You know when you buy chocolate bars and they have that disgusting white film covering them? You might have chalked it up to a poor quality of chocolate, but the fact is improper storage is the more likely culprit. Chocolate is an extremely delicate substance. If you want it to last as long as possible -- and still taste great when you get to it -- you have to store it properly.

While we like to think that chocolate works for just about any dish, there are some that seem rather unlikely -- and chocolate pasta is one of them. Now, this category can include pasta that is itself cocoa-flavored, or regular semolina pasta with chocolate sauce. In this article, we're going with the former.

A little extreme? Maybe. But then again, chocolate beet cake seemed a little out there, and so did chocolate sauerkraut cake -- and we've provided recipes for both. So why should we hesitate with chocolate-flavored pasta? Hmmm? Set your course for adventure, then, and follow along!

The origins of chocolate mousse are relatively unknown. After being introduced to chocolate by the Spanish, French chefs have been cooking with chocolate since the early 17th century. Mousse, which means "foam", originated in France in the 18th century. It was only a matter of time until cooking with chocolate and making dishes with foamy textures came together for "mousse au chocolat."

While I was driving yesterday, I heard a radio commercial for chocolate jewelry that got my stomach growling. Just the mention of chocolate is enough to get me thinking about it for hours. But, unfortunately, the chocolate being advertised was not edible. It seems that food-like descriptions have made their way to the world of jewelry. As if diamonds weren't already enough to make you drool, there are now chocolate diamonds, as well as chocolate gold and chocolate pearls.

In Part I of this article, we introduced you to the most widely-recognized types of cacao beans: Criollo, the bean that flavored the original Aztec xocolatl, and Forastero, which provides most of the chocolate we imbibe today. Both types are currently grown just about anywhere that can support the Theobroma cacao tree.

Taken together, Criollo and Forastero account for 81% of the chocolate on the world market. But what about that other 19%? Well, that's what Part II of this article's all about. Here's where we tell you about the other two members of the family, Trinitario and Nacional.

It's tempting to think of chocolate syrup as little more than liquefied chocolate, but even a casual acquaintance with the stuff will reveal that it isn't, really. Sure, it's similar, and it may contain some cocoa; but so do Ovaltine and Yoo-hoo, and no ever accused them of being chocolate (not really, anyhow).

While any well-educated choco-extremo is quite aware that solid chocolate as we know it wasn't invented until the 19th century, the real, pure liquid version isn't nearly as fluid or as sweet as the syrup, and the texture's not quite the same. So what's the dealio? Read on, and learn the syrup's sweet secrets.

When I write about chocolate, I want to eat it. I think it's just human nature. So as I was sitting down to write this article, I had a few pieces of chocolate and a small carton of chocolate milk on the desk beside me.

Suddenly, out of nowhere came an eight pound rabbit, her smaller sibling right behind her. They landed on the keyboard and began running amok on the desk. By the time I realized what had happened, the big bunny had gobbled down two Hershey's Kisses and the little bunny had actually picked up the carton of milk, jumped off the desk, run across the room -- without spilling any -- and was licking it up out of the spout.

So I started thinking: is chocolate dangerous for bunnies? Did I just kill my rabbit? Or is that a phenomenon limited to dogs?

Since there's only one species of Theobroma cacao, the tropical tree that produces chocolate, you might think it unlikely that different types of cacao beans should even exist. Well, think again. Over the years, cacao experts have defined three different varieties. Or four. Or maybe two. It depends on the expert.

Before crying foul, recall that the Chihuahua and the St. Bernard, and all the hundreds of breeds between, all belong to the same species of domestic dog; and the humblest banana pepper is brother to the hottest habanero. With that in mind, let's take a look at variation within the aptly-named "food of the gods."

In Part I of our discussion of the near-chocolate phenomenon, we waxed eloquent on items like white chocolate and Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. These are more half-chocolates than anything else, containing cocoa butter and cocoa powder, respectfully -- mere ingredients of true chocolate.

There are other chocolate substitutes that have no chocolate ingredients in them at all, yet somehow hath charms to sooth the savage X-choc breast (at least occasionally). Consider, if you will, cupulate and carob, both of which have recently begun taking up the chocolate slack.

At first glance, an article about near-chocolate -- that is, things close to but not quite chocolate, as strictly defined -- might not seem to fit our site's extreme theme. But consider, Dear Readers, you can apply the term "extreme" in two different directions: either too much, or too little, hmm?

Hence, we have the not-quite-chocolate items like carob, Yoohoo soft drinks, white chocolate, and the like. While they may not be chocolate exactly, they can help ease our chocolate cravings. Some we've talked about in these pages before; some, however, are entirely new to X-Choc. Imbibe, if you will.