Chocoholic’s Food for Thought

Advertising is evil. I had a sudden craving for Ferrero Rocher after watching a television commercial of a sappy guy using the gold foil of the chocolates to make stalks of roses for the object of his affection. So dirty, won’t there be residual choco crumbs on the wrapper? Ants will start crawling among the ‘roses’ in no time.

Talk about affective advertising. Making a connection between chocolates and love. How cliché. Bah Humbug.

Unfortunately, they bought a great timeslot for their commercial (primetime, dinner time) and a hungry girl looked on at the praline-filled delectable ball sprinkled with crunchy chopped hazelnuts with saucer big eyes.

I want a C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E. Just 1, pretty please!

That stimulus triggered a string of behavioural responses that saw a lowly evolved being stumble out of the house, cross a street or two into a friendly neighbourhood supermarket, reach out for a trio of golden balls on the fourth tier of the shelf and join the queue at the checkout counter.

The brainwashed individual trudged zombie-like back, plunked clumsily onto the couch and ripped the packaging open with great demonic strength then ravenously unwrapped the foil to reveal the prize that lies within.
The first bite is the sweetest. This is the part where the lustful savours with much relish, interjecting each mastication with a satisfied “Hm…”.

Yes, sometimes, we are slaves to our very primal desires. As for myself, chocolate is both my friend and nemesis. Let’s just call it a love-hate relationship.

Personal Trivia:
I only consume my chocolates at room temperature. My mum has this nasty habit of putting chocolates in the freezer compartment@!! I can’t really do anything about it but I do hide an occasional chocolate around the house so she won’t imprison it in the icy chamber (把它打入冷宫). As a compromise, I put refrigerated chocs outside to bring it to ambient temperature before my personal consumption.

Most people (those of us residing in tropical regions) feel we have to at least put chocolates in the chiller section of our trusty refrigerator. After all, we don’t want them to end up in a gooey mess, do we?

A couple of people I know love to consume their chocs cold from the fridge.
For an inexplicable reason, I cannot pinpoint why it is so wrong. But the taste is never good—biting into a cold hard Kit Kat. No no no…

After much asking around and research, I got to understand that just like wine, experts recommend chocolate to be at room temperature for an optimal tasting, in between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius.
No wonder my taste buds only accept chocolates in this state.

I am particular about certain things, yes. But sometimes, just through a small tip and some re-programming on our part, we can increase the quality of our life without incurring a higher cost of living.

Tips for storing chocolate:
Chocolate can go rancid -- as can any fat, however you should never put Chocolate in the refrigerator. Cold will cause the 'bloom' (discoloration and a whitish substance on the surface), condensation will damage the Chocolate and extended periods of cold will cause a degradation of the flavor. (The flavor is best at a warm room temperature).
The optimal storage conditions are cool -- but not cold, dark, dry, well ventilated and well wrapped between 12-20 degrees Celsius.
On the other hand, if the temperature is too high, this can cause flavor to be lost, and can also cause 'bloom'.