French Chocolates

French chocolates are world renowned, and for good reason! The producers of French chocolates maintain strict standards of quality.

French Chocolates

Quality is main concern for French chocolates

The story goes that in the 1600s, as Jewish immigrants were being kicked out of Spain, many of them landed in the port city of Bayonne in southwest France. They brought more than a culture rich in tradition and steeped in history- they brought chocolate! And since that the time the French have continued to perfect the art of making some of the finest chocolates in the world. The French have also continued to maintain the standards of quality that have given them the reputation of making some of the best of allEuropean chocolates.

As with all things culinary, the French also take their French chocolates very seriously indeed. In fact the production of French chocolates is strictly legislated by the French government. All French chocolates must be made with at least 43% cocoa liquor and 26% pure cocoa butter. Of course, most French chocolate contains well above the 43% minimum of cocoa liquor. The best bonbons can even contain up to 80% cocoa liquor, giving them a very intense cocoa flavor. And all of this is on the law books!

The producers of the finest French chocolates fear that the quality of European chocolates in general could suffer due to new Common Market regulations which authorize the use of vegetable fat in chocolate, which is something currently against the law in France. It only goes to show how serious the manufacturers of French chocolates about keeping thier reputation for quality intact.

The French's diligence towards picking the right beans for their chocolate has actually started a trend towards labeling chocolates by the origin of the predominant bean that was used in its production. The best chocolate contains a blend of about 4 beans from various regions that combine various flavors and intensities. This is another thing that sets French chocolates apart from other Europea chocolates, even Belgian chocolates and Swiss chocolates!

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