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Drop the guilt, and drink some chocolate
Drinking chocolate is one of Spain’s gastronomic gems.
The indulgent drink is more like pudding than what Americans consider hot chocolate and is widely consumed in Spain, often at breakfast with pastries or churros, or fried sticks of dough similar to doughnuts.
At 5 grams of fat and 200 calories per 3/4 cup, the drink has half the fat of a chocolate bar and about the same number of calories. You also can serve it on top of ice cream or as a fondue dip with fruit, graham crackers or marshmallows. Available at Cost Plus World Market (13.52 ounces for $3.99, 30 ounces for $10.00) or online.
I hold Valor near and dear to my heart because when I lived in Spain, I got to visit their Willy Wonka-esque factory in Villajoyosa, which isn’t far from my adopted hometown of Alicante. Valor Chocolates have been around since 1881, and the company has a museum of chocolate right next to its production facility, which smells exactly like you’d think a chocolate factory smells. (I remember not needing to try any of the free chocolate “bonbons” because the sweet smell of sugar and cocoa was enough to satiate my craving.)
Fact: For centuries, the only way you could consume chocolate was by drinking it. The Mayans first explored the uses of cacao, and it wasn’t until the 1800s that Europeans figured out how to solidify liquid chocolate, thus making the first chocolate bar.
There are several other drinking chocolates around, but this was the first I tried that gave me flashbacks to the kind of chocolate that madrileños have become famous for drinking in the wee hours of the morning after a long night out eating, drinking and dancing.
Now if only I could find some authentic churros…
Photos from Ensee on Flickr and Valor.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment Categories: Desserts
Comments
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By omglawdork
November 16, 2009 2:15 PM | Link to this
Thank you so much for posting this information! I studied in Sevilla for a semester, and remember that drinking chocolate (and those churros!) very fondly. I’m happy to see that I can have a little taste of Espana from my World Market. :)
By Jodi
November 16, 2009 3:31 PM | Link to this
mmmm…churros con chocolate son delicioso!
By Optimista
November 16, 2009 8:59 PM | Link to this
Mmmm…that looks so decadent! I am going to have to add some Taza to Go to my already burgeoning stock of drinkable chocolate stuff.
By Emily
November 20, 2009 8:22 PM | Link to this
This looks amazing and perfect for the chilly ;) weather we are having here in Austin. Thanks for sharing!