The calories in a 45 g serving of Ghirardelli chocolate vary slightly above and below the 200-calorie mark. Nutrient content and calorie count both depend on the percentage of cacao in the chocolate and whether the product contains extras like nuts and candies. Chocolate provides more than calories, containing caffeine, antioxidants and mood-enhancing natural compounds.
Benefits
Ghirardelli Chocolate manufactures a wide variety of chocolate bars, squares and syrups, as well as dark baking chocolate. Only the baking chocolate contains 100 percent chocolate, since chocolate's naturally bitter taste requires additional milk, sugar and other flavorings for balance. Ghirardelli rates many of its products by cacao percentage. A 60 percent cacao bar contains 60 percent chocolate liquor blended with cocoa butter; sugar, vanilla flavoring, and other ingredients make up the rest of the bar. One 45 g serving of Ghirardelli's 60% Cacao Dark Chocolate Squares with Caramel, for example, provides 15 g of fat, with 8 g as saturated fat. The serving also contains 25 g of carbohydrates and 2 g of protein. The portion holds 220 calories total. According to the National Nutrient Database, chocolate containing 60 percent to 69 percent cacao solids also yields 86 mg of caffeine and 632 mg of theobromine, a heart stimulant.
Types
Ghirardelli manufactures chocolate bars and squares in three main groups. Filled bars encase centers of caramel or other popular sweets with shells of rich chocolate. The company's Intense Dark series offers cacao blends from 60 percent to 86 percent -- less sweet but richer in chocolate flavor as the percentage of cacao increases. In the LUXE Milk series, chocolate-lovers choose toffee, rice crisps, or nuts folded into the sweet milk chocolate bars.
Misconceptions
Polyphenols in chocolate exhibit antioxidant properties similar to those in red wine and green tea. In general, the higher the cacao content, the healthier the bar, but not all bars offer the same health rewards. According to ResearchPennState, the "Dutch process" many companies use destroys some of chocolate's antioxidants. The cocoa powder produced tastes milder but lacks health benefits. Ghirardelli processes its own beans and uses no cocoa powder in its products.
Effects
Chocolate's most obvious effect on the diet comes from the heavy load of calories. The 45 g, or 1.58-oz. serving recommended by Ghirardelli exceeds the daily amount recommended by the University of Michigan by more than 30 percent and adds unnecessary calories to the diet plan. The university does consider daily consumption of 1 oz. of chocolate with a cacao content of 60 percent or higher to be within the healthy range. Chocolate of this type could lower blood pressure, lower unhealthy cholesterol in the blood, and provide some important minerals as well.
History
Italian entrepreneur Domingo Ghirardelli immigrated to the United States in 1849, intending to strike gold in the California Gold Rush. In Stockton, California, Ghirardelli found higher profit in selling mining supplies than in mining gold and expanded to hotel ventures in San Francisco. Losing his businesses to fire in 1851, Ghirardelli began a confection business only a year later. Ghirardely & Girard, his new enterprise, marked the beginning of 150 years of continuous traditional chocolate-making.
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