Pure dark chocolate is actually pretty different than regular chocolate like milk chocolate or even processed dark chocolate. It is made 100% of cacao which makes it very healthy and natural but also very bitter tasting. However, there are still many good ways that this kind of chocolate can be put to good use. It can be an acquired taste, but once you acquire it, there will be no stopping you! Here are a few good ways that you could use this unsweetened chocolate.
Using it in Baking
Using dark chocolate for baking is probably the most common use of pure dark chocolate. In fact another word for it is unsweetened baking chocolate. This is because once it is coupled with the sweeteners in the recipe it does make for a very good dessert. It is a lot lower in calories sugar so if you’re going to use it in a recipe, you will definitely need to add enough sugar to compensate for it. Pure dark chocolate melts very easily and usually doesn’t even need a double boiler to do so like milk or white chocolate. This makes it much simpler to use as a drizzle or a topping. Even if you don’t necessarily bake the chocolate, if you serve it with other sweet toppings then it is still quite enjoyable and gives the dessert a very upper class feel.
Giving it as a Gift
There are many ways that dark chocolate can be used as a gift for someone. It is definitely an acquired taste so you want to make sure the recipient does enjoy dark chocolate but gourmet chocolate truffles are a great way to honor someone without breaking the bank over it. Chocolate truffles are not the cheapest treat but they’re not the most expensive either so they are the perfect in between present. They work well for those holidays that don’t require major presents like Christmas and birthdays but still should be recognized it is Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day or even an anniversary of something. Truffles are not the only way dark chocolate is packaged, it can really be packaged in any form that regular chocolate can be, it just depends on what you want.
Indulging on a Cheat Day
You hear often from people on diets about a cheat meal or a cheat day. Well according to the Paleo diet, if you’re going to cheat, pure dark chocolate is the best thing to cheat on because it is still low in sugar and calories but should be able to satisfy that sweet tooth craving. One of the interesting things about dark chocolate is that if you don’t like it and know that that is the only thing that you were allowed to cheat with, you may find it easier to forgo your cheat day altogether and stick to the plan. However, if dark chocolate appeals to you, then by all means, have at it. Just make sure that you are still sticking to the parameters of the cheat day and not going crazy and undoing all the good you have done all week.
Staying Organic
Pure dark chocolate are one of the only natural and organic treats out there. You can get it in the form of a bar, chocolate chips, candy and many other forms. If you’re concerned about eating organic then you probably don’t need dessert very often because it is normally full of processed sugar and other ingredients that you would never dream of ingesting. However, this 100% cacao chocolate is the perfect answer for you. It is completely natural and organic. It is also kosher certified, GMO free and friendly to the rain forest. If those things are important to you than you may have just found a way that you can enjoy the semi sweet dessert.
There are a lot of things that can be said about chocolate and its uses and how it should be eaten but the above points give you a good idea of the benefits. Of course even though the chocolate is organic it is still chocolate and you don’t want to over indulge on it just like anything else. Eat everything in moderation so that you can enjoy it without feeling guilty or sick later.
