Paper on Chocolate

Submitted By jannelweichel22
Words: 565
Pages: 3

Did you know chocolate comes from a fruit? That’s right; it’s called the cocao bean. Most people would pronounce it coco but it’s actually pronounced ca-ca-o. There are many different kinds of chocolates and the uses for them. Chocolate goes far beyond just candy and cakes. There’s cocao powder, unsweetened, dark, bittersweet, semi-sweet, sweet dark, milk, white, couverture, gianduja, and candy coating chocolate. What kind of chocolate do you like? It's not wishful thinking; chocolate can be good for you. Studies show that eating primarily dark chocolate can help to improve heart health. Filled with natural antioxidants, dark chocolate and cocoa are just as good for you as green tea and blueberries. The cocao bean comes from a Theobroma cacao tree. When the fruit is ripe it turns a yellow color. Once its changed colors, the cocao is picked with a sharp object so fruit will grow there again. The pod is cut in half and the cocao bean is revealed. After the beans are out of the pod they get fermented for a few days then they are dried for weeks. After it has been dried they are shipped to companies and processed in their different ways.
There are harmful molecules, known as free radicals that contain unpaired electrons that antioxidants can counter act. Where do free radicals come from? Some are created as a natural byproduct of reactions in our cells. Other sources of free radicals include cigarette smoke, air pollution, and exposure to UV light or radiation. And once free radicals are formed, they can make more free radicals by scavenging electrons from other molecules. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals either by providing the extra electron needed to make the pair, or by breaking down the free radical molecule to become harmless. Because antioxidants are used up in the process of free radical neutralization, a diet full of antioxidants is essential to ensure better health.
Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate in its rawest form. It’s chocolate that is 100% cocoa liquor. The quality of the chocolate is determined by the type of cocoa beans used and how they have been processed. Since no sugar has been