I love chocolate. Not as much as Harriett, but a lot. I consider myself (maybe wrongly) a connoisseur. My favorite so far is Kirchmayr and, lucky for me, it’s only about 45 minutes to the store. (They ship, though!) Last week, we were in Quebec and took a detour to the Ile d’Orleans, an island 15 miles from Quebec City. It’s a beautiful island, rich in agriculture and it’s only 40 miles in circumference. We picked blueberries and raspberries. Delicious. And we went to the Chocolaterie Ile d’Orleans with its hand-painted sign “J’aime le chocolat.” (I love chocolate). Not bad, I admit.
I like regular packaged process stuff, too. Hersheys, Nestles. Great for those weeks and months in between field trips to specialty chocolate stores.
This morning, I came across an article in Science News, Can Chocolate Fight Diabetes, Too? It says that according to some researchers, in moderation, dark chocolate may lower blood pressure and improve the body’s processing of blood sugar. The article is filled with disclaimers. And it talks about the fact that so many sufferers of diabetes are overweight, so is adding daily chocolate to the diet a good choice? I’m sure the jury is still out, but here it is. And I found it amusing.
According to American Demographics, a little over 9 in 10 Americans say we like chocolate. In fact, we consume 3.1 billion pounds of chocolate each year, or 11.7 pounds per person, according to a report by Mintel.
And if you are fascinated with usage stats (as I am) Mintel’s findings show that milk chocolate is preferred by two-thirds of U.S. respondents. Only 37 percent say the same of dark chocolate. A little over one-quarter (26 percent) say they like white chocolate. (Yuck – what is that stuff anyway? To me, it’s nothing like chocolate! More like soap.) Older people tend to express a preference for dark chocolate. (Mom, if you read this, I’m not saying you’re old.) Ninety-three percent of us eat chocolate bars. 80 percent “portion control pieces” like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kat and 71 percent eat popable pieces, such as M&Ms.
This news excites me, as I had no idea that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were portion control size. I sometimes don’t even finish the bag.
I live with someone who claims the need for antioxidants (i.e., dark chocolate) at least once a day. I’m not sure about the diabetes data but I’ve read a lot about the other claims and they seem to be valid. Of course, the studies are talking about portion control, like one or two squares, something that Americans are notoriously lax about. Still, thanks for the morning chuckle. And I’ll stick with my Godiva truffle, thank you!