Instructions: This wasnt just any chocolate. This was the Secret Marquise, a cool, dense, creamy mixture of three kinds of chocolate lying seductively amid a pool of cream that had been whipped just until it whimpered. It was a dessert to die for. Trouble was, we had already given our lives many times over in the previous 16 hours. Sixteen food editors and writers had gathered in the stately rooms of a 1738 Georgian-style manor outside Baltimore to learn the latest news on the science of chocolate: antioxidants, fermentation, the physiology of cravings, fats relationship to flavor, and how to repair melted chocolate that has seized

(see accompanying story).

Dont be mistaken: These journalists were gathered strictly in the name of science, brought together by the American Chemical Society to provide a greater understanding of the role science plays in the food world. If this meant attendees had to eat enough top-quality chocolate to frost a 747, so be it. As with wine and coffee, the media have shown an insatiable appetite for news about chocolate. Often, however, FD1 the news gets distorted. In his opening remarks, Joseph A. Schwarcz, professor of chemistry with McGill University in Montreal, laid to rest the myth that chocolate is an aphrodisiac.

Phenylethylamine, one of chocolates more than 300 compounds, is a substance found at higher levels in the brains of people in love. But, according to Schwarcz, after chocolate is eaten, the phenylethylamine is metabolized during digestion and does not increase in blood levels. In any case, he pointed out, sauerkraut has a lot more phenylethylamine than chocolate.

Wine, roses and caffeine?

What some people experience as a romantic reaction, said Schwarcz, is likely to be caused by the stimulants found in chocolate, caffeine among them. For the record, 1 ounce of chocolate contains 10 to 20 milligrams of caffeine. A 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee contains about 105 milligrams, and a 12-ounce cola 35 to 50 milligrams. Although chocolate is no love potion, Schwarcz says it can raise your spirits. Since it is a carbohydrate, it raises the level of serotonin in the brain and acts as an anti- depressant in the manner of drugs such as Prozac.

Chocolate also stimulates the release of endorphins in the brain, helping to create a state of well-being, much like the "high" created by vigorous exercise.

At this point, the audience was all abuzz. Not from Schwarczs remarks, but from the dessert: chocolate mousse pie with praline crust - plus homemade bittersweet truffles presented with fresh strawberries in a box made of bittersweet chocolate. The next day, scientists gave journalists the chemical side of how cacao beans are made into chocolate and processed by the body. The speakers tried to present their information in laymans language, but, bottom line, chocolate is a complex food, made up of things such as anandamide, theobromine and oligomeric procyanidins.

As college students, most journalists made a point of sidestepping such names by taking such classes as "Invertebrate Adaption for Nonmajors." Now, we desperately tried to digest the complex information, along with the delectable dessert we ate at lunch: Double Chocolate Pudding (a k a Country Chocolate Pudding) served with honey ice cream nestled in a lace cookie cup (see accompanying recipe).

Favorite food, bar none
Marcia Levin Pelchat, an associate member of Monell Chemical Senses Center, a nonprofit research institute in Philadelphia, explained why so many people crave chocolate. According to Pelchat, chocolates unique sweet-fat flavor and its smooth mouthfeel (it melts at body temperature) make it the most frequently named food in surveys of cravings. But some of us appreciate it more than others. Pelchat said 60 percent of females crave sweets (and, remember, the sweet they crave most is chocolate), while 35 percent crave savory foods. Those numbers are reversed for males. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain chocolate craving,
including a nutrient deficit; self-medication for depression; hormones; conditioned response; and an environmental trigger. According to Pelchat, some of these "mechanisms" have already been disproved. For example, the idea of self-medication for depression, she explained, isnt valid because

"Triscuits and cheese work better" than chocolate at raising serotonin levels, and yet people dont crave those foods.

Pelchat hypothesized that because women crave chocolate more than men, and younger females crave it more than older females, there may be some biological basis - such as ovarian hormones - that explains the gender preference. However, Pelchat said it is still not known whether one or multiple mechanisms control chocolate craving.

All this talk about hormones and cravings wasnt lost on the largely female audience. At the next break, several members could be seen brushing crumbs from the chocolate croissants off their laps.

Give in to the dark side
Joe Vinson, professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, described some recent preliminary research that linked consumption of cocoa powder and dark chocolate to a slight increase in HDL levels. HDL is the "good" type of blood cholesterol that fights heart disease by preventing the buildup of cholesterol in arteries.

This is because chocolate is rich in polyphenols, and the darker the chocolate, the more polyphenols you get (cocoa powder contains the most, white chocolate none). Polyphenols - a k a antioxidants - have several benefits, most importantly the ability to help limit artery damage by preventing the oxidation of LDL, the "bad" kind of cholesterol. A 1.(4-ounce) bar of milk chocolate contains 394 milligrams polyphenols, about the same amount as in a glass of red wine; a bar of dark chocolate has 951 milligrams, slightly more than whats in a cup of black tea. "You shouldnt feel guilty about eating chocolate," Vinson said. "The only negative about chocolate is that it has calories . . . The key is moderation and not excess."
In short, he recommended, do not start substituting chocolate for broccoli.

Actually, by the time the conference ended, some lightly steamed broccoli had started to sound very good. But there was no escape. As we departed, we were given bags containing a chocolate bar-motif T-shirt - and a chocolate bar.

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