A cure for a bad day

It is a comfort when we have had a difficult day, are stressed, ill, anxious, or have romantic or other problems. Chocolate is a remedy for everything.

Chocolate with propolis

Chocolate with propolis is something very special, though.

It combines the positive effects of two ingredients: cocoa and propolis.

Cocoa protects the nervous system, lowers resistance to insulin, decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes and certain cancers, while propolis has a positive effect on the human (and animal) organism and is a natural antibiotic. Propolis is a substance that is active against more than one hundred species of bacteria, fungi and viruses.

In apitherapy, chocolate with propolisis considereda very useful product that provides energy and disinfection, and is used locally both as a preventative and as a food supplement in the treatment of ulcers and digestive problems, acute and chronic respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, inflammations of the ureter, and prostate problems.

As noted above, it also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes and some cancers, lowers blood pressure, slows the ageing process and improves one’s mood.

Recipe for Chocolate with Propolis (for 1000 g):

Ingredients

300 gbutter (cocoa, coconut, vegetable, animal – or a combination of two or more thereof)

320 gcocoa powder (or in combination with cocoa paste or dark or milk chocolate)

200 gcaster sugar (or honey – flower or other – or a combination of sugar and honey)

120 gmilk powder (almond, rice or coconut milk or powder is recommended)

20 gpropolis (soft propolis, but use propolis powder when making chocolate for children)

10 glecithin

20 gpollen (finely ground) for dusting

You’ll need a stove, a laser thermometer, a pan, a spoon, and silicon moulds for chocolate.

Preparation (about 30 minutes)

Place the cocoa and coconut butter in a pan and heat to 60°C and stir until melted. You may add soft propolis – previously heated to 60°C.

Mix all the powdery ingredients (cocoa, lecithin, propolis, sugar, milk powder, pollen) in a pan at room temperature.

Heat them to 31°C and stir until completely smooth (if your lecithin is liquid, add it now) and continue to stir for at least 5 minutes.

When the mass is to your taste and smooth and dense but still flowing, pour it into the silicon moulds and dust with pollen.

Allow the chocolate to cool for several hours until it hardens.

A cure that puts a smile on your face

A healthy daily dose of this chocolate is 50 gfor adults and 25 gfor children. This is not a type of chocolate one finds in a corner store; it is a medicine, so the dosage must be measuredwith the utmost care and any allergies taken into consideration.

Apiterapevtski nasveti (Apitherapy Advices), a book by Vlado Pušnik, is a good source for tips, recipes, recommendations and guidance. We recommend you read it,and encourage you to learn how to make chocolate with propolis. It’s the ultimate comfort food, and is a guilt-free indulgence.

 Adapted from:  ApitherapyAdvice (Slo: Apiterapevtskinasveti), Vlado Pušnik, Maribor Beekeeper’s Association (Čebelarska zveza društev Maribor), 2020.