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Valentine's Day and Chocolate

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By Chuck


Chocolate and Love

Just as the crocus pushing its way up through the melting snow heralds the start of the transition from winter to Spring, the emergence of chocolate hearts wrapped in bright red foil and small, heart shaped boxes of chocolate candy on store shelves announces the end of the Christmas season and beginning of Valentine's Day preparations.

Valentine's Day is a celebration of romance and chocolate candy is both an everyday pleasure and a token of love. Sales of chocolate candy soar on Valentine's Day as men buy it as a gift to express their love to their wives and girlfriends. Not that chocolate candy is sold only on Valentine's Day. It is popular treat year round as well as a popular gift on other days such as Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day.


Women Have an Affinity for Chocolate

But the demographics of chocolate candy sales change drastically in the days leading up to Valentine's Day. According to some industry statistics, women purchase about 75% of the chocolate candy sold each year. However, about 75% of chocolate candy purchases in the days before Valentine's Day are made by men buying it for women. While men are major chocolate candy purchasers for only a few days out of the year the dollar value of these purchases come to about $1 billion nationwide. This is in addition to their Valentine's Day purchases of flowers and jewelry for the ladies in their lives.

While chocolate, including chocolate candy, is liked by most people, women tend to have a somewhat greater affinity for it than men. While not an aphrodisiac, consuming chocolate does produce a pleasant sensation and men have long known that in dealing with women gifts of chocolate are always a safe bet. Chocolate is given as a token of a man's love or as a peace offering when he as done something to anger his love. It is also an excellent hostess gift that can be picked up on the way to a dinner party.

But chocolate, while it has a long history as a food, is a relative newcomer in the field of courtship and romance. 


Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortes - Along with Gold and Silver, he found Chocolate in Mexico.
Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortes - Along with Gold and Silver, he found Chocolate in Mexico.
Cocoa Pods - Cocoa is grown in Central America and Africa and begins life in pods on a Cocoa tree.
Cocoa Pods - Cocoa is grown in Central America and Africa and begins life in pods on a Cocoa tree.

A Short History of Chocolate

In addition to the gold and silver of the Aztecs and Incas, Spanish explorers in the New World also discovered a number of new foods – potatoes which became a staple of the peasantry in many parts of the Old World. Tomatoes which became a staple of Spanish and Italian cooking (and later American when Italian immigrants brought tomatoes with them to the U.S.) and corn. For seasoning and flavoring there were vanilla and chili peppers. Then there was cacao or cocoa from which chocolate is derived.

Archaeological records indicate that the Mayans of Central America were consuming cocoa as far back as 600 B.C. or earlier. When Cortés conquered the Aztecs he was introduced to cocoa by the Emperor. But the cocoa consumed by the Mayans and later the Aztecs was not like our modern chocolate. Cocoa itself is bitter tasting and the Mayans and Aztecs consumed it as a drink in which dried cocoa was mixed with water and possibly some chili peppers.

When cocoa reached Spain, the Spanish began experimenting by mixing cocoa with sugar and vanilla to make a sweeter drink. The result was a hot chocolate type of drink which soon became popular among the upper classes, who were the only ones who could afford it, in Europe. In addition to hot chocolate, cocoa was also added bread and other baked goods to add flavor. By the first half of the eighteenth century cocoa production had increased and the price had fallen to the point where it became affordable to the general population of Europe and the European colonies in the New World.

In 1828 Conrad van Houton of Holland invented a process to make a refined cocoa powder which increased the output of the usable powder from a given crop of cocoa beans thereby further lowering the price of chocolate. People also began mixing cocoa with warm milk which became known as hot coca while the traditional mixture of cocoa and hot water continued to be known as hot chocolate. Another big advance came in 1876 when a Swiss chocolate seller, Daniel Peter, invented a process for making candy out of milk chocolate. A little Swiss company named Nestlé picked up the idea and to become the global chocolate producer we know today. In 1913 Jules Sechaud, a chocolate maker in Switzerland, created the first chocolate candy with cream and other fillings – and the modern soft centered chocolate candies were born.

With this, chocolate candies joined the ranks of flowers and jewelry in men's courtship arsenal.


Chocolate in the News

  • Chocolate lab declared potentially dangerousGrand Island Independent6 hours ago

    A chocolate lab adopted from the Central Nebraska Humane Society in Grand Island has been declared potentially dangerous by the society's animal control division.

  • Study Shows Flavanol Antioxidant Content Of US Chocolate And Cocoa-Containing ProductsMedical News Today25 hours ago

    A recent study confirms that the antioxidants and other plant-based nutrients in chocolate and cocoa products are highly associated with the amount of non-fat cocoa-derived ingredients in the product. The study expands on previously published results.

  • Tickets still available for Night of ChocolateClay County Democrat29 hours ago

    Tickets will be available through Sunday, Nov. 29, for the Clay County Arts Council's annual Night of Chocolate, set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Rector Community Center.

  • Stressed? Dark chocolate might help, scientists sayPeople's Daily35 hours ago

    A small bar of dark chocolate a day can keep stress at bay, according to a small study by international researchers. German and Swiss researchers have found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced the levels of stress hormones in highly stressed people. Dark chocolate, which is rich in a variety of bioactive compounds, also partially corrected other ...

  • The New Community Church of Strongsville will pass out free hot chocolate on FridaySun Star Courier35 hours ago

    The New Community Church of Strongsville will be passing out free hot chocolate to the community on Friday.

  • Hot Chocolate Run turning into hot stuffThe Republican2 days ago

    Like a growing family, the Mayor Higgins’ Hot Chocolate Run has grown to be so big it needs a bigger home – again. The Hot Chocolate Run, which has quickly become one of the region’s top races, has moved this year’s race to Old South Street in Northampton, which is at the bottom of Craft Avenue.

  • Red Cross chocolate-covered cherries now on saleThe Oneida Daily Dispatch2 days ago

    ONEIDA — The elves are busy making chocolate-covered cherries at the Madison-Oneida Chapter of the American Red Cross.

  • LG BL40 Chocolate Christmas EditionCoated2 days ago

    LG announced that the new LG BL40 Chocolate Christmas Edition will be released in Korea on December 10th. The Chocolate phone is a special edition of the currently available BL40. Being chocolate, it does have some decadence including a black colored case with gold accents and an 8 megapixel digital camera with auto [...]

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jimmythejock profile image

jimmythejock  says:
3 years ago

Chuck you auld romantic ,great hub as always.....jimmy

31 oukubye  says:
3 years ago

You have a lot of articals and I think there GREAT

Idonthaveaname  says:
2 years ago

chocolate makes people fat.

Chuck profile image

Chuck  says:
2 years ago

Idonthaveaname - thank you for visiting my HubPages and for your comment. However, technically it is not the chocolate, but the sugar and oils added to it to make candy and other deserts, that make you fact. And, as my old family doctor from my childhood always said, feel free to eat what you want but just practice moderation. So, chocolate flavored sweets will only make one fat if they over indulge.

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Bob  says:
3 years ago

Another good article. Your knowlege of interesting facts is very good and your article are educating and entertaining.

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