Ken Boddie

6 years ago · 4 min. reading time · ~100 ·

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Why I Choose to Chomp on Chunks of Chocolate this Easter

Why I Choose to Chomp on Chunks of Chocolate this Easter

CRT Ld LICENCED)

Ever wonder why we gorge ourselves on chocolate each Easter weekend (as though some of us actually need an excuse)?

Ever wonder why we have chocolate Easter eggs and why they're filled with air instead of being solid? 

Ever wonder why we have an Easter Bunny in the shopping malls? 

Well ..... assuming that you're too full of chocolate by now to be bothered to Google the answers to these deep, crucially critical, and soul searching conundrums of life on the couch during a four day weekend, then read on. But first, one for the mathematicians.

i have 10 chocolate canes and someone asks me for ane. now many choc: have lef? Th gr 10 ro Qars _ 

As many of you may already know, chocolate has been around for over 2000 years and was cultivated by the ancient Mayans and Azteks. They learned to grow the cocoa tree, Latin name Theobroma Cacao or 'food of the gods', and made a dark and bitter drink from the bean of the tree, which they consumed in great quantities. These beans were highly prized and could be used as currency, with one bean buying a basic tamale meal and 100 beans buying a turkey or chook (sorry, 'chicken' for those outside Australia). 

It was only much later, however, that this "bitter drink for pigs" (according to the Spanish conquistador, Hernando Cortés) became popular in Europe when mixed with honey or sugar cane. But even back in 17th century Europe, it was only for a highly privileged few, who believed it to be nutritious, medicinal and to have aphrodisiac properties (rumour has it that chocolate was popular with Casanova).

So, for the historians, the following may be of some interest, but don't let the dates get in the way of a good story (or a good chocolate bar, if you feel the need):

Sheep Joke What do you call a sheep covered in chocolate? Candy Baa httpa://www.free-funny-jokes.com/funny-sheep-jokes.html
  • 1828 - a Dutch chemist, Van Houten produced powdered chocolate and cut the bitter taste, leading to solid chocolate similar to how we know it.
  • 1868 - Cadbury was marketing boxes of chocolate in England.
  • 1870s - milk chocolate pioneered by Nestle.
At this point, it may be worth throwing in, particularly for Gert Scholtz and Ian Weinberg, that West Africa currently supplies more than 2/3 of the world's cocoa.

\VETHE EARTH, Le Ra (Ferg PLANET WITH CHOCOLATE
Now that I've whetted your chocolate chumping appetite, why do we choose to self-charm on chocolate eggs this long weekend?

Blame the church for this, as eating natural eggs was reportedly not allowed by church leaders in Europe during the week immediately prior to Easter. Any chook-laid eggs produced in the course of this week were gifted to children, after decorating them.  It appears then that there would have been a simple 'alternative supply and demand' equation here, waiting for an obvious solution.  This came in the early 1800s with the production, by France and Germany, of solid chocolate (see above) and then solid chocolate Easter eggs. Eventually John Cadbury, in 1875, produced his first Cadbury Easter Eggs, after benefiting from the Dutch invention of separating out cocoa butter from the bean, leading to the production of moulded chocolate and hence hollow Easter eggs.

When life gives you Lemons Throw it back and ask for Chocolate.
As for the Easter Bunny, it is most probable that this is a pagan legacy originating from the Norse goddess Ostara (goddess of the dawn), whose symbols were the egg and the hare (or rabbit), both symbols of new life.  And we all know how rabbits breed like ..... well, rabbits.

Some would have us believe that its the Easter Bunny who lays, decorates and hides eggs, so that children can enjoy Easter egg hunts during the long weekend.

“What a lucky break! Not ony 60 we FIND the Easter bunny BUT we calch hom right when he's maiing chocolate min-eggs”Kind of takes the edge off the attractiveness of those tiny little foil-wrapped choc eggs you find in the supermarket, doesn't it?

Now let's finish off with a few more little known benefits of chocolate, which I'm not going to substantiate, other than to suggest that you check through my list of reference material below, or do your own Googling, after, of course, you eventually get off the couch, where you are doubtless recovering from (or still deeply engaged in) your annual overindulgence in Easter chocolate.

