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Filled Chocolates: The Great Cover-Up
“History is written by the victors” – (possibly, but unlikely to have been said by Winston Churchill)
In the case of chocolate, history is all too often written by those who spend the most money on marketing. Take filled chocolates: most of us when asked to associate a country with filled chocolates will say Belgium. After all, Belgium invented the “praline” and “ballotine” (box of pralines), claim over 250 filled chocolate makers who account for over 10% of all Belgium’s exports. However the actual history is more complex. The UK, Switzerland, US, Italy and many other countries also have their own histories of filled chocolates – many of which predate the Belgian’s Neuhas etc (who were actually Swiss /Italians who started by covering medicines in chocolate…).
July 09, 2025 |
“History is written by the victors” – (possibly, but unlikely to have been said by Winston Churchill)
In the case of chocolate, history is all too often written by those who spend the most money on marketing. Take filled chocolates: most of us when asked to associate a country with filled chocolates will say Belgium. After all, Belgium invented the “praline” and “ballotine” (box of pralines), claim over 250 filled chocolate makers who account for over 10% of all Belgium’s exports. However the actual history is more complex. The UK, Switzerland, US, Italy and many other countries also have their own histories of filled chocolates – many of which predate the Belgian’s Neuhas etc (who were actually Swiss /Italians who started by covering medicines in chocolate…).
