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| FAQ About Chocolates- What are pralines?In Belgium, pralines is a general term for chocolates (a.k.a. chocolatecandies) with centers that are whipped and creamy. Elsewhere, pralinesrefers to a particular kind of chocolate candy, one with nuts in them.In most of this web page, I'll use pralines and chocolates interchangably.However, you should probably differentiate between the two when talkingto salespeople in the U.S., to avoid confusion.
- What's a ballotin?This is the box a box of pralines comes in.Nice ballotins are deep and have big flaps on them.
- What is a chocolatier?I guess it's someone who makes chocolates.
- What distinguishes gourmet pralines from regular chocolates?Taste and price (better and higher). And oh, I guess also nutritional impact(which is bad bad bad). Ah, the benefits of cream and butter;Gregg Easterbrookcalls Belgian pralines "depth charges."
- What goes into good chocolate?As a general rule of thumb, good chocolate should have ahigh percentage of cocoa. Chantal Coady feels 55-75% to be a goodnumber. Of this, some 30% should be cocoa butter. Most of the remaining25% or so of the bar consists of sugar. The cocoa content oflower quality chocolate will be "cut" with extra sugar, and cocoasolids will be replaced with other milk solids and vegetable fats.
When looking for good chocolate, Coady recommends to start firstwith dark chocolate. Of these, she ranksValrhona'sGrand Cru as among the best. With regards to milk chocolate, Coady alsogives kudos to Valrhona for their bars (in particular, their JivaraLactée). She also likes Lindt milk chocolate.Valrhona is a French producer, while Lindt is Swiss. Other goodbrands are El Rey and Callebaut. An excellent web review ofchocolate can be found atCloister's Chocolate Reviews.By the way,when chocolate is used by a chocolatier to create chocolates,it is called couverture. - How do I choose good chocolates?Lesly Berger advises that good chocolates should be "shiny."This is an indication of the cocoa butter content (which is higher if itis shiny). If it is "whitish" or has a "grayish cast" don'tbother...the chocolate has seen its better days. This is called"bloom." Chantal Coady warns that the most destructive type of bloom,sugar bloom (when the sugar crystals rise to the surface of the candy),can develop if moisture contacts the chocolate (which is not that hardto have happen in the refrigerator if you're not careful).
Besides this, be aware of how the chocolates taste and smell.Berger and Coady do an admirable job of describing how to go abouttasting and smelling the chocolate, so I'll let you read in detail whatthey recommend you look for. Ultimately though, taste and smell israther personal; if you (or the person you're buying for) likes the flavorand aroma, you'll do fine. - What different types of pralines are there?Chantal Coady identifies the following major types of chocolatesand their fillings:
- Boilings: Filled with caramel, butterscotch, and like fillings, with milk products added.
- Creams and fondants: Filling of sugar, sugar syrup, and more sugar, with flavorings added.
- Croquant: Filled with a mixture of sugar and nuts. Also known as a nut brittle.
- Gianduja: Filled with finely ground nuts (such as almonds) mixed with chocolate.
- Marzipan: Filled with molten sugar and ground almonds.
- Praline: Filled with nuts.
- Nougat: Filled with egg whites, nuts, and boiled honey.
- Truffles, plets, and ganaches: Filled with mixtures of more chocolate and cream.
- How should you store pralines?They need to be kept around 60°F, at a relativehumidity no more than 65%(Lesly Berger recommends 50%).While chocolate itself will keep in this environment for over a year,chocolates (i.e. chocolate candies)should be eaten the same day you buy them.If you can't find a cool room or cabinet like this,you can store the chocolatesin a refrigerator or freezer (the freezer is the better option of thetwo). However, you must make sure to protect them from thepossiblity of moisture accumulation.If you put it in the refrigerator, Berger suggests wrapping thechocolates in aluminum foil, then putting them in a plastic bag, andthen putting them in an airtight container (whew!).To store in the freezer, she recommends wrapping each chocolateindividually in aluminum foil, then putting it in the freezer.Thaw one day before consuming.
- I've heard some chocolatiers coat their chocolates withparaffin. Could you tell me more about this?Taster J sent in the following thoughts:"... some chocolatiers use paraffin in theircandy-making. This helps tokeep those cute little shapes stable during storage& shipping. Godiva,Joseph Schmidt (to a lesser degree), and Teuscherare famous for that.Although allegedly harmless to eat, I believe itgives the chocolate a kindof `waxy' taste & texture, which gets in the way ofthe total chocolateexperience (for me) .... One way to test is: after biting into a piece, if the chocolate doesn't dissolve in your mouth right away (seems a bit chewy) and kind-of sticks to your teeth, it's probably got paraffin."
- Help! I need a box of nice chocolates in ahurry. What would you recommend as an "emergency" buy?Sorry I don't have more knowledge to share. But I guess some adviceis better than none at all ... since time (and not quality) is themain constraint, I'd recommend you to go toGodiva;they're probably the easiest to find.If you have a few days, I'd get a ballotin of theNeuhausTraditional Collection; you can easilyget a box since they're accessible from the U.S., but at the sametime your gift will have an European aura. If you're not interestedin the "import" factor, I'm sure you'd do fine with any one of theNorth American chocolatiers listed in theShort List.
- What are your own personal favorite pralines?Still need to do more "tasting" research to answer this question :).However, Fran's in Seattle is a consistent favorite of mine. Their chocolate is quite smooth, affordable, andunpretentious.Chocolaterie Durig is very good, one of thebest I've tasted, but as they're located in Lausanne, Switzerland,U.S. customers will have a harder time finding their chocolates.Generally I prefer less bitter chocolates, and thusmilk chocolates are more up my alley.
- These chocolates really taste good, but I just can't afford them! What can I do?Well, there aren't a whole lot of options; you pay for quality.However, here's one hint from a friend of mine:go to the chocolate shop right after a major holiday. All theirseasonal goods will be discounted, sometimes up to 50% off. One noteof caution: don't ever give one of these discounted chocolatesto your girlfriend as a gift. It looks really tacky to give cheapgifts, and she'll figure it out since she'll be receivinga box of Valentine chocolates on February 15th.
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