Food for Thought
In this piece, Mia will trace the history of the Valentine's day chocolate box to its roots.
Valentine's chocolates: A symbol of love
By Mia Bartscher
As Valentine’s day approaches, stores are bursting with red roses, teddy bears and, possibly the most iconic of all, heart-shaped Valentine’s day boxes. These delicate boxes are full of sweet truffles, but the packaging is what makes them unique to Valentine’s day. The heart-shaped chocolate boxes are a key feature of a modern Valentine’s day, but their roots can be traced back to the 1800s.
Photo courtesy of the British Library
Valentine’s day can be traced back to the middle ages. The holiday is named for two Roman saints, though according to History, neither was remotely connected to romance. In fact, it was not until 1382, when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote of love on Valentine’s day in a poem, that the romantic side of the holiday was introduced. From then on, Valentine’s day blossomed in popularity as a late-winter holiday, and scenes such as those associated in modern minds with medieval times (knights giving roses to fair maidens, serenading them from afar and the like) began to appear. However, in those times, chocolate, because of the sugar, was expensive and limited to the rich.
By the start of the Victorian era in the early nineteenth century, Valentine’s day had evolved, and the modern technology of the time was in a place to turn the holiday into an explosion of commercialism. Around that time, a British chocolatier named Richard Cadbury was working to find a use for excess cocoa butter, extracted as he processed his drinking chocolate. To solve this, he invented “eating chocolates”, according to Smithsonian Magazine. He packaged these chocolates in hand-crafted boxes, and in 1861, he began putting Valentine’s iconography on heart-shaped boxes. These boxes could be saved even well after all of the chocolates had been eaten. They could be used to hold mementos, such as love letters or dried roses.
Commercialized chocolate flourished in America during the early twentieth century. By the 1930s, the marketing machine had taken over, and it painted women as the recipients of these heart boxes. CNN reports that “ Whitman’s Chocolate coined the phrase ‘a woman never forgets the man who remembers.’” This reinforced the gender norms of the time, and it contributed to the idea that chocolate was for women. Not long afterward, Russell Stover came out with the Secret Lace Heart box, a box that, covered in black lace, took chocolate’s history as a symbol of seduction to a whole new level.
Image of Secret Lace Heart from Target
Nowadays, Valentine’s day has been challenged by events such as Galentine’s day, which both celebrated the idea of female friendship and rallied against the heteronormative marketing surrounding Valentine’s day. However, though the lens through which we view Valentine’s day has shifted somewhat in recent years, the marketing remains the same, and the heart-shaped chocolate box lives on in its glory.
chocolate hazelnut crunch truffles
If you want to opt for a more homemade version of the Valentine's box, try these truffles from Sally's Baking Addiction.
Ingredients:
16 oz (450 g) semisweet OR milk chocolate chopped and divided in half
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
1/3 cup (100 g) Nutella
2 tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (90 g) toasted and finely chopped hazelnuts, divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup
Place 8 ounces of the chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Microwave for four fifteen second increments, stirring after each. Stir until almost completely melted. Set aside.
Pour the cream into a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until a boil begins, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and slowly pour cream over the chocolate. Begin gently stirring with a wooden spoon in one direction. Be gentle! Once the chocolate and cream are a smooth mixture, stir in Nutella and butter until combined and smooth, then stir in 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts. Cover with plastic wrap pressed on top and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes. Then, place in the refrigerator until it reaches “scoopable” consistency, about 4 hours.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Remove mixture from refrigerator. Measure about 1 teaspoon, roll mixture into a ball as well as possible, then place on the baking sheet. The mixture will be a little sticky. Having palms coated with cocoa powder helps the chocolate not stick. (A rolling tip: The air will help “dry out” the truffle balls. If the balls are not perfect, after 15 minutes in the air they should be able to be rolled into neater balls.)
Melt the remaining 8 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. Place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 15 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Dip each truffle completely into the chocolate using a fork. When lifting the ball out of the chocolate, remember to tap the fork gently on the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place balls back onto the baking sheet after they have been dipped. Drizzle with any leftover chocolate. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chocolate has completely set before serving.
