Chocolate University students eat their homework

Facts about chocolate:

* Chocolate is made from the fruit of the cacao tree. Cacao pods contain nibs that are crushed to make unsweetened chocolate.

* The scientific name of the cacao tree, Theobroma, means “food of the gods.”

* When the cacao nibs are crushed, there are fats and solids remaining. The fats are called cocoa butter. The solids are ground into cocoa powder.

* There are 40-50 million people who depend on cocoa for their livelihood.

* Chocolate bars may have “% Cacao” or “% Cocoa” printed on the label. This percentage refers to the total content of the cacao (or cocoa) solids.

* White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids but can be called chocolate by U.S. FDA standards. It must contain cocoa butter.

* More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold every year for Valentine's Day.

* James Baker started America's first chocolate company in Dorchester, Mass., in 1765, based on the advice of John Hannon, a penniless Irish immigrant.

* Organic chocolate is made from ingredients, including the cacao bean, that are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or genetic modifications. In the US, the USDA must inspect a farm before its products can be labeled organic.

* It has been reported that Napoleon carried chocolate with him on his military campaigns, and ate it when he needed quick energy.

* In countries like Ghana and Ivory Coast, people rarely eat chocolate because it is worth more to them as a trade product than as a food.

* Cacao is dried in the sun for about seven days before shipped from the country of origin to the chocolate manufacturer.

* The largest cacao producing countries are Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia.

* Fermentation is an important step in the transformation of cacao beans to chocolate.

* The seed pods of the cacao tree grow directly off the trunk, not on the ends of the branches.

* Each cacao pod is about the size of a pineapple and holds 30 to 50 seeds. It takes between 400-500 seeds to make one pound of chocolate.

Source: www.chocolateuniversityonline.com

“My husband ate my homework.”

There probably aren't too many situations where such an excuse would be acceptable. But Sue Kirk, a recent graduate of Chocolate University Online (CUO), frequently resorted to it.

Kirk also unabashedly admitted to eating plenty of her own homework as well. As a Chocolate University student, she was encouraged to sample her lab lessons.

Sue, a part-time Yuma resident from Kimberly, Wis., and her friend, Karen Jarocki, a music teacher at Yuma Lutheran School, can be considered chocolate experts after completing the CUO course for chocolate lovers.

They can now impress their friends with all sorts of interesting chocolate facts, such as explaining the difference between semisweet and bittersweet chocolate. They can speak in chocolate lingo, exactly understanding what the chocolate ingredient “lecithin” is.

They can explain how the percentage of cocoa affects taste and what “single source” and “organic” chocolate mean. Ever wonder what the difference is between milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate? They can tell you.

And they can also share some historical facts such as that the Indians of the ancient Americas used chocolate, which is one of the oldest foods, as currency. They considered it “food from the gods.”

“You can talk like an expert,” Sue admitted, adding with a chuckle, “if you can remember.”

When Sue does remember, she definitely makes her daughter-in-law proud. Bryn Kirk, who is married to Sue's son, Jeff, is the CUO course facilitator. Bryn recently met with her two Yuma students during a visit from Waukesha, Wis.

“She has a very developed taste. She could take a bite and tell you how much spice there is, how much cocoa it has, which country it comes from,” Sue said.

Bryn is a true chocolate expert, having worked for nearly a decade in research and development at a chocolate company in Milwaukee. She developed formulas for such companies as Pillsbury, Nabisco, Mrs. Fields and Quaker Oats. She also ran taste test panels for new products developed in the laboratory.

She left the chocolate corporate world “to do other things, but my passion for chocolate remained.” Having worked in research and development, “my scientific side was lacking chocolate stimulation.” To satisfy that void, she ran chocolate educational seminars as well as chocolate- and wine-tasting seminars at corporate events and “fun parties” in private homes.

In addition, Bryn taught, and still does from time to time, as an adjunct biology laboratory instructor at Carroll College in Waukesha.

However, “I wanted to share that passion with more people without impacting their schedules,” explained Bryn, a mother of two teenagers.

So Bryn and Jeff, whom she calls the university's “Chancellor of Chocolate,” developed the online lessons, which are also now available in audio and video lessons. They offer two courses: one for chocolate lovers and another for the business professional.

“It doesn't matter whether you're in the food industry, own a candy store, are an aspiring chocolatier, love chocolate in secret, or just want to have fun,” states their website, www.chocolateuniversityonline.com.

CUO has students from coast to coast in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. “We're just waiting for a student in Antarctica to complete the collection of continents,” Bryn joked.

She noted that they are surprised to have students from countries where chocolate historically hasn't been well known, such as the Middle East and India. Students in those places plan to open up chocolate stores, a growing market in their regions.

The school has attracted just as many men as women, who are more traditionally chocolate lovers than men. However, most of the men who have enrolled have done it for business reasons.

“For men it's been more of a business approach. Women usually just want to learn more about it,” Bryn said.

In the U.S., Arizona tops the list of states with the most students. The Kirks believe CUO is the only online school of its kind.

Students can learn at their own pace, receiving a weekly lesson for 40 weeks, or go for “maximum learning” with five lessons a week plus audio lectures and personal coaching. The cost is $19.95 a month. Graduates receive a diploma and certificate of completion.

Although the course includes some basic science, Karen insists that the “course is not so technical that people who aren't scientific can't understand it.”

The course includes plenty of lab lessons allowing students to make, taste and use chocolate. A lab lesson might call for dipping pretzels or dried pineapple in chocolate dip and evaluating the experiment. This is where students are encouraged to eat their homework. And they usually don't have trouble recruiting volunteers to help them.

The recipes were Karen's favorite part. Bryn explained that recipes are a bonus at the end of each lesson, not the focus. But the recipes have proved so popular, she is compiling them into a book.

Sue said her favorite part was getting to taste different chocolate treats. One lesson required completing a chocolate comparison sheet similar to a sports playoff bracket.

“I learned there is a difference in chocolate brands and flavors. Now I know what's good. My taste has come a long way.”

For more information on Chocolate University Online, go to www.ChocolateUniversityOnline.com.

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856.

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Optional homework

assignment

Chocolate Krazy Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups water

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together in a 9x13” cake pan. Stir until well blended.

Using a spoon, or even your fist, make 3 indentations in the mix. Put the oil in one “well,” the vinegar in another and the vanilla in the third. Pour water over everything. Mix everything together with a fork. Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes.

Chocolate Truffle Frosting

Ingredients:

1/3 cup whipping cream

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter, unsalted (allow to soften, but not to room temperature)

Directions:

Pour whipping cream into a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Stir quickly until chocolate is completely melted, continue to mix until smooth. Pour mixture in a separate bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Using an electric mixer whip on high for about 3 minutes. The mixture should thicken and lighten in color.

Put butter in a large bowl. Beat until smooth. Add 1/3 of the chocolate mixture, beating continually. Add another 1/3, continue beating. Add the final 1/3. Beat until smooth.

Source: Recipe taken from Chocolate University Online Lesson No. 39.