Objects in the world

Belgian Chocolate


Where:	Belgium Show on map
What:	Delicious Belgian 'pralines'

Description:	Belgian chocolate is famous worldwide. Combined with the skill of our master chocolate-makers, it is one of the symbols of Belgian quality the world over. Its reputation is undoubtedly owed to a tradition born of the strict legislation governing its production. Thus for example, even since a European directive has allowed the use of 5% vegetable fats other than cocoa butter, most traditional chocolate-makers remain faithful to the '100 % cocoa butter' rule. A quality label called 'ambao' has even been created to protect that quality standard. Chocolate is practically part of Belgium's national identity. Most Belgians, for example, feel a real emotional bond with Côte d'or and its elephant, the name of the shop set up in Brussels by Charles Neuhaus in 1883 and which, for many years, has embodied the African reveries of whole generations sailing, in their dreams, to the Gold Cost [Côte d'Or, present-day Ghana]. But those big firms such as Callebaut, who made Belgian chocolate so famous, have, since then, been incorporated into trans-national companies with their global recipes. However, many chocolate-makers [such as Galler, Guylian, Godiva, Leonidas, Marcolini, Corné and Jacques] have managed to maintain the exceptional standard of quality of Belgian chocolate and to let the whole world benefit from it. The most widely-travelled Belgian specialities undoubtedly include 'pralines': individual filled chocolates. They were invented in 1912 by Jean Neuhaus. Today, 'pralines' come in hundreds of different forms. They are even classified into families: there are, among others, 'manons', those with fresh cream, praline-filled ones, with marzipan, with liqueur and even truffles. To protect the delicacy, a special packaging was even patented under the name of 'ballotin' [little box]. Since then, 'ballotins de pralines' have travelled the length and breadth of the world.

	Interesting links:
	www.puratos.be

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