Dark is best – milk sucks (leaches the antioxidants)
Dark chocolate is one of the richest sources of polyphenols (one of the strongest antioxidants), for example, a standard 40g portion of dark chocolate contains 400-800 mg of polyphenols, compared to red wine (170 mg /100ml) or an apple (200 mg/piece).
Cocoa polyphenols, most notably the catechins, can exist in both lipid (oils or fats) and water-based environments (amphipathic or amphoteric), meaning they can spare both lipophillic and hydrophilic vitamins.
There have been a number of human trials conducted using chocolate or cocoa and measuring various endpoints. Most have been conducted with dark chocolate. An article in Nature found that the bioavailability of epicatechin from milk chocolate was substantially reduced compared to dark, and even dark taken with a glass of milk (Serafini et al 2003). The hypothesis was that the milk proteins bind to polyphenols, making them unavailable.
Moreover, the milk is full of saturated animal fats so it’s bad for you and then gets rid of the goodness in coco. Best is raw coco and next comes dark unsweetened cooking chocolate.
OK – challenge make an apple wine dark chocolate recipe
