By Fat Daddy Sweets

Chocolate truffles have been around for a long, long time, pleasing discerning palates the world over, and delighting adults with their tasty cocoa-infused goodness.
The modern chocolate industry as we know it came to life back in 1828 when the invention of the cocoa press made it possible to extract the natural fat from cocoa beans. This fat is better known today as cocoa butter, and it is a tasty by-product of the cocoa bean’s solid interior.

The first solid chocolate was produced by combining cocoa powder and sugar with the newly developed cocoa butter and special flavorings like vanilla. Later, in 1879, the Swiss began producing their own unique brand of chocolate. Swiss entrepreneur Henri Nestlé developed an exclusive recipe known as “milk chocolate” by combining the new solid chocolate with a powder made of dehydrated milk and sugar.

Nestlé’s new milk chocolate was an instant sales phenomenon, and soon spurred a host of imitators around the world. For example, in the United States the Hershey Corp. began to produce a very similar type of milk chocolate, which many people believe was developed by “reverse engineering” the famous Nestlé’s chocolate bars.

But it was back in France where Nestlé’s milk chocolate had the greatest influence. Experimentation among chocolate producers in France led to the development of ganache, which is the center core of the modern truffle. The ganache was an ultra-smooth combination of solid chocolate and cream that had a velvety, liquid-like texture.  Chocolate truffles began to be made using this confection, and were often flavored with other ingredients such as dark or white chocolate, cocoa powder, or almonds or other chopped nuts.

Although truffles originated in France, they quickly became popular throughout all of Europe, North America, and eventually even in the Far East. Even the name “truffle” is French, and means “a small mushroom.” The sweets were given this name because they looked very similar in shape to small mushrooms which grew wild in the French forest.

Since that time, French chocolate truffles have come to represent the finest and most luxurious candies available. In fact, truffles are taken so seriously in France that there is a contest every year to judge the best from each individual region of the country. And in many French chocolate production factories, the finest and freshest ingredients continue to be reserved for exclusive use in truffles.

These days there are a great many different varieties of truffles available, but by far the original chocolate truffles are still among the finest delicacies available anywhere.

1.  Forget “career vs. relationship”; for you, is a major decision having to choose between white and dark, milk and bittersweet, with almonds and without?

2.   Is the fastest way to get your attention the mere mention of the words free samples?

3.   Do you look at vanilla as somebody’s idea of a joke?

4.   Would you campaign to have 42nd Street Candy birthday declared a national holiday?

5.   Has an M & M never had enough time to melt in your hand?

6.   Have you mastered the art of sucking the middle from inside a malted-milk ball and still leaving the outer coating intact?

7.   Do you consider a truffle from Fat Daddy Sweet’s one of mankind’s most significant cultural achievements?

8.   Have you ever eaten an entire box of brownies from Prairie Gypsies before you got home with them?

9.  Is your ulterior motive for visiting sick friends to pick through the boxes of candies they’ve received?

10.  As you pick up the third box of Cake Dots, did it come as a surprise to you that Fancy That also serves lunch and take out dinners?

11.  Are you of the conviction that Avis at Nonna’s Bakery should be made a patron saint?

12.  Does “dinner with a few intimate friends” really mean Godiva, Teuscher,
Cadbury, and Kron?

13.  Do you consider carob a Communist plot?

* If you have answered yes to any one of these questions, there is definite warning that you may be a chocoholic.

* If you have answered yes to any two, the chances are that you are a chocoholic.

* If you have answered yes to three or more, wipe your face!