16 December 2023 , 11:30
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On the run-up to Christmas, it's always exciting to open the little door on your advent calendar each morning and have a little chocolate treat - and there's a reason they taste different to normal chocolates.
The little morning pick-me-up sweet treat is always enjoyed no matter what age you are. With a huge selection of different calendars to choose from, it's a fun way to get in the festive spirit and start the countdown to Christmas - even if you do have to spend a good five minutes trying to get it out of the little plastic mould.
However, you may be wondering if it's just your imagination making you think the advent calendar chocolate tastes different to a normal chocolate bar, but it is actually true. It is different, and you aren't going mad. The chocolate ingredients are slightly different to a solid bar form, and we also perceive it as better because we savour the moment more.
If you play by the rules and have just one a day, your brain makes the most of the sweet treat. That being said, if you buy a branded calendar, such as Cadbury or Lindt, you will most likely be getting similar chocolate to what you're used to, but for generic advent calendars, the ingredients in most advent calendars are slightly different, hence the different taste. And no, it's not because you eat it after brushing your teeth.
As the chocolates are so small, it's easier for suppliers to pour compound chocolate into the moulds rather than normal chocolate. Compound chocolate is cheaper and includes less expensive fats than regular cocoa butter. According to Mental Floss, the cheaper chocolate is made with "palm kernel oil, or possibly coconut oil" and these ingredients are what give it "a different flavour" than normal chocolate. The cheaper chocolate ingredients also mean the chocolate also has a different texture to what we're used to.
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Because of the bite-sized shape, the rounded edges and sometimes an embossed festive design, it means the chocolate will also melt quickly on our tongue giving us an intense chocolate hit.