Free Republic

Easter turducken Most traditional holidays are syncretised perversions of even older traditions, which then get secularized into excuses to eat a whole bunch. Christmas falls, not coincidentally, close to the winter solstice, and borrows heavily from earlier winter festivals, featuring lots of gingerbread, candy canes, traditional hams and large family feasts. Thanksgiving, being largely a continuation of post-harvest feasts in Europe, has always been about eating. We have, of course, taken this to ridiculous extremes with turducken, a Thanksgiving dish prepared by… …cramming a boneless chicken into a boneless duck, which is stuffed into a boneless turkey. Three kinds of...

Eating as little as a quarter of an ounce of chocolate each day -- an amount equal to about one small Easter egg -- may lower your risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke, a new study has found. For best results, the chocolate should be dark, experts say. "Dark chocolate exhibits the greatest effects, milk chocolate fewer, and white chocolate no effects," says the lead author of the study, Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition, in Nuthetal, Germany. In the study, Buijsse and his colleagues followed nearly 20,000 people for an average...

Yet another health benefit has been linked to eating chocolate: It may decrease your risk of stroke, a new study suggests. The analysis, which will be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting, reviewed the results of three previous studies. One study with more than 44,000 participants found that those who ate a weekly serving of chocolate were 22 percent less likely to suffer a stroke than those who ate no chocolate.

Chocolate. Just the mere sound of the word makes your tastes buds start salivating for the rich, creamy texture of this often misunderstood, sometimes decadent, but always tasty treat. This food has been used for centuries by lovers to woo the opposite sex, to promote all types of sensual delights, and to boost the energy of anyone who wants to indulge.

NEW YORK, USA -- The American Dairy Association & Dairy Council unveiled a giant cup of hot chocolate in Bryant Park; it weighs more than 4,180 pounds before the addition of marshmallows-setting the world record for the Largest Cup of Hot Chocolate. The seven-foot wide mug held 487 gallons -- that's almost eight thousand cups of of piping hot cocoa -- not to mention tons of marshmallows. Officials said they expected to distribute 6,000 to 10,000 free cups of cocoa. The World's Largest Cup of Hot Chocolate, unveiled in Bryant Park, weighs more than 4,180 pounds before the addition of...

It's officially 2010 and we want it to be a healthy year. Chocolate is one of those treats that many people crave, and their weight suffers because of it. No more. Try these chocolate treats that won't add on pounds. Instead of going for chocolate substitutes, we recommend the real deal. Amy Brightfield of Woman's Day has compiled her favorite chocolate snacks, and she's definitely on the mark. Dark chocolate, as she points out, is much better than a lollipop or salt water taffy (or Nerds Rope, or jelly beans...you get the point), and chocolate containing over 60% cacao also...

Enlarge ImageHigh anxiety. Rats "addicted" to sugary food spent less time on the open parts of this maze. Credit: Pietro Cottone If you're constantly starting new diets, then breaking them, you may have more in common with a drug addict than you know. A new study suggests that yo-yo dieters experience the same stressful pangs of withdrawal when they go on a diet that addicts experience when they go cold turkey. The idea that bad food can be addictive is not new. But previous studies have tended to focus on the positive reinforcement side of the equation--for example, the...

Move over, red wine. Make room for chocolate milk. A new study suggests that regular consumption of skim milk with flavonoid-rich cocoa may reduce inflammation, potentially slowing or preventing development of atherosclerosis. Researchers noted, however, that the effect was not as pronounced as that seen with red wine. Scientists in Barcelona, Spain, recruited 47 volunteers ages 55 and older who were at risk for heart disease. Half were given 20-gram sachets of soluble cocoa powder to drink with skim milk twice a day, while the rest drank plain skim milk. After one month, the groups were switched. Blood tests found...

'Chocolate On Your Face' Girl, 6, Branded A Racist COLIN FERNANDEZ 06th November 2009 Confused: Michelle Gower with Sharona, whose 'playground banter was taken as a sinister remark' [Pic in URL] The parents of a six-year-old girl are outraged after their daughter was branded a racist for telling a black girl she had chocolate on her face. They fear the incident could 'haunt' her throughout her time at school. Sharona Gower had been eating chocolate mousse and was playing with a friend when she was chased by two 11-year-old girls. When one of the older girls, who was black, said...

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - For people who love chocolate and love travel, what could be better than a chocolate museum. The members and editors of VirtualTourist.com (http:\\www.virtualtourist.com) have compiled a list of the World's Top 10 Best Chocolate Museums. Reuters has not endorsed this list. 1. The Cologne Chocolate Museum; Cologne, Germany Located on the Rhine River, this futuristic building gives visitors three floors of chocolate history to ponder, but the real centre of attention here is the famous chocolate fountain. Museum staff dip waffles in the hot liquid for salivating guests. 2. Musee les Secrets du Chocolat; Geispolsheim, France...

