Chocolate Season

I think regardless of if you celebrate Valentines Day, February is the season of chocolate. At least here in the northeast, chocolate is an escape from the bitter cold of winter though the exotic and rich flavors the dark confection holds.

Chocolate comes from cocoa beans which are housed in a large pod (see the picture on the left) about the size of an obese sweet potato. They just hang on the trunk of the cocoa tree like strange tumors waiting to be harvested for their chocolate-ly goodness. (I saw one of these rather diminutive trees for the first time in Karala, India this winter and was struck by the uniqueness of the plant.)

As you may know, chocolate is reported to have medicinal qualities and dark chocolate is marketed as a "super food" or "functional food" depending on who is doing the pitch. What the are selling are the phenols in the cocoa. Phenols are a chemical compound that are classified as a phytochemical. For more information you can check out Natural Products from Plants on Google Book Search According to the Yale-New Haven Hospital these phenols are high potency antioxidants that help lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). They also claim that the high saturated fat content of cocoa is not that bad because the liver converts the saturated fat into monounsaturated fat. This area of nutritional study is nascent with little conclusive understanding of the levels needed to positive health outcomes or how they work in combination with other foods. Further study is needed to fully unleash the healing power of chocolate.

Despite the inconclusive nutritional science, culturally chocolate is very interesting as well. Just how did it work its way into become the candy of love? Well, one look at the cocoa pod make you understand why ancient Mexican cultures saw it as a food of fertility. According to a great little slide show on WebMd, "Casanova, the infamous womanizer, made a habit of drinking chocolate before his romantic escapades." A box of chocolates has become the food equivalent of "I love you" due to the tradition of giving a sweet token to your loved one on Valentines Day.

And when you go to purchase that delicious morsel of dark Belgium chocolate, take a moment to think about the sociopolitical aspect of chocolate. Think about where it is grown, and the about where all the fine chocolates come from . . . who gets the short end of the stick when selling a raw commodity? Something tells me its not the Swiss.