Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts
How To Find Out What Is Belgian Chocolate Neuhaus
From the 18th century, the Belgian chocolate has risen in fame. In 1912, a chocolate genius Jean Neuhaus created a new procedure and increased its popularity ten-fold. He used a "couverteur" which is a specialized chocolate version. It is also the pralines cold shell. But it is different from the American sugary treats found in most candy shops. Chocolate pralines from Belgium are filled with varieties of flavored creams or nougats, such as hazelnut, fruit, more chocolate, or coffee. Some of the chocolatiers in the time of Neuhaus could duplicate his pralines complex flavors.
Jean Neuhaus' successful years were after the end of the First World War And this time, Louise Agostini, his wife made another breakthrough by creating the ballotin or praline box, significant type of pralines preciously made by hand. It has a very practical green and gold packaging embossed with letter "N". Because Jean never patented this ballotin, it became the design favored by all chocolate manufacturers in Belgium since its creation.
The creativity of Jean Neuhaus led to the development of new methods for applying a precise standard quality to all praline productions. They ensured that the finest ingredients are selected to produce chocolates of high quality. He became the unfaltering source of ideas for creating new pralines. Even the Royal Family of Belgium is one of his satisfied customers. In 1918, The Prince of Wales and Prince Leopold have visited the Neuhaus shop to try what everybody is talking about in town. In 1923, the son-in-law of Jean Neuhaus Adelson de Grave was initiated in praline manufacturing and was taught the secret of the family's business. His creations also brought additional distinction to the Neuhaus Company. His son Pierre also contributed his genius by helping his father create Tentation and Caprice and opened other Neuhaus shops outside Brussels.
In 1978, the Neuhaus Chocolate Company was put under the management of Claude Poncelet and Jean-Jacques. Their goal of making Neuhaus the world's most famous brand was clear to capture the foreign markets. Thus, more Neuhaus outlets were opened in Japan, Canada, Guadeloupe, Colombia, United States, and other capital cities in Europe.
In 1991, Neuhaus became the leader in the luxurious praline sector industry in Belgium as well as in Luxemburg. Their well-defined strategies for marketing and international networks kept Neuhaus in maintaining an enviable position in the market. Modern technology investment also contributed to the success of Neuhaus, but one-third of praline productions remained handmade. In 2000, King Albert accredited Neuhaus as their chocolate supplier.
Neuhaus Company has remained in the chocolate industry until today. The legacy of Jean Neuhaus continues to make the best Belgian chocolate pralines. Their technical advantage among other chocolate manufacturers is the couverteur storage before use. In the process of making chocolates, the fine grinding of cocoa beans is first done. Afterwards, it is mixed with cocoa butter and sugar and then smoothened through tempering. Adding heat during the process must be carefully done. Many chocolate companies received the chocolates in solid forms. It means they have to reheat it to become usable. But Belgian chocolate companies often received the chocolates in a heated tanker after the tempering process. Chocolates that are not cooled retain most of its aroma.
Belgian chocolates can be expensive. However, those people who have tasted it revealed that nothing can compare with its true quality. And this is what Belgian chocolates are known for throughout history.
About the Author: To learn about chocolate pictures and dog eats chocolate, visit the Chocolate Facts website.
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The Gourmet Belgian Chocolates
When you think of gourmet food, you'd think of edibles that is expensive, heavenly delicious, and of very high quality. Gourmet Belgian chocolates are considered to be the best kind of chocolate in the world. It is so delicious that people from all over the world flock to Belgium just to experience the taste of the original Belgian chocolate because nobody in the world has successfully duplicated these sweet little things.
Belgian chocolates are the toast of the chocolate world. It is the gourmet of all chocolates that exist and nothing beats it for being in the number one list of all chocoholics. Even diabetics crave for it! The good thing is that there are now sugar-free Belgian chocolates that are now available in the market.
The special factor that makes Belgian chocolate standout among its contemporaries is the great respect for the chocolate manufacturing techniques that have been perfected by Europeans for centuries as well as the excellent quality of the ingredients used for making the chocolates.
In the age of mass production, everything seems to be just the standard to deliver the products to as many people as possible which sometimes have sacrificed a bit of quality of the products. Good thing that Belgian chocolatiers did not give in to the pressure of the global market and still stick with the old tradition of small production but with topnotch quality tastes of their chocolates.
The country of Belgium is populated with chocolate shops and manufacturers that up to now are still making chocolates by hand and/or with the original equipment from the olden days. The chocolate in Belgium is like wine to France. Like the French wineries, chocolatiers in Belgium provide chocolate tasting programs for the visitors to sample the gourmet chocolates.
