Easy vegetarian chocolate recipes

Contents

1 How to use chocolate in the kitchen
2 LIST OF RECIPES WITH CACAO

How to use chocolate in the kitchen

RECIPES WITH CHOCOLATE – HOW TO COOK IT?

Chocolate as an ingredient

Recipes with cocoa (Theobroma cacao) are very present in the kitchen of virtually everyone, as cocoa has become one of the most appreciated ingredients. With the cocoa beans the chocolate is made.

Cocoa seeds are used in many desserts and sweet preparations, but also in sauces like the traditional mole of Mexican cuisine.

Forms of cocoa presentation

In the market, there are different products that come from cocoa. Knowing them will help us to know this plant better and can also give us ideas about recipes that can be prepared with these ingredients:

Nibs of cacoa, which are fermented, roasted and ground seeds. They taste bitter and are very crispy.
Cocoa paste: Fermented seeds, ground and toasted.
Cocoa powder: Cocoa beans fermented, toasted, ground and sometimes defatted.
Cocoa butter: Blanquinous butter that is extracted from the cocoa paste.
Chocolate: prepared with cocoa paste, butter and sugar, in different proportions and with spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, or chili. Sometimes cocoa nibs are inserted into the tablet to give it a crunchy touch.
Different by-products of cocoa: seeds, nibs, cocoa paste, cocoa powder, butter and chocolate.

Why to cook with cocoa and chocolate

Cooking with chocolate has many properties. Cocoa is energetic, stimulating, antioxidant and its consumption is very pleasant. It is rich in magnesium and flavonoids.

According to some studies, consumption of chocolate would help decrease hypertension. It seems that chocolate is also a good help for students because it is a good stimulant and improves cognitive abilities.

* More information: Properties of chocolate.

How to buy a good chocolate or cocoa

The only type of chocolate that has these properties is chocolate high in cocoa or pure cocoa, because of its richness in flavonoids. For this reason chocolates of at least 70% of cocoa or more must be consumed. It would be better to consume pure cocoa powder, to ensure a good contribution of its components.

Currently, there are many chocolate products on the market, but these do not correspond to the true taste and properties of this plant. Most chocolates and chocolate desserts contain a very low percentage in cocoa.

Cocoa powder for milk chocolate usually contains mainly sugar (70% of its composition) and very little cocoa.

Photo of chocolate labels, where it is noted that a “dark chocolate for baking” contains mainly sugar (1st ingredient listed). Chocolate 70% or higher is really cocoa-rich.

Which chocolate to buy

Dark chocolate is the one with the least added sugars and most antioxidants and flavonoids in the cocoa plant.

The basic tips for identifying what a real black chocolate are:

Read the ingredients: The first ingredient named must be the cocoa paste (ingredients are named from highest to least quantity).
Even if you read “dark chocolate” on the package, if it is not clearly stated “more than 70% cocoa the percentage in cocoa it contains is not specified, it probably is not really “dark chocolate”.