A chocolatier in Irvine, California, will be featured on the Food Network because of its chili-infused chocolates. Xan Confections, along with six other companies, will appear on the network’s show “Unwrapped” as part of its “Hot and Spicy” episode beginning July 17. The chocolatier’s ancho chili jewel caramels have captured the tastebuds of food experts and will be included in...

A Harvard University professor unveils his invention that may help people reduce their food cravings simply by inhaling chocolate. Le Whif is a lipstick-shaped aerosol filled with minute particles of dark chocolate. Inventor David Edwards, a professor of biomedical engineering, claims that a single puff provides all the pleasures of chocolate minus the loaded calories. Its aroma, meanwhile, also discourages users...

A group of Spanish researchers have found that eating dark chocolate after meals stopped the usual rise in abdominal blood pressure, which can reach dangerous levels among people suffering from cirrhosis and, in severe cases, lead to blood vessel rupture. The study stated that flavanols, a type of antioxidants found in cocoa, could be the reason why chocolate is beneficial in lowering blood pressure because the che...

Swiss chef Adelbert Bucher would have to add another feather on his cap after finishing his latest work of art: A replica of the Taj Mahal made entirely of white chocolate. Bucher, the master chocolatier of the Swiss chocolate brand Lindt for 10 years, has already created models of the Emirates Towers in Dubai and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul out of dark chocolate. The latest exhibit of his fine replica making wa...

Want to impress your woman with an luxury item that is not as hefty as a diamond ring? How about a very expensive chocolate? The Connecticut-based Knipschildt Chocolatier is home of La Madeline au Truffe, a chocolate truffle that was recognize by Forbes magazine as the most luxurious chocolate in the world. Why so? This confection is made from 70% Valrhona dark chocolate, heavy cream, sugar, truffle oil, and van...

The origin of this delectable confection traces its roots to Central and South America, where the cacao beans were first grown. The native Aztecs in modern-day Mexico and other civilizations in the area drank chocolate mixed with chilies and achiote called “xocotatl” (bitter water) or “chocolatl” (hot water). Cacao beans were so valuable among the Aztecs that it was even used as tax payments. It was Chris...

Apart from Easter Eggs, the one thing that kids and the young-at-heart excite about Easter is the chocolate, especially the ones shaped like eggs. These are usually given as gifts to close friends and relatives, but do you have an idea how this practice started? Although Easter is a Christian celebration commemorating how Jesus was resurrected from the dead, the traditions surrounding the holiday are pagan in orig...

If there is one chocolatier that represents Belgian Chocolate, it is definitely Leonidas. The company, Leonidas Conifeserie SA, was founded by Leonidas Kestekides, a Greek confectioner who moved to the United States in the late 1800s. Kestekides traveled to France in 1900 to participate in the international food fair as an exhibitor. Ten years later, he represented Greece in the World Fair held in Brussels, the c...

Belgium is one of the few countries in the world known for its delectable fine chocolate. How this small country become home of some of the best chocolatiers, however, is not so sweet. It began in the 1880s, when Belgium was ruled by King Leopold II. He laid the foundations in controlling the Congo Free State (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Africa that provided easy access to the vast cocoa grou...

We may have heard about the finest chocolates in Europe, but do you know that there are also great chocolates that are found in good ol’ USA? The popular periodical USA Today has compiled a list of 10 places across the mainland where you can have the finest chocolates you can either give to your loved ones or savor for yourself. John & Kira’s Chocolates Philadelphia At first glances, their chocolat...