Although Belgian chocolates has been around for a long time, the new way of making chocolates that is very popular nowadays only started in the early years of the 20th century. This new way of making chocolate is the placement of a filling inside a chocolate nugget. Fillings can range from fruits, creams, hazelnut, coffee, or other forms of chocolate. This kind of chocolate is called pralines, which refers to the chocolate covering.
Another factor that makes gourmet Belgian chocolates special is the technique of storing the chocolate nuggets before filling it up. The course of making the chocolates is quite interesting as the grounded cocoa beans are combined with the mixture of cocoa butter and sugar. It is then eventually spread out by tempering or gradual heat addition. A lot of chocolate houses in Belgium obtain their chocolate in forms of solid. These solid forms of chocolates are then heated again for it to be formed or structures into the desired shape and taste. Since the chocolates are not chilled, Belgian chocolates have the luck of preserving the cocoa essence much more than the other inferior chocolates.
A lot of Belgium's old family owned chocolate houses have their own line of gourmet Belgian chocolates. They have been around for a long time and can be trusted of the high quality chocolates they manufacture. Through the years and generations of family owners, they have perfected the way of making the perfect gourmet Belgian chocolates.
These delicious sweets may come with a price but once you have tasted its palatable flavors you will realize that it is worth all your money. You can actually taste a part of heaven. And that is what makes gourmet Belgian chocolates tick.
About the Author: Information on pictures of chocolate can be found at the Chocolate Facts site.
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Belgian Chocolates Are The Alpha Male Of All Chocolates
Believe it or not chocolates are good for your health. There have been studies that were conducted by major research institutes that people who constantly eat chocolates have a longer life span than those who don't usually eat them.
Chocolates are also filled with antioxidants that fights off cancer, cardiovascular diseases, thwarts off strokes, and lowers down blood pressure. Chocolate also has large amounts of iron and magnesium.
Other than its health benefits, chocolates can make you feel much better in a more legal and tasty way compared to alcoholic beverages and medications. The ingestion of chocolates induces the release of hormones called endorphins which promotes a state of happiness or a feel-good emotional experience.
Chocolates are also believed to be an aphrodisiac. It has been so since the time of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations in South America. It is believed that ingestion of chocolates stimulates sexual energy and consequently makes people fertile.
It is also said to relieve exhaustion because of its nutritional aspects. Energy bars of athletes are mostly chocolates mixed with another substance for energy enhancement.
The team up of chocolate's health benefits with the best chocolate confection the world, Belgian chocolates, then there may be no more stopping for people who are still skeptics of the chocolate magic that has been driving people crazy since it's coming to European shores.
With chocolates, nothing beats the Belgians in making this sweet taste of heaven make its way to salivating chocolate crazy individuals. Belgian chocolates are deemed to be the alpha male of all chocolates. Even its rival Swiss counterparts bow to its gastronomical powers.
The distinctive factor of Belgian chocolates that makes it outstanding is the excellent quality of the ingredients and the perfect chocolate making techniques that has been refined through the centuries.
Belgian chocolates come in many shapes in sizes. One of the preferred forms of Belgian chocolates is the seashell shaped ones. After all, a seashell is a symbol of many positive things in life. Seashells are thought to be gifts from the ocean. With its various shapes and forms, it is the symbol of uniqueness and beauty.
One great symbolism of the seashell is created by Boticelli in one of his artistic creations. In his painting of "The Birth of Venus", the seashell is depicted as the vessel of beauty, rebirth, love, and godly attributes to the earth.
Therefore, seashell shaped Belgian chocolates are perfect for symbolizing the chocolate's representation of heavenly experience of a sweet filling wrapped in a beautiful chocolate shell or praline. One bite will surely bring you to the heavens.
With the Belgian seashell chocolate's rich in symbolism, it has become a popular item for gifts to loved ones. As gifts, packages for these chocolates should also be perfect. With the finesse of Belgian craftsmanship, chocolates are made of excellent materials which include top notch delicious fruits, high quality chocolate, and natural vanilla.
Artificial flavoring, which is common among inferior types if chocolates, is never included in the ingredients of Belgian chocolates.
In the quest for Belgian seashell chocolates, do not just opt for ones that are sold in supermarkets that claims to be made by the use of Belgian techniques of chocolate making. The most likely that you will be having a taste of real Belgian chocolates is in Belgium.
There are no other places here on this planet where you can perfectly eat Belgian chocolates. Plus, with the country's fine tourist destinations, Belgian chocolates, especially the seashell shaped ones, are the perfect snack as you go on sightseeing in the beautiful country of Belgium.
