An analysis of the place and importance of chocolate in culture and popular culture in the context of culture, consumption, health and taste: Case of Gazi̇antep

Chocolate is a food which is produced in a lot of parts of the world and which has a big consumption volume globally. Chocolate ,which is fondly consumed in Turkey just like it is throughout the world, has a quite long history. That chocolate has such a long history and that it has developed by shaping together with history, have moved it from being just a foodstuff and transform it into a versatile gastronomic element. Chocolate developing within the history has accomplished to have strong ties with culture and popular culture. The purpose of this study is to examine the place and importance of chocolate in culture and popular culture in the contexts of culture, consumption, health and taste. While doing this examination, Gaziantep has been chosen as a sample as being one of the biggest cities in Turkey. Descriptive survey model has been applied as the method of the study. The method of survey has been used as the data collection tool. The analysis of the data has been done by using the SPSS programme and the results have been listed in charts and they have been commented on. As the result of this study which examines the place and importance of chocolate in culture and popular culture in the context of culture, consumption, taste and health, it has been seen that the occupations of the participants have no effect on the relationship between chocolate and culture. However, it has been observed that age, consumption frequency and especially sex have created meaningful differences that affect the result of the study. Keywords: Chocolate, Culture, Popular Culture, Consumption, Health, Taste