ChocolalaRecord numbers of chocolate lovers and foodies from near and far are expected at the upcoming Chocolate World Expo, which returns to the Westchester County Center in White Plains, on Sunday, November 7th, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Visitors will have a chance to taste, purchase, celebrate and otherwise indulge in delicious gourmet chocolates, as well as a wonderful array of baked goods, specialty foods, ice cream, cheeses, wines and much more at the show. ...
To suit a variety of other dietary needs and tastes, certain vendors will also feature all-natural, organic, raw, vegan, fair trade, dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, low-glycemic, kosher and/or ethnic-style choices.
Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, says it brought the world’s first 100% dairy free alternative to milk chocolate to the market to add to the increasingly popular “Freefrom” food category. Due to the increased awareness of allergies and food intolerances on the one hand and continuous improvements in taste and quality of “Free-from” products on the other, the market grew strongly over the recent years. In 2010, the world market will grow 8.1%, according to Euromonitor. And the growth is expected to continue: from +9.4% (2011) up to +21.5% (2014).
The newly formulated guaranteed 100% dairy free alternative developed by Barry Callebaut offers the same color and smooth taste of milk chocolate, yet without any milk ingredients. This is extremely important for adults and children suffering from milk allergy. In addition, this innovation is a valuable alternative for those being lactose intolerant as well as for the increasing number of people excluding dairy or dairy ingredients like lactose from their diet out of personal belief or because of following specific lifestyle choices such as vegans or vegetarians.
With Celtic Chocolates, one of Ireland’s leading chocolatiers and long-term provider of gourmet chocolate for people with allergies and food intolerances, Barry Callebaut found an ideal partner to further develop and bring the 100% dairy free alternative to milk chocolate into the market.
Hain Celestial participates in almost all natural food categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin’®, Health Valley®, WestSoy®, Earth’s Best®, Arrowhead Mills®, DeBoles®, Hain Pure Foods®, FreeBird™, Hollywood®, Spectrum Naturals®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic™, Imagine Foods™, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, Rosetto®, Ethnic Gourmet®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Linda McCartney®, Realeat®, Lima®, Grains Noirs®, Natumi®, JASON®, Zia® Natural Skincare, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica® and Queen Helene®.
New Chocolate Dream dairy free candy bars are premium all-natural, solid chocolate bars crafted from cocoa that will satisfy everyone’s chocolate dream.
Available in five decadent varieties, they contain no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or refined sugars making them truly a dairy free and gluten free dream come true.
The roots of RICE DREAM and SOY DREAM go back to 1971, when Robert Nissenbaum, one of the original founders, had opened Morning Dew Organic Food Market in St. Louis, MO. It was one of the first organic/natural food stores in the United States. Robert was very passionate about the relationship between diet, health and well being, as well as very concerned for the environment. He explored the natural vegetarian diet, macrobiotics, yoga, and organic gardening. He used his store as the vehicle to share his ideas and inform others about the benefits of this new way of living.
In 1982, Robert and another partner founded Imagine Foods in the Missouri countryside. Things really took off when he and his partner took some of their products including soy tempeh, an early version of RICE DREAM beverage, and RICE DREAM Frozen Dessert to a natural food industry trade show. The distributors were crazy about the RICE DREAM Frozen Dessert. The orders kept coming, and the company kept growing and changing, to offer the highest quality, most delicious all-natural foods.
In December of 2002, Imagine foods was made part of The Hain Celestial Group- the country’s largest and most respected natural and organic foods company. Imagine Foods is proud to be part of The Hain Celestial Group’s family of brands that provide delicious “better for you” foods loved by people of all ages.
The newest do-good gourmet chocolate company, Rescue Chocolate, recently launched two boundary-breaking sweets for the spring holidays.
Candy Easter eggs are a dime a dozen, sometimes literally. The Good Egg from Rescue Chocolate changes that notion. This is a dairy-free "cream"- filled chocolate egg perfect for the Easter basket or Passover table. It breaks bounds in the dairy-free confection world in that it's the country's only vegan chocolate egg actually made with a creamy filling. Those who no longer eat a diet with milk or egg products can now relive that traditional holiday treat from Easters past. This writer was able to try a taste, and the egg did not disappoint. The chocolate cream filling tasted sweet, airy and light; while the chocolate egg shell was dark and smooth as can be.
As with all of the Rescue Chocolate products, this egg has its own mission. The company emphasizes that an unruly pet is not a "bad egg," and instead of giving up said animal, a person needs only to seek out no-cost or low-cost solutions from a vet or animal shelter professional. The egg's presentation, nestled in a cozy wood nest, makes The Good Egg a shoo-in gift for the spring holidays.
