What is the magic combination?
March 19, 2024
A Tuesday Newsday Classic updated
I can think of nothing which tastes better and scientific study now backs up my claim.
Termed ‘hedonic escalation’ the research confirms what people experience when they are unable to stop eating a particular food. This article from the UK Independent – and not from the Infallible Wikipedia – draws its conclusions from a test conducted at the University of Florida a few years ago:
“Marketing analysts Dr. Cammy Crolic and Professor Chris Janiszewski revealed that eating it actually causes a rare phenomenon called ‘hedonic escalation.’
Here, our instinctive brains keep craving more and more with every mouthful as it detects new flavours with each bite.
By contrast, with other foods we tend to experience ‘hedonic adaptation’ – the point where your appetite says you’ve had enough.
‘Hedonic escalation is more likely to occur when a palatable food consists of a complex combination of flavours, and a person is motivated to taste additional flavours on each successive bite,’ the researchers write. ‘Hedonic escalation can also increase consumption and influence food choice.’”
So what is this mystery food?
Salted Caramel.
Today, March 19th, is National Chocolate Caramel day, the perfect day to enjoy two perfect foods together.
I’ve noticed more and more foods touting the substance in recent years. In December 2018, during a pre-Christmas shopping trip to Costco, I happened upon a jar of Dark Chocolate Sea Salt caramels. Over the past several years I have found that when, given a choice of chocolates, I tended to seek out the dark ones with caramel. So when I saw this large jar AND it was dark chocolate, I had to have them.
Once home, I selected a morsel from the jar and took a bite. The first taste was wonderful, the second was heaven, and by the time the morsel was consumed I was addicted. Fortunately for me I have pretty good discipline when it comes to eating. So I was good and did not eat the entire jar.
Over the next couple months I showed, in my opinion, amazing restraint. Each day I would have one; at most. Soon Christmas gave way to January but the jar of deliciousness remained. Committed to the ‘only one a day’ program – and sometimes none – the supply lasted. By the time early March rolled around, however, one day I stared forlornly at the nearly empty vessel
I knew I would miss my Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels because, Costco being Costco they were, no doubt, only available for the holiday season.
Then a couple of days later a miracle occurred. The hubby and I were at Costco (one or the other of us seems to be there at least once a week…) and on a whim I haul him over to the candy and chocolate aisle to see if there was anything else which might fill the void in my life.
And then I spied them!
A glorious Costco size stack of jar after jar after jar of Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels beckoned to me. Oh, sweet mysteries of life!
Being that I was obsessed, I shared far and wide – with anyone who would listen about the wonders of this perfect food – of the joys of hedonic escalation. When I first published this article in March 2019 I imagine I snagged at least a few folks who went in search themselves.
Even so, my biggest fear since 2018 has been that Costco will run out (Regular price is about $18 but you can get your own 36 ounces of wonder for about $14 on sale) or cease to carry this product. Thus far, it has been a perennial selection all seasons of the year. More than a few of my friends and families now also keep it on hand.
But this article is a call to action. What I urge everyone who reads my blog to do is this: go to Costco today and buy at least one jar. It’s the least you can do to properly celebrate National Chocolate Caramel day. Plus, if I know anything about Costco, the more they sell, the higher the likelihood they will keep them on the shelves forever. Do it for you. Do it for me. Do it for all of America.
A couple of important links:
On Hedonic Escalation:
https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/43/3/388/2199201?redirectedFrom=fulltext
You don’t even have to leave home! If Amazon or some other retailer is your preferred dealer, a quick internet search reveals many who now sell this product.
p.s. – I considered writing about the history of chocolate and caramel but tossed that out the window. For those who do not know, Chocolate’s origins can be traced to MesoAmerica some 1500 years ago.
And Caramel? It’s simply cooked sugar! What’s not to like?
Barbara DeVore 