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Come trick-or-treat season or any time you’re presented with a choice from a candy jar, selecting just one chocolate bar from the mix is about as difficult as picking a favorite child (or so I’ve heard from parents). Sweetness levels vary widely, as does the source of the chocolate, the mix-ins or fillings, the texture, and more. To help us narrow down the competition and build a shortlist of the best bars for s’mores, snacking, and sneaking into cakes, we called up a handful of our favorite culinary pros from coast to coast for some sweet talk. Read on to...

Certain bitter plant compounds — the kind found naturally in cocoa, apples, berries and red wine — may temporarily boost memory by activating the brain's internal "alarm system," a new study suggests. Researchers at the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan found that when mice consumed flavanols — plant-based compounds known for their antioxidant properties — their brains released a surge of noradrenaline, a chemical linked to alertness and focus. Within an hour, the animals performed about 30% better on a memory test compared with untreated mice, according to the findings, which were published in October in the journal Current...

Coffee prices have risen 20% since last year because of inflation and amid tariff disruptions to traditional supply lines, exemplifying a broader rise in grocery prices across the board. Key FactsCoffee prices have risen more than 20% since August last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Last month, prices for coffee futures reached a record high in the Intercontinental Exchange in New York after Brazil’s crop agency, Conab, cut its 2025 arabica production forecast by 4.9% to 35.2 million bags.In July, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 50% on Brazil and 20% on Vietnam, the two countries that together...

McVitie’s Penguins and Club biscuits are no longer allowed to carry the word “chocolate” on the label due to a recipe reformulation caused by cocoa prices soaring over 150 per cent in 2024–2025 and hitting $10,000 per tonne in April.UK regulations require 25 per cent cocoa solids for milk chocolate coatings, but Pladis, McVitie’s owner, reduced cocoa content below that threshold and opted for palm and shea oils to keep costs down. The iconic Club slogan, “If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit, join our Club,” became “If you like a lot of biscuit in your break,...

Aldi has achieved cult status in the U.S., with fans creating their own online clubs devoted to the Aldi Finds aisles, and shoppers even naming the company among their most-loved grocery stores. Many house brand products have their own devotees as well, including its surprisingly wide variety of chocolate. While the stores do carry some name brands, like M&Ms, a good deal of the chocolate, especially the bars, are sold under the names Moser Roth and Choceur. Aldi is well-known as a German company, so do these house brand chocolates also come from Europe? It's challenging to find info about...

Shrinkflation meets inflation as The Hershey Company responds to rising cocoa prices with packaging changes.-The Hershey Company will increase U.S. retail prices this fall due to the ongoing surge in global cocoa prices, which have reached historic highs driven by poor harvests and the impacts of climate change in key growing regions. -The company expects low double-digit percentage price hikes, with some product packaging sizes reduced, although Halloween-specific candies will be exempt from the increases. -Hershey’s is also seeking a tariff exemption, expecting chocolate import costs to reach as much as $100 million in the second half of 2025 once...

In a nutshell * Dark chocolate, tea, apples, and grapes can significantly lower blood pressure, especially in people with hypertension, with effects comparable in size to standard medications. * These flavan-3-ol-rich foods also improve blood vessel function, offering heart health benefits beyond just blood pressure reduction. * Whole foods work better than supplements, and they come with minimal side effects, making them a safe, affordable addition to a heart-healthy lifestyle. ================================================================ GUILDFORD, England — Instead of buying the next trendy expensive supplement or exotic superfood, a morning cup of tea could do more for your blood pressure than you realize....

A diet rich in produce such as grapes, strawberries, açaí, oranges, chocolate, wine and coffee can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome by as much as 23%, according to the findings of a study involving more than 6,000, the largest in the world to associate the effects of consuming polyphenols. Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities and hormone alterations, is the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Polyphenols are bioactive compounds with well-known anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The main conclusion was that consumption of polyphenols from different foods at the highest estimated level (469 mg per day) reduced the...

The Food and Drug Administration has reclassified a recall of chocolate products to its most serious level. On Dec. 12, 2024, the Cal Yee Farm LLC of Suisun Valley, California, issued a recall for several of its chocolate and yogurt-covered products, as well as its trail mix and toffee, due to undeclared allergens. "People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk, soy, wheat, sesame, FD&C #6 and almonds run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products," according to a release from Cal Yee Farm that was published on the FDA's website at...

