Carlos Solis
What should you know when buying chocolate for Easter — especially eggs and bunnies? Australian dietitians Lauren Ball (University of Queensland) and Emily Birch (Southern Cross University) explain.
Easter chocolate has flooded supermarket shelves. Some people grab milk chocolate, while others reach for darker varieties because they think they’re healthier.
Marketers have noticed that customers buy Easter chocolate figures faster than at other times of year. Many people say Easter chocolate simply tastes better to them.
The main difference between Easter chocolate and other chocolate is the holiday feeling it carries. It also comes down to how we perceive the treats: texture, smell, shape, and taste.
For example, consumers expect chocolate in a rounded shape to be creamier. So before we even bite into a chocolate egg, we assume it will be creamier than a standard bar. Those expectations shape our perception of the chocolate. But if the egg turns out less creamy than we expected, we feel disappointed.
Dark vs. milk chocolate: what each one actually does for your health
While you judge a product’s taste and aroma, remember each type has a different health profile.
Dark chocolate is often seen as the better option because it contains more cocoa and less sugar than milk chocolate.
Dark chocolate usually contains a much higher percentage of cocoa solids—typically 50–90 percent—whereas milk chocolate usually contains about 20–30 percent.
Dark chocolate has higher amounts of minerals such as magnesium, iron, and zinc. It also contains noticeably more caffeine (although far less than a cup of coffee).
Meanwhile, milk chocolate contains significantly more calcium because of its dairy ingredients. But it also contains more added sugar, Popular Science reports, citing The Conversation.
Cocoa is rich in plant compounds called polyphenols. In the body, those compounds act as antioxidants and help protect cells from damage.
Because dark chocolate contains more cocoa, it also contains more polyphenols. Dark chocolate has roughly five times the flavanols (a type of polyphenol) found in milk chocolate.
Compared with other foods often praised for their antioxidant content, cocoa contains about 17 times more catechins (another type of polyphenol) than black tea, and roughly three times as many catechins as red wine.
Cocoa flavanols promote relaxation of blood vessels and improved blood flow. Some clinical trials have reported lower blood pressure and better vascular function after consuming cocoa products.
There is also evidence that a diet rich in flavanols is associated with a lower overall risk of cardiovascular disease.
And a large Italian study that included more than a million participants found a link between chocolate consumption and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
How to choose Easter chocolate at the supermarket
However, many of those studies used high-flavanol cocoa extracts and specially formulated chocolate, not the ordinary Easter eggs you buy at the supermarket.
Researchers often tested doses that were much larger and more concentrated than the amounts people typically eat.
As Ball and Birch pointed out, choosing dark chocolate in the store doesn’t automatically mean it’s healthier. Some dark chocolates contain surprisingly high amounts of sugar—up to 40–50 percent.
That means a 150 g dark chocolate Easter bunny could contain about 19 teaspoons of added sugar.
In some supermarket dark chocolate Easter eggs, sugar is listed as one of the main ingredients.
Because demand for Easter chocolate is so high, manufacturers often use rapid cooling methods to produce as many inexpensive eggs as possible.
Easter only comes once a year — enjoy the chocolate in moderation
Eating chocolate bunnies and eggs is part of the family holiday ritual. That ritual makes Easter chocolate figures feel special. Even if we don’t consider ourselves big chocolate fans, Ball and Birch say Easter is a great time to slow down and enjoy chocolate — in moderation, whether it’s shaped like an egg or in any other form.
Photo: Unsplash
