Everyone knows that the history of chocolate goes back at least as far as the ancient Aztec people of what is now Mexico. Did you know however that the praline came on the scene much more recently than that. It seems that in 1671 the Duke of Plessis-Pralin was having a lot of trouble with rebels in the Bordelais area of France. What it was that was so upsetting these people is not really relevant to our story. What matters is that they were causing the Duke a great deal of aggravation that frankly he could have done without. He gave the matter a good deal of thought and then, wily old fox that he was, he hit upon the idea of inventing a candy that would be so tempting it would distract the rebels from their cause, whatever that was!
He got together with his chef and between them they came up with a recipe for coating almonds with a crust based on sugar. They had invented the basic praline, named of course after His Grace.
A couple of hundred or so years later in 1912, the year of the Titanic disaster another event of truly titanic proportions in the world of chocolate took place in Belgium. Jean Neuhaus, founder of the world famous brand of the same name, perfected a fine chocolate shell that he could fill with flavoured cream or nut paste. The Belgian chocolate that we know today, the praline, had arrived.
In the early days Belgian pralines were wrapped in small cone shaped paper bags as their only protection from damage. However the chocolates are easily broken so they really needed better protection. Besides, they needed packaging not just to protect them but to show them off to their best advantage as something special.
Once again Jean Neuhaus, came up with the solution. In 1920, a time of innovation in so many fields, he designed the rectangular box, the ballotin, that is still used to display and protect chocolates the world over.
Just think. If those people in Bordelais hadn't been kicking up a rumpus about whatever it was the old Duke might never have put his mind to inventing a new candy. So pralines wouldn't have been invented. In that case Jean Neuhaus might never have invented the chocolate casing. It doesn't bear thinking about does it? We should bless the memory of those rebels every time we eat a chocolate!
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