El chocolate : un proyecto de investigación muy dulce.

El quinto curso de un colegio toledano repasa los contenidos más importantes o los que más ha costado aprender, a partir de un tema que sirva de eje globalizador: el chocolate. La investigación se lleva a cabo a partir de los siguientes aspectos: origen del chocolate, significado, historia, países en los que se cultiva, propiedades nutricionales, ventajas e inconvenientes, conclusiones y recetas. Aparte de repasar algunos contenidos importantes de Lengua y Matemáticas, el proyecto pretende desarrollar hábitos alimenticios más saludables y actitudes críticas; motivar al alumnado mediante una metodología participativa; promover diferentes técnicas de investigación y desarrollar capacidades y habilidades en los alumnos.

La casita de chocolate

Adaptaci??n de un cuento popular para ser utilizado principalmente por ni??os sordos. Sirve como elemento motivador y complementario a la comunicaci??n de aquellos ni??os deficientes mot??ricos que por su dificultad para emitir lenguaje oral necesitan apoyar su comunicaci??n con m??todos aumentativos-alternativos. Como sistema alternativo se eligi?? el sistema SPC (Sistema de S??mbolos Pictogr??ficos para la Comunicaci??n) de signos pictogr??ficos pues representan de forma clara la realidad, siendo m??s comprensible el texto.

El misterio del chocolate en la nevera : propuesta didáctica para Educación Primaria.

Resumen basado en el texto

Moonligth, seas, and chocolate trees.

Esta antología ofrece una extensa selección de obras de muy diferentes géneros, que abarcan la ficción,la poesía, y no ficción. La selección de autores es igualmente amplia, de los poetas clásicos y autores modernos a los favorito de los niños, y de Shakespeare a los periodistas de hoy. Cada volumen de la antología corresponde a un solo año del ciclo superior de la escuela primaria. Para niños entre siete y once años.

The last chocolate biscuit.

Maurice se sube en la silla para alcanzar la última galleta de chocolate que queda en el plato, pero su madre le advierte que primero ha de ofrecerla a los demás. Y Maurice hace exactamente lo que se le dice y la ofrece absolutamente a todos. Incluso, a un monstruo del espacio.

La alegría de compartir el chocolate en el aula : un proyecto de investigación.

Se dejan de lado los libros de texto para desarrollar un proyecto de aprendizaje basado en la degustación de chocolate, como modo de motivar a los alumnos. Se tratan aspectos como la lectura de etiquetado, la comparación de composiciones del producto entre diferentes marcas, el concepto de marca blanca, el análisis de ingredientes, los sabores y las recetas, entre otros. También se realizan actividades matemáticas en torno al chocolate. Las conclusiones muestran que los alumnos se sienten motivados con la actividad y tienen la percepción de haber aprendido y haberse esforzado más que en otros temas.

Charlie y la fábrica de chocolate.

Mención Honorífica en los Premios Nacionales 2002 a la Innovación Educativa. Incluye: una guía didáctica realizada para mejor aprovechamiento de la obra, un guión teatral adaptado directamente del libro de lectura, un resumen de la experiencia, un vídeo, un CD-ROM con la música de la obra y otro con los efectos especiales.

El bolo espa??ol

Realizar un estudio sobre la historia y evoluci??n de los bolos en Espa??a. Estudiar sus modalidades. Documentos existentes en la Federaci??n Espa??ola de Bolos. Estudio sobre el deporte de los bolos a trav??s del an??lisis de los documentos existentes, centr??ndose en los beneficios que este deporte trae al individuo (no discriminatorio, beneficioso para la salud) y del estudio kinesiol??gico del lanzamiento. Es un deporte, no discriminatorio, que tiene en cada regi??n sus peculiaridades y en el que distinguimos el lanzamiento como parte esencial. El lanzamiento es un todo, pero a la vez distinguimos cinco fases: de concentraci??n, de iniciaci??n, central, de ataque y de precisi??n..

Café y chocolate, ¿dulce o amargo?

Título del encuentro: 'Léxico en el aula de ELE', organizado por el Instituto Cervantes de Nápoles

Vacuum-induced bubble formation in liquid-tempered chocolate

Bubble inclusion is one of the fastest growing operations practiced in the food industry. A variety of aerated foods is currently available in supermarkets, and newer products are emerging all the time. This paper aims to combine knowledge on chocolate aeration with studies performed on bubble formation and dispersion characteristics. More specifically, we have investigated bubble formation induced by applying vacuum. Experimental methods to determine gas hold-up (volume fraction of air), bubble section distributions along specific planes, and chocolate rheological properties are presented. This study concludes that decreasing pressures elevate gas hold-up values due to an increase in the number of bubble nuclei being formed and release of a greater volume of dissolved gases. Furthermore, bubbles are observed to be larger at lower pressures for a set amount of gas because the internal pressure needs to be in equilibrium with the surrounding pressures. Temperature-induced changes to the properties of the chocolate have less of an effect on bubble formation. On the other hand, when different fats and emulsifiers are added to a standard chocolate recipe, milk fat was found to increase, significantly, the gas hold-up values and the mean bubble-section diameters. It is hypothesized that this behavior is related to the way milk fats, which contain different fatty acids to cocoa butter, crystallize and influence the setting properties of the final product. It is highlighted that apparent viscosity values at low shear rate, as well as setting behavior, play an important role in terms of bubble formation and entrainment.

