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Subject: Chocolate Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and
their answers) about chocolate. It deals with eating, cooking with and
buying chocolate.
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Last-modified: 23 Jan 1998 Version: 3.3
THE OFFICIAL REC.FOOD.CHOCOLATE LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This FAQ is posted on the sixth day of every month. The most recent copy of this document can be obtained via anonymous FTP as rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/food/chocolate/faq. If you do not have access to anonymous FTP, you can retrieve it by sending email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the command "send usenet/news.answers/food/chocolate/faq" in the message.
=== CONTENTS ===
0. The Not-So-Fine-Print
1. General
1.1 What is chocolate?
1.2 What is the history of chocolate?
1.3 How is chocolate made?
1.4 What is conching?
1.5 What kinds of chocolate are there?
1.6 What is this white, blotchy stuff on my chocolate
bar?
1.7 I just bought a whole bunch of chocolate. What's
the best way to store it?
1.8 What is lecithin and why is it in my chocolate?
2. Cooking with chocolate
2.1 What is tempering?
2.2 What is couverture?
2.3 How do I melt chocolate and what's the best kind
to use?
2.4 I was melting some chocolate, and suddenly it changed
from a shiny, smooth liquid to a dull, thick paste. What happened?
2.5 How do I make chocolate covered strawberries?
2.6 Where can I get some chocolate?
3. Chocolate trivia
3.1 Hey! Did you hear about this lady at Neiman Marcus
who wanted to buy a cookie recipe...?
3.2 Is chocolate really an aphrodisiac?
3.3 Can I give chocolate to my dog?
3.4 How much caffeine is in chocolate?
3.5 Doesn't chocolate cause acne?
0. The Not-So-Fine Print
This document is intended to provide answers for some common questions
posted to rec.food.chocolate. It is by no means comprehensive. Discussion
on any topic discussed in this FAQ is certainly encouraged. Additions or
corrections are always welcome. This document was compiled by Monee
Kidd, to whom questions, comments, queries, concerns, additions, corrections
and/or deletions should be directed. Flames should be directed to dev/null.
Most answers were gathered from posts to rec.food.chocolate. Many thanks
to the many people who help make this FAQ a reality. In addition, some
background information was shamelessly lifted from The World Book Encyclopedia
[(c) 1983. so what, it's an old version, I know]. This FAQ is Copyright
(C) 1997 by Monee C. Kidd. This text, in whole or in part, may not be published
in print, or sold in any medium, including, but not limited to, electronic
or CD-ROM without the explicit, written consent of Monee Kidd.
1. General A reader of the old alt.food.chocolate once asked: "I would be very much obliged if someone could tell me how a food that has been associated with acne, headaches, obesity and many a trip to the dentist has managed to attract so much favorable attention." In the eighteenth century a Swedish naturalist named Carolus Linneaus who created the modern system of naming all the living things on the earth called the tree from which chocolate comes 'Cacao theobroma' - Cacao, food of the gods. For centuries, the world has had a sweet love affair with this most delectable of foods. Why *does* this sweet confection have so many admirers? Perhaps we should start at the beginning...
1.1 What is chocolate? Where does it come from? Chocolate is a food made from the seeds of a tropical tree called the cacao. These trees flourish in warm, moist climates. Most of the world's cacao beans come from West Africa, where Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria are the largest producers. Because of a spelling error, probably by English traders long ago, these beans became known as cocoa beans.
1.2 What is the history of chocolate? (Excerpted with
permission from the Godiva WWW site)
* In 600 A.D. the Mayans migrated into the northern regions of South America,
establishing the earliest known cocoa plantations in the Yucatan. It has
been argued that the Mayans had been familiar with cocoa several centuries
prior to this date. They considered it a valuable commodity, used both
as a means of payment and as units of calculation.
* Mayans and Aztecs took beans from the "cacao" tree and made
a drink they called "xocolatl." Aztec Indian legend held that
cacao seeds had been brought from Paradise and that wisdom and power came
from eating the fruit of the cacao tree..
