CHOCOLATE

                       Who Can Resist Chocolate?

Europe was introduced to cocoa beans in the late 16th century when Spanish explorers brought them back from what is now Mexico,  but they did not reach Belgium for another 100 years. The people of Bruges are connoisseurs of fine chocolate and buy their chocolates fresh daily, like other people buy pastries. Tempting chocolate-filled display windows are seen all over town. The average Belgian consumes over 15 pounds of chocolate annually!

Chocolate like fashion, wine and finance has become a complex cultural phenomenon. There is basic chocolate for the masses, artisanal chocolate for purists and avant-garde creations for connoisseurs.

Ever since the Brussels chocolatier, Jean Neuhaus, invented the praline 100 years ago, the city and country have been at the forefront of the chocolate business. Belgium is home to two of the biggest chocolate companies in the world-- Godiva and Leonidas, as well as hundreds of boutique chocolate-makers and haute chocolatiers. The melting point is just below that of the human body so the chocolate melts in the mouth!

One study showed that melting chocolate in your mouth produced increased brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than passionate kissing! It also lasted four times longer after the activity ended. What good rationale for eating chocolate—savoring it that is!

When King Leopold II colonized the African Congo (1885-1908), partly for the cocoa crops, the resulting genocide was a dark moment in the country’s history. In the late 1800s Belgian chocolate started earning its formidable reputation. It is hard to resist chocolate when viewing showcases full of caramel, marzipan, chocolate mousse, ganache and cream-filled pralines. Mary, a 92-year-old chocolatier is a favorite of the Belgian royal family. Mary makes small batches of chocolates to avoid storing, which causes loss of flavor. The by-product, cocoa butter, is used in Belgian chocolate as the makers refuse to supplement vegetable oils or shortening as is often done in other countries.

            Leaving one chocolate shop I turned to my friend saying, “Remember that museum in York, England when we lifted the answer boards to all those questions on chocolate?”

            “Oh, yes. Wasn’t that fun? Don’t I remember that we learned England was the largest consumer of chocolate in the world?”

            “Wasn’t that a surprise!  I remember it was an enormous amount of money spent hourly on chocolate, yet it is no way as well touted as it is here.”

            Walking around Bruges I swear there is a chocolatier on every block! We watched several at work and visited several chocolate shops.

            Finally I decided I’d done my share of supporting the Bruges economy!