Bubble-included chocolate: relating structure with sensory response

Bubbles impart a very unique texture, chew, and mouth feel to foods. However, little is known about the relationship between structure of such products and consumer response in terms of mouth-feel and eating experience. The objective of this article is to investigate the sensory properties of 4 types of bubble-containing chocolates, produced by using different gases: carbon dioxide, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, and argon. The structure of these chocolates were characterized in terms of (1) gas hold-up values determined by density measurements and (2) bubble size distribution which was measured by undertaking an image analysis of X-ray microtomograph sections. Bubble size distributions were obtained by measuring bubble volumes after reconstructing 3D images from the tomographic sections. A sensory study was undertaken by a nonexpert panel of 20 panelists and their responses were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis (QDA). The results show that chocolates made from the 4 gases could be divided into 2 groups on the basis of bubble volume and gas hold-up: the samples produced using carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide had a distinctly higher gas hold-up containing larger bubbles in comparison with those produced using argon and nitrogen. The sensory study also demonstrated that chocolates made with the latter were perceived to be harder, less aerated, slow to melt in the mouth, and having overall flavor intensity. These products were further found to be creamier than the chocolates made by using carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide; the latter sample also showed a higher intensity of cocoa flavor.

Methylxanthines are the psycho-pharmacologically active constituents of chocolate

Rationale: Liking, cravings and addiction for chocolate ("chocoholism") are often explained through the presence of pharmacologically active compounds. However, mere "presence" does not guarantee psycho-activity. Objectives: Two double-blind, placebo-controlled studies measured the effects on cognitive performance and mood of the amounts of cocoa powder and methylxanthines found in a 50 g bar of dark chocolate. Methods: In study 1, participants (n=20) completed a test battery once before and twice after treatment administration. Treatments included 11.6 g cocoa powder and a caffeine and theobromine combination (19 and 250 mg, respectively). Study 2 (n=22) comprised three post-treatment test batteries and investigated the effects of "milk" and "dark" chocolate levels of these methylxanthines. The test battery consisted of a long duration simple reaction time task, a rapid visual information processing task, and a mood questionnaire. Results: Identical improvements on the mood construct "energetic arousal" and cognitive function were found for cocoa powder and the caffeine+theobromine combination versus placebo. In chocolate, both "milk chocolate" and "dark chocolate" methylxanthine doses improved cognitive function compared with "white chocolate". The effects of white chocolate did not differ significantly from those of water. Conclusion: A normal portion of chocolate exhibits psychopharmacological activity. The identical profile of effects exerted by cocoa powder and its methylxanthine constituents shows this activity to be confined to the combination of caffeine and theobromine. Methylxanthines may contribute to the popularity of chocolate; however, other attributes are probably much more important in determining chocolate's special appeal and in explaining related self-reports of chocolate cravings and "chocoholism".

Enhanced affective brain representations of chocolate in cravers vs. non-cravers

To examine the neural circuitry involved in food craving, in making food particularly appetitive and thus in driving wanting and eating, we used fMRI to measure the response to the flavour of chocolate, the sight of chocolate and their combination in cravers vs. non-cravers. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analyses showed that the sight of chocolate produced more activation in chocolate cravers than non-cravers in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum. For cravers vs. non-cravers, a combination of a picture of chocolate with chocolate in the mouth produced a greater effect than the sum of the components (i.e. supralinearity) in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and pregenual cingulate cortex. Furthermore, the pleasantness ratings of the chocolate and chocolate-related stimuli had higher positive correlations with the fMRI blood oxygenation level-dependent signals in the pregenual cingulate cortex and medial orbitofrontal cortex in the cravers than in the non-cravers. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that there are differences between cravers and non-cravers in their responses to the sensory components of a craved food in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum and pregenual cingulate cortex, and that in some of these regions the differences are related to the subjective pleasantness of the craved foods. Understanding individual differences in brain responses to very pleasant foods helps in the understanding of the mechanisms that drive the liking for specific foods and thus intake of those foods.

Pre-Columbian ring ditch construction and land use on a “chocolate forest island” in the Bolivian Amazon

We present a palaeoecological investigation of pre-Columbian land use in the savannah “forest island” landscape of north-east Bolivian Amazonia. A 5700 year sediment core from La Luna Lake, located adjacent to the La Luna forest island site, was analysed for fossil pollen and charcoal. We aimed to determine the palaeoenvironmental context of pre-Columbian occupation on the site and assess the environmental impact of land use in the forest island region. Evidence for anthropogenic burning and Zea mays L. cultivation began ~2000 cal a BP, at a time when the island was covered by savannah, under drier-than-present climatic conditions. After ~1240 cal a BP burning declined and afforestation occurred. We show that construction of the ring ditch, which encircles the island, did not involve substantial deforestation. Previous estimates of pre-Columbian population size in this region, based upon labour required for forest clearance, should therefore be reconsidered. Despite the high density of economically useful plants, such as Theobroma cacao, in the modern forest, no direct pollen evidence for agroforestry was found. However, human occupation is shown to pre-date and span forest expansion on this site, suggesting that here, and in the wider forest island region, there is no truly pre-anthropogenic ‘pristine’ forest.