* The word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan "xocolatl";
cacao from the Aztec "cacahuatl". The Mexican Indian word "chocolate"
comes from a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl
("water"); early chocolate was only consumed in beverage form.
* Christopher Columbus is said to have brought back cacao beans to King
Ferdinand from his fourth visit to the New World, but they were overlooked
in favor of the many other treasures he had found.
* Chocolate was first noted in 1519 when Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez
visited the court of Emperor Montezuma of Mexico. American historian William
Hickling's History of the Conquest of Mexico (1838) reports that Montezuma
"took no other beverage than the chocolatl, a potation of chocolate,
flavored with vanilla and spices, and so prepared as to be reduced to a
froth of the consistency of honey, which gradually dissolved in the mouth
and was taken cold." The fact that Montezuma consumed his "chocolatl"
in goblets before entering his harem led to the belief that it was an aphrodisiac.
* The first chocolate house was reputedly opened in London in 1657 by a
Frenchman. Costing 10 to 15 shillings per pound, chocolate was considered
a beverage for the elite class. Sixteenth-century Spanish historian Oviedo
noted: "None but the rich and noble could afford to drink chocolatl
as it was literally drinking money. Cocoa passed currency as money among
all nations; thus a rabbit in Nicaragua sold for 10 cocoa nibs, and 100
of these seeds could buy a tolerably good slave."
* Chocolate also appears to have been used as a medicinal remedy by leading
physicians of the day. Christopher Ludwig Hoffmann's treatise Potus Chocolate
recommends chocolate for many diseases, citing it as a cure for Cardinal
Richelieu's ills.
* With the Industrial Revolution came the mass production of chocolate,
spreading its popularity among the citizenry.
* Chocolate was introduced to the United States in 1765 when John Hanan
brought cocoa beans from the West Indies into Dorchester, Massachusetts,
to refine them with the help of Dr. James Baker. The first chocolate factory
in the country was established there.
* Yet, chocolate wasn't really accepted by the American colonists until
fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, accepted cocoa beans as payment
for cargo in tropical America.
* Where chocolate was mostly considered a beverage for centuries, and predominantly
for men, it became recognized as an appropriate drink for children in the
seventeenth century. It had many different additions: milk, wine, beer,
sweeteners, and spices. Drinking chocolate was considered a very fashionable
social event.
* Eating chocolate was introduced in 1674 in the form of rolls and cakes,
served in the various chocolate emporiums.
* Nestle (The History of Chocolate and Cocoa, p. 3) declares that from
1800 to the present day, these four factors contributed to chocolate's
"coming of age" as a worldwide food product: 1. The introduction
of cocoa powder in 1828; 2. The reduction of excise duties; 3. Improvements
in transportation facilities, from plantation to factory; 4. The invention
of eating chocolate, and improvements in manufacturing methods.
* The New York Cocoa Exchange, located at the World Trade Center, was begun
October 1, 1925, so that buyers and sellers could get together for transactions.
* In 1980 a story of chocolate espionage hit the world press when an apprentice
of the Swiss company of Suchard-Tobler unsuccessfully attempted to sell
secret chocolate recipes to Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
* By the 1990s, chocolate had proven its popularity as a product, and its
success as a big business. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages
approximately 600,000 tons, and per capita chocolate consumption is greatly
on the rise. Chocolate manufacturing in the United States is a multibillion-dollar
industry. According to Norman Kolpas (1978, p. 106), "We have seen
how chocolate progressed from a primitive drink and food of ancient Latin
American tribes -- a part of their religious, commerce and social life
-- to a drink favored by the elite of European society and gradually improved
until it was in comparably drinkable and, later, superbly edible. We have
also followed its complex transformation from the closely packed seeds
of the fruit of an exotic tree to a wide variety of carefully manufactured
cocoa and chocolate products. Beyond the historical, agricultural and commercial,
and culinary sides to chocolate, others: affect on our health and beauty,
and inspiration to literature and the arts."
