Kakawa Cocoa Beans

Chocolate-covered magic.

What's the Difference Between Bittersweet and Semisweet Chocolate?

They’re just labels. (By Jason Horn)

Sweet Salvation

Count on these mail-order chocolates for last-minute holiday gifts. (By Roxanne Webber)

If It Ain't Dark, It Ain't Chocolate

The gourmet chocolate trend has spawned dark-chocolate snobs. (By Lessley Anderson and James Norton)

That Coffee's Rotten

And other fermentation facts. (By Lessley Anderson)

The Spice That Binds

A vanilla primer. (By Christy Harrison)

The Minimalist's Dessert

Cookbook author and confectioner Alice Medrich talks about her love of simple, artisanal sweets. (By Jessica Su)

Holiday Central

Recipes, menus, gifts, and entertaining tips for all your celebratory needs.

The Year in Food 2008

What we ate, what the candidates ate, what the Olympians ate.

Cocoa nibs are the very essence of chocolate. They’re shelled, roasted cocoa beans that have been ground into little bits. You can use them in baking where you’d use nuts, to add a bit of cocoa-intense crunchiness.... (By C. Thi Nguyen)

Is Expensive Chocolate Better?

Why some confections cost more than others. (By Joyce Slaton)

You don’t need to shell out for five-star brands. (By Sarah Perry)

Really good chocolate wrapped up in rather silly marketing. (By Davina Baum)

Preground coffee is full of roaches, says one entomologist. (By Joyce Slaton)

Well, we live in a world that conspicuously consumes a $5,000 burger and a $10,000 martini, so why not a $1,000 ice cream sundae? (By Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic)