Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is my birthday – 62 times around the sun. There are many disadvantages to having  been born on February 14th, but the easy availability of sappy birthday cards and chocolate is definitely not one of them.

The other day I realised, with some sadness, that our Biblical and Talmudic ancestors were deprived of the joys of chocolate. Can you imagine what the Psalmists or the Rabbis would have said about  chocolate, given how much they loved wine? Sadly, they did not have the opportunity. 

As a New World food, it was first introduced to Spain in the 16th century, and spread from there around Europe and the Mediterranean basin. I was interested to learn that many Jews were involved in the development of the chocolate industry as we know it today. 

Talking of the chocolate industry, be sure to get fair trade chocolate if you can find it – unfortunately there have been many abuses documented, including child labour. There’s no need for us to contribute to human misery just for our own pleasure, and thankfully there are ways to avoid doing so.

So why do we love chocolate so much? Let me count some of the ways. (Here is the source if you want more detail.)

• Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, has lots of theobromine, which has a similar effect to caffeine.

• It contains antioxidants and may help ward off heart attacks.

• Chocolate contains anandamide, which is a neurotransmitter that helps improve our mood.

• Chocolate is a great stress reliever!

I hope you enjoyed this little excursion into the joys of chocolate. I’d love to know what your favourite kind is (mine is sea salt or chili!).

Many thanks to all who came to my renaming ceremony – if you would like a link to the recording, just drop me a message.