1.3 How is chocolate made? Workers cut the fruit of the cacao tree, or pods open and scoop out the beans. These beans are allowed to ferment and then dry. Then they are cleaned, roasted and hulled. Once the shells have been removed they are called nibs. Nibs are blended much like coffee beans, to produce different colors and flavors. Then they are ground up and the cocoa butter is released. The heat from the grinding process causes this mixture of cocoa butter and finely ground nibs to melt and form a free-flowing substance known as chocolate liquor. From there, different varieties of chocolate are produced.
1.4 What is conching? Raw unprocessed chocolate is
gritty, grainy and really not suitable for eating. Swiss chocolate manufacturer
Rudolph Lindt
1.5 What kinds of chocolate are there? Depending on
what is added to (or removed from) the chocolate liquor, different flavors
and varieties of chocolate are produced. Each has a different chemical
make-up, the differences are not solely in the taste. Be sure, therefore,
to use the kind the recipe calls for, as different varieties will react
differently to heat and moisture.
* Unsweetened or Baking chocolate is simply cooled, hardened chocolate
liquor. It is used primarily as an ingredient in recipes, or as a garnish.
*Semi-sweet chocolate is also used primarily in recipes. It has extra cocoa
butter and sugar added. Sweet cooking chocolate is basically the same,
with more sugar for taste.
* Milk chocolate is chocolate liquor with extra cocoa butter, sugar, milk
and vanilla added. This is the most popular form for chocolate. It is primarily
an eating chocolate.
* Cocoa is chocolate liquor with much of the cocoa butter removed, creating
a fine powder. It can pick up moisture and odors from other products, so
you should keep cocoa in a cool, dry place, tightly covered. There are
several kinds of cocoa: ~ Low-fat cocoa has the most fat removed. It typically
has less than ten percent cocoa butter remaining. ~ Medium-fat cocoa has
anywhere from ten to twenty-two percent cocoa butter in it. ~ Drinking
or Breakfast cocoa has over twenty-two percent left in it. This is the
cocoa used in chocolate milk powders like Nestle's Quik. ~ Dutch process
cocoa is cocoa which has been specially processed to neutralize the natural
acids in the chocolate. It is slightly darker and has a much different
taste than regular cocoa.
* White chocolate is somewhat of a misnomer. In the United States, in order
to be legally called 'chocolate' a product must contain cocoa solids. White
chocolate does not contain these solids, which leaves it a smooth ivory
or beige color. Real white chocolate is primarily cocoa butter, sugar,
milk and vanilla. There are some products on the market that call themselves
white chocolate, but are made with vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter.
Check the label to avoid these cheap imitations. White chocolate is the
most fragile form of chocolate; pay close attention to it while heating
or melting it.
* Decorator's chocolate or confectioner's chocolate isn't really chocolate
at all, but a sort of chocolate flavored candy used for things such as
covering strawberries. It was created to melt easily and harden quickly,
but it isn't chocolate. If you want quick and easy, use decorator's chocolate.
If you want the real thing, use real chocolate and patience.
1.6 What is this white, blotchy stuff on my chocolate bar? A white, filmy residue on chocolate is called a bloom. It occurs when some of the cocoa butter in the chocolate separates from the cocoa solids, usually when the chocolate is stored in a warm area. If you buy a chocolate bar and find it has bloomed, don't let the sales person convince you the taste has not been altered.
1.7 I just bought a whole bunch of chocolate. How should I store it? Chocolate is best kept at around 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a nice pantry or dark cabinet. Kept at this temperature, chocolate (assuming it isn't covering fruit or other perishables) has a shelf life of about a year. Freezing chocolate isn't such a great idea; when you freeze it, then thaw it out, it will have a greater tendency to bloom. but if you must, let it warm gradually to room temperature before you try cooking with it.
