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Valentine's Day

Chocolate And Valentines: Like Birds Of A Feather They Stick Together

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Why are about 1.1 billion boxed chocolates — that’s about 58 million pounds of chocolate candy — sold in the United States during the week before Valentine’s Day? Why not twizzlers or gummy bears?

What Is It About Chocolate That Makes It The “Romantic” Candy?

Chocolate infatuation began around 2,000 years ago. The higher echelon in the Mayan and Aztec societies infused cocoa beans with water which formed frothy chocolate drinks that were both drunk on special occasions and used as sacrifices to the gods.

Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, was of the belief that chocolate was an aphrodisiac.  He routinely drank it before dallying in his harem, which cemented the association of chocolate with love and romance. Years later there is scientific evidence that the chemical phenylethylamine found in chocolate is linked to feelings of excitement and attraction.

Aztec society also used cocoa beans as money and as gifts. In the 16th century, the Aztec’s reverence of chocolate prompted Christopher Columbus to take some back to Queen Isabella of Spain. The love for chocolate and its mystical powers spread throughout Europe. Chocolate’s power was believed to be so strong that nuns were forbidden to eat it and French doctors used it as a treatment for a broken heart.

In 1822 John Cadbury opened a tea and coffee shop in Birmingham, England and soon began selling chocolates. In 1861 his son Richard created the first heart-shaped box to fill with chocolates for Valentine’s Day. This year more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold.

Chocolate: The Good And The Not So Good

A pound of milk chocolate has 2300 calories, 140 grams of fat, 270 grams of carbohydrates, and 31 grams of protein. Although a lot has been said about chocolate’s heart healthy benefits, it’s still a high calorie, high fat food.

Isn’t Chocolate Good For Me?

In moderation—and, depending on the type—the answer is yes, although there is no “prescribed dosageamount.” The health benefits of chocolate come from cocoa, and dark chocolate has a greater concentration of cocoa than milk chocolate.  White chocolate, without any cocoa in it, is not really chocolate.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, contains flavonols which have antioxidant qualities and other positive influences on heart health.  But Valentine’s chocolates are often not high quality chocolate and are moderately high in fat, one-third of it the type of saturated fat that isn’t heart healthy. Extra ingredients like crème and caramel fillings can add lots of extra fat and calories.

Oh Those Calories:  Valentine’s Hearts And Kisses

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a treat of some Valentine’s chocolate.  A whole box might be a different story!

Here’s an idea of what the calories might be in some of the more common Valentine’s chocolate:

  • Hershey’s Kisses, 9 pieces:  230 calories, 12g fat
  • Hershey’s Special Dark Hearts, 5 pieces:  220 calories, 7g fat
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts, snack size:  170 calories, 10g fat
  • Russell Stover boxed chocolates, 2 pieces:  150 calories, 4g fat
  • Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts, 5 pieces:  210 calories, 13g fat
  • Godiva boxed chocolates, 4 pieces:  210 calories, 12g fat

Are You Ready For Some Conversation (Hearts)?

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“Be Mine,” “Kiss me,”  “Sweet Talk, ” “Tweet Me.”

Candy hearts, originally called motto hearts, the brightly colored heart shaped candy with the stamped red sayings, have been iconic Valentine’s Day treats since 1902.

Also known as conversation hearts, motto hearts, and sweethearts, they’re manufactured by NECCO, the New England Confectionery Company, which has been in business since 1847.

How Did Candy Conversation Hearts Get To Be A Symbol Of Valentine’s Day?

Giving a gift of candy with a message inscribed on it can be traced back to the American colonists who gave homemade hard candy with messages etched into the surface to their sweethearts.

Years later, Oliver Chase, the founder NECCO and his brother Daniel, who developed the process of printing red vegetable dye mottos on the candy, turned this tradition into a business.

The candy’s original shape wasn’t a heart, but a seashell shape called a “cockle.” A message was written on a colored slip of paper that was wedged into the cockle’s shell. NECCO started producing candy with mottos stamped on them in 1900, but the candy was in shapes like horseshoes and baseballs that allowed for longer printed sayings like “How long shall I have to wait?” and  “Pray be considerate.” The candy called Sweethearts wasn’t shaped as a heart until 1902.

Sweethearts And Motto Hearts

The original candies with printed sayings were called “motto hearts.”  The sayings and flavors have been updated over the years with new ones added periodically. Some of the newer flavors are strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange, and blue raspberry and new sayings include “Tweet Me,” “Text Me,” “You Rock,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug,” and “Me + You.”

NECCO still uses their original recipe, process, and machines they used at the turn of the century. Putting out approximately 100,000 pounds of candy a day, it takes about 11 months to produce the more than eight billion pieces — or about 13 million pounds – of colorful candy sweethearts that are sold in the six weeks before Valentine’s Day.  The little hearts with messages account for 40% of the Valentine candy market, just behind – you guessed it – chocolate!

Although you’d be hard pressed to call them nutritious, they are fat free, sodium free, and a caloric bargain at about 3 calories apiece for the small hearts and about 6 calories apiece for the larger “Motto” hearts.

Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

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Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages. In the US the first commercial Valentine’s Day cards were created in the 1840s.  February 14th has come to mean red hearts, candy, flowers and gifts all in the name of St. Valentine. But who was Saint Valentine?

