The debate of chocolate versus vanilla won’t tear friends and families apart, but we are certain that it will raise the passion of dessert enthusiasts. Though some other flavors abound, for instance, strawberry or butter pecan, chocolate, and vanilla have taken the center stage and have become the most popular flavors. Whether it is in cake, ice cream, or cookies, vanilla, and chocolate have taken the better space of flavors. Some may argue that one is the clear winner. Like in my own family, Kim and Onyi won’t trade chocolate for any known flavor. My wife and Michelle go for vanilla. Me and my last born, Ebube {7-month-old baby), answer all questions. In other words, we are a jack of all trades in flavor.
Before we take any side, it is important that we look into what chocolates and Vanillas are and what are the health benefits of these flavors. We love them both, but let us look at the reasons why some people might prefer one over the other.
What is Chocolate?
Chocolate is simply a bean. On its own, without any added sugar or milk, it boasts many of the same health benefits as beans. Like other beans, cocoa, has protein, a lot of fiber, and a little calcium. A bar of dark chocolate contains nearly all of your daily copper and manganese and more than half of your daily iron and magnesium. It will be appropriate to say that Chocolate has it all.
There are four basic types of chocolate for baking:
- Dark Chocolate: Chocolate that contains chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and lecithin. There are no milk solids added to dark chocolate.
- Milk Chocolate: Milk Chocolate is Creamy and sweet. It contains a minimum of 10 percent chocolate liquor and 12 percent milk, which gives it its name, and it’s soft and could melt easily.
- Unsweetened Chocolate: It is the base of all types of chocolate. Chocolate liquor is 100% cocoa, with no added ingredients.
- White Chocolate: As the name suggests, it’s white or creamy in color. It is made by combining sugar, cocoa butter, milk, vanilla, and lecithin. These ingredients give white chocolate its sweet vanilla aroma.
Chocolate benefits
Physically, chocolate’s high levels of magnesium can help relieve menstrual cr
- Chocolate has a high level of magnesium that can help relieve menstrual cramps, which is one reason why women love chocolate so much. Cacao, the bean that gives out chocolate, contains the richest source of cancer-fighting antioxidants found in food, and it’s full of many important vitamins and minerals as well.
- Chocolate is amazing and is far more versatile than vanilla. Chocolate can be used in more forms than vanilla, such as liquids, condiments, and paste.
- Chocolate is cheaper than vanilla. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world, after saffron. Saffron is so expensive because it is an extremely labor-intensive crop.
- Chocolate stimulates the brain’s opioid production. Opioids are chemicals responsible for reducing pain sensations, enhancing pleasurable ones, and creating a sense of overall well-being. Those are the same feelings we get when we fall in love.
- Some experts have suggested that dark chocolate may help lower the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation and insulin resistance, and improve overall health.
If you are a chocolate lover, then check out my Chocolate cake recipe!
What Is Vanilla?
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla. Vanilla is a fruit that is hard to cultivate and even harder to pollinate as certain birds that aid in pollination isn’t available everywhere. The pollination is usually done manually by hand! Therefore it is labor-intensive and tends to make it scarce and expensive.
Vanilla packs a lot of flavor into its small fruit. One vanilla bean pod is enough to lend its sweet and delicate flavor to an entire pint of ice cream.
We have two types of Vanilla: Vanilla extract (pure) and Vanilla essence.
Vanilla extract also called Pure Vanilla is made primarily from vanilla beans soaked in alcohol and water, so it tends to have a stronger vanilla flavor. Vanilla essence also known as artificial or imitation vanilla is a more processed product that is made using artificial flavors and colors. Like vanilla extract, vanilla essence gets its flavor from vanillin but is synthesized in a laboratory.
And for my vanilla fans, please check out my Vanilla moist and fluffy cake recipe!
Vanilla benefits
Like Chocolate, Vanilla contains compounds that have antioxidants. This health benefit helps to protect against cell damage. The most significant benefit of vanilla comes from the way it’s used to replace ingredients that won’t do much for your body.
Vanilla beans are an excellent substitute for sugar. They provide natural sweetness and a rich, satisfying flavor that can easily be used to replace sugar in your coffee or tea. A little drop of vanilla bean can do much to your dessert. A single drop of pure vanilla extract is more than potent enough.
Vanilla is one of the most versatile sweet flavors in the world. It is often used in many prepared baked goods and foods alike.
Vanilla has a nice sweet flavor that makes it stand different from other food. Smell and taste are closely related senses, and vanilla is used as an aromatherapy aromatic. Many people find that the fragrance and flavor of vanilla induce a calming effect.
Chocolate and vanilla are often used for the same purposes. They flavor lattes, ice cream, cakes, frosting, cookies, brownies and blondies, and so much more. The difference is in how they do what they do. Vanilla will impart flavor. Chocolate seems to do a little more than flavor.
Whichever one you choose can point towards characteristics of your personality.
According to some studies by experts, if your favourite flavor is vanilla you are likely to be impulsive, expressive, and daring. If your favorite is chocolate, you are more likely to be dramatic, lively and seductive. They say vanilla is synonymous with “boring,” while chocolate evokes feelings of passion and pleasure. If you describe a person or thing as vanilla, what it means is that they are ordinary, with no special or extra features.
The only problem is that chocolate is seldom used by itself. It does not stand on its own primarily because it is bitter on its own. It’s almost always used in conjunction with milk and sugar to turn it into a more dessert food. It’s typically used as more of a flavoring than a main event. This is especially true in the case of milk chocolate or candy bars. It’s easy to think that chocolate is always up to no good, but it isn’t the chocolate that’s the problem. It’s what people do with it.
Vanilla is also perfect for people who want something without overwhelming flavors. Plus, vanilla ice cream is very easy to mix with toppings without being too rich.
If you want real chocolate, choose a variety that contains 60% or more cacao. Dark chocolate and bittersweet chocolate are good examples of chocolate with deep cacao. Their lower sugar content and limited use of added ingredients keeps them as close to the real thing as possible. You’ll get the flavor and the benefits of chocolate without all the stuff your body doesn’t need.
