Cacao has been found to be higher in antioxidant flavanols than either red wine or green tea and most antioxidant fruits and berries.

Antioxidants are phenolic substances in our food which have a protective effect on our bodies. They protect out DNA by scavenging the free radicals that cause damage. Free radicals are the by-products of oxygen use by our cells. Antioxidants remove the free radicals and prevent and repair the damage done by them

The protective effects of antioxidants encompass:

Ever wonder how to make chocolate out of cacao? It's really simple! Here's how.

Ingredients:

1/2 Kilo dried cacao beans
1/4 Kilo sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Procedure:


1. Roasting
Roast the beans. You may do this using a pan or better (and faster) if you can use an oven.The roasting process should be stopped when the beans are "cracking", but before they start to burn.









2. Winnowing
Remove the husk from the roasted beans. Using your hands, crack the cacao bean and then get rid of the husk.









3. Grinding
Grind the winnowed beans along with the sugar. A refiner is recommended but if it is not available, a meat or coffee grinder will do. If you don't have these machines you may go to a local market to do the grinding for you. This will produce a semi-liquid form of the chocolate. Mix the vanilla to the chocolate, if you decide to use any flavoring.










4. Molding
Now it's time to mold the chocolate. Pour the chocolate into molds or in a large rectangular container where you can later cut the chocolate into bars.







There you have it!

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