History of Chocolate

The history of rich creamy flavoured chocolates of Belgium dates back to the 17th century when Belgium received the gift of cocoa beans from Spanish invaders who brought the same from South America. At that point, only rich had the power to afford chocolates and that too in the form of a hot chocolates. During that time, then major of Zurich named as Herni Escher was offered the hot chocolate drink which he liked it fully and took the recipe to his hometown Switzerland which is now the biggest competitor of Belgium in terms of producing high-quality chocolates.

In reality, Belgium started its actual production of chocolate when they colonized the quarters of Congo and found a large selection of cocoa beans. It was King Leopold the third that made Belgium the first ever nation to produce high-quality chocolate from cocoa beans.

In actual terms, 1857 was the period when the first ever chocolate shop opened and in 1912 the first praline was created. At that period a hollow chocolate shell with sweet filling inside was offered fully wrapped and put inside the box.

Major Ingredients

In order to best understand the history and legacy of chocolate that Belgium has, it is also important to know what ingredients were used in the past time. During the period of 1884, the rule was made to use only 35% of cocoa for the manufacturing of chocolates to make the final product goes tasty and healthy.

After that several modifications were made especially by small chocolate shop owners in Belgium that has led to the rise of around 300 shops. In addition, Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate is the best place to discover the hidden truths of chocolates to better understand the concept of sweet treat.

The Present Scenario

Nowadays, the craze and preference for chocolates has risen to an extent. Taste lovers are more choosey towards chocolates along with shapes, sizes, fillings and other artistic creativity. Even customized and printed chocolates are on the rise to attain the maximum gifting pleasure for various personal events as well as for promoting corporate brands in an economical manner.