Today, December 28th is National Chocolate Day. Is there truly a better Guilty Pleasure? Whether it be thick, rich, delicious hot chocolate, chocolate bunnies at Easter, chocolate coins over Hanukkah, hearts on Valentines, or Hershey's anytime of the year, we all have a particular favorite. The word "chocolate" has a Spanish origin from the Aztec Xocolat.
The leading producer of cocoa is Africa. The history of chocolate is rich and long with evidence that it was a luxury and feast of royalty as far back as 1400 B.C.
Whether its dark, milk or white, there is a chocolate for each of us. The rating on chocolate is based on the percentage of cocoa with the best dark chocolates being at least 70% , milk chocolates up to 50%, and white chocolate about 33%. In 2007, The Chocolate Manufacturers Association lobbied the FDA to change the legal definition of chocolate and thus allow a lesser quality product to be produced. As a result, many mass-produced candies and chocolate contain as little as 7% cocoa.
A quality chocolate is certainly a Guilty Pleasure. My personal choices are the rich, white Hot Chocolate at Provence Catering, the dark Hot Chocolate at Old City Coffee and Robert Bennett's chocolate from American Harvest and Classic Cakes!
Chocolate is said to produce the same wonderful feelings as being in love or smitten with romance. In my opinion, there is no bad time for chocolate and any celebration with chocolate is a good celebration.
