A Journey Around the World for The Best Chocolates
It’s a small world after all, and you get to taste it with every bite of Baratti & Milano…
If you have ever had a Baratti & Milano bar you will see a small compass on each piece of chocolate. I found myself curious on the meaning behind this symbol and after some research concluded that the reason why is that Baratti & Milano uses ingredients not just local to them in the Piedmont region but also sources their other well-known ingredients from around the world to ensure that when they create a new chocolate or cookie or candy, they create it with the very BEST of ingredients! Let’s hop aboard our imaginary flight in this blog as we jet set through the many places in the world that makes Baratti & Milano an unforgettable treat.
Of course, the most important ingredient for the Baratti & Milano chocolate is cocoa. And as we can all imagine that has to be one of the most researched and tested ingredients when producing a luxury chocolate with a history so rich as that of Baratti & Milano. Our “flight” then begins in Equador and Ghana. According to Kelly Finn, co-founder of Lafinndustries, U.S. importer of Baratti & Milano chocolates and author of the article “The Importance of the Cacao Farmer”, “Cacao fruit is sourced only from farmers in Equatorial countries, Ecuador on the South American continent and Ghana on the African continent”. Once the cacao bean is dried, it makes its way to the chocolate factory in Italy where the magic of chocolate making continues.
Once the chocolate is made into its different styles of chocolate, Baratti & Milano works its charm by creating some of your most favorite chocolates such as the Cremino & the Gianduiotto. As important as the cacao is to make these chocolates, the hazelnuts used in the two popular chocolates are equally regarded with importance as Baratti & Milano uses Tonda e Gentile hazelnuts which are an essential ingredient that makes their particular brand stand out. To read more about the Tonda e Gentile hazelnuts read “The Noble Hazelnut” that discusses what makes these hazelnuts so different than others and explains how the area where the hazelnuts are cultivated is so concentrated in high quality land and cultivation of foods and wines that it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
But the adventure doesn’t just stop at chocolate and hazelnuts, in addition to their famous chocolates (so good they were officially named the Chocolatiers of the Royal House Of Savoy!) Baratti & Milano also makes a Limoncello White Chocolate Praline using PGI Sorrento lemon liqueur, lemon and orange amaretti cookies made with lemons and oranges local to the Amalfi coast, a chocolate bar made with Arabica coffee beans, lemon and ginger gelee candies crafted with Italian produced ginger and lemons protected by a Consortium specifically for lemons produced in the Amalfi Coast that need to follow the “traditional rules of production” (read more about Italian lemon and ginger here) the Almond Cremino with Sicilian almonds…and much MUCH more.
In conclusion, now more than ever, the importance of where the ingredients come from in your food truly does matter. Knowing that Baratti & Milano uses the finest ingredients is what makes them a stand out brand, when you buy a luxury brand you expect just that, a step above from the rest and you can taste and see that in every confectionary delight that Baratti & Milano creates! So go ahead, eat something sweet and taste the world with every delicious bite!