Aphrodisiac Fare: Chocolates
Find out why men love giving chocolates to their loved ones.
By Divine Enya Mesina
What starts out as the seeds of cacao pod undergoes a long and complicated process to become delectable chocolates. There are three types of chocolates available: Milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate.
Milk chocolate, as the name implies, has milk powder in it and sweetened with sugar or condensed milk. This is the most commonly consumed chocolate that comes in bars. Dark chocolate has more than 60 percent cocoa solids. White chocolate has cocoa butter but does not have chocolate solids at all and is not really considered as chocolate.
Why is it considered an aphrodisiac?
Dubbed the food of the gods, chocolate is the ultimate food item most associated with love and romance. Though chocolates are favorite gift items to give and receive on such occasions as birthdays, Christmas, and Easter, the most volume of chocolates consumed and bought is during Valentine’s Day.
If we are to believe the accounts written about how great lovers—such as Casanova, the Aztec emperor Montezuma, and Cortez the Spanish conquistador—consumed chocolates to enhance their sexual prowess before their amorous encounters with their lovers, then it would seem chocolate have something to do with their increased sex drive.
But modern science still has to prove the connection between chocolate and its so-called libido-boosting effect.
What’s been proven is that chocolate stimulates the production of endorphine—the feel-good hormone that gives one a feeling of pleasure. Chocolate also contains other substances that are literally good for the heart. Dark chocolate, in particular is found to have healthy monounsaturated fats. It also has substances that can help lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Dark chocolate also has heart-healthy flavonoids.
The sedative-like substances in chocolate do not only have a relaxing effect, it is also said to lower inhibition. Perhaps romantic evenings are likely to end up in uninhibited encounters between lovers when chocolates are consumed, but only if it is accompanied with mood music and the right frame of mind.
Buying and storing
There are probably a thousand and one brands of chocolates in the market. Depending on the quality and the packaging, the price varies widely.
You may keep chocolate bars in the refrigerator if you don’t have a relatively cool place to store them in. When kept in the fridge, make sure to keep moisture away by wrapping chocolates in sealable plastic. Chocolates tend to absorb scents when placed beside strong-scented foods, so place them away from food with strong odor.
Read more about chocolates and learn how to make truffles and bars on your own, with the feature "Be Your Own Chocolatier."
Chocolate recipes to try:
Carina's Molten Chocolate Cake
