Introducing Culinary Bits, a new column featuring tips from our own FVTC Chef Instructors. For February, Chef Julia Steinhiser shares her passion for chocolate.

For some, there is therapy. For the rest of us, there’s chocolate!

Chocolate has always been a passion of mine. From eating it, to decorating and creating with it, the versatility of chocolate as an ingredient in both sweet and savory applications and for display is almost endless. It should come as no surprise that February is National Chocolate Lovers Month, but for the true chocoholic it should be celebrated year round.

If you buy quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, then it is actually quite nutritious. It contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals. A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocoa contains: 11 grams of fiber, 67% of the RDA for iron, 58% of the RDA for magnesium, 89% of the RDA for copper, and 98% of the RDA for manganese. It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.

Of course there should be moderation as with everything we consume, but perhaps the saying could be changed to a chocolate bar a day could keep the doctor away?

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