Sherry Kitto, UD professor of plant and soil sciences who developed the course, isn’t surprised. The alkali-processed cocoa is bitter and unsweetened, she said, not at all like the Hershey Kiss or the other piece of chocolate candy the students have just tasted.

"They’re finding out there’s a whole other world of chocolate from what they are used to," she said with a laugh. Her plant science honors colloquium on chocolate, she said, will widen their horizons.

Who wouldn’t want to take an honors colloquium that requires you to eat chocolate? Not Jed Dooley, a freshman majoring in economics. "It rocks!" he said. "The taste tests are why I signed up."

Students will compile individual reports on the taste-testing, or "sensory evaluation" results, discussed in groups of five and recorded after each test session. The tests are conducted scientifically, comparing the Hershey’s Kiss with a different milk chocolate each week.

"Students rate each specimen with descriptors such as ‘burnt,’ ‘fruity/salty,’ or ‘toasted’ to describe aroma; and ‘bitter,’ ‘salty,’ ‘sour’ or ‘sweet’ to describe taste," Kitto said. "They examine appearance, texture and chemical feeling factors as well."
Electrical engineering major Phil Wilcox has a different take. "Everyone likes eating chocolate," he says. "What I like about this class is how we look at chocolate from so many different angles."

These different angles include the origin and horticulture of Theobroma cacao—the South American tree that bears cocoa beans—as well as the chemistry of chocolate and its nutritional value (good news: it has nutritional value!), how chocolate is produced, its social and financial implications and its use in cuisine.

Most of the coursework—half of each class—is focused on the horticulture and botany of chocolate, according to Kitto, who teaches everything from what the fruit looks like (it is the shape and size of almonds) to production issues to lessons in tissue culture.

Students also learn such chocolate "facts" as which national landmark had a chocolate bar named after it (Old Faithful), and they share experiences stemming from their own love of chocolate. Students even discuss the UN conference on trade and development, which reviewed the regulatory standards for importing chocolate.

"We’re exploring all the things about chocolate that make it so desirable, irresistible, universally appealing and yummy," Kitto said.

Reading and writing

But it’s not all cocoa and Kisses. In addition to spending part of each Friday in sensory evaluation, these first-year honors students must complete a group project related to the taste tests. They also must read four chocolate-related books, fiction and nonfiction, and complete a writing requirement for the class.

Among the selections are such books as "The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the secret world of Hershey and Mars," by Joël Glenn Brenner and "The True History of Chocolate," by Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe to "Chocolat," a novel by Joanne Harris.

Through the University Honors Program, Kitto explained that her colloquium has a writing fellow, an upperclass honors student. Kitto’s students write three papers (one creative, one research and one that compares and contrasts Hershey and Mars chocolates) that are edited by the fellow. When the writing fellow returns the edited paper and reviews the critique with the student, the student rewrites the paper, and then Kitto combines it with others from the class for a final information resource on chocolate.

The course draws students from all majors, Kitto said. "Engineers can explore the mechanics of making and packaging chocolate. Business majors discover how the big candy companies market different kinds of chocolate to various target audiences. Veterinary students can research why chocolate is toxic to some animals. Of the 20 students in my colloquium, eight are engineers, five are business majors and the rest are divided among a variety of majors."

Class trips

An added feature of the course is a trip to Wilbur Chocolates, in Lititz, Pa.; and to two local candy factories: The Swiss Chocolatier Factory Store in Oxford, Pa., producer of Neuchatel Chocolates; and Thomson Candies in Avondale, Pa.

According to Kitto, the Oxford candy maker has four retail stores in New York City and one in the Middle East. The price of specialty chocolate-covered figs and dates in the Middle East?

"$100 a pound," Kitto said, noting, "We are very spoiled in the United States."

Business major Kara Sylvis sums up the students’ reactions to the chocolate course: "When do you have a chance to study in such depth something everybody loves?"

Chocolate nutrition: good news and bad