Welcome to the most wonderful time of
the year. You ready for the big holiday Sunday?
What...you don't know about the holiday
Sunday? Really, you don't? You don't remember that Sunday is
National Chocolate Day?
I'm shocked. Just shocked.
8-)
I had no idea that there actually WAS a
National Chocolate Day, but thanks to the keen observational powers
of my Dad, who noticed it on a calendar a couple of years ago, I'm
now a full-fledged and yearly celebrant. So thanks, Dad!!
How does one actually celebrate
National Chocolate Day? Well, I'm sure eating some is a big part of
it, and I'll make sure I celebrate in that way. But what else do you
do? Sing chocolate carols? Send out chocolate cards? Build a
chocolate man out in the front yard? If that's the case, I'm ill
prepared for the holiday.
Let's just hope that my overall love
for the food is enough to carry the day.
It's funny; I've always loved
chocolate, but I can't pinpoint an exact reason why. All I know is
that even when I was a kid, I was a bit...particular about the kinds
of chocolate I would eat. When I was really young, I had a fondness
for Milk Shake chocolate bars. I don't know if any of you actually
remember Milk Shake bars or if they were even available to people
outside of Michigan, but they were kind of like a slightly less sweet
version of a Milky Way bar. Or at least that's how I remember them;
I haven't eaten one, or even laid eyes upon one, for almost 30 years
now.
As I grew up, my tastes in chocolate
(and chocolate bars) evolved, but it wasn't until I went to Europe
for the first time that my tastes became what they are today. I
don't wanna sound like a chocolate “snob” or anything, but for
the most part there really isn't a comparison between what you can
get here and what you can get there. Heck, some “chocolate” bars
in the US don't even have chocolate in them (which is why you'll
notice the phrase “chocolate-flavored” or “chocolate-flavored
candy” on much of your Halloween or Christmas chocolate), but in
Europe, especially Belgium, chocolate is a fine art. And once I
experienced what you could taste over there, I was spoiled for life.
However, I do have to give credit to
the burgeoning American artisinal chocolate market. Some
chocolatiers like Endangered Species are doing amazing things with
chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Even locally, my friend Davin builds his bars from the ground up with some great flavors like he
current pumpkin spice-pepitas blend. And as the health benefits of
darker chocolate are becoming better known, I have a feeling that
that trend will continue.
I, for one, can not wait!
So I hope you have a great National
Chocolate Day Sunday Grab your favorite kind of bar and bite off a
big hunk; after all, if you eat chocolate on National Chocolate Day,
the calories don't count, right? I think I read that somewhere on
the Internet, and as we all know, everything on the Internet is true,
right? Or celebrate it the way I'll celebrate it, by trying a
chocolate you've never tried before (go out on a limb and pick up a
blackberry-sage or a dark chocolate lemon-ginger bar, both of which
you can get at the Marquette Food Co-op). Either way, just make sure
you celebrate.
After all, it's not National Chocolate
Day every day, is it?
No comments:
Post a Comment