Chocolate The Perfect Sweet

For the New Year, Valentine Day or for any other occasions one food product that will bring an expression of glee on the receiver's face is Chocolates! This sweet has proved popular over the years. Its popularity is expected to increase in the coming years. Indian chocolate market reached $ 2.4 billion in 2022 according to IMARC Group. The global chocolate market attained a value of $ 127.7 billion in 2022, driven by the impulse purchasing behaviour of the consumers. Aided by the new product launches, the market, according to EMR, is grow further in the years to come. What has made chocolate a popular sweet, at Valentine time? Ashok Malkani takes a deep look at the industry to gauge several factors like how it is made and also whether this product, which is also used extensively in bakery products, is healthy.

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As we approach February one remembers that we are just a few days away from Valentine's Day to offer sweets for the sweet one. And the most loved sweet that is offered to your sweetest is chocolates! 

Chocolate is not just treasured and cherished by your loved one but by everyone from small babies to the most senior denizens. Yes, mention of chocolates sets everybody's mouths drooling and hearts racing with love and affection. A "fit for all occasions" gift for the loved ones this delectable delicacy has three days named after it - Chocolate Day (celebrated every year on February 9 as a part of the Valentine's Week celebrations in India), World Chocolate Day (celebrated this year on July 7) and National Chocolate Day (celebrated in the U.S.A, this year on October 23).

Talk about love on Valentine Day and chocolate immediately comes to the mind as an ideal gift. But how did chocolate come to be associated with love and valentine? If one delves into history one finds that it dates back to the Mayans, who first started brewing cacao beans around 500 BC. As time elapsed, they started using this so-called 'gift of the gods' in marriage ceremonies. Chocolate is considered as an aphrodisiac food since the time of Aztecs. It is believed to contain a substance that inflames desire and makes the beloved one more open to romance. According to a study conducted by French-born English psychologist, letting chocolate dissolve slowly in your mouth produces an increase in brain activity and heart rate as a passionate kiss. But the effects of chocolate last four times longer!

One can say that an allure of exotic romance is attached to chocolate. This candy is considered as an edible declaration of love. But besides expressing love, eating chocolate also has an effect on the brain and body, relieving it of stress.