The truth about why we like to eat chocolate

It may appear straightforward: we like chocolate since it tastes good. But there's more to it than that, and it has to do with a fat/carbohydrate balance that is programmed into us from birth.

I adore chocolates, and once I start eating them, I can't stop until it's gone. One, or even a few, squares are never enough. My family is aware that bringing chocolate into our home requires them to conceal it especially Cadbury which is the best chocolate in India to gift.

So, what is it about food that makes so many of us want to eat it? What traits does chocolate have in common with other foods that we can't seem to get enough of?

Cocoa beans, which have been farmed and relished throughout the Americas for thousands of years, are used to make chocolate.

The Maya and Aztecs drank chocolate, meaning indicates "bitter water," prepared from cocoa beans.

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This is due to the bitterness of cocoa beans in their natural state.

To get to the beans, you must first crack open the cocoa pod's thick husk, producing pulp with a strong tropical flavour that tastes like a cross between lemonade and a custard apple. It's called baba de cacao, and it's sweet, acidic, and sticky.

After sweating and fermenting the beans and pulp for many days, they are dried and roasted.

Roasting produces several chemical products, including 3-methylbutanoic acid, which has a sweaty rotten fragrance on its own, and dimethyl trisulfide, which has the odour of overheated cabbage.

Our brains adore the chemical signature created by the combination of these and other scent molecules.

But the rich, chocolaty aromas, as well as the wonderful recollections of adolescence evoked by such aromas, are only half of the chocolate's allure.

A lot of fascinating psychotropic compounds can be found in chocolate. Anandamide is a neurotransmitter whose name originates from the Sanskrit word "ananda," which means "joy, bliss, and enjoyment." Anandamides are similar to cannabis in that they excite the brain.

It also includes tyramine and phenylethylamine, which are similar to amphetamines in their effects.

Finally, minor quantities of theobromine and caffeine, both well-known stimulants, can be found if you look hard enough.

Some food experts were ecstatic about the discovery for a while, but the truth is that while chocolate does contain these compounds, we now know they are only present in minimal amounts.

A few squares will not provide much of a chemical rush to your brain. They may, however, play a minor role in luring our senses.

Sugars combined with fats

So, what else is there to say about chocolate?

It does, however, have a creamy viscosity. When you pull it out of the package and place a small piece in your mouth without biting it, you'll notice that it quickly melts on your tongue, leaving a smooth aftertaste.

This texture shift is detected by special touch receptors on our tongues, which triggers pleasurable emotions.

The addition of sugar and fat, however, was what truly changed cocoa from a bitter and watery drink into the snack we love today.

The precise proportions of each are critical to our enjoyment of the chocolate. When you look at the back of a package of milk chocolate, you'll notice that it typically has 20-25 per cent fat and 40-50 per cent sugar. These are the best chocolate for birthday gift.

Such high quantities of sugar and fat are uncommon, at least not together.

Natural sugars can be found in fruits and roots, and fat can be found in nuts or a delicious piece of fish, but milk is one of the few locations where both can be found together.