Chocolate pralines

Pralines, the collective name for confectionery made from nuts, chocolate and sugar, are, to say the least, the greatest art in the world of chocolate. Master chocolatiers can do many things in praline design that they cannot do in, for example, the creation of a regular chocolate bar. Here, they can play with shape, appearance, flavour and ingredients to create completely unique chocolate creations that are designed with great thought. And the great variety of flavours added means that everyone can find a flavour they like in pralines.

Pralines - the beginning and the evolution

The first pralines were made from whole almonds coated with caramelised sugar. French colonists took the praline recipe to Lousiana in America, which is famous for its sugar cane and walnut plantations. Later, the makers of these confectionery products substituted almonds for walnuts, added custard to give shape to everything and combined the ingredients to create the pralines we know today.

Pralines are thought to have taken their name from the French diplomat Marshall du Plessis-Praslin in the early 17th century, whose chef Clément Lassagne created them at his château. There are various stories about what led to this.

Some believe that Chef Lassagne got the idea from children who were always wandering around the kitchen stealing leftover almonds and then roasting them in sugar over a fire.

Anyway, it is known that the confection was named after the owner of the kitchen, not the chef who actually remembered the confection. However, this did not distract Lassagne, who eventually opened his own patisserie in France, called Maison du Praslin, which is still in existence today.

Belgian pralines

Belgian pralines are certainly the most famous pralines today. They were first made in 1912, when Jean Neuhaus started making the famous chocolate shells, which he then filled with cream. Belgian pralines are some of the most sophisticated and elegant in the world. Their composition even made them so fragile in the beginning that the original packaging had to protect them from breaking. This is how Neuhaus invented the legendary rectangular box, also known as the ''ballotin'', which is still used in chocolatiers today. Before Neuhaus''s invention, pralines were packed in small paper bags, which often broke.

Over the years, the chocolate industry in Belgium has progressed and different praline makers have started to produce pralines with different fillings. Today, pralines in the shape of chocolate shells with a creamy filling are also very popular, and each year the manufacturers come up with a new flavour and shape.

Making pralines

Because of their status in society, pralines are made using a special process under the watchful eye of a chocolatier. Many chocolatiers make pralines according to recipes that are still secret today, some of which are more than 150 years old.

Only the finest ingredients are used to make quality pralines. We do not know the exact ingredients, of course, because of the secrecy of the recipe, but what is certain is that the pralines are made in several stages and that they are labour-intensive. Roughly speaking, pralines are divided into two types: model pralines and coated pralines.

Moulded pralines are made using a mould into which a thin layer of chocolate is poured. The resulting shell is then filled and sealed with a thin layer of chocolate. This technique is mainly suited to pralines filled with ''ganache'', i.e. a cream made of chocolate, butter and sweet cream, and to those pralines containing a filling of fresh cream.

The pralines with a coating, on the other hand, consist of a solid base such as marzipan. These pralines are then coated with chocolate and left to set.

We see pralines of all shapes and sizes. In America, pralines were mostly a simple confection made from almonds, walnuts and caramelised sugar, while in Europe, praline makers have turned more to the art of creating chocolate. In Belgium and France, pralines were made from fine coconut cream mixed with nuts and filled with chocolate candies. When making quality pralines, the ingredients are chosen according to where they come from, their quality and, of course, their taste.

Pralines are certainly a true masterpiece in the world of chocolate, and in many chocolatiers they are even a true art, with a lot of effort and energy put into them. Pralines used to be considered a symbol of wealth because of their elegance and finesse, but today, thanks to industrialisation, everyone can afford them, although they still retain the status of wealth and opulence, which is, in fact, what such a masterpiece should be.