1.8 What is lecithin and why is it in my chocolate? Lecithin is an emulsifier used to reduce the viscosity, or thickness of chocolate. Thinning out the chocolate slightly reduces the amount of cocoa butter required to produce the correct texture in the manufacturing process.
2. Cooking with chocolate Chocolate is a very tricky food to cook with. Temperatures that are too high can scorch it, temperatures too low can cause it to harden unevenly. It must be watched very carefully. But if you can master the art, you can create some breathtaking desserts. Below are some things to know about cooking with chocolate.
2.1 What is tempering? How can I temper chocolate at home? In order for chocolate to cool into a hard candy and not a mushy goo, it must be tempered. This is a process where the chocolate is slowly heated, then slowly cooled, allowing the cocoa butter molecules to solidify in an orderly fashion. The following is a pretty thorough method for tempering at home: (credit to Pete Lockhart) Frankly, I've had decent luck with microwave ovens for melting the chocolate. It's an iterative process of nuking, stirring, nuking, stirring, etc. But I like the idea that the chocolate is not getting steamed as it is with a double boiler. You might try 15 seconds increments on high for a pound of chocolate. Keep an eye on the time as the chocolate gets into its melt; you may want to ramp it down some what. However, for either nuking or using a double boiler, it's not a bad idea to break up the chocolate into little pieces. For a double boiler be careful not to have the water boiling or touching the bottom of the upper vessel. It sounds from your description like you might have the heat cranked up too much, even given convection from the bottom vessel to the top. Be patient. Dark chocolate can be taken up to about 115 degrees F and milk chocolate can be taken up to 110 degrees F. Once you've gotten a complete melt, letting the chocolate cool slowly while stirring it or working it will encourage the cocoa butter to arrange itself in a way that is particularly useful for making candy. This is 'tempering' the chocolate. Turns out that cocoa butter molecules can arrange themselves in a variety of ways [six that I know of] and it is these different arrangements that determine the melting temperature of the chocolate. The respective melting temperatures range from about 60 degrees F to about 97 degrees F. The one you're looking to get is the most stable form, and has a melting temperature of 93 - 95 degrees F. Which is good, because it means that your chocolate will tend to be that way, as long as you're patient. It also means that the chocolate is going to feel delightfully cooling in your mouth. So, you've taken your chocolate up to 110 -115 degrees, and that has had the effect of breaking up [melting] all of the cocoa butter molecules. Now you want them to arrange themselves in a stable arrangement; but you also want to manipulate the chocolate now that it is a liquid. There are a couple of strategies for encouraging the cocoa butter into its stable arrangement. As mentioned above, stirring it or working it with a spatula will tend to bring about the proper 'crystallization' of the cocoa butter molecules. Another technique is to 'seed' the molten chocolate by putting in little pieces of solid chocolate. The molten cocoa butter then will do a kind of follow-the-leader and arrange itself after the fashion of the solids. Which is what you want. The hazard with seeding your chocolate is that you might get little air pockets associated with the solid pieces. I tend to just stir the chocolate. Traditionally, small batch chocolate is tempered on marble slabs. Just pour it on and work it with a spatula until it becomes kind of slushy-mushy. I don't use a marble slab, I use a bowl that I can pop back into the microwave if I need to. The next tricky step is to maintain enough heat to keep the chocolate molten, but not heat it up so much that it forgets how to arrange itself. This is where the 85 - 90 degrees F comes in. [I think the heating pad idea sounds cool]. The marble slab will retain some of the heat. Be careful about using the same vessel in which you heated the chocolate. I know it's convenient, and that's what I do, you just gotta be more careful about over heating the chocolate. Overheating the chocolate will make the cocoa butter separate from the cocoa solids, and that's a bad thing. Indication that you're overheating the chocolate is either chocolate bloom in the hardened chocolate or out and out separation of cocoa butter in the chocolate soup.
