Chocolate Day

Since it falls as part of the celebration leading up to Valentine’s Day, Chocolate Day brings with it all sorts of ways to celebrate with love and affection.

History of Chocolate Day

Many chocolate lovers would say that the history of chocolate is directly related to the history of the happiness of humans! For thousands of years, cacao beans have been enjoyed and appreciated for their incredible benefits. Originally imbibed as a bitter beverage, chocolate has had a long and rich history, eventually evolving into the delicious confection as it is known today.

Chocolate actually has a number of days throughout the year when it is appreciated in its many different forms. From National Bittersweet Chocolate Day to National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, certainly chocolate offers tons of reasons to celebrate.

Today, Chocolate Day has been incorporated as part of a week-long celebration of days in conjunction with Valentine’s Day. The second of six days leading up to the holiday, Chocolate Day comes after Rose Day and before Propose Day. This week of gearing up to the ultimate celebration of love and affection is a natural space for Chocolate Day to find itself. Because everyone knows that chocolate is just one of the ways that lovers and romantics show each other how much they are adored!

Chocolate Day offers a variety of delicious and delightful ways to show affection and love. Get ready to celebrate Chocolate Day!

How to Celebrate Chocolate Day

Consider implementing some of the following ideas for celebrating Chocolate Day in a deliciously fitting manner:

Give Chocolate as a Gift

Chocolate Day is a beautiful time to enjoy and celebrate the love that comes along with this week in February. And one way to show someone how much they are loved is to gift them with an amazing assortment of chocolate candies. Choose a collection of truffles, caramels or bon bons that a lover or friend would most certainly appreciate.

Those who are celebrating Chocolate Day by giving chocolate to friends or coworkers might want to consider gifting them with one of these popular brands of chocolate:

• Godiva Chocolate. Named after the legendary 11th century noblewoman, Lady Godiva, who rode naked through town to convince her husband to lighten up the taxes, this chocolate company hails from Brussels, Belgium.
• Harry & David Chocolate Basket. Known for their gift baskets, Harry & David has been offering fruit, popcorn and, of course, chocolate for many years. They even offer chocolate dipped strawberries.
• Toblerone Chocolate Bars. Sure, just giving a lover a long, yellow, triangle shaped chocolate bar might not feel that special. But when it is special ordered and personalized with their name on the label? Incredible!
• Dylan’s Candy Bar. Accessible from Nordstrom’s, Dylan’s offers their chocolate lover’s tackle box, a stack of signature chocolate swatches, and so many other delectable chocolate options.

Take a Chocolate Factory Tour

Those who live in or near a town that has a chocolate factory may just find that Chocolate Day is the perfect time to take a little tour. Learn how chocolate is made, see the processes and – hopefully! – get some sample tastes of the finished product.

Of course, there’s Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, PA; the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience on the pier in San Francisco; Big Island Candies in Hilo, Hawaii; or Anthony Thomas Chocolates in Columbus, Ohio. Whether sampling milk chocolate, dark chocolate, truffles or fudge, it’s fun to watch the candy making process from start to finish!

Try Making Chocolates at Home

Some people might think that making chocolates at home for Chocolate Day would be a massive project! But actually, it’s possible to offer homemade chocolates for friends, family and other loved ones in honor of the day – without going to a huge amount of trouble or spending a lot of time. Some of them even have as few as four ingredients!

Check out some of these types of chocolate sweets that can be made at home in a fairly simple manner:

• Four ingredient chocolates. The key ingredients (which may need to be purchased at a specialty baking store) are cacao butter, cacao liquid or paste, maple syrup and vanilla powder. Simply use a double boiler to melt and mix the ingredients. Add a pinch of salt as desired. Pour into chocolate molds, place in the freezer, then pop out and enjoy!
• Peanut butter cups. Also only needing four ingredients, these little homemade chocolate peanut butter cups take Reese’s to the next level. Mix peanut butter with powdered sugar and salt. Fill mini-muffin cups halfway with melted chocolate, add a layer of peanut butter mixture and pour more chocolate on top. Yum!
• Chocolate peanut clusters. Super easy, these just use melted chocolate mixed with peanuts and placed on baking sheets in circles to harden.

Cook with Chocolate

Of course, chocolate is mostly associated with baking, sweets and candies. But getting creative on Chocolate Day might mean including some chocolate in each and every meal that is cooked for the day! Consider making some unique savory meals that are cooked using trace amounts of dark chocolate that change the experience completely.

For instance, try a Chocolate Chipotle Sirloin Steak recipe that has been made with a rub of cocoa powder, chipotle peppers, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Chicken Mole (pronounced mo-LAY) is another traditional Mexican favorite that uses bittersweet chocolate in the tomato based sauce. Some people also love to put chocolate and cinnamon in their chili and serve Cincinnati-style, with pasta, red beans, chopped onion and cheese.

Choose a Chocolate Beverage or Cocktail

Going out for drinks after work in honor of Chocolate Day? Choose a spot that has some chocolate cocktails on offer! Of course, just a mug of toasty hot chocolate with whipped cream might taste just right, but ask for a shot of cinnamon or peppermint liqueur and make it super special. Other options might include a chocolate martini, chocolate mint julep, or chocolate old-fashioned to bring a unique flavor to Chocolate Day!