It's About Chocolate

Mags · Post by **Mags** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:23 pm

Arlene--

I feel like I need to clear something up. Everything in existence is made of chemical compounds. "Vanilla" is a pod from a plant, and we use the seeds and pulp for flavor. So you are, in fact, allergic to the vanilla plant.

Esters, whether natural, or made in a lab, are the chemical compounds that produce smells and tastes. So, "vanillin", the chemical, can be produced by extracting it from the plant, or by refining it from wood products. The chemical, or ester, is technically identical, although much cheaper and plentiful when made from wood.

I guess the most common way this is seen is when high school kids produce "banana" in a chemistry lab! It is also why you see wine snobs saying they taste or smell pineapple, vanilla, blackberry, or whatever in a wine. Although these things aren't actually there, the esters that are characteristic of them are.

"Natural Flavors" often contain lab-created esters, which is just another reason to avoid them.

I hope this helps. I'm no chemistry major, but it is something I know a good bit about, since I have allergic reactions to some of the lab-created esters, and it was a big part of my study of wine.

Love,

Maggie

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 7:50 pm

I'm allergic to a group of chemicals called Balsam of Peru, which includes another chemical group called Benzoates (I think they're used as preservatives). I can't wear perfume, can't have soaps with fragrance, and can't use essential oils scents. I'm also allergic to ginger, cloves, cinnamon, paprika and a whole bunch of other things that seem to fall under this category including Tea Tree Oil.

It's impossible to get a full list of what this group consists of, but thankfully, vanilla (which is included in the list I can find) doesn't seem to bother me much. Cloves on the other hand? ITCH all day long!

I wonder which would be worse for me, the chemical kind, or the natural kind? LOL!

Bifcus16 · Post by **Bifcus16** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:02 pm

The brand of Marzipan I bought says it is gluten free and lists the ingredients as sugar, almonds, glucose(tapioca).

I was playing around with it last night actually. Used my small egg moulds to create some little marzipan eggs, and then tried coating them in chocolate. They didn't turn out looking so good, as my homemade chocolate went from runny to set too quickly. But they sure did taste good.

I experimented using panela instead of regular sugar. Panela is basically dried cane juice. It ended up being a bit too grainy, so I'll stick with the pure icing sugar next time.

Gloria,

Cocoa butter isn't readily available, but I can get it in a couple of health food stores here. It's a bit pricey because they sell it in 500g (pound) packs. In it's plain state it looks like a big block of white chocolate.

Lyn

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:01 pm

Lyn, where do you buy panela? Great find!

Sara

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:15 pm

I bought Paskesz brand chocolate chips today (Kosher for Passover). Ingredients: Sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter-nondairy.

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:38 am

Gloria,
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate TRUFFLE has no vanilla or vanillin. Just cocoa, cocoa butter, cane sugar, and sunflower and/or safflower oil. It's also the most delicious DF/SF chocolate I've tried.

irisheyes13 · Post by **irisheyes13** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:38 am

Gloria-thanks for bringing up the special chocolate available during Passover. Our supermarket had a large area set up with many Passover items and I found some bags of semisweet chocolate chips made by Mishpacha. I bought one bag based on the ingredients: Chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter-non dairy), and pure vanilla. I opened and tasted a few chips and also let the kids try them. They gave them a thumbs up as being as good as Nestles or Hersheys so I bought several more to have on hand. They were 10 oz bags and were $2.50 per bag.

I don't know that I'm ready to indulge yet but now have a safe stash of chocolate that is soy and dairy free.

Have you gotten brave and tried the cocoa yet?

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:31 pm

Have you gotten brave and tried the cocoa yet?

Actually, yes, I tried Enjoy Life chocolate chips on Saturday. The next two days I had deteriorated BMs. Not D, but not perfect Normans, either. I received my Histame today, so I took one pill, set the timer for 15 minutes, and indulged in 6 squares of an Elite chocolate bar (contains vanillan). I'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm not giving up on chocolate without a fight!

Gloria

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:49 pm

Gloria,

I know I'm not alone in watching your research on chocolate with baited breath, admiration for your courage, and great hopes!

I hope you've found the key - at least for you, and at least for now!

My big New Food project for next week will be to try to recreate the 'caveman cookies' Robert bought last week. Few ingredients, but one of them WILL be chocolate. I'm working without a recipe, and was never a great baker, so it will take me a few rounds in the kitchen "lab" just to get them to behave like cookies (and then we'll see how I tolerate them).

I think we should have a "party" once a year where we each take on someone else's food list and try to come up with a new and fabulous dish ;) I know there's still some question about how that would work... Gabes, I am in awe that you figured out that you could eat carrots or cauliflower but not both at once. HOWEVER - it would be a great virtual "potluck!"

I'm betting on Gloria's chocolate creation for the gold medal.

xoxox to all,
Sara

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:10 pm

Gloria,

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:36 pm

Hi everyone,

Well, Norman visited this morning.

He wasn't absolutely perfect, but he was close enough. I think my reaction to chocolate may be a histamine reaction and taking Histame alleviates it. I hope the same will be true of tomatoes and a few other foods I've avoided.

Gloria

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:40 pm

Gloria, that's great news!

Cheering you on from here,

Sara

irisheyes13 · Post by **irisheyes13** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:47 pm

Woohoo!! Yay Gloria!

The timing couldn't be more perfect with all the passover chocolate readily available. You are so deserving of a special treat. ENJOY!

ant · Post by **ant** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:29 am

R u still on one Entocort every third day?

Best wishes, ant

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:42 am

Ant,

Yes, I'm still on one Entocort every third day. I'll be going off of it completely when I return from Utah on April 12.

Gloria