I'm an expat American, fairly well traveled and recently relocated to Belgium. There are plenty of areas of interest in my new country that I could address, but I figured it would be most helpful to talk about what the Belgians do better than anyone.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I should note that there are some 180 or so countries in the world and I've only visited 16 of them. But I have sampled chocolate in all of that I've visited, and some of these (Switzerland, Italy, Venezuela) have highly regarded chocolates. Belgium's chocolate occupies a whole other plane of existence than the chocolate I've had anywhere else.

First of all we should clarify some terms. The two basic types of chocolate confections are truffles and pralines. The authentic truffle is a very simple, even austere dollop of pure chocolate paste dusted with a little bittersweet cocoa powder. Truffles are solid, rarely contain any extraneous flavorings and are usually shaped like an oversized chocolate chip or chocolate 'kiss'. Pralines are filled confections and may also include nuts, icing or other decorations and may appear in an incredible variety of shapes. Most of the chocolates you will encounter in a Belgian chocolatier's shop will be pralines.

I have personally visited the shops of four chocolatiers in Brussels: Neuhaus, Mary, Le Chocolatier Manon, and Pierre Marcolini. Each of the shops resembles a boutique if not a museum. Middle aged women in no-nonsense uniforms and white gloves to handle the chocolates, glass cases and gift wrapped golden boxes. In each of them I chose chocolates to fill a 250 gram box. Although I didn't actually count, I'd guess that on average each store had about 35-45 different confections to choose from. Honestly I couldn't say which is my favorite, though no doubt I could make myself very ill trying to come up with an answer. Neuhaus is located in the fashionable Royal Gallery pedestrian area. The shop Mary is further from the center and this is perhaps why our glorious leader, W, recently visited. Photos of his visit hang on the walls of the boutique. From the looks of his shopping bag, he did quite a bit of shopping there.

Yes, you say, but you haven't really told us why Belgian chocolate is so much better than chocolate anywhere else. Well, I'll tell you why. The European Union recently passed a resolution permitting chocolate makers to substitute cheap vegetable fats for the more costly cocoa butter. As much as 5% of the total confection could be vegetable fat under EU regulations. Belgians were not merely scandalized by this lowering of standards; the Belgian government took a decision to ignore the lower standards and maintain the higher quality of their chocolates.

You might think that a 5% discrepancy in ingredients would not make a difference in the product. Perhaps not everyone would notice. But for connoisseurs of chocolate this is a huge distinction. Especially among those who prefer darker, less fattening chocolates. When there is less fat present overall, 5% vegetable fat in the total product makes a big difference. And even if you can't detect such nuances, this sort of stance should indicate to you the high regard Belgians have for the quality of their chocolates.

Additionally, some of these chocolatiers included notes in or on their boxes of chocolate reminding their customers that the full flavors of their chocolates would be best experienced when the chocolates are between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius. This is another good indication of how seriously the Belgians take their chocolates.

Belgian chocolate is much less sweet than the average American chocolate. A good chocolatier claims that if you sample two or three chocolates and then feel the need to drink water, the confections have too much sugar. Belgian chocolate leaves a clean feeling in your mouth and doesn't give you a sugar rush. After eating two or three chocolates there is no cloying, oily residue on your tongue. You feel refreshed and slightly more perky.

All right, I hear you say, but you're talking about the premium end of the spectrum. What about the stuff in the supermarkets? I'm glad you asked. The Hershey's chocolate of Belgium is Cote d'Or chocolate. I hesitate even to write such a metaphor because there really is no comparison at all. What I mean to say is that Cote d'Or is the everyday, buy it anywhere, ordinary chocolate of Belgium. Its logo is an elephant with an upraised trunk. And it's very good. Where Hershey's has their kisses, Cote d'Or has small, individually wrapped rectangular tablets of dark or milk chocolate. This is the perfect size portion to go with an afternoon coffee or satisfy an after dinner craving for something dessert-like. Cote d'Or chocolates have the same clean and just-sweet-enough attributes as the truffles and pralines found in chocolatier shops; though of course these are much simpler.

One needn't look only in Brussels for high end chocolates while in Belgium. There are fine chocolatiers in almost any town in Belgium. In the smallest villages the bakeries sometimes double as chocolatiers. The selection in smaller towns may not be as vast, but I don't think you will be disappointed with the quality. Also, you may enjoy sampling the goods by another means: hot chocolate. While the quality of hot chocolate seems to vary much more than that of the pralines and truffles, there is much enjoyment to be had in the hunt for the best hot chocolate.

Chocolate seems to be such a universal here. Everyone enjoys a choice nibble or two a few times each week. I've even seen sugarless chocolates for diabetics in ordinary grocery stores and delis, in addition to the offerings in the chocolatier's shops. Don't miss this wonderful indulgence if you visit this beautiful country.

Enjoy!

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