Cocoa Prices At Highest For Two Decades Cocoa prices have been quietly but steadily rising in London, this week reaching their highest point in the last two decades. Published: 7:40PM BST 11 Oct 2009[snip]

Beer? Chocolate? Cupcakes? Yes, yes, and yes: say hello to Trophy Cupcakes' limited-edition flavor of the month for October: the Chocolate Stout Cupcake with Caramel Stout Buttercream! Here's the 411, per the owner Jennifer Shea: Made this season with Hale's Cream Stout, our Chocolate Stout cupcake is topped with Caramel Stout Buttercream and a stout caramel drizzle. A cupcake made with beer? Absolutely! The flavors from the roasted and chocolate malts in this stout match so well with our Valrhona Chocolate cupcake…and the caramel made from this beer makes an unbelievably delicious buttercream. Even burly guys (who would usually not...

Chocolate chips… the great equalizer Whether you're young or old, a fast-foodie or a gourmand in Colorado's Vail Valley, they put a smile on your face. So, this pie is bound to be well-received. It'll remind you of a chocolate chip cookie, warm from the oven. But, in pie or tart form, it seems a little more sophisticated … worthy of dessert status … rather than just a snack. Its universal popularity is probably enough to win you, but if you need more reason to consider it, this dessert is easy to make. If you use a purchased pie shell,...

CHICAGO: Mars Snackfood US announced today that America has named Chicago the city most in need of some sweet relief as part of the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act. To deliver that relief, NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M'S(R) Toyota in the NASCAR(R) Sprint Cup Series, is racing into the "city that works" to distribute 50,000 free, full-sized Mars real chocolate products. On Thursday, October 1, 2009, at Pioneer Plaza (435 N. Michigan Ave.), Mars will distribute thousands of samples of M&M'S, SNICKERS, MILKY WAY, TWIX, DOVE and 3 MUSKETEERS candies to Chicagoans between 11:00 a.m....

PARIS (AFP) – Heart attack survivors who eat chocolate two or more times per week cut their risk of dying from heart disease about three fold compared to those who never touch the stuff, scientists have reported. Smaller quantities confer less protection, but are still better than none, according to the study, which appears in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine. Earlier research had established a strong link between cocoa-based confections and lowered blood pressure or improvement in blood flow. It had also shown that chocolate cuts the rate of heart-related mortality in healthy older men, along...

Fast food chain Domino's Pizza is having a giveaway in all its Washington D.C. restaurants, offering a new dessert called Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake on Tuesday, August 4, in honor of President Barack Obama's birthday. The offer will begin at 11:00 a.m. and extend until 9:00 p.m. at any restaurant, only while supplies last. Customers have to say "Happy Birthday" to the President to receive one FREE Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake. The Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake is an oven-baked chocolate cake, crunchy on the outside, with warm flowing chocolate fudge inside. It is "inspired by a combination of chocolate and...

A "Triple Chocolate Trifle" recipe for Chocoholics everywhere.

LONDON (AFP) – Scientists are looking for women willing to eat chocolate every day for a year -- all in the name of medical science. Researchers at the University of East Anglia and a hospital in Norwich, eastern England are trying to find out whether chocolate can cut the risk of heart disease and need 40 women to step forward and help. Most of the women will have to eat two bars of "super-strength chocolate specially formulated by Belgian chocolatiers" daily for one year and undergo several tests to measure how healthy their hearts are. The others will have to...

Officials say a cocoa processing facility in New Jersey where a worker fell into a vat of melting chocolate and died was operating illegally. Camden cited Lyons & Sons Inc. for not having a business license after Vincent Smith II died Wednesday. Authorities say the 29-year-old was hit by a paddle used to mix chocolate. Company spokesman Kevin Feeley says it's a "misunderstanding" and Camden officials knew the firm was operating in the former Campbell Soup plant. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death. The Philadelphia Inquirer also reports the federal Food and Drug Administration is...

CAMDEN, N.J. - Police said a man died Wednesday morning after falling into a tank full of chocolate at a Camden business. Police were called to a warehouse and manufacturing facility on the 700 block of North 36th Street around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a man who had fallen into hot chocolate. The man had been in the melting pot for about 10 minutes by the time crews arrived, and by the time he was pulled out of the chocolate it was too late. He was declared dead shortly after 11 a.m. The turnout gear of firefighters...