2.2 What is couverture? Couverture is a special kind of chocolate that has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate, anywhere from 33% to 38% for a really good brand. This type of chocolate is used as a coating for things like truffles ("couverture" is French for "covering") There are two ways of coating candies, either by hand dipping into melted chocolate or enrobing, gently pouring chocolate over the treat.
2.3 How do I melt chocolate and what's the best kind
to use? There are two ways to melt chocolate, in a double boiler or in
a microwave:
1. Double boiler method: A double boiler is basically two pots designed
to fit together for melting wand warming fragile foods. The bottom pot
holds a bit of water - never enough to touch the bottom of the second pot,
the top holds the food, in this case chocolate. You should never place
chocolate directly on a heat source, you run the risk of scorching it.
Cut the chocolate up into small pieces, this will reduce the melting time.
Adjust the heat so that the water in the bottom pot gets hot but doesn't
begin to boil. Place the chocolate in the top pot and stir every so often.
Dark and bittersweet chocolate are the most 'hardy' forms of chocolate,
they will require less stirring than milk and white chocolates, which will
burn very easily if you do not pay close attention.
2. Microwave method: Place chopped pieces of chocolate into a microwave
proof bowl and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl,
stir what you can then return it to the microwave for another 30 seconds.
Continue this until the chocolate is just about melted. You might be tempted
to increase the time intervals, but remember that warmed chocolate will
keep its shape, even if it is melted, unless it is stirred. Don't judge
time on looks alone. When the chocolate is almost completely melted, remove
it from the microwave and stir, letting the warmth of the bowl and surrounding
chocolate complete the melting.
Here are some suggestions for brands to use (from a post by from Pete again)
Cook's Illustrated Nov/Dec ['94] issue contains an article by Bishop
and Meldrich that ranks the following chocolates in the following order.
The evaluation was by a dozen or so refined Californian palates, so it
should work for you.
Highly Recommended
Van Leer Bittersweet Chocolate #1121-115 (approx $4.00/lb) -- Chocolate
Gallery @ 212-675-2253 Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet (approx $6.40/lb) -- Ghirradelli
@ 800-877-9338 Callebaut Bittersweet (approx $9.00/lb) -- Williams-Sonoma
@ 800-541-2233 Merckens Yucatan Classic Dark (approx $4.20/lb) -- A Cook's
Wares @ 412-846-9490
Recommended
Guittard Gourmet Bittersweet Hawaiian Vintage Bittersweet Nestle's
Semi-Sweet
Not Recommended
Vairhona Le Noir Gastronomie Bittersweet Lindt Surfin Baker's Semisweet
Baking Hershey's Semi-Sweet Baking
2.4 I was melting some chocolate, and suddenly it
changed from a shiny, smooth liquid to a dull, thick paste. What happened?
As discussed before, chocolate is very sensitive. Any slight variance from
the instructions can cause disastrous results. What you have described
here is called seizing. Seizing can happen for several reasons:
1. The chocolate is burned. Even temperatures that aren't too hot for your
finger can be too hot for chocolate. When melting chocolate, keep the heat
low and keep stirring, especially for milk and white chocolates.
2. A small amount of moisture has been added. Chocolate is very
finicky about liquids. Even the moisture from a damp spoon can contaminate
a batch of melting chocolate. This is what happens after a while to chocolate
fondue - moisture from strawberries or cheese can ruin the texture. Be
careful if you are melting pure chocolate by itself to keep everything
very dry.
3. Cool liquids have been added. Another oddity about chocolate: small
amounts of liquid can spoil melted chocolate, but large amounts are o.k.,
so long as the liquid is warmed to match the temperature of the melted
chocolate. If you add cold cream or milk, for example, the chocolate will
begin to solidify and you'll end up with a mess. Regardless of how your
chocolate gets seized, you'll have to throw it out and start again. There
is no way to "un-seize" and remelt chocolate once it has been
contaminated in this way.
