
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
CHOCOLATE
TO MAKE YOU ATTAIN yog
From
Exploring on-line here are a few facts
about chocolate which is universally liked by all humanity regardless of
age, race, religion, socio-political-economical preference or any other
preferred lifestyle traits of this current world...And chocolate is liked by
all for various reasons from sweet-tooth to getting high on
endorphins to seducing one's loved ones...:
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CHOCOLATE IS AN AMERICAN INVENTION:
The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) is a native of Central and South America.
Today, it is cultivated around the equator, and can be found in the
Caribbean, Africa, South-East Asia, and even in the South Pacific Islands
of Samoa and New Guinea.
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There are three main varieties of cacao
trees. The most common is Forastero, which accounts for nearly 90% of the
world's production of cacao beans. Rarest and most prized are the beans of
the Criollo variety. Their aroma and delicacy make them sought after by
the world's best chocolate makers. Finally, there is the Trinitario
variety of cacao, which is a cross between Criollo and Forastero.
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The spread of the cacao tree started during
the age of Colonialism some 600 years ago, as did the spread of cacao
beans, and of chocolate itself.
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The process of making fine chocolate hasn't
changed much since the Swiss breakthroughs of the late 1800s from
harvesting beans to roasting and winnowing and making actual chocolate for
consumption. For fine chocolate, the selection and mix of beans is very
important and use up to 12 different varieties of beans from all over the
world. All of the beans are sorted by hand before being roasted. Each
variety of bean is roasted separately. Following the roasting process, the
beans are loaded into a machine known as the winnower, which removes the
hard outer hulls and separates the "nibs" of the beans by size. The nibs
are the basic product used for chocolate production.
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The chocolate making machine called
melangéur has granite runners which revolve on a steel or stone bed to
mash the nibs into a thick paste. Sugar and vanilla are added during this
process. The "chocolate liquor" from the melanguer is transferred to the "conche-refiner"
for further processing. Heat is introduced and this process takes several
hours (some chocolate makers will conche for up to 72 hours). Conching
ensures that the liquid is evenly blended. Following conching, the liquid
chocolate is tempered for several hours. The tempering process involves
heating the chocolate liquor and then cooling it in several stages. This
process stabilizes the cocoa butter crystals so that they become more
uniform in size. It also gives the chocolate a bright luster and a sharp
snap when you break it. The final steps in the process are molding the
chocolate, allowing it to cool and harden, and then finally packaging it.
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One of the most pleasant effects of eating
chocolate is the "good feeling" that many people experience after
indulging in . Chocolate which contains more than 300 known chemicals.
Caffeine is the most well known of these chemical ingredients, and while
it's present in chocolate, it can only be found in small quantities.
Theobromine, a weak stimulant, is also present, in slightly higher
amounts. The combination of these two chemicals (and possibly others) may
provide the "lift" that chocolate eaters experience. Phenylethylamine is
also found in chocolate. It's related to amphetamines, which are strong
stimulants. All of these stimulants increase the activity of
neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) in parts of the brain that control our
ability to pay attention and stay alert. Chocolate contains
pharmacologically active substances that have the same effect on the brain
as marijuana, and that these chemicals may be responsible for certain
drug-induced psychoses associated with chocolate craving.
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Chocolate has been said to cause acne and
tooth decay, and has a reputation for being a fattening, nutritionless
food. On the other hand, chocolate is also known for being everything from
an anti-depressant to an aphrodisiac. While there's still much we don't
know about chocolate, recent research is helping us better understand how
chocolate consumption affects our health.
The good news is that most of the bad effects of eating chocolate are
either overstated or entirely false. In fact, there are indications that
the cocoa butter in the chocolate coats the teeth and may help protect
them by preventing plaque from forming.
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Chocolate also has not been proven to cause
cavities or tooth decay. The sugar in chocolate does contribute to
cavities, but no more than the sugar in any other food. Obviously, eating
too much of any food may cause health problems. The cocoa butter in
chocolate does contain saturated fat, which can increase blood cholesterol
levels, and high cholesterol can contribute to heart disease. However,
recent research at the University of California has found that chocolate
carries high levels of chemicals known as phenolics, some of which may
help lower the risk of heart disease. Plants such as chocolate, coffee,
tea, and others contain high levels of phenolics.
You can read in-depth about chocolate by
visiting the
Exploring Chocolate on-line by clicking
on the name hilite......
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CHOCOLATE yog MEANS
ATTAIN yog WITH CHOCOLATE
In order to live a really happy and contented life one has
to awakening oneself to realize that one is not one's body. In the primary
sense, one is really one's aat`maa (soul).
One's aat`maa has to take a body to
do all that one does in life and by doing so one will experience all
sensations that life can offer.
And after this basic awakening as to who one is one then
has to awaken to another reality that one's aatmaa is really none other than
one's Creator whom this humanity calls as
God and has given so many names to
that God.
The process one can adopt to have the above two
realizations of one's existence is called yog
in vED.
The sciences of
creation and life in sNskRUt language is called
vED. vED teaches humanity
how the humanity is created, how it has to function and how it has to
co-exist in harmony with all other creations and the
Creator God.
And to learn and practice yog
every breath of one's existence one has to study
vED.
These days the word yog written as
yoga is becoming a
fashion and a fashionable lifestyle in current humanity's culture. In
current humanity yog is thought
to be a pill
to cure a lot of lifestyle diseases that the present industrial based
culture suffers from despite abundance of wealth due to technological
advances in production of wealth and materials for livelihood.
Examples of current humanity's concept
of yog is exercise and fitness classes, programs to treat medical problems
that can not be cured by current medical sciences, programs for students who
cannot focus on studying and so on....and this week we have in Toronto,
Canada "Chocolate yoga"........
But in reality yog is:
- understanding oneself,
- one's
relationship to one's Creator God and sub-creators like parents and teachers
and those who guide us to live by the universal rules and regulations of
DHARm, and
- how one can exist in this universe and sustain oneself without giving
pain to other in thoughts, words and actions....
On this PVAF website there is a lot of knowledge of the concept and
process of yog and ways to practice
yog every
breath you take in your daily life to make your tomorrow
happier than today for yourself and others around you...
You can start learning about yog by visiting the following
pages on this knowledge-sharing PVAF web site:
- vED page
- Today's Prayer and its archive
- Today's vED Lesson and its archive
- Aashram News Archive
- Message Board for sharing and exchanging your vED
knowledge with others......
Just go to Aashram Page MENU
there will take you where you wish to go.....
Or you can click
here
and email to PVAF to get information on how you can start your own
yog program in your own home with
the cost of yourself and your time out during everyday for yourself.....
The vED knowledge
in this column of this news item is shared with YOU by
SHRii Champaklal Dajibhai Mistry from
his vED library.....with a prayer
that vED knowledge will make a
difference in the lifestyle you wish to live in the way you wish to live and
in the place you wish to live..... |