Nothing says Valentine’s Day like chocolates and decadent desserts. One of the biggest-selling chocolates is Russell Stover’s “Secret Lace Heart,” a chocolate box covered in satin and black lace. The so-called “lingerie box” is affordable and easily-accessible, stocked on store shelves for easy grab-and-go sales.
It turns out that chocolate really has a history as a love food. Passion for chocolate is rooted in Mesoamerican history. It was a highly-prized luxury item among Mayan and Aztec upper class elites, who were known to savor a drink that combined roasted cacao beans with cornmeal, vanilla, honey and chilies. Cacao beans were as valuable a commodity as gold, and were even used to pay taxes levied by Aztec rulers.
When Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI in 1770, she brought her personal chocolate maker to Versailles. The official “Chocolate Maker to the Queen” created such recipes as chocolate mixed with orchid bulb for strength, chocolate with orange blossom to calm the nerves, or chocolate with sweet almond milk to aid the digestion. Chocolate’s connection to Valentine’s Day is a prime example of virtue finding its just reward—the rise of chocolate as a popular food, and the celebration of Valentine’s Day as a holiday.
Want to try a chocolate or sweet treat for your beloved this Valentine’s Day? Check out 10 yummy recipes below and on Latina Magazine: http://latina.com/lifestyle/family/mami-talks-valentines-day-desserts-recipes
Devil’s Food Cake & Fruit Pizza Dessert
Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake
Joscelyn, Owner of Mami of Multiples & Mami Innovative Media
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