For celebrating Valentine’s Day in our chemistry classes we carry out a special activity about the chemistry of love and chocolate! There are a lot of chemicals racing around your brain and body when you’re falling in love, as well as when you’re engaged in a long-term commitment. We learned how the chemicals in the chocolate can increase dopamine levels in our body, which results in the activation of the reward center in the brain, so we feel happy.
Did you know chocolate begins to melt at a temperature lower than the temperature of the human body? That’s why when you put some in your mouth it begins to melt.
Our challenge was to Investigate how melting chocolate changes its structure and affects properties like taste, texture, and melting point!
We had a great time in the lab measuring the melting and crystallization curves of the chocolate, we learned about the different types of crystals in cocoa butter that melt at different temperatures and why this characteristic is important for the quality of the chocolate.
Ana MarÃ
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