With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you may be wondering how the connection between love and chocolates was made and how the tradition of giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day was formed?
While the history of Valentine’s Day stretches back to the Roman era, the addition of chocolate as the staple fixture for the day dedicated to the celebration of love is more recent. It was in the mid-1800s that one Richard Cadbury was looking for a way to utilise cocoa butter extracted during the making of chocolate liquor and came up with the humble chocolate bar. Previously, chocolate was an expensive item that only the wealthy were able to buy, but Cadbury was able to produce chocolate that was affordable to all. His next step was to create beautiful boxes – decorated with cupids and roses – to entice buyers, and it was these that became the must-have Valentine’s Day gift of the day.
Besides the great taste and texture and the attractive wrappings, there are other reasons why chocolate is linked with Valentine’s Day.
Chocolate has been deemed an aphrodisiac since the time of the Aztecs, containing a substance that inflames desire and make the beloved one more open to romance. According to science, there might be some truth in this as recent studies show that those who eat chocolate show more desire for romance as compared to those who don’t. This might be because chocolate releases brain soothing chemicals which increase energy and desire levels. Chocolate is proven to produce a natural high which can elevate mood and often equated to feeling in love.
Chocolate comes from cocoa tree which is also known as ‘Theobroma cacao’ which is a Greek way of saying ‘food for the Gods’. In the ancient Maya civilisation, for which the cacao God was sacred, the Aztecs used cacao beans as currency and as a food for only the privileged. Thus, if chocolate was deemed fit for the Gods then it had to be the perfect gift for a loved one.
It’s also a fact that chocolates have a huge physiological and emotional effect on people. Giving chocolate is not just a sign of love but also given as ways to express delight, initiate desire, expresses your apologies and rekindle friendship. Or even given just to simply uplift the mood as it’s a powerful mood enhancer.
So what better way to delight your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day than with a gift of top quality chocolates from one of South Africa’s leading chocolatiers, Shautany Chocolates!
Their extensive range means there’s a chocolate for every taste, including chocolate truffles and ganaches, luxury bars in various flavours, a variety of chocolate coated nuts, including macadamia, pecan, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts and almonds, Maraschino cherries coated in dark chocolate, chocolate mousse and a luxuriously rich and decadent hot chocolate. For those watching their waistlines, there is also an extensive ‘No Added Sugar’ collection.
While their wide variety of products are handmade in a factory in White River, Shautany Chocolates also has six retail outlets – Casterbridge Centre, White River; Perry’s Bridge Centre, Hazyview; Louis Trichardt Rd, Graskop (next to Harrie’s Pancakes); Brookielace Barn, Naledi Drive in Dullstroom; Old Nick Village, Plettenberg Bay and at the Rhapsody Centre in St. Francis Bay.
Says founder Mary-Anne Price: “Our products are all handmade with only the finest natural preservative-free ingredients. We use Callebaut chocolate imported from Belgium, with all the other ingredients sourced locally from various artisans throughout South Africa.”
So, if you’re planning on giving the “gift of love” this Valentine’s Day, then make sure you do it in style with a box of truly special luxurious chocolates from Shautany Chocolates.
For more on Shautany Chocolatiers, visit www.shautany.co.za
