Like Beer for Chocolate
Food Blog 3
April 20th, 2015
By Garrett McClellan
One food that makes Belgium popular is their chocolate. While the cocoa beans and other ingredients like sugar can originatte from areas outside of the country, Belgian chocolate is all its own. It has been world renouned dating back to the 17th century and is still a key part of the belgian economy and culture. You can credit the chocolate bar and a praline to the food culture in Belguim. Belgians business and independent sellers actually have to follow strict guidelines if they want to market their product as Belgian chocolate. You have to use at least 35% pure cocoa level and you are prohibited from using certain fats and oils that change the characteristics of the chocolate. Today in belguim, there are over 2000 choclatiers and over 172 thousand tons of chocolate is produced every year. The drink of choice in Belgium is with out a doubt, beer. The Belgians have been brewing beer since the middle ages and have always been recognized for their superior quality. You have beers that are made specifically by monks in the country and beers that are only made within a small valley. There are many differnt varieties but all of them are exported and labelled as Belgian beers. Although the Belgians drink over 450 different types of beers, the beer is also used for cooking as many of their foods are beer battered to give the food some belgian twang.
Belgium waffles are amazing and, like you, I knew nothing about the country of Belgium before reading your blog posts (I had to Google exactly where it was on a map). It is interesting how Belgium claims to be the maker of the original french fry. Makes me wonder why french fries are called FRENCH fries, but they’re still delicious. I also never realized how much chocolate comes from Belgium and the strict guidelines that accompany selling the chocolate.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised! Belgian chocolate is quite frankly, one of the best. When I first think of Belgium, I immediately think of Belgian waffles, but chocolate was definitely second. My dwarf-like figure might not convince you, but chocolate is my best friend, and it's honestly become a daily addiction. I didn't realize that it took such precise steps and processes for the chocolate to be made. It's so crazy how the makers of the precious chocolate are so significantly on-point with the amounts of pure cocoa and such. How cool would a career like that be?! As for the beer, I can't really say I'm familiar with any such topic. Though I must admit, it's super crazy that there are so many different types of beer. Pardon me, I thought beer was just beer. I guess that's not the case in Belgium.
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