Who Was St. Valentine?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different martyred saints named Valentine. One of them, a priest in third century Rome, defied Emperor Claudius’ decree outlawing marriage for young men and continued to perform secret marriages. When his actions were discovered he was put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine was killed for trying to help Christians escape from the harsh Roman prisons.

In another legend Valentine sent the first “valentine” message to himself. In prison he fell in love with his jailor’s daughter. Before his death, legend says he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine.” Whatever the story, they all emphasize Valentine’s sympathetic, heroic, and romantic appeal.

Why February?

Some think Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate Valentine’s death around 270 A.D.  Others think the Christian church decided to celebrate Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an attempt to “christianize” the pagan Lupercalia, known as the beginning of spring festival.

British Valentine’s Day celebrations started around the seventeenth century. By mid eighteenth century all social classes exchanged tokens of affection or handwritten notes. Americans probably began exchanging handmade valentines in the early 1700s and mass-produced valentines in the 1840s.

Valentine’s Greetings

Women buy about 85% of the estimated one billion Valentine cards sent each year. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the US, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Over 50% of all Valentine’s Day cards are bought in the six days before the holiday (hedging bets?) and more than half of the people in the US celebrate Valentine’s Day by buying a card.

Teachers get the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, then sweethearts. Children from 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine’s cards with their teachers, classmates, and family.

And Flowers

110 million roses, mostly red, are sold and delivered within the three day period around Valentine’s Day. 60% of American roses come from California but the majority of the roses sold on Valentine’s Day are imported, mostly from South America.

15% of American women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day although 73% of the people who buy Valentine’s Day flowers are men.

Happy Valentine’s Day

 

A Box Of Chocolates

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In the US chocolate candy outsells all other types of candy combined, by 2 to 1.  Around seven billion pounds of chocolate candy are manufactured each year in the US and during the week before Valentine’s Day about 1.1 billion boxed chocolates,  about 58 million pounds, will be sold.

There are 2300 calories, 140 grams of fat, 270 grams of carbs, and 31 grams of protein in a pound of milk chocolate. A lot has been said about the heart healthy benefits of chocolate, especially dark chocolate, but it’s important to remember that chocolate is still a high calorie, high fat treat.

But Isn’t Chocolate Good For Me?

In moderation—and, depending on the type—the answer is yes. Chocolate’s health benefits come from cocoa and dark chocolate has more cocoa than milk chocolate.  White chocolate, without any cocoa in it, isn’t really chocolate. German scientists studied 19,357 people for a decade and found that those who ate the most chocolate (average 7.5 grams a day) had lower blood pressure and a 39% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke than people who ate the smallest amount (1.7 grams a day).

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, contains flavonols which have antioxidant properties. Those Valentine’s chocolates can be caloric and moderately high in fat, one-third of it the type of saturated fat that is not heart healthy. Extra ingredients like crème and caramel fillings can add lots of extra fat and calories.

If you see “Chocolate Liquor” in the ingredients list of chocolate candy, it is not alcoholic but a thick paste of ground cocoa beans, or nibs.  The higher the amount of chocolate liquor, the greater the amount of beneficial flavonoids and in chocolate vocabulary, “cocoa” and “cacao” are synonymous as are “beans” and “nibs.”

Just So You Know

A treat is something that’s usually associated with pleasure and on Valentine’s Day, with love.  To celebrate the occasion it’s just fine to enjoy a piece or two.

  • Hershey’s Kisses, 9 pieces:  230 calories, 12g fat
  • Hershey’s Special Dark Hearts, 5 pieces:  220 calories, 7g fat
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts, snack size:  170 calories, 10g fat
  • Russell Stover boxed chocolates, 2 pieces:  150 calories, 4g fat
  • Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts, 5 pieces:  210 calories, 13g fat
  • Godiva boxed chocolates, 4 pieces:  210 calories, 12g fat

What Does Your Favorite Candy Heart Say?

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“Be Mine,” “Kiss me,”  “Sweet Talk.” Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, the small heart-shaped pastel colored candy with the familiar sayings have been a Valentine’s Day treat since 1902. Their manufacturer, NECCO, the New England Confectionery Company, in business since 1847, produces more than 8 billion of the candy conversation hearts a year.

In the 1860’s the New England Confectionary Company began printing sayings on candy like “Married in Pink, He will take to drink,”or “Married in White, you have chosen right,” and “Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting.” (Not such a good send-off for being married in pink or satin!!!)

The conversation heart sayings have been updated over the years with new ones added periodically. The candy is quite popular — NECCO sells out of their hearts — 100,000 pounds a day — in six weeks.

A few years ago NECCO asked the public how they wanted to express their love and in 2010 they introduced new flavors and sayings. The new flavors are strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange, and blue raspberry new sayings include “Tweet Me,” “Text Me,” “You Rock,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug,” and “Me + You.”

Although you’d be hard pressed to call them nutritious, candy hearts are fat free, sodium free, and a caloric bargain at about 3 calories apiece for the small hearts and about 6 calories apiece for the larger “Motto” hearts.

In my mind, candy hearts and paper Valentines are absolutely linked with elementary school Valentine’s Day celebrations.  How about you?