Even though each brand of chocolate has a distinctive taste, all chocolate is made from three basic ingredients -- roasted cacao beans, milk and sugar. After processing, the cacao beans become chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa. In the U.S., the FDA regulates the composition of chocolate to contain a minimum amount of chocolate liquor and milk solids. Manufacturers may add flavoring, such as vanilla, nuts, spices and emulsifiers. By varying roasting times, blending lots of beans and alkalization, each company creates a distinctive flavor from different harvests of cacao beans, then mixes in the other ingredients to make chocolate .
About Dove Chocolate
The Dove Company began as a Chicago candy store in 1939. Their signature product, Dove Bars, are vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate. Although Dove Bars were created in 1956, national distribution did not start until Dove Bars were shown at 1984 food convention. Two years later, the Mars company acquired Dove Chocolate. Since that time many new Dove chocolate products have been created. In 2011, Dove chocolate products include ice cream dipped in chocolate, ice cream, chocolate bars, sugar-free chocolates, chocolate caramels, drink mixes and other gourmet products.
Chocolate Health Benefits
Chocolate has been shown to have several health benefits when consumed in moderation. Cleveland Clinic says that chocolate is a source of flavonoids that can decrease blood pressure, lower cholesterol and protect against free-radical damage which elevates LDL-cholesterol. The fats in chocolate include monounsaturated fat and stearic acid, which does not affect cholesterol. Eating large amounts of chocolate is not recommended since some of the other ingredients in chocolate are not as healthy. Another chocolate fat, palmitic acid, increases LDL-cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease. As awareness of the health benefits of flavonoids has become known, manufacturers including Dove have modified their processes to retain more flavonoids in the finished chocolate.
Chocolate Bars and Candies
The serving size is 1/3 of a Dove bar. A serving of a Dove Milk chocolate bar has 180 calories, 11g total fat, 6g saturated fat and 18g sugar. Eating a serving of a Dove Dark Chocolate 63 percent bar gives your 180 calories, 13g total fat, 8g saturated fat and 12g sugars. The USDA recommended total daily fat intake is 25g to 35g, so a serving of a Dove chocolate bar provides over a third of your daily fat.
Dove has several varieties of sugar-free chocolate candies. They use malitol, which is a sugar alcohol and an emulsifier, PGRP. A serving is five pieces. The Sugar-free Chocolate Creme has 190 calories, 15g total fat, 10g saturated fat 10g, 17g sugar alcohols and no sugar.
Ice Cream Products
The original Dove Bar, vanilla ice cream in dark chocolate, has 330 calories, 21g total fat, 14g saturated fat and 25g sugars. There are chocolate chunks in most flavors of ice creams such as Give In to Mint, Irresistibly Raspberry, Carmel Pecan Perfection. Beyond Vanilla is the lone Dove flavor that does not contain chocolate chunks. A container of Dove ice cream has four servings. Each ½ cup serving has 240 to 300 calories, 15g to 19g total fat 10g to 12g saturated fat and 20g to 25g sugars. Even though a serving of ice cream supplies 10 percent of the daily calcium and 4g protein, the high levels of fat especially saturated fat make Dove ice cream something you should eat as a special occasion treat.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Section 163.130 Milk Chocolate, Revised April 1, 2010
- Field Museum: All About Chocolate: Making Chocolate
- Cleveland Clinic: The Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled: 2010
- Dove Chocolate
- USDA Dietary Reference Intake Tables: Macronutrients
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