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Italian Chocolate |
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Italy invariably produces high quality foods.
The production of gourmet Italian chocolate is no exception, with companies like Amedei, Fratelli
Nurzia Torrone and Venchi all making some of the finest quality chocolate.
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Italy and the History of Chocolate
Italy has played some small, but significant roles in the historical development of chocolate, revealing cocoa beans and chocolate
to the rest of the world.
In 1606, while Spain was keeping the discovery of cocoa beans and chocolate hidden, the Italian trader Carletti revealed
these secrets to his fellow Italians having enjoyed cocoa and chocolate in the West Indies and in Spain.
It was a sensation he wanted to share. This lead to a chocolate-mania, with cioccolatieri opening up
in all major cities with Perugia as the heart of the Italian chocolate world.
In Venice the first chocolate shops appeared. From Italy, chocolate was then introduced to Germany,
Austria and Switzerland.
Later, in 1860, Italian confectioner, Ghirardelli discovered by chance how to produce almost completely fat-free cocoa powder.
One of his employees had put some leftover ground cocoa beans in a cotton bag and left them overnight.
Ghirardelli discovered the following morning that the cocoa butter had been absorbed by the bag and had seeped
onto the floor. Ghirardelli later engineered the extraction cocoa butter from ground cocoa to create a very soluble cocoa powder.
In Italy in 1907, Francesco Buitoni, a relative of the well known pasta making family, started developing chocolate.
In 1922 he invented and marketed the famous "baci", which means kisses in Italian.
These are small chocolates, wrapped in silver paper and contain a love message.
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Amedei Chocolate
Venchi Chocolate
L'Artigiano Chocolate
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