Produce & Pantry

Unsweetened chocolate is a raw form of chocolate that has no sugar added. It has a bitter taste and is commonly used in baking.

Part of healthy cooking and eating is finding ways to make our favorite recipes better for us, but still delicious. Substituting carob can be an effective way of making treats that call for...

A truffle is a type of fungus that is used in gourmet cooking. Because it is so difficult to farm and harvest truffles, they are very rare and expensive ingredients.

People with voluntary or mandatory dietary restrictions make it hard to find suitable treats to offer at birthdays and special holidays. Throwing parties creates the dilemma of what to serve that...

In 1502, Columbus brought cacao back to Spain, sparking a worldwide fascination with chocolate. Now, chocolate candy consumption and production continues to grow. There are multiple brands and...

Nestle and Hershey both make chocolate chips, syrup and unsweetened cocoa powder. Hershey is a company dedicated to chocolate, while Nestle makes many other products as well. So, which brand is...

Cocoa powder is used in a variety of baked goods and hot drinks. It is made from cocoa beans, but only contains a small amount of cocoa butter.

It pays to know your truffles. While shaving chocolate truffles onto an expensive luxury dish might have an unexpectedly positive effect, when you meant to add a richly flavorful mushroom instead,...

Eaten in moderation, chocolate is a high-fat, high-carbohydrate source of energy. Because it has some vital nutrients, it is a food rather than simply a stimulant like coffee.

Chocolate comes from the beans of a tropical South American tree, theobroma cacao. The beans have been harvested and made into chocolate for eating or drinking for 3000 years.

There are two basic kinds of chocolate: cocoa powder and solid chocolate. Cocoa powder is used to make chocolate drinks and for some baked goods recipes. Solid chocolate, either plain or...

Four basic types of chocolate come from the cacao bean after its oils (cacao butter) have been removed: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and couverture chocolate. The fat-free...

According to Psychcentral.com, chocolate is one of the most craved foods. Although there is no scientific proof of why chocolate appears to be so popular, scientists and psychologists have many...

Chocolate comes from the beans of the cacao tree, a small tropical tree native to Central and South America. The beans are harvested from large pods that grow directly from the tree's trunk and...

When cocoa beans are ground and pressed to remove the cocoa butter, the remaining solids are dried and refined to form cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is used in the beverage cocoa or hot chocolate and...

Chocolate nibs, also called cocoa or cacao nibs, are roasted cocoa beans that have been broken up into smaller bits. They are crunchier than most nuts, resembling roasted coffee beans in texture...

Dark chocolate comes from cocoa beans, which grow in cocoa pods. Once a cocoa pod develops on a tree, it must mature for 5 to 6 months. Cocoa pods are harvested off their trees, usually by hand,...

The history of white chocolate begins with the history of cocoa, but white chocolate itself is made more of cocoa butter and sweeteners. Find out why white chocolate is not considered chocolate by...

Many older candy recipes that use chocolate coatings often instruct readers to add paraffin wax when melting the chocolate to coat homemade candy. Only very small amounts of wax are used in these...

Chocolate can be frozen because its main ingredients, milk, eggs and sugar, can all be blended and frozen without a problem. Wrap chocolate in foil before freezing, and make sure to label what...

Chocolate is the stuff of movies, music, dreams and many a midnight snack. For the cook, however, chocolate can be a conundrum, a difficult product to keep well and use properly. The first thing a...

Cacao trees are grown for the chocolate industry throughout South America and Africa, generally within 20 degrees of the equator. The trees produce large, melon-like fruits that contain the cacao...

It never fails. You buy a bunch of bananas while they still have some green, eat a couple, and the rest turn black and mushy before you get to them. Before you throw away that banana, try freezing...

Shredded coconut makes excellent chocolate candy! Learn a fantastic coconut candy recipe in this free video all about coconuts.

Even if you've never met a chocolate chip cookie you didn't like, professional bakers agree that chocolate chips vary in taste and quality. The secret to making a great chocolate chip cookie, as...

Dutch-processed, natural-processed, sweetened, unsweetened, dark or regular. Cocoa comes in all of these categories. Buying cocoa depends upon knowing which works best with a recipe's other...

"How do you eat yours?" This is the marketing tagline for the elusive favorite, the Cadbury Creme Egg. This sickly sweet creme-filled candy egg is only available for a short time each year. Just...

Colorful and delicious, blueberries add a sharp sweet taste to cakes and pies. They are also nutritional and even thought to prevent disease. Blueberries can be used fresh or frozen. Follow these...

Fruit comes in a variety of sizes and colors. You can find a large variety year round. Follow these tips to eat fruit and add nutrition to your meal.

Though most chocolate bars contain dairy ingredients, it is not that difficult to find vegan chocolate. In buying vegan chocolate, you will also get more of chocolate's healthy antioxidants--vegan...