![Belgian chocolates](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Belgian_chocolates.jpg)
Belgian chocolate (french: chocolat belge, nl, Belgische chocolade) is
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
produced in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. A major industry since the 19th century, today it forms an important part of the
nation's economy and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
.
The raw materials used in chocolate production do not originate in Belgium; most cocoa is produced in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. Nonetheless, the country has an association with the product that dates to the early 17th century. The industry expanded massively in the 19th century, gaining an international reputation and, together with
the Swiss, Belgium became one of the commodity's most important producers in Europe. Although the industry has been regulated by law since 1894, there is no universal standard for the chocolate to be labelled "Belgian". The most commonly accepted standard dictates that the actual production of the chocolate must take place inside Belgium.
History
![Ei-chocolatier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Ei-chocolatier.JPG)
Belgium's association with chocolate goes back as far as 1635, when the country was under
Spanish occupation shortly after chocolate
had been brought to Europe from Mesoamerica.
By the mid-18th century, chocolate had become extremely popular in upper and middle class circles, particularly in the form of
hot chocolate. Among them was
Charles-Alexander of Lorraine, the Austrian governor of the territory. From the early 20th century, the country was able to import large quantities of
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
from its African colony, the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
. Contrary to popular belief, however, Belgium's colonies did not play an important role in the foundation of the Belgian chocolate industry. By the 1900s, chocolate was increasingly affordable for the Belgian working class. According to one study, Belgium first started to export more chocolate than it imported in the 1960s, with exports of "Belgian chocolates" growing exponentially since 1980.
The
praline is an invention of the Belgian chocolate industry, as is the ''ballotin'', a kind of packaging associated with high-quality chocolate that was designed by Louise Agostini, the wife of Jean Neuhaus Jr., in 1915.
Production and standards
The composition of Belgian chocolate has been regulated by law since 1894 when, in order to prevent adulteration of the chocolate with low-quality fats from other sources, a minimum level of 35 percent pure cocoa was imposed. Attempts to introduce industry standardisation have met with little success. An attempt by the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
(EEC) to introduce minimum standards about the amount of cocoa butter substitutes across Europe led to prolonged negotiation but the legislation finally enacted, in 2003, was viewed as excessively lenient in Belgium. In 2007, a voluntary
quality standard
Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service consistently functions well. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not only ...
(to which about 90 percent of the country's chocolate makers adhere) was introduced by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
which set certain criteria for a product to be considered "Belgian chocolate". Under this "Belgian Chocolate Code", refining, mixing and
conche
upright=1.35, Conche (in the Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum)
Conching is a process used in the manufacture of chocolate whereby a surface scraping mixer and agitator, known as a conche, evenly distributes cocoa butter within chocolate and may act as ...
ing must be done inside Belgium.
Controversy about what can legitimately be called "Belgian chocolate" has been fueled by some traditional Belgian chocolatiers being purchased by non-Belgian companies and even moving production out of Belgium. Ignace Van Doorselaere, chief executive of chocolatier
Neuhaus, insists that "In our dictionary, Belgian means place of manufacturing, headquarters and ownership," but without an
EU protected food status designation, those chocolatiers who remain 100% Belgian find the "Belgian chocolate" brand hard to protect.
Many firms produce chocolates by hand, which is laborious and explains the prevalence of small, independent chocolate outlets, which are popular with tourists.
Varieties
Pralines
Pralines made in Belgium are usually soft-centred confections with a chocolate casing. They are distinct from the nut and sugar sweets popular in France and the United States which are sometimes known by the same name. They were first introduced by
Jean Neuhaus II in 1912.
There have always been many forms and shapes, although they almost always consist of a chocolate shell with a softer filling. Confusion can arise over the use of the word praline in Belgium as it may refer to filled chocolates in general or sometimes to traditional "praliné"-filled chocolates popular in Europe (praliné refers to caramelised hazelnuts or almonds ground into a paste). Belgian pralines are not limited to the traditional praliné filling and often include nuts,
marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...
, salted caramel, coffee,
liquor
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
s,
cream liqueur, cherry or a chocolate blend that contrasts with the outer shell. They are often sold in stylised boxes in the form of a gift box. The largest manufacturers are
Neuhaus,
Godiva
Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...
,
Leonidas, and
Guylian
Guylian (, ) is a Belgian chocolate brand and manufacturer best known for its seashell shaped pralines. The company was founded in 1958 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium by Guy FoubertChocolaterie Guylian NV MarketLine Company Profile. (2017.). MarketLine ...
