Feb 14, 2008 2:30 pm US/Eastern
What Makes Chocolate So Delicious?
MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ―
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A treat for almost anyone.
WWJ
If you have a Valentine, odds are good that you'll be buying him or her some chocolate. Industry estimates project that more than $1 billion of chocolate is purchased in and around the holiday.
"You can never go wrong with chocolate," said one man, as he was shopping at Chocolate Celeste in St. Paul, Minn.
Last year, Feb. 14 was the biggest sales day in the history of the company, according to owner, Mary Leonard.
"We call this the high holiday of love," she said.
According to the International Cocoa Organization, the United States imported $1.2 billion worth of chocolate in 2005. Chocolatiers spent more than a billion dollars on the ingredients to make chocolate: cocoa beans, butter and cocoa powder.
"It gave Montezuma a high," said Leonard. "He thought it made him more virile. And so he drank 20 cups a day of chocolate."
Some scholars think the word chocolate comes from the Aztec word "chocolatl", which translates to "foam water." The first known example of chocolate as a Valentine's Day treat dates to 1861 when Richard Cadbury (of the Cadbury chocolate company) created the first known heart-shaped box for Feb. 14.
"It was a marketing gimmick," said Colin Gasko, owner of Rogue Chocolatier, a Minneapolis-based chocolate producer.
"I'm really passionate about how difficult it is to make chocolate," said Gasko.
Rogue Chocolatier is one of the relatively few places in America where one person takes raw cocoa beans, roasts them, splits them and spends three days turning them into chocolate.
Scientists have endlessly analyzed chocolate, finding about 380 naturally-occurring chemicals.
"I think chocolate has that allure, so we want to know about the research," said Gasko.
Different chocolate bars can have completely different flavors. Gasko said he doesn't add artificial flavors. All of his chocolates have essentially the same recipe. However, the Jamaica chocolate is earthier tasting, while the Trinidad chocolate has a fruity aftertaste.
"The flavors come from the different beans," said Gasko.
There's a considerable amount of research pointing to the health benefits of dark chocolates, and the antioxidants within. Much research has focused on exactly how the chocolate stimulates brain receptors.
"There's all the explanations," said Gasko. "But when it comes down to it, chocolate just does it. You put it in your mouth, it hits you in the gut, there's a feeling when you have a good piece of chocolate."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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