Chocolate Companies Eliminate Cocoa Butter

WHAT?!? Can it be true?!? Sadly, it is!

And the worst part...The vegetable oils that are replacing cocoa butter in many chocolate products may lead to increased health risks. Not to mention, the quality and taste of our beloved chocolate candy will be less than wonderful!

WHY would chocolate manufacturers remove the very ingredient that gives our chocolate that smooth creamy taste???

It all boils down to $$$$$$....Large chocolate manufacturers, such as Hershey, have replaced cocoa butter with palm, shea, sunflower, and safflower oil in many of their products because cocoa butter prices have doubled in the past two years.

Why the increase??? DEMAND!

How can we be sure that we are getting what we really want from our chocolate? We have to start checking out the labels. The Food and Drug Administration requires that cocoa butter must be an ingredient in a chocolate product to be labeled – chocolate.

The labeling on candy products which include chocolate have been altered slightly. A chocolate bar that contains vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter cannot be labeled a chocolate bar. The labeling differences are subtle, but we have got to start looking or we will be fooled into eating chocolate that is an impostor!

What should we look for? Here are some example replacement phrases to be on the lookout for:

Chocolatey
Made with Chocolate
Chocolate Candy ...or simply watch to see if Chocolate is not Mentioned in the Name

However, the best way to determine if a candy bar has real chocolate is to read the ingredients label. The ingredient list MUST include cocoa butter if it is real chocolate!

So, why should we be watchful? First of all, the price of this impostor chocolate was not reduced, and who wants to pay a premium for something that isn't even chocolate???

And lets not forget there are health risks related to vegetable oils. Why it may not matter to some, true chocolate lovers and those who crave real chocolate will notice a difference in taste. The impostor will be less creamy and waxier.

And the worst news - The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has warned that the use of palm, shea, sunflower, and safflower oil in food products is not healthy and may lead to higher cholesterol in people. These oils are also high in Omega 6 and excess intake of Omega 6 can lead to long-term diseases such as heart disease, cancer, asthma, arthritis, and depression. (University of Maryland Medical Center).

So...the bottom line is this...WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL AND BE BETTER CHOCOLATE SNOBS! - read the labels and don't buy the impostor!

September's COCOA CLUB MEETING

SEPTEMBER COCOA CLUB

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2008 - 7 PM

HOSTED BY: APRIL OPPLIGER

THEME: CHOCOLATE SPA

MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:

Jenny Z - Co-Founder

Campbell Z - Jr. Member

April O - Member (Her boys - Aaron, Holden and UMA the dog)

Autumn S - Co-Founder (Her boy Doug)

Betty S - Guest

MEETING NOTES: CHOCOLATE SPA was a wonderful treat for our bodies as well as our taste buds! In addition to some great edible treats, we had other indulgences based on CHOCOLATE.

So...what kind of SPA things did we share?

April made a chocolate mud mask for our hands and faces. It was made from yogurt, cocoa, and raspberries. We treated our hands and faces to some decadent moisture, and YES, it tasted good too! She also provided CHOCOLATE themed nail polishes to paint our nails. Campbell loved the polishes and tried all the colors...Chocolate Soufflé, ..., & ...

Autumn brought CHOCOLATE tea bath salts for everyone! The salts were made from CHOCOLATE tea leaves, Epsom salts and cocoa butter oil.

What about edible treats?

As the hostess, April out did herself! She made an amazing CHOCOLATE pizza topped with strawberries, CHOCOLATE covered potato chips, and CHOCOLATE dipped pretzel sticks. She also had banana Oreos, mixed nuts, chips and salsa, and covered apricots, blueberries, cherries, and strawberries! A FANTASTIC array to tempt us!

Jenny and Campbell gave our taste buds a treat with a salty sweet mixture of popcorn and CHOCOLATE. YUM!

Autumn made puffs - CHOCOLATE cream and chicken salad and brought chocolate martinis!

QUOTES AND PRIZES:

Can you figure out who said: "CHOCOLATE is the greatest gift to women ever created, next to the likes of Paul Newman and Gene Kelly!"

Jenny and Autumn guessed correctly - Sandra Bullock - and won the prizes!

 

SPECIAL GUESTS:

We had some special attendees this time. Our pet hostess was Uma. She was quite gracious and since CHOCOLATE isn't good for dogs, she had plenty of her own treats!

Autumn's mother-in-law, Betty also attended since she was visiting from Denver.

And this time, some of the guys were included. Of course they loved all the treats! Aaron, Holden and Doug were busy in the basement playing "rock band" for most of the evening, but after our spa experience, we all joined "the band."

A fun time was had by all! If you missed it....you missed out on a great evening!

We hope to see you next time!