2.5 How do I make chocolate covered strawberries? Covering strawberries is not an easy task, but if you exercise a little patience, you can come up with an excellent dessert treat. The main thing to remember: Make sure the strawberries are DRY. Remember, even the slightest moisture can ruin an entire batch of chocolate. If it's a real humid day, wait until tomorrow, you'll have better success. Prepare a cookie sheet or other flat surface with wax paper, small enough to fit into your refrigerator. Lay your dry strawberries out on a plate. Melt some chocolate, following the steps outlined above. Holding each strawberry by the stem, dip it into the chocolate and place it on the wax paper. If the chocolate gets too thick, return it to the heat, carefully. Place the finished strawberries in the refrigerator and allow them to cool. This is probably the best place to keep them; unless you are sure you've tempered your chocolate well, the chocolate will melt at room temperature. Some people choose to add a bit of baker's wax or paraffin to the chocolate. This is an edible substance that also helps to keep the chocolate solid at room temperature. Purely a subjective move, not necessary.
2.6 Where can I get some chocolate? There is a complete document entitled CHOCOLATE RESOURCES, posted as part two of this FAQ. It contains an extensive list of chocolate retailers on the internet, as well as cookbooks, recipe archives and other offline resources.
3. Chocolate trivia Chocolate has been the subject of many stories and myths throughout history. Some are based on fact, others are apocryphal. Some common ones are unraveled here.
3.1 Hey! Did you hear about this lady at Neiman Marcus
who wanted to buy a chocolate chip cookie recipe...? Stop right there.
The story to which you are referring is completely false. Unfortunately
it's been floating around since the 1980's and simply will not die. Here's
is the official story on this tale:
Title: HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE $250 COOKIE RECIPE?
Categories: Desserts
Yield: 1 servings
No Ingredients
by Daniel P. Puzo, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Fresh from a downtown Los Angeles bar, a sometime consumer gadfly arrived
at The Times with a hot tip about yet another case of corporate callousness
and greed. Brandishing a photocopied letter, she claimed a famous department
store, in a sneaky and underhanded manner, had charged an unsuspecting
patron an outrageous sum for a recipe- the company's popular chocolate
chip cookie. The actual victim was apparently an unnamed, but credible,
Beverly Hills matron. The single-page letter was full of indignation as
it vividly described the incident and even contained exact dialogue of
the transgression. It began: "My daughter and I finished a salad at
Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas and decided to have a small dessert. Because
our family members are such 'cookie monsters' we decided to try the Neiman-
Marcus Cookie. It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the
recipe, and they said with a small frown, 'I'm afraid not.' Well, I said,
'Would you let me buy the recipe?' With a cute smile she said, 'Yes.' I
asked how much and she responded 'two fifty.' I said with approval, 'Just
add it to my tab,' which I had already signed." The letter continued:
"Thirty days later I received my Visa statement from Neiman-Marcus
and it was $285. I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95
for two salads and about $20 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of
the statement, it said, 'Cookie Recipe- $250.00' Boy, was I upset!"
The letter goes on to state that, in the spirit of revenge, the unnamed
victim was providing all interested parties the $250 recipe at no charge.
Knowing a good story from the start, The Times made several unsuccessful
attempts to discover the identity of the aggrieved Beverly Hills party.
The story was eventually forgotten, as is normally the case when nothing
checks out. But then a respected Boston-based newspaper, the Christian
Science Monitor, distributed an article throughout the United States that
retold the tale of the egregious recipe overcharge, with incredibly similar
detail, adding a condemning "fie upon Neiman Marcus." The cookie
recipe caper thus got a new life. Now, after a lengthy investigation, the
facts are unearthed:
+ Neiman Marcus does not sell recipes from its restaurants. The department
store gives them away for free to anyone who asks.
+ There is no "Neiman Marcus Cafe" at any of the chains three
Dallas-area stores. Instead, the restaurants are named Zodiac, Zodiac at
North Park and The Woods.
