I go through phases. I used to be a decidedly dark chocolate gal, but these days I flirt with the milk chocolate side of things as well. In the winter, a cup of hot chocolate is often dessert and in the summer, a few squares of a Ritter bar does the trick. It's certainly not news to you that some chocolate is much better than others, but why is this so? I decided to look at the ultimate favorite, Belgian chocolate, to see what sets it apart.
I actually visited the town of Bruges in Belgium a few years back on a day trip from Paris. The town is known for its lace and chocolate, and the day morphed into a chocolate-hopping tour through town. I didn't know why, but it was most certainly confirmed: this was some of the best chocolate I'd ever had. The reasons for this aren't necessarily cut and dried, but a few certainly stand out.
1. Small Shops & Handmade: So much of the chocolate sold today is mass produced in large factories, and so many of the small Belgian chocolates you'll find in candy shops and food boutiques are still very much made the old-fashioned way, in small dedicated shops, by hand. This makes a difference (and explains the cost, too).
2. A Different Process: In 1912 Jean Neuhaus created a new chocolate process using couverture (or chocolate disks or small chunks) that he'd melt down to form special bon bons containing a variety of fruits, nuts, and creams. Quite a few Belgian chocolatiers today are still known for these special chocolates. Many companies make chocolate this way, but they have to reheat their couverture after it's shipped while many Belgium shops either make their own or acquire it from small chocolate factories close by. So close by, in fact, that they often receive it still warm so they don't have to reheat it, leaving the base of the confections in better condition and retaining more of its pure chocolate taste.
3. A Cultural Tradition: There's something to be said about being surrounded by something in your city or town. In some Belgian towns, there are numerous chocolate shops and stories of which is older. In my experience, folks in town are very willing to talk with you about their traditions and processes. Families pass down recipes to one another; it's almost in the air. Quality is so often more inherent in something with a strong, ingrained tradition and a cultural background. I do think that's the case here.
What's your favorite chocolate? Does it come from Belgium? Or somewhere else?
Related: Luxury Belgian Chocolate: Chocolate Meets Wine
(Image: Dana Velden)
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I've never been to Belgium. Chocolate, frites, waffles...why the heck haven't I been to Belgium?!? I have been lived in Paris, though, and visitors often brought Belgian chocolate as a housegift if their flight routed through Brussels (it used to be ultra cheap to fly to Brussels and then hop the train for Paris). And that stuff? Was awesome. My Parisian friends turned their noses up and touted the local stuff, but...the Belgians have them beat. Just barely! But the gold medal goes to Belgium.
Belgian chocolate is so good because they had lots and lots of cacao from their colony for really, really cheap, so they made lots and lots of dark chocolate and so became experts in making it. Switzerland on the other hand didn't have access to cheap cacao, but they had access to milk, so they invented milk chocolate and now are experts in making milk chocolate.
Belgian chocolate, hands down! It tastes like little drops of heaven.
Belgium is a lovely country for city trips in particular, because the countryside isn't especially pretty and most of the villages have the same ugly, bland look, but our cities can compete with the most beautiful cities in the world. Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, they all have a large, very old part, with tiny houses dating hundreds of years old, and typical delicacies on every corner, like friteries or chocolate shops. It's very charming and definitely worth a visit!
No one can compete with Belgian chocolate. For the year I lived there I think I averaged one piece of delicious (and expensive) chocolate truffle a day.
FUNLINLIN: that's a fascinating explanation. Anyone have an extra reading material on that?
I love Belgian chocolate! It's too expensive to buy chocolate directly made in Belgian, so New Tree's Belgian chocolate bars are my stand-by.
Chocolate from South West France (Pays Basque) is also very good, although I'm not sure as to the origins - Basques returning from South America, perhaps?
Belgian chocolate is the best. When I lived in Brussels I lived near the Leonidas factory and passed the Godiva chocolate quite often. But my very favorite brand is Galler chocolate. Preferably dark and praliné. It's based in Liège, so a bit outside of Brussels. But of the different regional chocolates I tasted while in Belgium, Galler was my favorite. Neuhaus is also quite delicious. And yes, I think it's because of the cacao they got from their colonies.
If you go to Bayonne, Biarritz or Saint Jean de Luz in SW France, be sure to visit Darantz or Pariès chocolatier. Less sweet and creamy than Belgian chocolate, but delicious. They make one with the local chili pepper, piment d'Espelette, which is my favourite.
That should be *Daranatz*
Whenever we go to Paris, we always come back with a half dozen Cote d'Or dark chocolate and hazelnut bars. Cote d'Or can be bought in practically any grocery store in Europe but it tastes fantastic. We also come back with chocolates from Patrick Roger and caramels from Jacques Genin, but the Cote d'Or is our guilty pleasure.