As Passover approaches, many observant Jews find themselves dreading the bland food which they annually resign themselves to in the name of tradition. "It's only eight days," they tell themselves, "you can go without the good stuff for eight days." No longer. Rescue Chocolate is offering a limited edition Kosher for Passover-certified chocolate bark. Called Don't Passover Me Bark, it features a matzoh-textured slab of Belgian chocolate with a sprinkling of whole almonds. It's the perfect finish for any Seder meal, and it would make quite a welcome Passover hostess gift.
Both products are cruelty-free, vegan, and certified as Kosher Pareve (with the bark only certified for Passover). And, as with all of their products, consumers feel good shopping because 100% of the net proceeds are donated to non-profit organizations working on animal rescue issues. For the month of March, the United Animal Nations is the beneficiary group for their international animal welfare programs.
The simplicity of Middlebury Chocolates' truffles stems mainly from its all-natural, mostly local ingredients.
The Jacksons use no refined sugar — only Vermont maple syrup and honey as sweeteners, and most of the truffles are made with coconut milk for a smoother texture and a lower dairy content so that they are more agreeable with dairy-sensitive diets like Andy and Stephanie's. Most truffles need butter, however, so the Jacksons still pay homage to the local dairy industry.
"They're not completely dairy-free, but the dairy quality up here is so high that we can handle it a lot better, actually," Andy said. "We also want to keep everything incredibly fresh and just nurture the natural flavors, and the best way to do that is to keep things as local as possible."
Q. Is chocolate actually healthy? I've heard a lot about the antioxidant properties of chocolate.
A: The antioxidants (polyphenols) in chocolate are very powerful -- as long as no dairy has been added. Research shows the health benefits of chocolate (or cacao) are negated with the addition of dairy. Bottom line: Yes, dairy-free chocolate can be healthy (the more antioxidants the better), however, those same nutrients can be found in tea and red grapes. So as much as we'd like to think of chocolate as an "essential" food ... oh, go ahead, eat it anyway.
Dark chocolate -- but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate eaten with milk -- is a potent antioxidant, report Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy's National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome, and colleagues. Their report appears in the Aug. 28 [2003] issue of Nature. Antioxidants gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other ailments.
"Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate ... and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate."
The researchers found natural cocoa powders contained the highest levels of TAC and procyanidins, which were found to be the dominant antioxidant in chocolates. Milk chocolates, which contain the least amount of cocoa solids, had the lowest TAC and procyanidin levels. Baking chocolates contained fewer procyanidins, because they contained more fat (50-60 percent) than natural cocoa. Alkalinization, used to reduce the acidity and raise the pH of cocoa, such as Dutch chocolates, was found to markedly reduce procyanidin content. Researchers concluded that chocolates containing higher amounts of cocoa ingredients have higher procyanidin contents, therefore, higher antioxidant capacities.
Nine major manufacturers provided commercially available chocolate and cocoa samples and the National Institute of Standards and Technology provided its Standard Reference chocolate for analysis. The study was partially funded by a grant from the American Cocoa Research Institute.
While the sensation will be new to most Americans, it will be a taste of home to the millions of international citizens living in the States. With an estimated one billion dollars in annual international aerated chocolate sales (Mintel, 2009), Bubble Chocolate® introduces chocolate lovers to the light, airy, and unique melt-in-your-mouth experience.
"This is a new Bubble Chocolate® that’s all natural and reformulated to introduce Americans to the aerated chocolate craze that has dominated international markets for decades," says Frank Drab, president Bubble Chocolate®. "The timing is right to bring something new and exciting to the U.S. market. Americans will love it, the international community will be happy to have it and it will be a favorite among dieters who are looking for a satisfying, yet lower calorie chocolate fix."
People on restricted calorie diets, tend to prefer this type of chocolate. The nature of the aerated process makes the bars lower in calories than a regular chocolate bar, and despite the lower calories, it does not compromise the overall taste experience. In fact, since Bubble Chocolate® literally melts in-your-mouth, the taste is more immediate and the burst of flavor tends to satisfy chocolate cravings sooner. As the company slogan states, it’s "Just the Right Amount of Chocolate®." ...
"Creating Bubble Chocolate® is both an art and a science," says Drab. "Our proprietary procedure infuses bubbles throughout the chocolate at just the right temperature. Then it's molded and cooled so the bubbly structure remains inside while a smooth outer shell is formed."
Bubble Chocolate® looks like a regular chocolate bar, but the inside has tiny bubbles. The best way to enjoy Bubble Chocolate® is to start by breaking off a small piece and chewing it gently until it begins to melt. Your mouth will change from slightly dry to moist and creamy. This delightful transition occurs when your taste-bud receptors are drawn to the chocolate bubbles as it starts to melt.
I broke off a square of the dark, which delivered a nice, dark hit of flavor. The texture takes a bit of getting used to. You definitely have to let it melt in your mouth; chewing results in a grainy texture. It wasn't a winner in my book, but maybe the calorie savings would make it more enticing.