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About the Author
Allan Wilson specializes in providing ready made affliliate sites and private label articles. To speed up your website creation results visit Allan's site at: http://www.readymadeaffiliatesites.com
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Go To School & Learn How to Make Chocolate
Most of the chocolate courses you will fine cannot be completed in a week. This is because before you get your hands dirty, you have to understand the history and the chemistry before you are taught the various techniques of making them and how to sell them.
You also have to remember that there is a science to making a quality product that people would want to have after they have tasted it for the first time.
For those who want to make their own product instead of just melting blocks, you will need to learn how to outsource beans, creating your flavor profile and then producing these in bulk.
There are also courses on quality control to make sure those who decide to go into the business are able to sustain what they have started.
Another program that is like a master’s degree in chocolate making has classes and tours to chocolate factories not only in the US but in Canada, Belgium, France and Italy.
For those who don’t have the time to give up their regular jobs, they can learn about making chocolate online.
Schools that offer this make sure the curriculum is offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can start and stop anytime you want so you are able to remember everything that is taught before moving on to the next module.
After finishing the program, you can use your knowledge to start your own business or look for work within the backing, catering, confectionary or food service industry.
This isn’t bad even if you have never taken baking classes before because the learning process takes you from basic skills to more advance work. Some of these schools also offer internship programs so you can practice what you have learned under the direction of a master chocolatier.
But nothing compares to education right there inside the kitchen. You just need to make the time and if you can’t make it to classes on weekdays, see if there are those being offered on weekends.
The cost of tuition in chocolate making schools varies depending on the type of program and also if this is done in the kitchen or at home. For those who decide to learn in the kitchen, they don’t have to worry because all the materials they need will already be provided. For those at home, they have to buy these from the craft store and make do with what they have.
Learning how to make chocolate with the help of trained professionals is much better than trying to perfect how it is done through trial and error. After all, it is an exact science when it comes to mixing the ingredients and a little bit of marketing if you are planning to sell this product in the market.
Once you get the hang of things, you can try some experiments to make concoctions of your own. After all, chocolates do not always come in boxes.
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The Long Journey Of Chocolate From Cacao Beans To Fine Chocolate
All chocolates use cacao beans, from the mass produced stuff inside M&M's to the highest quality product that comes from Belgium. Cacao beans are also the most important ingredient, because even if all the other ingredients that go into the mix are top notch, if the cacao is not high quality the chocolate made from it won't be either. In a process that requires precision from its start at the very beginning when seeds are sown right up to its completion when the chocolate is done, even a slight mishap can spell the difference between chocolates that's good, sure, and chocolate that will knock your socks off.
In a process much like the cultivation of coffee, cacao beans are harvested, fermented and roasted. While this is essential the manufacture of chocolates, it is more or less mechanical and rule bound, so less interesting. Once the roasting is done, however, things start to get more interesting.
When the beans have been roasted, they are ground. This means that the cacao beans are shelled, and for most recipes, ground. When the beans are ground they secrete a thick liquid known as cacao liquor, which is used by chocolate manufactures. The liquor can be transformed into three different things, cacao butter, cacao powder, and chocolate. The first two are less dependent on the quality of the beans, and so usually only less remarkable beans are used to make them. The liquor from higher quality beans is most often made into chocolate.
Just because you have high quality cacao liquor doesn't mean that you have high quality chocolate. To get from the liquor to the finished bars or boxes given on Valentine's Day, fine chocolate makers must first add some extra ingredients. At this stage, most makers will add sugar and then regrind the mixture to avoid sandy textures and flavors. After this grinding, the chocolate is heated and mixed together a little bit under boiling temperature, at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This heated mixing is known in the industry as conching. During conching, chocolate starts to take on the smooth, refined taste for which its finest examples are known. Depending on the desired end product, a chocolate may be conched for an hour, or even a whole day or more.
Conching itself is where much of a chocolate's flavor will come from. One mast chocolate makers secret process of cooking the chocolate can be very different from another's, and will impart a very different end result. Understandably, some chocolate makers can be highly guarded about their exact technique.
After conching, the pure chocolate is then turned into whatever the chocolate maker has in mind, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, cooking chocolate, or whatever else. Every step along the way, though, has to be just as carefully undertaken as those that preceded it.
As you can see, there is a great deal that goes into a simple bar of chocolate. The entire process takes great care, and the slightest mistake can spell disaster, or at least mean that this or that bar will be slightly less heavenly.
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