IMAGE: Chocolate is one of the most liked foods on the planet. Photograph: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
On World Chocolate Day, learn more about one of the world's most favourite foods after perhaps pizza, according to some food rankings.
Chocolate, like its appearance, has a dark history that's more interesting than most food you eat.
Go on, take this quiz.
IMAGE: Discover why chocolate is a wonder food. Photograph: Johanna Geron/Reuters
1. Is chocolate a spice or a vegetable or fruit?
A. Vegetable.
B. Some say it is a fruit and some say it is a vegetable.
C. Spice.
B. Some botanists say it is a bean and all beans are vegetables.
Other botanists say it is a fruit because it has pods.
2. Chocolate was first enjoyed by the world in which form?
A. Hot chocolate.
B. Chocolate bars.
C. Cigarettes.
A. Hot chocolate.
It was first had as a bitter, foamy warm drink. And later with sweeteners like honey and chile pepper and allspice and was had cold. It was only during the Industrial Revolution that factory processes created new commodities.
3. Which European country started using chocolate first?
A. England.
B. Portugal.
C. Spain.
C. Spain.
Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes first experienced cocoa as a drink, even though before him Christopher Columbus bumped into cacao beans on his travels in Central America. But according to Wikipedia it was Spanish friars who popularised it as a drink in the Spanish courts where it was eventually drunk by adding sugar, vanilla and black pepper.
4. Does milk chocolate have any nutritional value?
A. No, none.
B. Yes, it contains molybdenum.
C. It contains several vitamins.
C. It contains several vitamins.
Milk chocolate contains several vitamins like A, B, E, K and even many minerals including zinc, potassium, sodium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus.
5. Which ingredient of the composition of chocolate produces psycho-active effects (as a stimulant) and affect cognitive functioning?
A. Theobromine.
B. Caffeine.
C. Flavonoids.
B. Caffeine.
1 tsp cocoa powder has 1.6 mg caffeine. By contrast, 1 tsp coffee powder has 30 to 90 mg caffeine.
6. What is the name of the first chocolate-producing factory?
A. Fry's of Bristol.
B. Nestle of Switzerland.
C. Rowntree's of York.
A/ Fry's of Bristol.
In 1866 Joseph Fry's chocolate factory started producing chocolate by the bars which quickly became a hit.
7. Chocolate has a natural chemical called phenylethylamine that makes you:
A. Depressed.
B. Happy.
C. Boring.
B. Happy.
Phenylethylamine is a CNS stimulant and said to be, not entirely conclusively, a mood improver.
8. Which kind of chocolate is good for your health because contains the most antioxidants?
A. Dark.
B. White.
C. Milk.
A. Dark.
Dark chocolate is one of the best sources of antioxidants which inhibit oxidation and stops the deterioration of stored body food products. Antioxidants ward away free radicals from your cells, which may have a role in causing cancer, heart disease, cancer and other serious diseases.
9. Is chocolate an aphrodisiac?
A. Yes.
According to WebMD: 'Chocolate contains the chemicals phenylethylamine and serotonin, which are thought to be mood boosters and mild sexual stimulants. Eating chocolate makes you feel good, even euphoric. But the aphrodisiac qualities of chocolate are more about the sensual pleasure of how it melts in your mouth than as a sexual stimulus'.
10. Can chocolates cause:
A. Headaches.
B. Blood pressure.
C. Tingling.
A. Headaches.
According to Heathline.com: 'Chocolate contains both caffeine and beta-phenylethylamine, which may trigger headaches in some people -- an estimated 22 percent of people experience migraine'.
11. Useful properties of chocolate:
A. Can be a good diuretic -- improve urine output.
B. Can be a good post-workout drink.
C. Can be a good laxative to fight constipation.
B. A good post-workout drink.
According to WebMD: 'Fat-free chocolate milk beat out carbohydrate sports drinks at helping to rebuild and refuel muscles after exercise, researchers report.
The combination of carbohydrates and protein in low-fat chocolate milk appears to be 'just right' for refueling weary muscles, says William Lunn, PhD, an exercise scientist at the University of Connecticut.
"It's not just a dessert item, but it's very healthy, especially for endurance athletes," Lunn tells WebMD'.
12. Health properties of chocolate:
A. It is among the 30 best anti-inflammatory foods. It helps in inflammation relief.
B. It is a top protein. It helps in cell repair.
C. It is a vital probiotic. It helps in liver protection.
A. An anti-inflammatory.
Chronic inflammation or over-use of the immune system leads to disease and certain foods cause inflammation but chocolate, on the other hand, decreases chronic inflammation because of its antioxidants.
13. Is chocolate good for:
A. Your hair. It has antiseptic properties.
B. Your nails. It has lanolin properties.
C. Your teeth. It has antibacterial properties.
C. Your teeth.
According to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, the world's largest biomedical library and the center of biomedical informatics, the theobromine in cocoa has an anti-bacterial effect and fights plaque.
14. Is white chocolate really chocolate?
A. No. It is cocoa butter mixed with sugar, and sometimes vanilla.
B. No. It is raw cacao seed kernels mixed with sugar and flavouring.
C. No. It is lecithin mixed with cocoa and sometimes vanilla.
A. No, it is cocoa butter mixed with sugar, and sometimes vanilla.
No it is cocoa butter mixed with sugar, and sometimes vanilla and has no crucial cocoa solids that are found in other types of chocolate.
15. Who discovered cacao first?
A. Ghanaians.
B. Aztecs.
C. Mayans.
C. Mayans.
The Mayans, who first traded it as a commodity. However, the Aztecs first brewed it into a sweet drink. More recently, West African countries became the biggest producers of cacao beans.