1. Chocolate is a Healthy High - It is now a 'proven fact' that inhaling the fragrance of chocolate promotes relaxation and is therefore good for you.

2. Chocolate Makes us 'Full of Beans' - It reportedly takes 400 cocoa beans to make 450 grams (or one pound avoirdupois) of chocolate. 

3. Chocolate is Good for the Heart - Chemicals in chocolate mimic the same feeling we get when we fall in love. Now it appears that regularly eating dark chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease.

4. Chocolate is Good for the Teeth - Compounds in the cocoa bean husk reportedly have an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth, fighting plaque and hence tooth decay and gum disease.  Must replace my toothpaste with chocolate when the shops open again ..... but hang on ..... don't we still need to brush and floss off the sugar remnants after we've had that Mars bar? 

es: Breathtaking view of the Milky Way from the surface of Mars...5. For the Chocoho-licks - The Belgians love their chocolate so much that they issued a limited edition postage stamp in 2013 which was chocolate flavoured.

But before you all rush off to continue your weekend's gourmand consumption of dark, milk or white chocolate eggs, bunnies, chips, bars, slabs, cookies, or chocolate drinks, here's a final word of warning.

HA MAKESMY A
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Links to Follow for More Info:   
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d7556b51.jpgWhen not researching the weird or the wonderful, the comical or the cultured, the sinful or the serious, I chase my creative side, the results of which can be seen as selected photographs of my travels on my website at:

http://ken-boddie.squarespace.com

The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a sometime poet and occasional writer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded people with diverse interests.

Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.



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#Chomp #Easter #Europe #Chunks #Chocolate
Comments

Ken Boddie

3 years ago #34

#43
As long as it doesn’t come from stolen cocoa, John Rylance. 😂

John Rylance

3 years ago #33

#42
You could try, and while you are at it stick an Easter Egg on the BBQ, and have a Hot Chocolate with the buns.

Ken Boddie

3 years ago #32

#41
Tell me, John Rylance, if you stick ordinary buns on the BBQ and keep poking them with a stick, does that make them hot cross buns?

John Rylance

3 years ago #31

#38
#39 I dont know about clothes shrinking the size of the eggs has, so Franci while they may taste nice they are not as chocolately. They still sell like hot cakes or should that be like hot cross buns, which in the UK you can now buy all the year round. Mind you its been possible to buy Easter Eggs since January anyway. I bought my favourites early, now Im enjoying them.

Ken Boddie

3 years ago #30

#39
Thanks, Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador. Try as I might, To refuse the delight, Of a chocolate egg or choc bunny, The smell and the sight, Whether rich dark or white, Has me running like bees to the honey.

Ken Boddie

3 years ago #29

Damn!!! All this chocolate’s making my clothes shrink again. 😂🤣😂

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #28

Why not save time, Claire, and mix them both together in a mocha: "In a large coffee mug, pour in 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup. Add coffee or espresso with vanilla extract and stir together. Then, add steamed milk. You can stir gently or leave layered. Topped off with whipped cream and 1 tablespoon of syrup. Add cinnamon if using." Can't say a diet of mocha will do much for your figure, but it'll sure make you feel good. 😎

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #27

#34
Mission accomplished, Claire. Just ensuring that your curves don't straighten out. 😈

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #26

#32
..... and morning tea, and lunch, and afternoon tea, and dinner, and supper. Just as well your houses aren’t made of chocolate, Claire. They wouldn’t last the taste of time. 😂

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #25

#30
Haven’t heard the word ‘guffaw’ for a really long time, Franci. If guffaws had claws, I’d need gauze with applause. 😂

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #24

#27
hey, Lisa ..... The bigger the choccy, The sweeter the toppings, The less chance it constitutes, Rabbits droppings. 🥚🐇🥚 🤣😂🤣

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #23

#26
What’s brown and red all over, Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador? A choc book. But don’t ask me the story. It doesn’t last long enough to find out. 🤣😂🤣

Lisa Gallagher

6 years ago #22

Ken Boddie, I need to eat more chocolate. It's rare that I buy it. I will not pick up my chocolate droppings from a bunny though, just sayin...

