It 's the biggest week of the year for chocolate sales , eclipsing demand at Christmas and even Valentine 's Day . And just in time for Easter , one of the world 's foremost food scientists - Bernard Lahousse - has explained why Easter eggs taste so good . According to Mr Lahousse , it 's all down to smell of chocolate which , when presented in Easter egg form , is enhanced . Happy memories associated with Easter firmly anchor positive feelings towards chocolate eggs . Mr Lahousse told FEMAIL : 'The smaller the chocolate layer is , the easier the chocolate will melt . 'So that is the advantage of Easter eggs ; they melt easily and the aromas of the chocolate come into your nose quite fast . ' There are a number of reasons why chocolate tastes so good - and like Mr Lahousse explained - the majority of them have to do with the way chocolate smells . 'Chocolate contains a lot of different aroma molecules , ' he said . 'It has roasted molecules and fruity molecules . 'These molecules contain a lot of complexity which makes it possible for chocolate to be paired with a lot of ingredients . And it 's not just the smell of chocolate that makes it so appealing . 'There are a lot of taste components contained within chocolate , ' Mr Lahousse continued . 'We have sweetness , bitterness and sourness . Plus we ca n't disregard the fat component . This melts at body temperature and provides a nice sensation and fresh mouth feel in the mouth . So what happens to us when we eat chocolate ? Why does it make us feel so good , so content ... so happy ? The small chocolate layers in an egg means we get an intense whiff of chocolate when we first bite into it . 'Chocolate contains a molecule called phenylethylamine , which chocolate is loaded with , ' the scientist continued . This molecule is said to inspire feelings of love , which is why we feel good when eating it . 'Pairing chocolate with extra ingredients will enhance the feeling , ' Mr Lahousse said . 'For instance , by adding long pepper or black pepper it [ the molecule ] will have more effect . ' And finally it all goes down to pleasurable memories and the way your egg is presented to you . 'If you look at food more than half of experience lies outside of the taste . 'You taste what you make out of it ; when you wrap it in a nice package , and it is presented to you by the people who love you , it will make the experience much better . ' If you do n't have the time to make chocolate from scratch , you can simply melt down any chocolate bar you have to make your own eggs . Once your chocolate is melted , it will need to be tempered . The cooling down process will take some time but if you want to hurry things along , just pop your chocolate into the freezer ( no longer than 30 seconds ) . Place a stainless steel bowl over a bowl of hot water and add half of your chocolate to it . Keep aside the a quarter of the amount for the last bit of the process . Stir your chocolate so it melts - and remember to check the temperature . Bittersweet/ dark chocolate should reach a temperature of 28C-29C ; milk chocolate should reach 27C-28C ; and white or coloured chocolate should reach 26C-27C . Once the first batch has melted , add more chocolate to your bowl , stirring as you go along . As soon as the correct temperature is reached , start building your Easter egg layers . Spoon some chocolate into a mould ( you can get them from Lakeland , Denny Craft Moulds or Party Delights ) and rotate it so the liquids coats the bottom of the mould . You can make it as thick as you like , building each layer as the previous one cools . Once the final layer has been built , leave aside to cool and harden before decorating .
Food scientist Bernard Lahousse reveals the science behind our obsession . The smell of chocolate , when presented in Easter egg form , is enhanced . Score: 7