Candy Dish Blog

It’s a hot day.  You’re driving around town, picking up your dry cleaning, shopping for groceries and purchasing a nice little supply of candy.  Suddenly you realize it’s time for lunch.  You want to stop, but you’re afraid your candy will melt.

How do you know if you purchased sweets that will survive in a hot car for 30 minutes while you grab a veggie burger?  You don’t want to end up with the chocolate soup issue that Carl wrote about earlier in the week.

For help figuring out what candies would survive a hot day, I turned to one of NCA’s resident food scientists, Laura.

She took my question VERY seriously.  You’d think I’d ask her to outline a plan for world peace, not how to keep my gummi bears from turning into one big lump ‘o gummi. 

Read on to find out what I learned from Laura (and to see an awesome picture of melted candy).

Read the rest of this entry »

Have you heard the news that NCA is launching a new Web site?  It’s a massive project that has involved lots and lots of late night and, quite frankly, it’s taken its toll.  I’m in serious need of a spa day, ya’ll.  Sadly, having taken my vacation earlier in the summer means that I will be here in the office for the foreseeable future.

That’s why I was so excited to see this article in the Washington Examiner about creating an at-home chocolate milk skin mask.  How does one actually apply it to the skin when it must smell so darn good?  Well, it doesn’t have any sugar … so one little taste might be enough to keep you on task.

Chocolate Milk Mask
1 tbsp milk (whole)

1 tbs cocoa powder

Brush  

 

Begin with cocoa powder in a small bowl and slowly add milk (a little at a time) while mixing. Mix until you have a smooth consistency.

Using a fan brush, foundation brush or thin makeup sponge, apply the paste to your face, avoiding the eyes. If you have none of these, your fingers would work also.

Let sit on skin for 15 -30 minutes or until dry.

Wash with warm water.

According to the article, the mask is great because of the cocoa butter content.  It’s true, that cocoa butter is pretty great for lots of different reasons.  Because cocoa butter is solid at room temperature, when applied to the skin it forms a thin protecting barrier that locks in moisture and blocks out harsh outside elements. That’s why cocoa butter is commonly referred to as the “ultimate moisturizer” and used as a key ingredient in many lotions, lip balms, cosmetics and even anti-aging and scar reducing topical treatments.

Keep in mind, however, that this mask is made with cocoa powder.  Cocoa powder is what is left after removing about 75 percent of the cocoa butter from cocoa solids. So, while this mask may have some of the healing properties associated with cocoa butter, it may not be as effective a moisturizer as some other cocoa butter products out there.

Nonetheless, it sounds absolutely delightful and I’m anxious to try it out.  Has anyone used a mask like this before?  Have you taken even one step further and had one of those awesome spa treatments involving chocolate or cocoa butter like ones at the Hershey spa or others?

Chocolate Milk, HILO Milk  by heleo

Yesterday we invited Washington, DC area food and lifestyle reporters to see our new Georgetown offices, share a meal with us and exchange information about trends in candy, chocolate, cocoa and gum.

There was much conversation around our community table. The chocolate and cocoa related conversation went like this:

• Top rated entree of the day: Cocoa, rosemary and soy marinated tenderloin of beef. This dish was proof that cocoa is a welcome addition to the entire dinner table, not just dessert.
• Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor (vanilla is #2) with Americans relatively evenly split between a love for dark or milk chocolate.
• Sweet and savory combinations are mighty fine. We sampled bacon, brie and chipotle filled truffles–one of each.
• Interested pairings are making their mark, such as chili, lavender, sesame, green tea infused chocolates.
• Chocolate and cocoa are international foods. Cocoa was celebrated by the ancient Mayans over 2000 years ago. Cocoa trees are grown in small communities in very hot humid climates near the Equator in West Africa, Asia and Latin America. Chocolate or cocoa are immensely popular in the Americas, nearly all European countries and there is growing interest in Asia where green tea and chocolate are popular combinations.
• Cocoa trees are delicate, requiring the loving care of the farm families who tend them. They are susceptible to pests and diseases and need careful pruning and constant attention to ensure a healthy tree. Most cocoa farm families grow other crops, such as hardwood trees, bananas, other fruits, cassava and plaintain to provide shade for the cocoa trees as well as a year round income for the families, since there are only two cocoa harvests a year.
• Definitive research shows that cocoa butter, the natural fat in the cocoa bean, does not raise blood cholesterol levels in the body. (Cocoa beans, by the way, are a fruit and grow inside pods shaped like footballs from the trunks of cocoa trees.)
• Chocolate, in particular dark chocolate, and cocoa contain flavanols, a type of antioxidant which can affect good cardiovascular health.
• Our experts predict that additional research will show a positive effect on blood pressure and mood (we don’t really need the experts to tell us chocolate makes us happy!).
• The antioxidant properties of the cocoa bean make it a beneficial addition to many skin and beauty care products such as lotion, anti-aging creams, soaps and shampoos.

