• Question: Is chocolate naturally sweet?

    Asked by konekoraian to Andrew, Ash, Gem, Paige, SJ on 2 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: SarahJayne Boulton

      SarahJayne Boulton answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      Cocoa – the stuff that choclate is made out of – isn’t naturally sweet at all – it’s really quite bitter!!

      Brown chocolates like milk chocolate and dark chocolate are made by combining the cocoa powder from the ground cocoa beans with fat of some sort and sugar, sometimes milk too. the favour of chocolate is pretty complex, but generally most of the sweetness come from whatever sugar or sweetener is added.

      This might be one for Paige – she wrote an article on chocolate!

    • Photo: Paige Brown

      Paige Brown answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      Indeed, cocoa, the basic ingredient of chocolate is not sweet! Have you ever had dark chocolate (my favorite!)? It is made with higher amount of cocoa, and is less sweet than milk chocolate!

      But even more important, dark chocolate and cocoa is VERY good for you! It is good for your heart and is a natural antioxidant, which means that it fights oxidants in the human body that can harm DNA and even causes cancer.

      I wrote this article about chocolate! http://blogs.nature.com/from_the_lab_bench/2011/04/04/the-science-of-chocolate

      “How are chocolate and cocoa, ground from the cocoa bean, good for the heart? According to research studies, chocolate in the diet is shown to decrease blood pressure, both diastolic (when the heart is relaxed) and systolic (when the heart is contracting) pressures (Hooper 2008). Maintaining low blood pressure is an important factor in decreasing an individual’s chance of developing cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. Intake of cocoa has also been correlated with decreases in oxidative stress, increased bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO), increased blood flow according to imaging studies in the brain (Fisher 2006), improved skin structure and function (Heinrich 2006), preservation of brain function (Reznichenko 2005), improved spatial memory (Praag 2007), and protection against unwanted cellular death.

      So, should we all rush to fix our Swiss Miss packets of hot cocoa? An important consideration in the consumption of cocoa or chocolate for health reasons is the type of cocoa or chocolate you choose, and the amount of post-harvest handling and commercial processing that go into the product. Many organic cocoa products can be purchased that preserve the natural high levels of flavanols in the cocoa bean by avoiding elevated temperatures or chemical processing (CocoaPro®, Sunfood Organic Cocoa). If you are debating Dark or Milk: Dark chocolate products are typically higher in flavanols that milk chocolate products. Beware of white chocolate… which generally lacks any of the beneficial flavanols contained in the cocoa bean.”

    • Photo: Ashley Cadby

      Ashley Cadby answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      I think in its natural form its quite bitter.

    • Photo: Gemma Staite

      Gemma Staite answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      As the others have said, no it’s not naturally sweet. As Paige says, dark chocolate is the best way to test this.

Comments