Where do the chocolates come from?

The origin of chocolates

There has been much speculation about its provenance but, without a doubt, one of the stories of its origin has gained popularity over the others, perhaps because of its uniqueness.

It is said that in the 18th century, the French King Louis XIV’s pastry chef came up with the brilliant idea of dipping some small fruits in chocolate as a gift to the king. The king, when he put them in his mouth, could only exclaim “bon, bon”, or what is the same “good, good”, the name with which the king’s pastry chef decided to baptize this sweet.

A much more boring explanation, but which seems more credible, is that in German the word bon bon means candy. So, whether or not the story of the Sun King, the name by which the French king was known, is true or not, the name was probably added later and is of German origin.

Although the Americans later popularized this sweet, it is undeniable that chocolates of Belgian, German, Swiss and Italian origin are the ones that have had more recognition over time. These confectioners perfected the chocolates through artisan techniques and kept the secret of their creations jealously guarded in their family businesses.

The Cadbury brand, in the mid-nineteenth century, was the one that popularized the candy by bringing to market the first box of chocolates in history, for which we lovers of chocolates will be eternally grateful.

Bonbons have been gaining popularity since those times and, for two centuries, confectioners have invested much of their time in improving and inventing new versions of these succulent chocolate morsels.

The truth is that, although today’s large-scale manufacturing and automation of machinery has allowed chocolates to have very affordable prices, there is nothing like good handmade chocolates. At
Casa Mira
they prepare them in their workshop, one by one, manually. It is something you should try at least once in your life.

Why chocolates are so tasty

Why do bonbons taste different from chocolate? Although technically the bonbon is a filled chocolate, the truth is that the composition of its chocolate is different from that of the bars. To begin with, they usually have a lower percentage of chocolate than a bar, although they should have at least 25% chocolate.

To this is added a higher fat content, composed of milk fat and saturated fats, since cocoa fat is rich in this type of fat. It also has a higher sugar or sucrose content, to which is added the filling, which can be nuts, liqueurs, praline, marzipan, or anything else that comes to mind, but which, as a general rule, usually has a high caloric content.

All this means that chocolates are a real treat that you have to know how to control, because you know, when you start with a box of chocolates, you never know when to stop.

At Casa Mira, chocolates are one of our specialties. We have a great selection of chocolates, but the most appreciated ones are undoubtedly those of cherries with rum and grapes with cognac. If you don’t want to miss this authentic pleasure of the gods, just visit our online store.