Delices & Gourmandises’ Belgian chocolates: a great time!

Symbols of Belgian quality all around the world, Belgian chocolates have a key place in Delices & Gourmandises catalog.

Tasty moments with Delices & Gourmandises

The history of Belgian chocolate dates back to the seventeenth century. At that time, cocoa was landed in the port of Antwerp from Curaçao Island in the Caribbean. Offered by the monks of the Abbey of Baudeloo near Ghent in 1635, this gift was one of the first tracks of the bean in Belgium, which was then only enjoyed as a luxurious drink by the royal family and aristocrats.

Over the following centuries, it becames very popular and was introduced in desserts. In 1857, Jean Neuhaus, pharmacist, had the idea to coat its medicinal preparations of chocolate to hide their bad taste: the first chocolate factory was born. A few years later, he even invented the praline, a real trademark of the Belgian confectionery, which justifies its selection by Delices & Gourmandises.

In addition to the skills of its chocolate-makers, Belgian chocolate’s fame first is built on the quality of the selected cocoa beans and their roasting. Moreover, their grinding is finely realized, another specificity of this chocolate, as well as a high cocoa content (often 43% instead of 35% generally).

Among the great names of Belgian chocolate, apart from Neuhaus, there is Côte d'Or, created in 1883, Leonidas (1913) or Godiva (1926).

The famous Belgian pralines proposed by Delices & Gourmandises

Pralines are mainly handmade with caramelized sugar coated with chocolate. These melting-in-the mouth chocolate-filled sweets are then decorated in a personal way by each master chocolatier.

Delices & Gourmandises offers you a unique assortment of 10 varieties of pralines, among which are the mendiants made with chocolate, hazelnut, almond and orange slices.

Dry wines presented by Delices and Gourmandises

Dry wines can accompany an appetizer as well as a seated meal as far as you know the types of foods to pair with them. However, all dry wine are not necessarily good ones. Find out the characteristics of good dry wines in this short guide by Delices and Gourmandises.

What is meant by "dry wine"?

Oenologists and wine experts agree to qualify as "dry wines" those whose sugar content is less than or equal to four grams per liter (4 g/l). A dry wine will then be more or less acid. Above 4g, it is called sweet wine. The dryness of wine is estimated from its fat, and the beverage’s dryness is measured and evaluated while on the palate.

The main elements that bring the wine its dryness are the quality of the tannins on the one hand, and the wine acidity on the other.

The different types of dry wines

We all know the dry white wine. It has a very slightly sweet taste in the mouth or not at all. Many of them have aromas that well outweigh their slight acidity. In the same category, dry champagne is a little softer, thus sweeter. There are also dry rosé wines that stand out for their fruity or woody aromas.

Although we can qualify red wines as dry because they contain very limited quantity of sugar, a really dry red wine is a poor quality wine, bitter and flat, which dries the mouth.

Delices and Gourmandises offers two dry white wines. Riesling Moulin de Dusenbach is an Alsatian white wine that can be enjoyed with seafood, shellfish or fish. Château Cazeau Entre-deux-Mers white will be perfect with foie gras, sole meunière or good Roquefort.

Delices and Gourmandises chocolate wafers

If you want to prepare your own chocolate wafers, here is an easy to follow recipe proposed by Delices and Gourmandises.

Ingredients :

For wafers :
-350gr flour
-225gr butter
-300gr sugar
-4 eggs
-1 cup of baking powder
-1 cup of vanilla flavored sugar

For chocolate cream :
-200gr dark chocolate
-125gr whole milk
-125gr liquid cream
-20gr butter
-15gr sugar powder
-1 vanilla pod
   

Prepare the dough and cook the wafers

Soften the butter and mix it with sugar until evenly combined. Mix the baking powder and the flour together, and then add the eggs to the newly formed mixture. Whisk everything well and make sure no lumps are formed. The mixture should be between creamy and foamy texture. Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning, cook your wafers in a hot pan.

Prepare the chocolate cream

Break the chocolate and put it in a salad bowl. Next, split open the vanilla pod and boil it with the milk and the cream all together in a small pot. Then, pour the boiled mixture onto the chocolate. Make sure to mix it well and that no lumps are formed. Add butter and sugar. Stiffen your cream on low heat for a couple minutes. Do not heat for too long so that you can spread the mixture easily.

Make your chocolate wafers

A fresh good Sylvaner available at Delices and Gourmandises

Sylvaner is a white grape variety that can produce a low price dry wine which is available at Delices and Gourmandises for everybody to enjoy.

Sylvaner d’Alsace is among the wines presented in the Delices and Gourmandises catalogue

Originally from Transylvania in Central Europe, Sylvaner was first introduced in Germany in the XVII century where it was the first choice grape variety used, occupying 35% of all the vineyards, which is more than the surface allocated to the Riesling. However, it has been since then exploited quietly due to an increasing preference toward more aromatic grape varieties.

In France, it is mainly concentrated in the Alsace vineyards. In the sixties, chaptalization method ruined its reputation and therefore, it had a decreased productivity. However, new generation of winegrowers have helped rebuild and correct its prestige. Now, its freshness and finesse, along with a constant and important production rate, make it a high quality Alsace wine deserving its own shelf in Delices and Gourmandises’ wine cellar.

The sylvaner vine is vigorous. Its grape variety is of a late maturity and harvested around 10 days after the Chasselas which is the commonly used reference. Cold weather is its biggest weakness. Late blight and botrytis are its most infamous disease. A well-made trellis is recommended because the length of its shoots makes it vulnerable to gusts of wind. If the vineyard has poor soil, the wine will be of better quality.

