocolate, a person unconsciously uses it not only as a delicacy, but also as a way to calm the nerves, “to eat stress”. Moreover, doctors say that chocolate calms men much more than women.

The most useful dark chocolate, with a high content of cocoa butter, even in moderate doses, it can prevent cardiovascular disease, because this oil prevents the narrowing and hardening of the arteries, and also reduces the likelihood of blood clots. This effect continues for 8 hours. In addition, cocoa is a product of plant origin, therefore it does not contain cholesterol. And even half a bar of milk chocolate contains about 210 mg of phenols, substances that do not allow cholesterol to oxidize in the blood and thus act prophylactically against vasoconstriction. A glass of red wine contains the same amount of phenol, but eating chocolate doesn’t have the same devastating effects as alcohol.

Two types of cocoa powder are now produced – alkalized and natural. The raw material is the same, but in the first case it is treated with alkali, which reduces the acidity of the powder. After such processing, the powder becomes darker, and the taste and aroma are also enhanced. It can be stored longer and used more economically. If you want to buy natural cocoa powder, which is more saturated with useful substances, then pay attention to the packaging, where it should say “100% natural cocoa powder”.

There are many ways to make chocolate drinks. I fell in love with it since my student days, when we went to a cafe on Chistye Prudy, where they served it with cinnamon, cloves, something else, but the aroma was simply “divine”.

Everyone has different tastes, someone likes bitterness, someone sweeter, and someone with a spicy taste. And the cuisines of different countries also have their own characteristics. So, the French put 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate and some good alcohol in a chocolate drink, making the drink more concentrated and bitter. In the East, they love this drink with various spices, it can be black pepper, and star anise, and nutmeg, and ground ginger, and much more. You can also add honey instead of sugar. Milk can be used vegetable, now there is a large selection. In addition, various fruits, such as bananas or oranges, can be added to the drink to taste.

orange hot chocolate prepared from 2 cups of milk, 120 g of dark chocolate, 3 strips of orange peel, ½ tsp. instant coffee, ground nutmeg on the tip of a knife.

We mix all the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whisk with a whisk until frothy.

Bring to a boil over low heat again. Whisk again. Take out the orange zest. Leave for 2 hours at room temperature. Just before serving, bring to a boil again and whisk. And pour into circles.

Alina Fedorova.

Author’s photo