Candy Fanatic

Children and parents can say goodbye to sticky faces and fingers and stained clothes thanks to the globe’s first non-melting chocolate, claims confectionery manufacturer Choc-o-Bloc.

Magic Choc, said to be the confectioner’s answer to Play-Doh, can be poked, prodded, squeezed, shaped and finally eaten without leaving tell-tale chocolate stains on faces and hands, said the company.

Made with 100% Belgian chocolate at a factory in Northern Ireland, Magic Choc can be moulded and shaped without heating. It is pliable from 20°C and playable up to 37°C. Chocolate usually melts at 33.8°C.

A combination of oils within the chocolate prevents melting and keeps the product flexible, said the spokesman. Both the product and the production process are patent-protected.

Ingredients include: Glucose syrup, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, emulsifier, soya lecithin and natural vanilla flavouring. Read more at www.confectionerynews.com

Do you want to design your own chocolate? Well, a new technology will help you turn your imagination into reality. A chocolate teapot has finally become a reality after scientists invented a technology that allows people to design their own 3D objects, which can be reproduced in chocolate.

Using new digital technology the printer allows people to create their own designs on a computer and reproduce them physically in three-dimensional form in chocolate.

3D printing is a technology where a three dimensional object is created by building up successive layers of material. The technology is already used in industry to produce plastic and metal products, but this is the first time the principles have been applied to chocolate.

The research has presented many challenges. Chocolate is not an easy material to work with because it requires accurate heating and cooling cycles.

These variables then have to be integrated with the correct flow rates for the 3D printing process. Researchers overcame these difficulties with the development of new temperature and heating control systems. Read more at www.hindustantimes.com

Scientists from the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition and the Pennsylvania State University report that polyphenols from cocoa inhibited various digestive enzymes in a dose-dependent manner, meaning the more consumed, the greater the effect.

If supported by additional research, the findings suggest that cocoa polyphenols may find a role in the burgeoning weight management market, already estimated to be worth $7bn (€5.2bn) worldwide.

Cocoa’s benefits The health benefits of polyphenols from cocoa have been gathering increasing column inches in the national media. To date studies have reported potential benefits for cardiovascular health, skin health, and even brain health. The majority of science into the potential benefits of cocoa have revolved around cardiovascular benefits of the flavanols (also known as flavan-3-ols or catechins), and particularly the monomeric flavanol (-)epicatechin.

Cocoa is not chocolate In a recent review led by Gary Williamson from the University of Leeds but with the Nestlé Research Center at the time of the review, it was explained that: “Chocolate and cocoa are two different terms and are not interchangeable. “Cocoa is the non-fat component of cocoa liquor (finely ground cocoa beans) which is used in chocolate making or as cocoa powder (commonly 12 per cent fat) for cooking and drinks. “Cocoa liquor contains approximately 55 per cent cocoa butter and together this comprises cocoa solids, often referred to on chocolate packaging. Chocolate refers to the combination of cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, etc. into a solid food product,” added the reviewers. Read more at www.nutraingredients-usa.com

Nestle is “covered in chocolate,” as the Russian saying about success goes. The leading international chocolate and food producer celebrated its 140th year in the country Wednesday.

The company began exporting mostly milk products to the Russian market in 1871 on contract from St. Petersburg merchant Alexander Ventsel. Products continued to be sold on and off in prestigious stores during the Soviet Union.

Over the last 16 years, the food giant, whose products include chocolate, milk, yogurt, bottled water, baby food, frozen food and pet food, has pumped more than a billion dollars into the economy. It owns some of the most recognized brands in the country, including Nescafe Gold and Maggi.

Nestle has 12 production facilities in Russia, one of which, located in Perm, is the biggest Nestle chocolate factory in the world. Read more at www.themoscowtimes.com

Hershey Co. increased wholesale prices for most of its products, saying the move will help offset a significant rise in raw material, fuel and other expenses.

The candy maker said a weighted-average price increase of about 9.7% across the company’s instant consumable, multipack, packaged candy and grocery lines took effect Wednesday.

Like other food makers, Hershey is facing pressure from rising commodity costs and bargain-hunting consumers. Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods Inc. recently announced they would raise the prices on some coffee products, as those companies feel the pinch of higher green-coffee costs.

Hershey last month reported its fourth-quarter earnings rose 6.9% as the company posted sharply lower restructuring charges, while sales and margins both improved. Hershey’s sales improved last year, though it faces tougher competition from larger rivals Mars Inc. and Kraft, which bought Cadbury last year. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com

It’s National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day! We can all remember eating chocolate-covered raisines as children, and today we can enjoy them as adults. One way is in biscotti.

And this biscotti recipe has chocolate covered cranberries in it (remember when she was the new Raisinet in town?), which brightens it up and also boosts nutrients. I love to make this reasy recipe with whole-wheat flour – see the Cook’s Tip at the bottom of the recipe - the heartiness and chewiness of whole wheat makes my coffee breaks even more enjoyable. Read more at nestleusa.wordpress.com

Leading cocoa processor and exporter, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), said it has suspended cocoa plant operations in the Ivory Coast and is shifting production elsewhere, due to heightened political tensions in the West African producer country.

A spokesperson for ADM told ConfectioneryNews.com that its Ivorian operations have been suspended since the first week of March, and she added: “We are currently leveraging our cocoa processing operations in Ghana, Singapore, Brazil, the US and Europe to meet our customers’ needs.”

With escalating violence and the number one producer of cocoa beans on teetering on the edge of civil war, Keith Flury, senior analyst at agri-commodities specialists Rabobank said that “what is going to happen in the Ivory Coast is anyone’s guess”. Read more at mobile.confectionerynews.com

Barry Callebaut has a contingency plan in place in light of ongoing Ivory Coast turmoil and has stepped up production at its cocoa processing facilities elsewhere to meet its customers’ needs.

Raphael Wermuth, external communications manager at the Swiss headquartered group, said that the company bought and exported the majority of the cocoa beans it required from the Ivory Coast in order to fulfil its processing needs, prior to the imposition of restrictions on exports from the world’s leading cocoa producer.

He said that this explains why the current EU sanctions and the export ban ordered by president-elect of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Outtara “is expected to have limited impact” on the company’s supply chain this year.

Cocoa bean exports from the Ivory Coast have ceased since the end of January, following a call from Outtara for a suspension of all exports, including cocoa and coffee, in a bid to cut off funding from his rival Gbagbo following on from disputed elections in the country at the end of last year.

Exports have all also been hindered with the imposition of EU sanctions on trade with the Ivory Coast, with the result being 475,000 tonnes of cocoa beans piled up in the Ivorian ports of Abidjan and San Pedro, awaiting export. Read more at mobile.confectionerynews.com

In the spirit of this month and the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday, we thought it fitting to dedicate a post to delicious and decadent apps that are all about chocolate.

Chocolate elicits such passion among its most loyal admirers. And why shouldn’t it? It is silky, smooth and downright delicious. The added health benefits that have been long touted (gotta love those flavonoids) are a bonus, and all the more reason to enjoy this delightful treat. Read more at mashable.com