Chocolate and Romance

Some things just go together naturally and no one can necessarily explain why. One of these popular pairings is chocolate and romance. Chocolate is often associated with love and romance and we only have to think about Valentine’s Day to get some idea of how this sweet treat is used to woo a partner (or potential partner).

I suppose there are some obvious reasons as to why chocolate should be associated with love. The fact that is has traditionally been considered to be an aphrodisiac would probably be a good starting point. Yes, right back to the days of the Mayans and Aztecs, when the nobility consumed chocolate, it was believed to have mystical powers in the bedroom department. This theory has undoubtedly survived due to the scarcity and desirability of chocolate when it was first introduced to Europe. In fact, Europe’s most celebrated lover, Casanova, was purported to tuck away a fair few cups of chocolate during the course of each day. This wasn’t to satisfy any chocoholic tendencies, oh no, it was his belief in the aphrodisiacal powers of this cocoa drink.

These days we’re a little more savvy when it comes to taking the success rate of foods seriously as forms of aphrodisiac. However, there’s a lot to be said for the powers of romance and there aren’t many people who are going to be upset about receiving a huge box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Even if there’s no hope of a romantic get together, a night in front of the tube with a box of chocolates is still sinfully delicious.

Chocolate: A Healthy Treat

Here’s some good news for all you chocoholics – eating chocolate is good for you! Well, hang on a minute; let’s not get too excited just yet. I’m not saying that you can clear all the fruit and vegetables out of your cupboards and fill them with oversized chocolate bars and biscuits. ‘Everything in moderation’ as they say. ‘You can have too much of a good thing’ but ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’. Enough of the sayings and phrases and let’s talk facts.

Cocoa contains an antioxidant called flavanol and it’s this little component that could potentially have health benefits such as lowering blood pressure. As this is contained in the cocoa itself, you should obviously choose a chocolate bar with a high cocoa solid content, specifically dark chocolate. Dark chocolate generally has a much higher cocoa content than milk chocolate and the milk itself will dilute the effects of the flavanols. As white chocolate often doesn’t contain any actual cocoa, this won’t have any effect.

The downside is that as chocolate is high in both fat and calories, it’s difficult to really balance out the benefits compared to the fat intake and there’s a very fine line between the two. The obvious solution is to just have a small amount and that way; you’re getting a sweet treat but not over indulging. If only I could follow my own advice – I find it very difficult to open a bar of chocolate and just limit myself to a couple of squares. It doesn’t tend to last very long I’m afraid but maybe the answer is to just buy a very small bar, really enjoy and then know it’s gone. If there’s opened chocolate hanging around, I can’t be held responsible for my actions.

Fair Trade Cocoa

The cocoa bean market is a pretty volatile one and prices can really fluctuate on a yearly basis. As many cocoa farmers have smallholdings they are completely reliant on the sale of their cocoa beans for their income. This income is pretty low at the best of times so if world cocoa prices take a nosedive they can pretty much lose their livelihood for the year. As the harvest has to sustain the whole family for the year this can be devastating. The aim of Fairtrade is to provide a constant, fair price to cocoa farmers for their beans, enabling them to have a reliable income and to plan for their expenses and their futures.

Although the Fairtrade scheme has existed for over forty years, it has only been on chocolate bar labels since the late 1980s. Despite this, until just a few years ago it was fairly difficult to get hold of Fairtrade products and they were generally only stocked in specialist shops. Nowadays, however, there’s no excuse for not buying, or at least being aware of Fairtrade chocolate. Big manufacturers have begun to take notice of the demand for these products as consumers have become more aware of the conditions that some farmers live in, due to the poor prices paid for the beans. Obviously, it comes down to taste and I’m not suggesting you just buy Fairtrade for ethical reasons. At the end of the day, the chocolate has to taste good, as well. However, I’d recommend giving it a go. It’s fairly obvious from the packaging if a bar of chocolate is Fairtrade.

Chocolate in Alcohol

As we’ve learnt, cocoa is a pretty versatile ingredient. As it’s naturally bitter in flavour it can be adapted for use in all kinds of food and drinks and can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. It can also be turned into an alcoholic drink. Liqueurs often tend to be sweet and many brands tailor to the sweet tooth. They are drunk as a short drink so a sweet, syrupy consistency actually works well, particularly at the end of a meal.

There aren’t many chocolate liqueurs on the market and these are the traditional thick, syrupy drinks. You’ll more commonly see a drink called crème de cacao. This is pretty self explanatory, as it’s made using cocoa flavouring. Despite its chocolately connotations this punchy beverage tends to be almost clear in colour, so if you’re expecting a glass of liquid, alcoholic chocolate, you might be setting yourself up for initial disappointment. However, take a sip and you’ll get a real cocoa hit. There’s also a dark version called, unsurprisingly, dark crème de cacao and this has more of a traditional chocolate brown colour. Seriously, try one of these next time you go out for dinner. If you’re a chocoholic, it really hits the spot. It’s flavoured with vanilla as well (just like chocolate bars) so there’s an extra sweet, perfumed taste.

As well as drinking these as a liqueur, they’re great added to cocktails and work well in drinks like the chocolate Martini or the Grasshopper.

Drinking Chocolate

Hot chocolate, drinking chocolate, a nice cup of cocoa – call it what you will but people have been enjoying the benefits of liquid chocolate for thousands of years. It was the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilisations that first discovered this drink, although, of course, it was rather a bitter concoction back in those days. No sugar to sweeten things up then. In fact, it was far more of a fiery brew than the sedate bedtime drink of today, as they added chillies and peppers to their drinking chocolate. It was probably the modern day equivalent of knocking back a couple of triple espressos.

Hot chocolate is typically made with a cocoa powder base, which is topped up with hot milk or water. However, there are plenty of variations. One of my favourites is the Italian drink that is basically melted chocolate. It’s so thick you practically need a spoon to consume it but it’s absolutely delicious and gives you a real chocolate hit. I remember sitting outside a café in Venice thinking all my Christmases had come at once as I was presented with one of these. I’ve also come across a novel version of hot chocolate that’s basically a mug of piping hot milk with a small chocolate bar placed in the centre. This slowly melts into the milk creating an increasingly chocolately drink. Other versions include flavourings such as vanilla or cinnamon that add a spicy note. So it’s not just a case of spooning some cocoa into a cup and waiting for the kettle to boil – there are all kinds of ways to enjoy chocolate as a drink.