Braga Fresh Recalls Broccoli Florets Sold At Walmart Over Listeria Concerns Federal officials have upgraded a chocolate recall to the highest risk level over fears that consuming the product could “cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” Three products from Cal Yee Farm — Dark Chocolate Almonds, Dark Chocolate Apricots and Dark Chocolate Walnuts — have been given a Class 1 classification for containing undeclared milk, according to the FDA. Undeclared milk in food products can lead to serious health issues for people with milk allergies, including hives, cramps, dizziness, swollen vocal cords and unconsciousness, and cause death, according to...

However, many school districts and parents argue that giving children the option to drink flavored milk is a way to get them the much-needed health benefits that they would miss if they don’t like regular milk. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Urban School Food Alliance executive director Katie Wilson criticized the proposal, arguing that the Agriculture Department is considering taking a product that is widely enjoyed by students and includes “nine essential nutrients” and telling them they will have to “drink plain” milk instead. “What are they trying to prove,” Wilson added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering limits on certain food and drink like chocolate milk in schools to “reduce children’s risk of chronic disease.” In February, the USDA first proposed updates to public school nutrition standards that would limit sodium intake and added sugars from students’ diets. Among its proposals included limiting the amount of flavored milk, such as strawberry and chocolate, in high schools while outright prohibiting it in elementary and middle schools. “USDA is proposing to allow flavored milk for high school children only (grades 9-12). This approach would reduce exposure to added sugars and would...

US residents are spending more money to purchase legal cannabis than they are on chocolate, craft beer and topical pain relief. A report from MJBizDaily showed Americans spent roughly $30 billion on legal marijuana in 2022 while only spending around $20 billion on chocolate. The cannabis purchases eclipsed sales of “feel-good” products, including beer, opioid medications and topical pain relief, the report stated. Though the legal purchase of marijuana is becoming increasingly popular, sales still fell behind the tobacco industry, which made around $53 billion last year despite a steady decline.

The Hershey Co. said Tuesday that Reese’s Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups, which go on sale this month, will be its first vegan chocolates sold nationally. A second plant-based offering, Hershey’s Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt, will follow in April. The chocolates are made with oats instead of milk, Hershey said.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are getting the vegan treatment. The Hershey Co. said Tuesday that Reese’s Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups, which go on sale this month, will be its first vegan chocolates sold nationally. A second plant-based offering, Hershey’s Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt, will follow in April. The chocolates are made with oats instead of milk, Hershey said. Hershey has experimented with vegan chocolate before. It sold an oat-based chocolate bar called Oat Made in some test markets starting in 2021. But the new products will be the first sold throughout the U.S. under...

Brad Wolfe, communications supervisor for Lancaster County 911 Dispatch, told CNN that firefighters had to “cut a hole in the side of the tank to get them out.” A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley, which makes M&M’s, Snickers and other candies, confirmed in a statement Friday to The Washington Post that the workers were taken off-site for evaluation. It is still unclear how the workers got stuck in the tank and how much chocolate was in it at the time.

She’s cracking. Gov. Kathy Hochul sounded off Wednesday about the “outrageous” price of eggs — jokingly telling New Yorkers to make chocolate cake with applesauce instead. The unprompted recipe suggestion came as Hochul, during a news conference in Midtown, slammed President Trump’s tariffs for driving up prices on everything from avocados to children’s toys. “And I’m done talking about the price of eggs — just give up eating them,” she said, drawing laughter. “It’s just outrageous, outrageous.” “You can make a really good chocolate cake with applesauce,” she added. “I digress, it’s also vegan.”

MrBeast is the latest high-profile figure to attack President Trump’s punitive tariffs, which he says will make it “way cheaper” to produce his ethically sourced chocolate brand Feastables overseas. “Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America,” the YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, wrote on X on Tuesday. Donaldson noted it would be cheaper to produce his popular candy abroad because “other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs.” Feastables products are “designed” in Donaldson’s hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, and...

Once used as offerings to the gods and as a form of currency by the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs, cacao beans have taken on a different value in modern society. Today, these beans are the basis of all the chocolate we love so much, but it has taken centuries for chocolate to become the ubiquitous treat we know it as. In the time when the Mayans drank cacao beans in liquid form, they were considered savory, with the beans being ground with maize and mixed with water. Considering chocolate contains many chemical compounds with a distinctly bitter taste, it's not...

The most extensive study on how dietary polyphenol consumption affects the risk of cardiometabolic issues monitored over 6,000 Brazilians for eight years. A study of over 6,000 Brazilians—the largest of its kind—found that a diet rich in polyphenol-rich foods such as grapes, strawberries, açaí, oranges, chocolate, wine, and coffee can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome by up to 23%. The findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition, highlight the protective effects of polyphenols against cardiometabolic disorders. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of metabolic imbalances and hormonal disruptions that significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Polyphenols, known for their...