Alexander Shishlo
Correspondent in Benelux 
Today, Belgium is famous not only for its exclusive beers, french fries, ‘Speculoos’ coffee biscuits and ‘Gaufre’, wafers baked in your presence, but also for its chocolate, of course. It is not difficult to recognize the Belgian chocolate displayed on the counters of the stores: it is represented mainly by candies in the shape of seashells and sea horses.
World leader
Belgium is considered the absolute world leader in the chocolate production - the country produces over 170,000 tonnes annually, which is equivalent to the weight of 850 Boeing-747 airplanes.
According to experts, it is the Belgian chocolate - about 70,000 tonnes of which is consumed by the Belgians - that meets all the classical requirements. This explains the use of such descriptive words as ‘intoxicatingly delicate’, ‘exquisitely fragrant’, ‘incomparably exotic’, etc. ...
The African colony of Congo from where cocoa beans were imported into this kingdom initially contributed largely to the metamorphosis of Belgium into one of the world chocolate production centres.
The production of the world's first filled chocolate (praline) in 1912 granted the status of a ‘sweet kingdom’ to Belgium.
Today, it produces a wide range of pralines. Just think, for example, of the pralines made of dark chocolate with green pepper, jasmine filling, pistachios, orange peel, crumbs of flower buds and other specialties. Especially successful recipes are kept in the strictest confidence and are passed down from generation to generation. However, the Belgian chocolatiers are far from resting on their laurels, they are constantly in search of new taste ‘scents’ and ’flavours’.
So, it was in Belgium that the first postage stamps were produced not only with the chocolate smell, but also with the taste of chocolate. The effect was obtained thanks to adding cocoa essential oils to the stamp’s adhesive base, the taste of which is felt when licking it.
The quality of the Belgian chocolate products manufactured on an industrial scale is consistently guaranteed by the Ambao brand. It certifies that chocolate is made exclusively from cocoa or cocoa butter.
Let's recall a little history
In Belgium, chocolate has appeared relatively recently - in the mid-18th century. This happened thanks to the Spanish conquerors who opened the taste of a cocoa drink with vanilla and sugar to the local nobility, which laid the foundation of the chocolate production.
Today, there are over three hundred chocolate manufacturers in Belgium, with a significant part of chocolate still being hand-made at small family factories.
The manufacturers supply products to more than 2,000 stores selling exclusively chocolate products. According to the chocolate aficionados, it should be bought directly from small manufacturers and not at the shopping centres.
The centre of the ‘sweet’ production in Belgium is the city of Brugge.
The Belgians claim that Swiss competitors borrowed the recipe for making chocolate from them. In any case, it is known that the mayor of the Swiss city of Zurich brought a wonderful cocoa drink just after his trip to Brussels in 1697.
However, in the glorious history of the chocolate production in Belgium, they could not do without a ‘fly in the ointment’. The Belgian Congo in the 1880s, due to a dispute between the colonialists and the local population regarding cocoa bean plantations, became the site of fierce confrontation. This gave reason to the defenders of human rights to argue that the history of the Belgian chocolate is partially written in blood.
Way to eternity
Until the mid-19th century, chocolate was considered a medicine. It was in Brussels that Jean Neuhaus, whose last name subsequently gave birth to the world-famous Neuhaus brand, opened the world's first confectionery pharmacy where chocolate was sold in addition to the bakery food.
After the death of Neuhaus, his business passed to his successor Frederick who became the founder of his own confectionery factory.
In 1912, Jean, the son of Frederic, became worldwide famous by making the filled chocolate that later became known as ‘pralines’. It is noteworthy that confectioner's wife put forward an idea to pack chocolate and give it as a respectable present.
Chocolate and medicine
The Belgian chocolatiers were the first in the world to produce chocolate that does not harm tooth enamel.
The secret is that the natural isomaltulose, a disaccharide carbohydrate, was used in the chocolate production instead of regular sugar. It has almost the same taste as regular sugar, but does not produce acid that can destroy tooth enamel. In addition, the Belgium chocolate manufacturers replaced the milk powder used in the chocolate production with milk proteins.
The Toothfriendly International Association has already assigned a ‘Happy Tooth’ brand to the new generation chocolate products.
Sweet ambitions
The Belgian chocolate manufacturers have called on the EU authorities to assign the status of a geographically protected name to the pralines they produce.
The Belgium chocolatiers are concerned about the increased competition from the non-EU manufacturers who lead consumers to confusion by supplying ‘Belgian-style’ chocolate pralines to the markets. On the packaging, there are often inscriptions like ‘according to the Belgian recipe’ or ‘of Belgian class’.
The EU regulations for the chocolate production allow the use of up to 5% vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter. The Belgian chocolatiers can boast of 100% cocoa butter in their chocolate, which significantly improves its taste.
The benefit from chocolate
Experts have found that chocolate is extremely useful to humans, in particular for the heart. Chocolate contains magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B and other necessary substances.
However, the experts advise not to consume much chocolate bearing in mind that 100 grammes of chocolate contain 550 kilocalories.
It is interesting that initially, chocolate, as a drink, was intended for men. It was believed that it gave them strength and courage. After cane sugar and vanilla were added to the cocoa beans, the ladies could not resist the chocolate taste.
Chocolate fondue
In conclusion, for chocolate aficionados, here is a recipe for chocolate fondue: to prepare it, you just need to melt a bar of chocolate, preferably a Belgian one, put fresh fruit into this chocolate, and put whipped cream topping. Dessert for the festive table is ready!
