So You Think You’re A Chocoholic?

Myth or Magical Thinking?

How often do we chocolate lovers say, “I’m such a chocoholic” or “I’m totally addicted to chocolate”? Many years ago, when I was asked to introduce myself at a work event with my name and one fact about myself, I actually said, “I’m Julia and I’m a chocoholic.” For the rest of the day, people kept coming up to me and asking if I had any chocolate!

We say it so casually, but is it really true?

Before we go any further, I think it’s worth making one thing clear: any word with “-oholic” on the end is fairly loaded. What we’re really talking about here is a craving, or the feeling that we simply can’t resist a bit of chocolate, rather than a clinical substance addiction.

Constant Craving

That brings me back to the word chocoholic. Over the years, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve told me they’re complete chocoholics, only to follow it up by saying that they don’t actually like dark chocolate and only eat milk.

Which does make me wonder: is it really the chocolate

they’re craving, or the particular combination of cocoa, sugar, milk and fat that makes milk chocolate so easy to keep eating?

I know from personal experience that, when I’m making chocolates, a little taste of a good-quality, high-cocoa dark chocolate is usually enough. If I have to taste too much of it while I’m working, I quickly reach the point where I really don’t want to eat any more. Milk chocolate is a different matter. It’s sweeter and creamier and, if I’m tasting that, I’m far more likely to find myself sneaking a few extra buttons from the sack!

If you fancy trying a little experiment for yourself, take a piece of milk chocolate and a piece of good-quality dark chocolate and eat them separately, paying attention to how much you actually want to keep eating. Does one satisfy you more quickly than the other?

All In The Mind?

There is some interesting brain chemistry going on too. When we eat something we find particularly enjoyable, our brain’s reward system gets involved. Dopamine is part of what gives you that little nudge that says, “Go on, have another one, you know you want it”, while other parts of the system contribute to the pleasure we get from actually eating it.

Foods that combine sweetness, fat and an appealing texture can be particularly rewarding, which may help to explain why some chocolate products are so moreish. These reward pathways overlap with some of those involved in addiction, but that doesn’t mean enjoying, or even strongly craving, chocolate is the same thing as having a substance addiction.

Milk Or Plain?

Commercial chocolate, particularly milk chocolate and chocolate confectionery, combines sugar, fat, flavour and that lovely, comforting melt-in-the-mouth texture. So when we say we’re craving chocolate, it can be difficult to separate the cocoa itself from everything that’s combined with it. Chocolate isn’t one flavour any more than wine is one flavour.

And, if you check the ingredients in many everyday chocolate products, you’re likely to find they contain less actual cocoa than you thought. Biscuits, filled bars and other chocolate-coated treats can contain plenty of sugar, milk, vegetable fats and flavourings alongside a relatively modest amount of cocoa. That doesn’t necessarily make them bad, but it does raise the question of which part of the experience we’re really finding so hard to resist.

But even when it comes to milk chocolate, not all chocolate is created equal. You may well find that a bar containing 35–45% cocoa leaves you feeling more satisfied than one containing just 20%.

Dark chocolate spans an even wider range. For most of my dark chocolate products, I use a couverture containing 55% cocoa mass. It blends well with other flavours without overwhelming them, so it works particularly well for truffles and enrobing. I also find that it appeals to most people, even those who say they don’t like dark chocolate. At the other end of the scale, a 70% or 85% chocolate has a much more intense, less sweet flavour.

Myth? Maybe. Magical? Definitely!

Of course, none of this means that chocolate cravings aren’t real. You can crave chocolate very strongly, and some people may feel their eating around it is difficult to control. I’ve certainly had my moments!

Chocolate is a very rewarding food to eat: it’s sweet, smooth and aromatic, and it’s strongly associated with treats and comfort. A particular chocolate bar or chocolate-covered biscuit can take us straight back to childhood with just one taste.

It’s hardly surprising that we sometimes feel we can’t resist it. But, as we’ve seen, calling that a literal addiction to chocolate oversimplifies what’s really going on in our lizard brains when we pop a square of that delicious food of the gods into our mouths.

Images by Andriyko Podilnyk and Tetiana Bykovets on Unsplash