Do you like chocolate and why?

"Hello? Is that the chocolate factory? I've got a red nose again!"

I was speaking to my friend Alison last night about chocolate and she was getting rather excited about the subject. So today, as a fun social experiment I sent an email to a selection of friends old and new asking if they liked chocolate and why. The answers came through thick and fast and I was suprised by the men and how passionate they were in their experiences enjoying various forms of chocolate. I have kept the correspondants anonymous. Thanks to all who were kind enough to respond. As to whether I like chocolate then my answer would have been yes but too much can give me a red nose and nasty spots.

The ladies.

• I do like chocolate but don't know why ..... I just do. I know that I'm not addicted to it though I sometimes feel the urge to have some and I could live without it if I had too. A bit like sex really!!!!!
• I like it but not an addict like some females.
• Are you mad Philip? Lol. Because it tastes soooooo GOOD. Now where’s that chocolate?
• It's the comfort factor really. For that limited time you are eating it, you get completely zoned out and all your troubles seem to fade away. It always makes me feel better anyway!
• I love it but seldom eat it because it's too fattening.
• I think it is because it is romanticised and it tastes darn good!
• I don’t like it but then my girl friends say I’m not right in the head.
• You mean boxed chocolates? Yeah they’re ok. Who am I kidding? I eat far too many. I also use chocolate in food as you know from my Mexican dishes.
• Good question. You’ve heard of love handles? Well my husband calls my bulgy bits chokky handles. Bless him. Not.
• You know I am not as choco mad as I used to be. Now, generally I have chocolate as a treat so when I do I indulge and get something a little more high end. I used to love it but now I am more of a savoury girl so I’d sooner kill you for a piece of Bavarian smoked cheese than a Snickers!.  l like choco for the same reasons anyone does I guess - it is creamy, melts in your mouth and full of sugar and gets those endorphin receptors going! I love high milk content in my coco. I mean the age-old stereotype of woman loving choco. Is it actually true or has marketing from choco companies just made you think it is true so men will buy more boxes of chocolates for their partner??? (that said I am not going to say no to a box of Green and Blacks!) - an amusing point I guess. There is also the feeling of indulgence you know. Grab yourself a posh choccies and enjoy the treat!
• Don’t talk to me about chocolate. I’m on a diet/was on a diet. Thanks for that.
• Love Belgian chocolates. Ever been to the Belgian Chocolate Museum in Bruges? It’s great.
• Two words Phil – chocolate truffles – hmmmm – creamy filling – hmmmm.
• Hate those chocolate fountains. I was once sick after a party with one of them. Otherwise love Continentals.
• Love it. Makes me feel very naughty. Tee hee. Bad me. You got any then?
• I love chocolate! Enjoy the rich, creamy taste and I suppose women can get passionate about it because it never lets them down. Always there when needed! X
• I am not fussed about chocolate to be honest. I never buy it and if I do get some for Christmas etc then it usually gets thrown out.
• As to chocolate, I adore it and I eat it for comfort when I’m stressed which is most of the time. If something bothers me, I get chocolate, and now I need it all the time. It takes about 2 weeks to come off eating it!.
  
  
  
  

  

  Belgian chocolates

The Men.

• 
  
  I do like chocolate – in fact I love it – not the dark sensuous, bitter, powerful stuff that the girls like – so called “real chocolate” 70% + cocoa ----- yuk ! No – I like the light brown, fatty, super-sweet choccy that melts very quickly in your mouth, and smells so good it makes your mouth water from 100 paces. The sweeter and meltier the better – best is Cadburys Dairy Milk, next is Galaxy....Mmmmm! PS you have to lick it off your fingers too – the ‘proper chocolate’ never melts enough to do that. PPS After all this Choccy talk I’ve got to go downstairs to the chocolate fridge now to get my daily treat...
• 
  
  I like dark chocolate (min. 70%; the stronger the better!) much more than milk chocolate. I prefer it with a cup of coffee after a meal. I only ever buy dark chocolate, but will eat anything if it's put in front of me (except white chocolate!). I occasionally buy a Snickers or Double Decker as a snack.
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  Love it. Can't stand sweeties - they are for girls and leave my mouth tasting sticky and sickly. Chocolate melts in the mouth. Dark chocolate is ridiculous and should be banned. The Dairy Milk versus Galaxy debate is always a hot one, and I would plump for Dairy Milk myself. Almost certainly my love of chocolate stems from childhood when good behaviour or a finished dinner would be rewarded with chocolate.   Girls like chocolate because they see it as a treat, a naughty secret almost. Guys like it cause it tastes good, we deserve it after a hard days work and because our Mum's used to give it to us.
• 
  
  Yes I do mate. Because it makes me happy and calm.
• 
  
  Hi Phil, aside from music my favourite topic (no pun intended) - unfortunately since being diagnosed as diabetic I've had little chance to indulge - so called 'diabetic friendly chocolate' leaves a lot to be desired! However, pre-diabetic I enjoyed every type of chocolate that was going from the milkiest 'milky bar' to the darkest & highest cocoa content I could find. It's not just that I have a sweet tooth - there has always been something about chocolate that I've really enjoyed much more than any other confectionary (except for maybe ice cream) - bit it has to be chocolate not one of these chocolate/snack bars like Mars or Snickers or Twix etc. I did at one stage subscribe to the Hotel Chocolat web site and email updates and belonged to the tasting club - but I tend now to only visit it coming up to Easter and Christmas to buy pressies - but I indulge in a small box of each of the white, dark (85%) and caramel batons. They each have 20 batons of gorgeous chocolate and I usually make them last until Easter time! I like to simply place a baton on my tongue and let it slowly melt away - pure heaven!
• 
  
  Not me but my partner does. He has them every day at work.

Fine French chocolates in a shop in Bordeaux.