Belgian praline, a special sweetness

Of course, everyone knows about Belgian chocolate, which has a well-established international reputation. However, we tend to know rather less about Belgian praline which originated in Brussels, in 1912, and has become one of confectionery’s unmissable specialities.

A practical invention

Praline is generally considered to be a sugar-coated grilled almond or hazelnut, but the Belgian praline is something very different.

It was created by Jean Neuhaus, a Brussels pharmacist. He knew the medications he supplied usually tasted unpleasant, and so had the idea of coating them with a layer of chocolate to improve the taste. Then in 1912, his grandson took up the idea and produced the first Belgian praline. It was just like today’s filled chocolate but was still more associated with medication products.

The praline has Belgian origins

The word "praline" itself comes from Belgium – in France, something with the same sweetness is usually described as a "chocolate bonbon". There are a great number of praline varieties, all of which are equally delicious.

Praline was originally just a simple shell or mould in which the filling was saturated with liquid chocolate, or otherwise liquid chocolate was poured into the hollow mould.

Many varieties

Although endless variants exist, there are really four main types of praline. The first is a praline milk chocolate coating used to cover fillings such as almonds, sugar, vanilla, cocoa ...

The second is a type of dark chocolate coating made with cream or butter cream. We also have the dark chocolate and marzipan variety of praline which will be very familiar to discerning lovers of chocolates. And finally, there is a white chocolate praline made with a cream or butter cream filling and topped with a walnut.

Today’s master chocolatiers continue to innovate, and you can now enjoy the taste of pralines flavoured with gianduja and ganache, praline truffles and many more.

Belgian chocolate bars are also extremely popular all around the world. And today, Belgium has more than 2,000 chocolatiers, including famous prestige brands such as Côte d'Or, Neuhaus, Leonidas, Godiva, Van Dender ... as well as Wittamer, Mary and Galler who are the three official suppliers to the Belgian monarchy.