What Belgian chocolate is made of and why it is considered the most expensive and best in the world

Belgium isn’t just famous for soccer – their chocolate is world-famous and revered. We tell you how this legendary treat was created.

It all started in a pharmacy

Gourmets unanimously speak about the unique flavor of local chocolate, which simply melts in the mouth. Cocoa beans with a noticeable delay from other European countries first came to Belgium in the XVII century from South America. These fruits were brought by the Spanish conquistadors, who still held power in the country. The resulting beverage made from cocoa beans was considered a luxury and was consumed only by noblemen and members of the royal family.

Two centuries later, when Belgium gained independence, cocoa beans were imported from the Congo, a new colony. The fruits grown on local plantations were characterized by a special quality, which soon led to the creation of the famous chocolate.

It all started with an ordinary pharmacy in the center of Brussels. In 1857, it was opened by a doctor Jean Neuhaus, who one day had a brilliant idea. It turned out that his colleagues in the capital successfully used cocoa beans to treat anemia, anemia and other diseases. Jean Neuhaus set up the production of tablets with a sweet pleasant taste. The cocoa flavor gave the medicines an unusual confectionery charm.

To the pharmacy of enterprising Belgian lined up whole queues of people wishing to buy miracle pills.

The family business expanded and prospered. However, the grandson of the late pharmacy owner Jean Neuhaus went much further than his distinguished ancestors. He inaugurated the era of Belgian chocolate, a sweet product that became a national pride.

Inventor of pralines

In 1912, Jean officially registered his famous invention: praline, a filling made of nuts roasted in sugar. The incredibly tasty confection was instantly popular among Belgians. Jean Neuhaus did not stop at the achieved result: he created a unique technology of molding the finished chocolate in special containers.

By the way, the law adopted by the government of the country in 1894 was strictly observed. When making chocolate, it was in no case allowed to change its composition. Natural cocoa butter, real vanilla, not less than one third of cocoa powder – the invariable ingredients with the help of which the wonderful treat was obtained. This tradition has been preserved to this day. That’s why Belgian chocolate is considered one of the most expensive to make and is sold just as expensively.

With the easy hand of chocolatier Jean Neuhaus (as his unusual profession was now called), truffles appeared in the confectionery stores of Brussels for the first time. These elegant pyramids with soft and delicate filling and covered with wafer biscuit or cocoa powder became a trademark of the country.

Modern chocolate

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Belgium produced up to 700,000 tons of fine chocolate a year. Now production has fallen by 10%. Studies have shown that each inhabitant of this small country eats at least 6 kilograms of the confectionery product per year.

The annual export of Belgian chocolate to various countries of the world brings the European state income of about € 4 billion. Curiously, the famous treat is especially popular at the Brussels airport. According to the latest data, air passengers eat up to two tons of chocolate a day.

Belgium is literally bathed in chocolate. It happens in Bruges, where a bright spectacular festival in honor of the legendary confectionery product is organized every year. Hundreds of thousands of tourists, including locals, traditionally pour chocolate on each other at the end of the celebration.

It seems that the enchanting aroma of cocoa beans permeates every street of the city. It is here that one can see a 34-meter long train weighing 1285 kg, made entirely of chocolate. The latest creative achievement was even noted in the Guinness Book of Records.