What is Dutching (read the word but don’t know) and why is it bad?
The Aztec and Myans discovered the health benefits of chocolate more than 1500 years ago. They use to drink it in a liquid form that was pure and very bitter. They added spices etc. so they could drink it.
When the Europeans found the new world they took the cocoa beans back to Europe, but knew the Europeans wouldn’t consume it because it was so bitter. The bitterness was (bio-active phytonutrients) which is basically the good stuff.
The Europeans then roasted and alkalized the cocoa beans, added refined, processed sugar, waxes, fillers, milk, etc. to make it taste better so they then had a market for it. This is what is known as the “Dutching Process”. This is also what made chocolate into candy.
The studies we are seeing today that show dark chocolate can have health benefits is basically the cocoa bean without the “Dutching” Process.