Why Easter eggs taste differently to other chocolates

It’s not just in your head, Easter eggs really do taste better than normal chocolate.

Easter really is the most delicious time of the year.

We just learned that Easter egg chocolate tastes better than regular chocolate and the reasons why might surprise you.

No, it’s not the festive cheer nor the sweetness of being crowned egg hunt champion three years running. It’s not in your head, well, at least, it’s not all in your head.

There is a little bit of psychology at play when it comes to the superior Easter chocolate. Come along, it’s science time.

Easter eggs really do taste different.

As it turns out, the perceived deliciousness of Easter eggs is, in part, the shape of things to come.

A 2021 study published in the British Medical Journal found that people perceive round objects as being creamier than square ones.

Chocolate doesn’t come much rounder than in egg form so your brain thinks that voluptuous dairy milk egg is way flirtier than a standard family block.

Then there’s the smell.

Because Easter eggs are much thinner than a standard chockie block, they release their scent far more easily than other, thicker kinds of chocolate.

There is a little bit of psychology at play when it comes to the superior Easter eggs chocolate.

The finer the chocolate layer, the faster it will melt.

The faster it melts the quicker the aroma hits your nose.

Finally, we come to anticipation.

“We eat first with our eyes” is not just a catchphrase.

If something looks more delicious, according to several scientific and anecdotal studies, it is more likely to taste delicious. Easter eggs, with their beautiful packaging and their shiny tempered chocolate surfaces, look far more appetising than a block of Top Deck sitting on a coffee table.

We should know, we’ve done plenty of research lately.

Related story: The definitive ranking of Australia’s best chocolate eggs and bunnies

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Originally published as Why Easter eggs taste differently to other chocolates