Pralines, BonBons, or Truffles?
At Ilan’s Raw Chocolate, we have had some debates on what to call our chocolate. For those who may not know, chocolate can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. We have bars, pralines, bonbons, truffles, and new wild chocolate designs appear each year. Who doesn’t want their chocolate sprinkled with a bit of edible gold?
But how many of us know that these terms are defined differently per region, country or continent? As a bit of a backstage pass to our story, the word praline in Israel is used very differently than praline in the United States. This was one of the reasons why our team needed to have a large debate over what we say— are we a praline, bonbon, or truffle? To make it easier for us, we decided to define all three and share our results with you.
Maybe after reading this you can finally know what are the delicious treats in your chocolate box.
So, on to the easy part…. definitions.
Praline
You might hear us drop this word in from time to time because we are so used to saying it with Ilan and Merav Rosenblit, the original innovators of Ilan’s Raw Chocolate. This lovely couple from Israel starting making chocolate in 2015 and sold the wonderful product as a “praline.” Simply put, this is just a piece of filled of chocolate. However, like all good Americans, we like to break the status quo of the metric system driven world and say that a praline is something different.
The American definition of a praline is a confection made using a combination of nuts (whether it be almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans) and sugar. In the United States, we opt for the brown sugar and butter combination with milk chocolate. Does “turtle” ring a bell?
Other culinary traditions, like those based in Europe, make a filling out of nuts and then add it to the chocolate. This is the approach that we take with Ilan’s, but we have gone a bit outside of the tradition by making hand dipped chocolates with our innovative fillings (like date and walnut) alongside simple additions like juicy cherries.
So, to put it simply, praline is a combination of nuts and sugar that is used as an additive to chocolate.
Truffle
A truffle is a rolled bite-sized chocolate. Super easy to make at home with some fun add-ins, truffles are popular as a quick, easy, and elegant party dessert. Crafted by combining chocolate and cream, flavors can be added in to give a nice pop to a truffle. Consider vanilla, bourbon, fruit extracts and the sky’s the limit on the amount of varieties that can be made.
Due to their main ingredients, truffles are naturally rich, creamy, and soft. They will melt your hands quickly and you will only need to eat a few before you are satisfied.
And if you are wondering about the relationship between the chocolate and the mushroom, it was the incredible mushroom that led to the name of these sweet confections. The small size resembled that of the mushroom, et voilà…
BonBon
I think this one is the most fun to say. Bon means “good” or “delicious” in French and I am a bit of a Francophile. It might be why I like chocolate so much. What is unique about a bonbon versus a praline is that a bonbon is a chocolate coated confection. This is where the games begin for chocolatiers who want to exercise some artistic liberties with their chocolate making.
BonBons are often handcrafted, filled with varieties like ganache or jams or creams. Their colors can be exquisite or even extraordinary. Praline fillings can be utilized in bonbons to create pairings with chocolate and nuts that can be very fun. When you walk into a chocolate shop, you will find a lot of bonbons to choose from. Or, if you remember that chocolate box you got last Valentine’s Day, it was probably a mix of different bonbons.
There you have it! And Ilan’s Raw Chocolate still breaks the mold. We couldn’t choose which one to describe our chocolate because none of them really fit. So, we call it chocolate. No frills, no fuss. Delicious hand-crafted chocolate that continues to redefine how we experience eating these incredible indulgences.
