Chocolate or cheese? Which would you give up forever?

IT IS perhaps not the most desperate of choices, but if you had to give up either chocolate or cheese for life, which would you pick?

A survey by Mintel, the consumer analysts, proposed this very quandary to 2,000 people aged 16 and over.

When asked which they could give up, exactly half picked chocolate while 47 per cent decided to let go of cheese, while a surprising three per cent said they liked neither.

Richard Caines, a senior food and drink analyst, said: “When it comes to the battle between cheese and chocolate, two great British indulgences, cheese more than holds its own.

“It is a menu staple in the vast majority of homes. Recipes and ideas for using cheese with meals offer significant scope for driving increased usage and cementing consumers’ love of cheese.”

The study also revealed regional differences with half of those in the South West, Wales and London more likely to give up cheese. The North East and North West (49 per cent) followed suit

Consumers in Scotland (56 per cent), and the West Midlands, the South East and East Anglia (all 52 per cent) said they would give up chocolate. Unsurprisingly, younger people have the sweetest tooth, with 59 per cent aged over 44 ditching chocolate, compared to 54 per cent of 16 to 43-year-olds.

And while cheese wins in the popularity stakes, we are buying more chocolate. It is estimated we will get through 979million lb this year – almost half a million tons – compared to 785million lb of cheese. Cheddar was easily the most popular cheese (72 per cent) ahead of other regional British varieties.