Belgian chocolate: a heritage at Nasty Jack’s Candy
Everything we do at Nasty Jack’s Candy is about quality and flavor. To make the best tasting malt balls we use the finest chocolate from one of the few remaining authentic Belgian chocolate producers.
Chocolate has been tickling our taste buds for about 2,500 years: The Aztecs in Southern Mexico started using it as a fermented beverage back in 450 BC. It was a bitter liquid, mixed with spices and was believed to be an aphrodisiac and to give the drinker strength.
Belgium’s chocolate roots.
Belgium’s association with chocolate goes back to 1635: still ruled by the Spanish, explorers brought cocoa beans from South Africa to the Belgian community. Chocolate was a luxury product and, like with the Aztecs, it was originally offered as a drink: hot chocolate. The colonization of Congo and the access to cocoa beans, ignited to development of Belgium as trader in cocoa and chocolate. In 1912 Jean Neuhaus invented the “praline”, a hollow chocolate shell with a sweet filling as well as a “ballotin”, the box in which pralines are wrapped.
What makes Belgian chocolate unique?
There are 3 elements that contribute to the quality and the flavor of real Belgian chocolate:
The ingredients
Chocolate has very little ingredients: cocoa liquor (cocoa solids and cocoa butter), sugar, milk powder (milk and white chocolate), vanilla and soy lecithin. The sourcing and selection of the cocoa beans, the fermenting, the drying and the roasting process, all factors that will determine the flavor and the quality of the chocolate.
The recipe
Cocoa can only grow 20° north and south of the equator. Each region where cocoa is grown, will have a typical flavor profile and the combination of different types beans and origins will guarantee a constant flavor over the years. These recipes of various chocolate types are very valuable to chocolate producers and they treat them as personal or company heritage: the best kept secrets in the chocolate world!
The production process
The production process starts with the blending of the ingredients. The chocolate mass is then refined: Belgian chocolate is known for its fineness and incredible mouth feel. Two crucial steps are involved here: firstly, all particles are ground until they are of the same size (150 microns). Next, the chocolate is made even finer, around 20 microns, which is beyond the sensitivity level of the human tongue, ensuring a smooth, creamy texture.
After grinding, the chocolate is conched in order to ensure a perfectly even texture. Any remaining moisture and volatile aromas are evaporated during this stage, while the desired flavor components are created through the close contact of sugar, milk powder and cocoa mass. This is a crucial step in creating the typical taste of Belgian chocolate.
Finally, the chocolate is tempered, causing it to harden and shrink. This stage of the process is essential for creating good melting properties in the mouth and to make the chocolate truly shine.
Belgian chocolate in Arlington
At Nasty Jack’s Candy we’re proud to use this rich chocolate heritage in our products and bring the smoothness and the exceptional flavor to you. We hope that you are enjoying the malt balls as much as we do!
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