.
Truffles
![Chocolate, Brussels 2008 (Alter Fritz) 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Chocolate%2C_Brussels_2008_%28Alter_Fritz%29_04.JPG)
Most commonly in the form of a flaky or smooth chocolate ball or traditionally a
truffle
A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''Peziz ...
-shaped lump, Belgian chocolate truffles are sometimes in encrusted form containing wafers or coated in a high-quality cocoa powder. They contain a soft
ganache which is traditionally a semi-emulsion of liquid and therefore has a couple of days' shelf-life at low temperatures and/or requires refrigeration. Special truffles sometimes have a fruit, nut or coffee ganache. Rarely they feature a fruit-based liqueur or
cream liqueur but remain distinguishable from pralines by their shape and texture in most cases—crossover 'praline-truffles' also exist.
Eggs, animals and figurines
Hand-finished and luxury examples of eggs, animals, figurines and Valentine's Day hearts are made by many smaller Belgian chocolatiers, as elsewhere, accounting for a relatively small market share however in peak demand at
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
,
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
,
Sinterklaas and
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
.
Economics
Chocolate plays an important part in the Belgian economy, and there are over 2,000 ''
chocolatiers
A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients.
Education and training
Traditionally, chocolatiers, e ...
'' in the country,
[ both small and large. Today, chocolate is very popular in Belgium, with 172,000 tonnes produced each year, and widely exported.][ ]Côte d'Or
Côte is a British cafe chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross ...
is probably the largest commercial brand, with their products available in virtually every grocery store in the country. The largest manufacturers of wider varieties of chocolates are mentioned at Pralines. Belgian pralines (fondants) shaped like sea shells, fish, diamonds and individualist creations topped with are sold in town centre shops, market stands and many village shops across Belgium.
Belgian brands and chocolatiers
* Belcolade
* Belvas
* The Belgian
* The Belgian Chocolate Makers
* Benoît Nihant
* Bouchard
* Bruyerre
* Café-Tasse
* Callebaut
Callebaut is a Belgian chocolate brand, owned by the Barry Callebaut group. It was founded in 1911 by Octaaf Callebaut in Belgium.
About
Callebaut is a Belgian coverture chocolate manufacturer. Coverture chocolate contains high amounts of c ...
* Charlemagne
* Chocomeli
* Chocolatier M (Knokke)
* Corné Port-Royal
* Côte d'Or
Côte is a British cafe chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross ...
* Dandoy
* Daskalides
* Jean-Philippe Darcis
* Debailleul
* Defroidmont
* Dolfin
* Duval
Duval is a surname, literally translating from French language, French to English language, English as "of the valley". It derives from the Normans, Norman "Devall", which has both English and French ties. Variant spellings include: Davolls, Deav ...
* Galler
Galler is a surname of German and Anglo-Norman French origin and a common name of Jewish families in Poland, Israel, and the United States. It is estimated that fewer than 4,000 individuals have this name worldwide. The name is also found as Galie ...
* General Chocolate
* Gerbaud
* Godiva
Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...
* Grand-Place
* Grand Belgian Specialties
* Gudrun
Gudrun ( ; non, Guðrún) or Kriemhild ( ; gmh, Kriemhilt) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two que ...
* Guylian
Guylian (, ) is a Belgian chocolate brand and manufacturer best known for its seashell shaped pralines. The company was founded in 1958 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium by Guy FoubertChocolaterie Guylian NV MarketLine Company Profile. (2017.). MarketLine ...
* Hamlet
* Jacques
* Kwatta
* Leonidas
* Pierre Marcolini
Pierre Marcolini (; born 12 July 1964) is a Belgian chocolatier born in Charleroi, Belgium, in 1964.
Biography
Youth
Pierre Marcolini was born in Charleroi, Belgium, on 12 July 1964. His maternal grandparents hail from Verona, Italy.
H ...
* Mary
* Meurisse
* Mong Koo (Mong - Koo)
* Neuhaus
* NewTree
* Olivier Molitor
* Planète Chocolat
* Veliche Gourmet
* Victoria
* Vranckoq
* Wittamer
* Zaabär
See also
*Beer in Belgium
Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries inclu ...
* Belgian cuisine
* Choco-Story – a museum in Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
dedicated to chocolate
* Swiss chocolate
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
The Insider's Guide to Belgian Chocolate
at ''Travel Hoppers''
{{Chocolate