Belgian Specialties: Part 3 - Chocolate

(photo from the Belgian Tourists Office)

The chocolate is heavenly and we have enjoyed the variety. Chocolate came to Europe through the Spanish conquistadors and was made popular with the addition of sugar and vanilla to the crushed bean drink that the Aztecs enjoyed. By the 17th century the Spanish were exporting the dried crushed bean. The hot chocolate drink popular with the royal and privileged circles was made open to a more common populous, at least in Belgium, with the repeal of chocolate tax in the 19th century. The biggest contribution toe the chocolate industry from Belgium must be the invention of the praline in 1857 by Jean Neuhaus in Brussels. (A praline is a chocolate that has a hard chocolate outer shell and a soft inner filling. They are very nice, and there is an infinite variety of what the filling can consist.)

Currently, Belgium is the world producer of chocolate turning out some 172,000 tons of chocolate per year with more than 2,000 chocolate shops nationally. Godiva is probably the most well known Belgian chocolatier, but the smaller more “boutique” chocolatiers seem to be more respected in the flavor and presentation of their wares. D and I enjoy going into the little shops and picking out a small boxful of chocolates to nibble on throughout the day or week. Since much of the chocolate is made by hand, and all of the chocolate is very fresh, we feel obligated to eat it quickly in order to fully appreciate the chocolatiers ability. (I still generally prefer solid chocolate as opposed to the praline, but that is my personal preference.)


We are not necessarily that sophisticated of consumers, so we have a couple of favorites from the grocery store. Jacques brand is probably the one we trust most – they have a fantastic dark chocolate bar with candied orange peel shavings that is just yummy. And, to please our non-dark-chocolate loving friends, they also have a white chocolate with toasted coconut shavings that is a regular in the Avilla house. But, since we also want to be adventurous, we are trying things that they would NEVER offer in the States (at least in my opinion) like chocolate bars with thyme and sesame seed, chili pepper shavings, and lavender pieces to name a few. We have opened the thyme and sesame seed and D likes it – I am not convinced that it tastes good. When they are trying to convince you of the health benefits to the chocolate (it has Omega 3 on the label) I am suspicious that that means it doesn’t taste very good. Or as others might say, it is an acquired taste. Um hm.

Conclusion/ consequences
My respect for Belgian products has grown tremendously. I always thought that “good” chocolate came from Germany or Switzerland – I had heard of Belgian chocolate, but never really realized that this is the heartland of fine sweets. Also, D and I had stumbled across Chimay beer, one of the Belgian Trappists that is exported, at Whole Foods and liked it. So, coming here I knew that Belgium had some good beer, but I had no idea of the scope, ritual or tradition that surrounded it. Finally, French fries get no respect in the States because McDonalds has co-opted the image and let’s face it, “Supersize Me” has forever turned me off of McDonalds anything, much less the fries (The Smoking Fry extra on the DVD is just fascinating and horrifying at the same time.) I am not suggesting that fries are healthy, they aren’t, no matter what country makes them. Having said that, I have never had fries as good – with the possible exception of the homemade fries my dad makes when we visit in the summer, just yummy. I didn’t think that fries could be as embraced as a cultural centerpiece, by all generations, as they have been here. Interesting, and tasty.

The only problem with such a wonderful variety of good eats is that D and I have noticed that we have gained a little bit of weight. That was inevitable. We really didn’t put restrictions on ourselves with these lovely specialties – we knew our time here was short and didn’t want to miss out on the fun. However, when the time increased, we didn’t really want to cut short the fun, we didn’t “live” here so it is ok, like an extended vacation. You can see the problem with this logic – it is a lot like morning logic when you press the snooze button over and over, trying to avoid the inevitable fact that you have to get up. So, in order to address our logic problem we have recently committed to upping our work-out frequency and intensity in order to prevent having to cut some of our favorite Belgian traditions. Last time I lived in Europe I had a similar problem – the ice cream got me then (Austrian ice cream at Schwedenplatz is the best in the world, I still believe that); now, it is fries, chocolate (Nutella is in there too, I have been weak), and some darn good beer. And, I don’t think I would change it. D gets to play soccer with a bunch of Italians (that is for another time, he is living the dream) and I smile more while running because I know that my reward will taste sweet.