A fine fresh wine specially selected by Delices and Gourmandises

 

Its clear color with its greenish shades reflects its freshness and lightness. It has a fruity taste and is equipped with a refreshing capacity. It is usually consumed in its early maturation; however, some wines, like the AOC Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes proposed by Delices and Gourmandises, can be preserved between 2 to 4 years. It is a great accompaniment to cold cuts, onion tart, and various seafoods.

You can easily order this inexpensive AOC Alsace white wine at Delices and Gourmandises.

An easy custard recipe presented by Délices & Gourmandises

Custard is a must-have nowadays for dessert and snack. It is mostly used as a complement to biscuits and pastries. This recipe proposed by Délices & Gourmandises will easily help you prepare your sauce.

A liquid cream with a vanilla flavor

Custard is a mixture of egg yolks, milk and sugar. Most of the time it has a vanilla flavor. Its liquid consistency is the reason why it is a perfect accompaniment to various desserts such as chocolate cake and ice cream.  However, it has to be smooth and creamy in order to be a good custard.

Ingredients

In order to prepare a custard recipe for 4, here are the ingredients you need:
•    25 cl (1 cup) of milk
•    25 cl (1 cup) cultured cream
•    4 egg yolks
•    100 gr (1/2 cup) of sugar
•    1/2 vanilla pod

Preparation

•    Boil the milk and vanilla together in a pot, then leave to cool
•    Beat the egg yolks and sugar until you get a light color mixture
•    Add cultured cream until the new mixture is evenly combined
•    Pour the mixture into the milk and take out the vanilla pod
•    Heat the mixture inside the pot and stir it with a spatula
•    Make sure boiling point is not reached. The cream is ready when you draw a line on the spatula and it stays there well defined
•    Leave to cool and keep it refrigerated

You must not forget that custard can be preserved in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Also, if the cream was overcooked and became too thick, you can render its smoothness by using a long neck blender for a couple minutes.

Délices & Gourmandises has various choices of biscuits and cakes for you to enjoy your custard with: chocolate mini-cakes, chocolate with almonds…

Red AOC Bordeaux wine selected by Delices & Gourmandises

The presence of the red AOC Bordeaux wine in Delices & Gourmandises cellar is not a surprise since it's the world’s greatest and most sold Bordeaux appellation.

AOC Bordeaux Rouge in Délices et Gourmandises cellar

Bordeaux’ broadest generic name, AOC Bordeaux is produced across the department of the Gironde, outside forest areas and areas of marshes and swamps. It covers a wide variety of soils, letting the winemaker choose the grape varieties most suitable for the soil quality.

The main grape varieties used in the production of AOC Bordeaux are Merlot, which gives the fruity taste and the velvety texture and Cabernet Sauvignon, which gives it its tannic structure. To add roundness and spicy aromas, winemakers add Cabernet Franc. It is also possible to find Petit Verdot, Malbec or côt and even Carmenère, but not very often.

The presence of the red AOC Bordeaux in Delices & Gourmandises cellar is explained by its strong reputation but also the flexibility of its wines. They are fruity and not very vigorous. Their aromas, usually of red fruits, depend from the blend chosen by the winemaker. It is advisable to drink the red AOC Bordeaux young enough, after four or five years at most, although some may have a better aging potential.

Red AOC Bordeaux wines are simple and easy to drink. They are better served at a temperature of 15° or 16° with red meat.

Red AOC Bordeaux wine proposed by Delices & Gourmandises

Delices & Gourmandises wine cellar contains a red AOC Bordeaux, the Château Grand Jean, blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This red AOC Bordeaux greatly accompanies charcuterie, a piece of beef or game.

The Cinsault grape variety presented by Delices and Gourmandises

The Cinsault is a very old grape variety that comes from Provence region. It has big and juicy berries that can also be eaten when chilled. It brings suppleness in some wines selected by Delices and Gourmandises.

The Cinsault makes fruity wines

The Cinsault grape variety has black berries which juice is white. He rapidly went out from its old Provence for the Rhône valley and the Languedoc-Roussillon. It is also cultivated in Algeria, as it needs a lot of sun and strong enough to resist heat and dryness but still give good harvest.

This grape variety slowly ripens and matures 3 weeks after the Chasselas which is the reference. As the Cinsault is very susceptible, it has to be cultivated on poor a dry soil for having good and regular harvest. When it is plated on good and rich soil, the production is heavy but the grapes quality is lower.

It was formerly cultivated with the Grenache and their combination gave a fruity and vintage wine, as the rosé proposed by Delices and Gourmandises. The Cinsault is used to make AOC wines as the Côtes-du-Rhône, the Châteauneuf Pape. The combination gives very good rosés wines as the tavel. As they are no very sharp, these wines are easy to drink ans low in alcohol. Their aromas are generally those of red berries or dried fruits.

Delices and Gourmandises selected some wine made with Cinsault

The fact that Delices and Gourmandises offers us a delicious Côtes-du-Rhône red wine that contains Cinsault stands to reason. The Domaine de Lascamp is a wine of reference in its category with its beautiful purple color and intense flavor. Yiu can also find in its cellar a good rosé made of Cinsault and Grenache noir, the Tibérius rosé. For the pays d’Oc in Languedoc-Roussillon, it’s a light wine perfect of the aperitif.