When I compared the back of my Bubble Chocolate bar and my Trader Joe’s bar I was surprised to find similar values: Trader Joe’s has 200 calories and 15 grams of fat in a 33 gram serving (about four solid squares) and Bubble has the same counts in a 40 gram serving. The kicker for me was price. TJ's is $1.99 for a 3.5-ounce bar; Bubble Chocolate is $2.50 for a 2.82-ounce bar.
No love at first nibble for me. Sigh.
If a person is lactose intolerant, does that mean they should not eat chocolate? What about things like chocolate cake, cupcakes, and candy?
I can attest (due to my 4 year old's case of LI) that milk chocolate & even semi-sweet chocolate contain enough lactose & milk in them to cause a reaction. (I'm sure this is just because he is barely 40 lbs & the ratio of chocolate to body weight a child eats is far greater than that of an adult.)
I have been cutting up dark chocolate bars for the past several years to make our chocolate chip cookies, and it seems that he can tolerate dark chocolate, but not the semi-sweet nor milk chocolate chips.
Confectionery company Booja-Booja has launched its dairy and sugar-free chocolate 'ice cream' in a 110ml size to help restaurants, pubs and hotels boost their dessert and snack offering for allergy-sufferers this summer.
The dessert, named Stuff in a Tub Hunky Punky Chocolate, is a mix of agave, cashew nuts, cocoa powder and water and is ideal for customers who cannot eat dairy or gluten.
Booja Booja's Stuff in a Tub range includes Keep Smiling Vanilla M'Gorilla, Coconut Hllabaloo, Feisty Winjin Ginger and Pompompous Maple Pecan which are available in 500ml pots.
All Booja Booja products are organic, dairy-free, wheat-free and gluten-free and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
Chocolate Easter Eggs
With a little work these eggs are great fun for allergic children who have not been able to have Easter eggs in the past.
Tips:
You can change the colour and the taste of the marshmallow by adding in peppermint essence, orange essence or unsweetened cocoa. Beat in a little food colouring to dye marshmallow yellow, pink or green.
You can make these eggs and not fill them, if desired or make another filling that your child is not allergic too. You can make whole eggs by sandwiching the two halves together.
The eggs are a bit fragile because the chocolate is not tempered (a professional technique that keeps the chocolate from melting on your hands).
For children who are not allergic to eggs, the easiest way to make them is to use real eggs as the mould. The plastic peels off easily from them.
If the child is allergic to eggs, plastic egg moulds are available around Easter at grocery stores, bulk stores, dollar stores and toy stores. Spray with baking spray before wrapping in plastic to make them easier to separate.
Leftover chocolate can be poured onto a sheet of parchment paper, let dry and broken up into pieces to use in other recipes or for eating out of hand. You need the extra chocolate in case some chocolate shells break.
If you do not have a sugar thermometer, drop the sugar syrup into a bowl of ice water. It should form a soft ball.
Special Tools:
12-16 plastic egg moulds
Plastic wrap
Ingredients:
1 lb (500 grams) dark chocolate, chopped*
*always read the label carefully to ensure chocolate contains no dairy ingredients
Marshmallow: ½ cup (120 mL) water, divided
1 package unflavoured gelatine (equivalent to 1 tbsp or 15 mL)
½ cup (120 mL) cold water, divided
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
½ cup (120 mL) corn syrup
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) salt
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
Wrap 12 large egg moulds or eggs tightly with plastic wrap, leaving plastic twisted at one end to make a kind of handle.
Place chocolate in a small, deep heavy pot over low heat and melt stirring occasionally until liquid. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Holding plastic handle, dip eggs into chocolate until coated half way up each egg.
Carefully place eggs (chocolate side up) in a mini muffin pan or egg carton and put in refrigerator for 10 minutes, or until chocolate has set.
Remove chocolate covered moulds from mini muffin pan or egg carton. Carefully ease plastic and chocolate from moulds. Next peel plastic from the inside of the chocolate to leave a chocolate shell behind. Set shells into mini muffin pans or egg cartons and chill while you make marshmallow fluff.
Fluff:
Pour ¼ cup (60 mL) cold water in the bowl of a stand mixer, and sprinkle with gelatine. Let stand.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining ¼ cup (60 mL) water in a pot and heat over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Turn heat to high and boil syrup until it reaches 240ºF (118ºC) on a sugar thermometer.
With the mixer on low speed, carefully pour boiling sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl into the gelatine mixture. Turn mixer to high and beat for 5 minutes or until mixture is white and shiny. Beat in vanilla.
Transfer fluff to a large clean piping bag and pipe into prepared chocolate eggshells. If you do not have a piping bag, cut a corner off a baggie, add the marshmallow fluff and pipe it in through the corner. You can also spoon it in but it doesn't look as pretty. Sandwich egg halves together if desired.
Leave to set at room temperature until firm. Refrigerate until needed. Makes 12-16 filled eggs.