+ Neiman Marcus does not sell or serve cookies at any of its restaurants.
+ There is no such thing as a "Neiman-Marcus Cookie." (And Neiman
Marcus no longer has a hyphen in its title.)
+ Neiman Marcus does not take Visa.
+ The fashion cognoscenti would know immediately that you cannot buy a
scarf at Neiman Marcus for $20 as the letter writer stated. Scarf prices
start at $40 and quickly run as high as $215.
How did this rumor get started? Pat Zajac, Neiman Marcus spokesperson in
Dallas, said that the tall tale has been circulating since she came to
work for the chain in 1986. The first newspaper story she saw on the bogus
cookie recipe appeared in 1988. Zajac said that in the past few weeks,
her office has been swamped with calls from the media trying to verify
the story. She speculates that the letter recently has been circulating
on electronic services like some "computer virus." Needless to
say, Neiman Marcus is not pleased with the rumor's persistence or tone.
"We are concerned," said Zajac. "We like to think we are
accommodating to customers and provide value at a fair price and quality
at the same time. We want to create good will. . . . No one has ever showed
us a bill where they were wrongly charged [for a chocolate chip recipe].
If they ever appear then we would be happy to look at the [disputed] charge."
Zajac explained that Neiman Marcus, as one of the nation's leading department
stores, is proud of its customer service record and would quickly satisfy
someone who had been incorrectly billed. "The interesting thing in
this phenomena is that no one ever knows the exact source of this letter.
The information is anywhere between third- and 17th-hand information. There
has never been a Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that we sold
for $250. Never." When it comes to signature dishes, Neiman Marcus
is most famous for its Orange Souffle Ring and its Caramel Souffle Ring.
(Anyone interested in getting a copy of these recipes- free of charge-
can write to: Neiman Marcus Food Service Division, 1618 Main St., Dallas,
TX 75201.) The Neiman Marcus Cookie caper is remarkably similar to another
rumor that circulated several years ago about the recipe for Mrs. Fields'
Chocolate Chip Cookies. And veterans of the food world say the story formula
goes back to the 1930s, when a similar tale was told about the Waldorf
Astoria's Red Velvet Cake. A student of rumors, or urban myths, said that
the Neiman Marcus incident meets many of the requirements for sustaining
a bogus story. Chaytor Mason, USC professor of human factors-psychology
said that the subject of a rumor is usually famous or attractive. And while
circulating a fiction via an anonymous letter is somewhat unusual, it makes
sense because "generally we place more value and validity on anything
we read."
3.2 Is chocolate really an aphrodisiac? Chocolate
is the traditional gift of love, ranking right up there with roses as the
most romantic gift one can give. But is it really an aphrodisiac? There
is some evidence that the answer might be yes. Chocolate contains three
substances, caffeine, theobromine and phenyethylamine that might be related
to this myth. Caffeine acts as a stimulant. Theobromine stimulates the
heart muscle and the nervous system. And phenyethylamine is reputed
3.3 Can I give chocolate to my dog (cat, bird, other pet)? Unequivocally, no. The theobromine in chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for dogs, especially smaller pups. A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can even be lethal. The same holds true for cats, and other household pets.
3.4 How much caffeine is in chocolate? Although there is less caffeine in chocolate that there is in a cup of coffee, people who are avoiding caffeine should unfortunately stay away from chocolate as well. There are about 30 milligrams of caffeine in your average chocolate bar, while a cup of coffee contains around 100 to 150 milligrams. For more information on the specifics of caffeine in chocolate, consult the Caffeine FAQ, available on the WWW at http://daisy.uwaterloo.ca/~alopez-o/caffaq.html.
3.5 Doesn't chocolate cause acne? This is another myth about chocolate. While some people might be allergic to chocolate, or some of its ingredients, the belief that chocolate causes acne universally has been disproven by doctors for some time.
End of FAQ
(C) 1996-1998 by Monee Kidd