EXTRACT A
Several recent studies have examined the role that chocolate may have on heart health. Cacao beans are full of phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants and provide additional benefits. Furthermore, cacao beans are rich sources of iron, copper, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dark chocolate contains two to three times more beneficial flavanols than milk chocolate because milk chocolate's cacao concentration is diluted with milk and possibly more sugar.
While most studies have found some correlation between chocolate consumption and reduced risk of heart problems, the amount and type of chocolate needed requires further study. A 2017 meta-analysis of the effects of chocolate on coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes published in the journal Nutrients concluded that the most benefit was associated with moderate chocolate intake. The authors found little benefit in heart disease or stroke reduction among people who consumed chocolate more than three times a week. Protective effects against diabetes emerged at two servings a week, but that benefit disappeared if people had more than six servings a week.
Chocolate may also help prevent the development of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that increases the risk of heart failure, stroke and more. A study, published in the journal Heart in 2017, found that adults who ate chocolate at least once a month had 10 to 20 per cent lower rates of developing atrial fibrillation than those who never or rarely ate chocolate.
EXTRACT B
When first removed from the pod, the seeds taste, well, pretty awful. They’re bitter and rough and not at all chocolatey. To obtain the flavour we know and love, several chemical transformations must first occur.
Fermentation must begin within 24-48 hours of pods being opened and generally lasts 5-7 days. The beans are piled in heaps or placed in special boxes.
Microorganisms quickly get to work removing the pulp from the beans. Yeasts grow on the pulp, converting the sugars in it to ethanol. As bacteria move in they oxidise the ethanol to acetic acid and then to carbon dioxide (CO2) and water. This produces heat and raises the temperature. The pulp breaks down and both lactic acid and acetic acid are produced. The acetic acid eventually kills the bean, which results in its cell walls breaking down and the mixing of several previously separated substances.
This process results in changes within the bean, known as the curing process. It involves enzyme activity, oxidation and the breakdown of proteins into amino acids.
This stage develops important flavour precursors, which are the beginnings of the unique chocolate taste and aroma we know. It also browns the beans.
EXTRACT C
It was 1st May 1915, when Alfred E Haigh opened the doors of the very first Haigh’s Chocolate store in the Beehive Building at 34 King William Street, Adelaide South Australia.
Alfred began adding his own flavour to the industry and in 1917 he started producing chocolate-covered fruit centres. Business was booming and it was time to expand. Alfred bought the family home and land in Parkside, South Australia where he built a small two-roomed factory and moved all manufacturing to the site in 1919, which is now home to our factory and Visitor Centre. In 1923, he moved shops to the Beehive Corner – still our Adelaide flagship store. Sadly, in 1933, Alfred passed away suddenly. His son Claude took over the running of the business, which had by then grown to six stores.
During the war years, supplies were difficult. Yet despite the sugar rationing Haigh’s managed to keep on trading, making boiled sweets and wrapped toffees for the armed forces.
Alfred’s grandson, John Haigh, joined the business in 1946 with a vision to take Haigh’s chocolate making to new heights. He trained in Switzerland with Lindt and Sprungli and visited the US to look at production, shop styles and marketing. John revolutionised the way we manufactured our chocolate and in 1959 became Managing Director until 1990.
More than any other person, John Haigh is responsible for the taste of Haigh’s chocolates as we know it today. He transformed Haigh’s into a manufacturer of premium quality chocolate that is internationally acclaimed and recognised among the world’s best.
EXTRACT D
I baked a cake last night, and the hot chocolate is standing in a pot on the hob, awaiting my first customer. I make sure that a similar menu is visible from the window and I wait.
Mass comes and goes. I watch the passers-by, morose beneath the freezing drizzle. My door, slightly open, emits a number of longing glances at the source of this, but a flick of the eye backwards, a shrugging of the shoulders, a twist of the mouth which may be resolve or simply temper, and they are gone, leaning into the wind with rounded miserable shoulders, as if an angel with a flaming sword were standing at the door to bar their entry.
Time, I tell myself. This kind of thing takes time. But all the same, a kind of impatience, almost anger, penetrates me. What is wrong with these people? Why do they not come? Ten o’clock sounds, then eleven. I can see people going into the bakery opposite and coming out again with loaves tucked under their arms. The rain stops, though the sky remains grim. Eleven-thirty. The few people who still linger in the square turn homewards to prepare the Sunday meal. A boy with a dog skirts the corner of the church, carefully avoiding the dripping guttering. He walks past with barely a glance.