What I didn't know I didn't know about truffles

We all know that truffles, those bite-size chocolate candies, are named after the mushroom because of their similar appearance.  However, the origin of the first chocolate truffle is disputed.  Although most sources claim truffles were created in France (Hochman “History”, Thornborrow), stories of how the truffle was created differ.  One such story is an apprentice of Escoffier accidentally poured hot cream in chocolate instead of sugared egg some time in the 1920s (Hochman “History”), albeit the same author claims in a different article this happened in the 19^th century (Hochman “What”).  The 1920s time frame is echoed on other websites (Olver) and by the appearance of truffle recipes in cookbooks of the time (Rigby & Rigby 90).  Wikipedia claims the inventor is “N.Petruccelli in Chambéry, France in December 1895.”  However, the website used for the citation no longer exists.  Deitsch verifies most of this information but presents Louis Dufour as simultaneously inventing both ganache and truffles.  Giovannangeli expounds upon the story thusly:

The invention of these luxury chocolate confections is credited to French pâtissier Louis Dufour, who is said to have created the first chocolate truffles in the town of Chambéry (Savoie department) in December 1895 after running short of ingredients while making his Christmas sweets.

Rather than turning to his competitors to purchase supplies, Monsieur Dufour hit upon the idea of mixing together the ingredients at hand — fresh cream, vanilla and cocoa powder —, dipping the resulting confections in melted chocolate and rolling them in more cocoa powder.

The new chocolate treats were an instant success and their popularity remains to this day, notably during Christmas and end-of-year festivities.

To be fair to Wikipedia, neither of the other websites gives a source, and the invention of ganache is placed in the 1850s by other sources (1234; Jaworski).

Wikipedia also claims there are different styles of truffles, although there are no citations for several of them.  [It is interesting how many more types of truffles there are since I first saw that Wikipedia page in October 2011.]  The ones with citations include the Swiss truffle, made with ganache and formed in a mold (Minifie 545).  This is virtually the same as a French truffle, made with ganache and rolled into a ball.  What became known as the California truffle was actually a failure of a French truffle recipe (Barron).  The so-called American truffle is described down to the ingredients even though the citation's author never mentions them (Hallock).  Wikipedia goes on to claim there is a Belgian truffle, yet the cited blog post claims these are pralinés but are called truffles because there is no accented e in the English language (“Pralines VS Truffles”).  Wikipedia uses this blog's commercial website to define Vegan truffles as using “nut butters and oils,” but the website mentions only coconut oil (“Fine Artisanal Belgian Chocolates”).  In contrast to Wikipedia's growing list, the Punchbowl website lists only three styles:  Swiss, European, and American (“Today's”).  This is why Wikipedia is not a valid source when writing college papers.  This also raises another question.  What are the technical specifications for a truffle?

Hallock defines a truffle as “hand-rolled balls of ganache, sometimes dipped in chocolate, often rolled in cocoa powder.  Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and heated cream.”  This truffle definition is echoed Deitsch, Hochman (“History”), LaBau, Olver, and Weston, among others, though Merriam-Webster does not mention ganache (“Truffle”).  That's it, then.  A truffle is made with a ganache center without chunks but possibly flavored and then coated with something, traditionally cocoa powder but sugar, candy shells, spices, and nuts are acceptable.  “Really, the sky is the limit with truffles, as long as they're made with ganache (Deitsch).”  Anything without ganache should not be considered a truffle (Deitsch; Hochman “Truffles”).

We Statesians [I don't want to lump in other portions of the Americas] are simply too lazy to use alternate terms, even though our language has over 1 million words!  I have just discovered, to my chagrin, that this has been going on for almost a century, as a recipe for chocolate truffle with vanilla cream center appeared in a 1920s cookbook (Rigby & Rigby 90).  Truffle did not appear in the 1909 version of the book (Rigby), although it did contain the same instructions for making chocolate-coated confections.  Apparently, one simply rolls the confection in coconut to make it a truffle.  [Just as a personal aside, it is also interesting to note that these are the only two editions of the book that have survived even though they got up to the 13^th edition.]

Unfortunately, I may have to take back that opinion about my countrymen.  Hochman in “Truffles Vs. Pralines: The Difference” explains how the confusion evolved.  In a nutshell, the first chocolate fillings had to be solid, such as nuts.  In 1912, a Belgian chocolatier invented a way to enrobe softer fillings, and he called these confections pralinés, the same word used in Belgium for candied nuts.  The French, on the other hand, called them bonbons, a term coined in the 1770s which means candy (“Bonbon”).  Someone eventually had the idea to use ganache as a filling for candy.  Whether coated with cocoa or enrobed in chocolate, the French called them truffles but the Belgians still called them pralinés.  Now comes the trip across the pond.  Since we already had our own pralinés, which was really a brittle, the Belgian candies were called Belgian chocolates.  The French candies were called truffles.  Both were enrobed in chocolate.  Therefore, all bite-size enrobed chocolates became truffles.  That is why you will sometimes buy a box of chocolate truffles and get fillings like caramel, nuts, or that icky coconut stuff.

In conclusion, a truffle is a bonbon but a bonbon is not necessarily a truffle.  A bonbon in France is a praliné in Belgium.  A praliné in the United States is a brittle but a brittle is not necessarily a praliné.  A brittle in the United States is a toffee in Britain, but that's a different dissertation.  What it all boils down to is there is no governing body for truffles, so any candy maker can call any candy a truffle.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

References:

1234. “Ganache is discovered in Paris.” ∞timeline. Famento, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Barron, Cheryll Aimee. “Madam Cocolat.” The New York Times 25 Sept. 1988: n. pag. Print.

“Bonbon.” Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Chocolate truffle.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Deitsch, Lauren. “Will the Real Chocolate Truffle Please Stand Up?” Huffpost Taste. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 4 June 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Fine Artisanal Belgian Chocolates.” Chocolats Meurens New York. Chocolats Meurens, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Giovannangeli, Françoise, ed. “Dark Chocolate Truffles with Cognac and Orange Extract.” ChocoParis. www.chocoparis.com, 2 Jan. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Hallock, Betty. “Sweet surrender.” Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company, 8 Feb. 2006. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Hochman, Karen. “The History Of Chocolate Truffles.” The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., Dec. 2007. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
-- “Truffles Vs. Pralines: The Difference.” The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., May 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
-- “What is Chocolate Ganache?” The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., May 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Jaworski, Stephanie. "Ganache Recipe & Video." JoyofBaking.com. iFood Media LLC, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

LaBau, Elizabeth. “Truffles.” About.com Candy. About.com, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Minifie, Bernard W. Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology. 3rd ed. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers, 1999. Print.

Olver, Lynne, ed. “Food Timeline FAQs: Candy.” The Food Timeline. N.p., 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Pralines VS Truffles.” makingchocolates. ChocolatsMeurens.com, 16 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Rigby, Will O. Rigby's Reliable Candy Teacher and Soda and Ice Cream Formulas. N.p., 1909. Print.

Rigby, Will O., and Fred Rigby. Rigby's Reliable Candy Teacher. 13th ed. Topeka, KS: Rigby Pub. Co, 1920. Print.

Thornborrow, Craig. “A Tasty History of Chocolate Truffles.” EzineArticles. SparkNET, 24 Dec. 2007. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Today's Reason to Celebrate.” Punchbowl. Punchbowl, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Truffle.” Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Weston, Nicole. “What are chocolate truffles?” Baking Bites. N.p., 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.