Belgian chocolate

The industry expanded massively in the 19th century, gaining an international reputation and, together with the Swiss, Belgium became one of the commodity's most important producers in Europe.

The most commonly accepted standard dictates that the actual production of the chocolate must take place inside Belgium.

[2] From the early 20th century, the country was able to import large quantities of cocoa from its African colony, the Belgian Congo.

An attempt by the European Economic Community (EEC) to introduce minimum standards about the amount of cocoa butter substitutes across Europe led to prolonged negotiation but the legislation finally enacted, in 2003, was viewed as excessively lenient in Belgium.

Belgian pralines are not limited to the traditional praliné filling and often include nuts, marzipan, salted caramel, coffee, liquors, cream liqueur, cherry or a chocolate blend that contrasts with the outer shell.

They contain a soft ganache which is traditionally a semi-emulsion of liquid and therefore has a couple of days' shelf-life at low temperatures and/or requires refrigeration.

Chocolate plays an important part in the Belgian economy, and there are over 2,000 chocolatiers in the country,[1] both small and large.

[1] Côte d'Or is probably the largest commercial brand, with their products available in virtually every grocery store in the country.