It is 21 days until Valentine’s Day, one of the most popular
chocolate-giving times of the year. Most
guys will buy their woman a red, heart shaped box of chocolate and a dozen
roses. One word: BORING. I need a little
spontaneity in my life. I blame my father
for giving me such high expectations of guys who clearly lack the originality
that he had. Every year he would buy me
dozens of my favorite chocolate bars and tape them to a box that opened up to
reveal a piece of jewelry or a gift card to my favorite store. What better way
to show someone you care than by treating them to one of their favorites? For
me, that’s a good old-fashioned candy bar.
Since then, I have developed a greater appreciation for all
kinds of chocolate. I still have my
favorites, but the list has grown immensely.
Alright, I’ll admit it. I’m
obsessed with chocolate. What about it? Let’s be realistic, how could anyone resist
such deliciousness?
There’s a reason candy bars are located by the register; because producers know that no one can resist the chocolaty goodness individually wrapped in each shiny, eye-catching package. But once you hit the candy rack, how do you know which one to pick? There’s such a large selection it takes some people way too long to actually choose a chocolate bar without stuffing your face with them all. Even chocolate “experts”, such as myself, have trouble deciding. Picking favorites is not fun when you have feelings for them all!
There’s a reason candy bars are located by the register; because producers know that no one can resist the chocolaty goodness individually wrapped in each shiny, eye-catching package. But once you hit the candy rack, how do you know which one to pick? There’s such a large selection it takes some people way too long to actually choose a chocolate bar without stuffing your face with them all. Even chocolate “experts”, such as myself, have trouble deciding. Picking favorites is not fun when you have feelings for them all!
There are a lot of different criteria that go into this
painfully agonizing decision-making process.
To help ease this process, I conducted a survey of four different types
of popular chocolate bars. They include:
Hershey’s, Lindor, Hazelwood Gourmet, and Dove.
All of these standard sized, milk chocolate bars were chosen in the
candy aisle at my local Walgreens.
TASTE.
TASTE.
Probably one of the most important influences in the
decision making process; at least in my opinion. To help compare them, I asked eleven other
people to blindly taste the chocolate. I
did not want the reputation of the brand of chocolate to influence the taste
test. So for the purposes of this
survey, I labeled the chocolates: A (Hershey’s), B (Lindor), C (Hazelwood
Gourmet), D (Dove). The chocolates were
given to all twelve candidates, including myself, who all had their eyes
covered. I asked them to rank the
chocolates from 1 to 4; 1 being the best and 4 being the worst. The chocolate that got first was given four points,
second got three points, third got two points, and last got one point. The numbers were then added and compared. The results are shown below.
With today’s hard economic times, everyone is trying to
catch a good deal. Unless you are filthy
rich, money most likely has an influence on almost everything you do or
buy. So naturally, price would be an
important piece of information when deciding which chocolate bar to
purchase. At Walgreens, the price for a
43-gram bar of Hershey’s chocolate is $1.09.
The price for a 100-gram Lindor chocolate bar was $2.69. The price for a 90-gram Hazelwood Gourmet
chocolate bar was $1.79. The price of a
40.8-gram Dove chocolate bar was $1.09.
I then calculated the unit price of each bar of chocolate and compared
them in the bar graph shown below.
The graph shows the best buy for your buck is definitely the
Hazelwood Gourmet bar. Hershey’s came in
second, with Dove and Lindor in a close third and forth.
NUITRITION.
Most likely, if you are buying a bar of chocolate you are
not interested in nutrition facts. But
being an athlete myself, I can’t help but take into account the amount of laps I'm going to need to run after indulging in my favorite snack. After all, a difference of 10
total grams of fat means the difference of two chocolate bars
compared to one!
I decided to compare the calories, total fat and sugars of one serving of each of the bars of chocolate in separate bar grafts. The results are shown below.
The graph shows that the chocolate bar with the least amount of calories was the Hazelwood Gourmet, which also had the least amount of total fat. Lindor also tied with Hazelwood Gourmet for the least amount of sugars.
CONCLUSION:
This Valentine’s Day, surprise someone special with the
tastiness of a good old-fashioned milk chocolate bar. Better yet, surprise yourself! Rekindle the love you have for that favorite bar of goodness. Use these tips and criteria
to help make that decision making process go a little smoother. Can’t decide? Buy them all and share them
with a special friend. In the spirit of Valentine’s
Day, share a little love! Chocolate love.
