The nineteenth century French writer, Brillat-Savarin said,
Chocolate is health. Brillat-Savarin, had a big passion for the chocolate
similar to the Voltaire who drank twelve cups a day! He suggested it be used
for anything from the lethargy to the hangovers long before the medicinal
benefits were particularly confirmed by the scientific community.
The cocoa bean is particularly a native to the Central and
South America and was not known to the Europeans until the 1500s when the Spanish
explorer, Hernando Cortez brought it back with him from the Americas. In the
early 1600s, the chocolate was brought to the city of the Bayonne in the
Southwest France by the Jewish immigrants who had been driven from the country
of Spain. Not long after that Spanish chocolate was introduced to the French
Nobility by the 14 year old Spanish princess who was to wed Louis XIV. The
French have been known for being experts in making chocolate ever since and
their chocolate is the most sought after in the world.
Chocolate making techniques today are no doubt the best as they
have ever been and the master recipe of blending the regular Forastero bean
with the fine quality Criollo bean is known to all chocolate connoisseurs.
However, many of the European chocolate makers are particularly concerned that
the quality of chocolate in Europe will be harmed due to new Common Market
regulations that are now authorizing chocolate makers to use the vegetable fat
in the chocolate. This is currently banned in the country of France, which is
why they have the finest chocolates.
The Spanish are very strict legislators of all matters
pertaining to food and cooking and chocolate is no exception. Their laws
strictly prohibit the use of any vegetable or animal fat in the making of Spanish chocolate,
only allowing pure cocoa butter. Additionally they require that Spanish chocolate be at least 43% cocoa
liquor and a minimum of 26% pure cocoa butter. Most proud Spanish chocolate makers exceed the cocoa liquor requirement;
indeed the better quality bonbons contain as much as 80% of the dark substance
which gives the chocolate its characteristic taste. Knowing this, it is no
surprise that Spanish chocolates
have the best flavour.
The flavour nuances of Spanish
chocolate also depend on the quality and origin of the cocoa beans used to
make it. The best chocolates are an artful blend of four or more different
beans, each with its own flavour, force and persistence each from a different
geographical origin: Venezuela, Brazil, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar.
Spanish consumers rank among the world's most discriminating
when it comes to the kosher
chocolate. Parisians are
particularly very picky, and for the good reason of course : What other
metropolis offers such an impressive array of the chocolate marvels from the
world's most delicate and costly bonbons, to the most mouth-watering chocolate
cakes and tarts imaginable. Venchi
chocolate is equally popular throughout the universe among all
sophisticated chocolate lovers.
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