I’m quite fond of food actually, as you would imagine if you saw me in real life, rounder than I would like in these latter years. But on the whole I think of it as fuel to keep me going. I do try to choose food that is healthy and which I like. Most things I can take or leave, but there is one thing that I cannot leave if it is in my house and that is Chocolate.
I have to confess that I am addicted to chocolate. Just thinking about it and writing about it conjures its taste in my mouth. Preferably dark and of good quality. So strong is my addiction that I cannot have it in the house because I consume it until it is all gone. Do I succumb sometimes? Well of course I do.
My daughter also loves chocolate and she has one Lady Godiva chocolate after dinner every night. Only the best for her too. But is this truly my child? How can she stop at one? Her father doesn’t particularly like chocolate but somehow my addicted to chocolate gene and his take it or leave it chocolate gene have combined in her to create the chocolate in moderation gene. Why can’t I have that gene?
Someone randomly passed by my blog yesterday, stopped to read the Photo Hunt post with the chocolate covered ice cream and left a comment and a link about how chocolate was banned in Switzerland at one time. My eyes popped open at that and I decided to follow the link.
While we all know that Switzerland is renowned for the production of very fine chocolate it is a relatively recent introduction. Brought to Zurich at the end of the 17th Century, it was consumed as a drink at various feasts of the guilds until banned in 1722 by the Zurich Council, which considered it an aphrodisiac and unsuitable for the citizens’ consumption. Did you know that Casanova consumed chocolate before bedding his conquests because of that belief?
Several wandering Italian cioccolatieri reintroduced it into Switzerland in 1750 and slowly it became accepted with the first chocolate shop opening in Berne in 1792. Rather than reproduce the development of chocolate from drink to what we consume today, you can explore this Swiss site, where I wasted an inordinate amount of time chasing the links, as is my wont.
A particular favourite of mine, dark chocolate with hazelnuts,
food from the gods
Now studies show that dark chocolate is good for your health. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants per gram than other foods laden with the substances, like red wine and green tea and berry fruits according to researchers which suggests that the beneficial effects of chocolate lie in its antioxidant properties. I can easily be convinced of this. More claims and chocolate facts abound at this site where I found this little gem.
Coincidentally or otherwise, many of the worlds oldest supercentenarians, e.g. Jeanne Calment (1875-1997) were passionately fond of chocolate. Jeanne Calment habitually ate two pounds of chocolate per week until her physician induced her to give up sweets at the age of 119 - three years before her death aged 122.
But I need to know the bad effects of consuming chocolate, not the good things about it. However these are fast being denounced. No longer is chocolate considered a cause of acne, although I am long past the age of worrying about acne. Connections between migraines and chocolate are suggested by some but I don’t suffer from migraines, thank goodness. It’s toxic to animals, especially to dogs, but I’m not a dog. Well it is definitely high in calories and saturated fat and sugar in some types and I guess that will have to be deterrent enough for me.
The month of December is going to be very hard for me in this regard. It seems that chocolate is one of the first things that spring to mind as a gift at this time of year. I’m guilty myself for I always put chocolate in everyone’s Christmas stocking at our house. One giant dark Toblerone bar, one dark Terry’s Chocolate Orange, along with assorted other dark chocolate favourites have been included in the Christmas stockings here for many, many years. Yes, I used to put them in my own, but no more. Somehow I have to get through this period without eating chocolate, when it’s all around me, even in my own house. So wish me luck.
Hello, I’m JMB and I’m a chocoholic.
Update: My good friend Eurodog, of Belgium, has reminded me that her homeland is also a producer of very fine chocolate and she sent me this link which I share with you. All there is to know about Belgian chocolate. Enjoy. The link and chocolate too if you are not a chocoholic.