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #21

Right back at ya, Randy. But most of all I wish you ,,,,, CHOCOLATE!

Randall Burns

6 years ago #20

Great post Ken Boddie Happy Easter Buddy!

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #19

#22
Liar, liar, pants on 🔥

Paul Walters

6 years ago #18

Ken Boddie . never touch the stuff myself but thanks for the info...its one of those "I never knew that moments!"

Lada 🏡 Prkic

6 years ago #17

I know, chocolate crumbs are the main reason. 😂🤥

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #16

#19
just make sure it all goes in your mouth, don’t spill any on your clothes, and everything will be OK. 👍🤥

Lada 🏡 Prkic

6 years ago #15

#15
Hope not, Ken. I don't want my clothes to shrink. :)

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #14

#17
Hmmm ..... ☹️ Magnesium (presumably Epsom salts) plus dark chocolate sounds like a double dose of laxative to me, Bill. 😨 I trust you won’t be venturing far from a porcelain throne this weekend, my friend? 😂🤣😂

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #13

#10
Your comment, Sandra, prompts me to go track down some M&Ms and a pile of chocolate doughnuts. Hope the Easter Bunny is good to you. 🤗

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #12

#9
This is one I must remember, Lada. Hope the Easter Bunny brings you lots of CHoCoLaTe over the weekend.

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #11

#7
Many thank, Ian. I'm prescribing a huge dose D - Dopamine; O - Oxytocin; S - Serotonin; and E - Endorphins of chocolate for you over the Easter Weekend.

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #10

#6
Happy Easter Hunting, Manjit. Please ensure that you snare your chocolate in pairs, as a 'balanced diet' is a matching choc bar in each hand. 🍫🍫

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #9

#5
In this instance, Nick, my humour has been directed at the GREEDY (myself included) and I trust that the NEEDY will bide their time for an appropriately directed 'comeback'. After all, don't they say that revenge is sweet (but not too sweet). 🤗

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #8

#3
Thanks for pointing out the error, Gert, which I have now amended. An appreciatory Mars bar is currently travelling to you at the speed of light, via the Milky Way, having taken a short cut through a black hole in a chocolate doughnut. 🍫🍩

Lada 🏡 Prkic

6 years ago #7

Ken, I always repeat the same comment, but I enjoy reading your posts and like your writing style - factual and humorous at the same time. In addition to jokes for mathematicians and historians, here's one for chemists: What is the chemical formula for the molecules in candy? Carbon-Holmium-Cobalt-Lanthanum-Tellurium or CHoCoLaTe :-))

Pascal Derrien

6 years ago #6

#2
you do what you can not what you want when you are diabetic :-)

Ian Weinberg

6 years ago #5

Great gastronomical tour de force Ken Boddie Just managed to get to the end before messing my phone screen. Gotta run and get a chockie!

CityVP Manjit

6 years ago #4

Easter, which is paganism at its finest whereas the aphrodisiac portion of the chocolate story explains Valentines Day. Interesting how fertility rights actually play out more during the winter solstice time (Christmas) than in the time of chocolate bunnies. Chocolate as good for the teeth is just the excuse I need to find the hordes of chocolate hidden from adults like me in my home. It is time for me to go chocolate hunting - such is the after-effects of reading this buzz !

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #3

Ken Boddie “The best known food that nobody knows anything about” – as someone said of chocolate. Fascinating facts and history Ken, thank you for posting. By the way, it is West Africa (Ghana and Ivory Coast mostly) that produces 2/3 of the cocoa in the world. Mars and the Milky Way will never look the same – and will taste better because I know now about the “big bang” of chocolate.

Ken Boddie

6 years ago #2

#1
What, Pascal???? Sugar free chocolate???? Ugh!!!!!! 🤮

Pascal Derrien

6 years ago #1

Easssssster is a major test for me but I am a happy bunny if I have a small stash of sugar free chocolate from my favourite French baker :-) Cocoa or dark chocolate are fine 85% being the best option but the franchised /branded eggs eggs are full of refined sugar they are lethal :-) On that note I am going to give a bell to the Eater Bunny :-) Nice one and topical Ken Boddie :-)

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