Category: afternoon tea, baking, cakes, chocolate, tips, recipes

THE LITTLE COCOA BEAN AND WHAT WE CAN MAKE WITH IT…

THE VILLAGE KITCHEN

The cocoa bean is the main ingredient in chocolate and is the seed found in the fruit pod of a tropical tree that had been cultivated in South America for over 3000 years.

The tree can only be found within ten degrees latitude of the Equator and it grows only above 250 feet above sea level, and it needs plenty of moisture, rich soil and shade. They produce the pods when they are three to five years old.

The tree was christened ‘Theobroma cacao’ by the great Swedish botanist Linnaeus. This comes from Greek and translates as ‘the food of the gods.’

They say chocolate arouses our passions and tempts our senses. Chocolates are loved by most and they come in various forms ranging from dark chocolates to milk chocolates and they leave memories of happy moments.

Chocolate is tasty and delicious but making your own chocolate at home can…

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WHAT DO SOME OF YOUR FOOD LABELS REALLY MEAN?…

THE VILLAGE KITCHEN

Understanding some of our food labels can be quite daunting at times. What is low in added sugar or high protein and less fat? Here are a few meanings to help you read the labels.

Organic – Foods can only have ‘organic’ on them if they have at least 95% of their farmed ingredients organic.

Low Salt – They say that we should eat no more than 6g of salt a day (to avoid high blood pressure). To be “low salt” the product must have less than 0.03g per 100g. If the product lists sodium (which is one of the two main components of salt) then you will need to multiply this by 2.5 for true salt content.

High Fibre – For a product to claim it is high in fibre it must contain at least 6g of fibre per 100g or at least 3g per 100 calories. Do not…

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