We had a great time and hope our guests did, too. We hope some of you will be able to join us at our table in the future. In the meantime we know that really, almost everyone is a chocolate expert. What chocolate trends are you willing to predict?

Sometimes I love winter.  Mainly when it snows.  But usually I loathe this cold, dry weather.  In part because it makes my hair and skin crazy dry.

This morning, my hair was literally standing on end and I felt like I was in some bad static cling commercial from the 1970s.  And my hands – ugh.  

What’s crazy is that I’ve let things get so out of control when I happen to know the ultimate moisturizer is very close at hand.  It’s cocoa butter.

Because cocoa butter is a solid at room temperature, when you put it on your skin it forms a thin protective barrier that locks in moisture and blocks out harsh elements.  That’s why it’s used as an important ingredient in so many lotions, lip balms and cosmetics.  It’s even used in some anti-aging and scar reducing treatments.  Lots of doctors and scientists recognize cocoa butter as as skin protectant.

But, cocoa butter is NOT actually butter – a common misperception.  Real butter is made exclusively from milk, cream or both and cocoa butter is the fat that comes from cocoa beans, the seeds inside the fruit of the cacao tree. 

cocoa butter by fiveinchpixie

I just got this in my email a few minutes ago. We have had a lot of people ask if chocolate and other confectionery products were safe. People are pretty darned scared about this melamine problem we have been hearing so much about in the news, and for good reason.

Here is NCA’s official statement on the issue:

Chocolate makers abide by strict government regulations in order to ensure the quality and safety of chocolate products sold in the US. Last week the Food and Drug Administration announced that the agency has expanded its testing of food products imported from China. NCA agrees with this action; all candy products sold in the US, regardless of country of origin, must meet the same stringent safety standards.

Chocolate products produced in North America do not source milk or milk products from China. Consumers can continue to enjoy their favorite chocolates knowing they are as wholesome and safe as ever.

However, there have been some candy recalls. QFCO, Inc. issued a recall for their White Rabbit candies on Friday due to possible melamine contamination. From their press release on the issue: “Consumers who have purchased White Rabbit Candy are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or discard it in their trash. Consumers with questions may contact the company at (650) 697-6633.”

Cadbury has had a similar recall of its Chinese-made products but not for any of their products distributed in North America. The problem products were reportedly only distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.

The bottom line is that if you live in North America and buy products made there, you are fine. If you are concerned, one way to be extra vigilant is to turn a package over to see where it was manufactured and whether it contains milk. Right now it is milk-based products from China that are highly suspect. Milk-based products from other countries can be assumed to be safe.

Cocoa butter is the oil in chocolate that gives it that melt-in-your-mouth feeling. Because white chocolate contains large amounts of cocoa butter, it tends to melt easily – even easier than “regular” chocolate – and special care should be taken to handle it properly.

If you are going to cook with white chocolate or else mold it, you don’t need to have the double boiler going at full blast. Simply boil the water in the lower part, remove it from the heat, then place the top part in and add your white chocolate. Stir to mix it around and get all of it exposed to the heat. It will stay good and warm like this and keep the chocolate melted for a long time – certainly long enough to do whatever you need to do.

I will be adding recipes later but for now one great place to find some recipes involving white chocolate is at the Food Network. I have not checked every recipe for relevancy, but it appears that they have no fewer than 928 recipes involving white chocolate. It’s certainly a great first stop, at any rate!

White Chocolate Bar by Chotda.

We often get asked about white chocolate. When trying to sum it up, we couldn’t say it any better than Chocolatier Magazine, from their March 2000 issue:

According to FDA standards, white chocolate is a combination of cocoa butter, sugar, butterfat, milk solids, lecithin and flavorings. It contains no chocolate liquor and so gets its mild chocolate flavor from the cocoa butter. It also gets its ivory color from this most sublime fat. If you buy a product that is labeled “white chocolate” and yet it looks bright white, chances are it contains no cocoa butter but instead a mixture of vegetable fat, milk solids, sugar, lecithin an flavorings. Check the ingredients declaration on the package to see if contains cocoa butter. Such products also may be called confectionery or summer coating – the word chocolate will be conspicuously absent.

So is it chocolate? Well, regardless of FDA rules, labeling laws and the like, people tend to have strong feelings on this issue. One thing we can all agree on is that it is sweet, if different from other types of chocolate, and is a cacao derivative. It’s not the same experience, to be sure, but also not completely different.

What are your feelings on this? Do you lean strongly one way or the other on this issue?