Just when you thought it was safe to have a quiet summer conversation. Not anymore, you can now follow JoMart Chocolates on Twitter. That’s right, cancel your subscriptions, disconnect cable and buy a Palm, Blackberry or iPhone. In between comparison shopping, watching re-runs of Grey’s Anatomy, or finding out what Jack Bauer is really up to, you can now follow us on Twitter. Whether it is my latest blog entry, a daily coupon, a new taste or just to let you know what we are cooking.
Go to our website, you can join our newsletter (more coupons) and sign up to follow us on Facebook or Twitter-or get really crazy and follow us on both-WOW, what a deal.
In keeping with the spirit of the day, time to return to cutting marshmallow.
Several years ago-about 15 to be exact-, Stanley,a friend-actually his family owned Fan-Fan, a wonderful Chinese takeout in Fresh Meadows-asked me what I thought about chocolate as a delivery system. Perhaps the msg-the naturally occuring one, not the added on-had muddled my brain, or maybe it was the ride on the LIE, but I have to admit I was at a loss for words.
This took place in the old days, 1994 or so. Those were the days before the establishment of the EU. Chocolate was not referred to by percentage, dark chocolate was known as semi-sweet or bittersweet, and we hadn’t heard of Monica Lewinsky-yet, but I digress.
Once my brain re-engaged I asked Stanley what he meant. He felt that because of chocolate’s wide appeal, it would be great to fill with vitamins or specific healthy additives. I argued that I want people buying and eating chocolate strictly for pleasure. If people are buying chocolate to help improve their memory or their prostate, it would seem more like medicine, OK, really good tasting medicine. I wanted no part of it.
JoMart does have a history with chocolate as a delivery system. In the 1950′s my father-Martin, the Mart of JoMart-entered into a working agreement with Endo, a local drug manufacturer. Each month after my dad washed (with supervision) a 500 lb melter-our current dark 68% dark chocolate- and melted a special dark chocolate-Endo scientists would add aspirin to the chocolate. Once the aspirin and chocolate was properly mixed, my dad would mold tiny tablets. They were little break-up squares consisting of apples. The parent would break off an apple-or 2, and administer the really good medicine to their ” I hate medicine, it tastes yecchy” child. Eureka, eat chocolate, get better.
Apparently the folks as Endo, or maybe a focus group decided that this was a bad idea. Although my dad told this story many times, and I still have the molds!, I never thought much of chocolate has a delivery system. Though there was that time in sleepaway camp and that package of Exlax….
Today, as if by wizardry, my dad’s stories and Stanley’s idea came back to me. If you have watched TV lately, you might have seen the Activia yogurt commercials. Somehow buying yogurt to “keep you regular” AKA-eat yogurt and poop, doesn’t bother me, it seems OK, but chocolate-NEVER!
Clearly I was not asked, but I read today-after I made marshmallow I needed a break- that a probiotic chocolate that has been available in Europe since 2007 is coming to America. According to Wikepedia (the all knowing source of everything) probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, excessive alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases.
The world of food is changing. Medicine seeks to taste like our favorite fruits, chocolate is filled with herbs, spices, nutrients and additives, and everything else tastes like chicken.
Chocolate as a delivery system. That’s like taking an actor and making him president. Oh well, back to work