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Les Chocolateries (chocolate shops)
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more about
types of stores
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by David Applefield
A friend from California related a story which says a lot about the differing concepts of quality in her country and in France.
She set out to make a simple chocolate sauce for a dessert after returning home from a period of time spent in France. It was then that she discovered that Hershey Bars don´t melt, they bubble and crack like melted plastic. The cocoa content is less than three percent. The cheapest supermarket brand chocolate in France has at least 20% cocoa and often contains between 40 and 50%. And the chocolate bought in specialty shops can contain as much as 80%! The more cocoa, the higher quality the chocolate-unlike ice cream, where more fat content equals higher quality.
So, quality, on the whole, is higher and, with it, importantly, come a new set of expectations that will change you for life. Your taste buds just might re-awaken. After a year or so in Europe it´s doubtful, for example, that you´ll be able to chomp on North American chocolate, guzzle the formerly favorite Milwaukee beer, or savor bagged and doughy sandwich bread.
For the cr¸me de la cr¸me of fine sweets and specialty items, a tour of the famous and pricey Fauchon at Place de la Madeleine is a must although the effect has been spoiled a bit by the introduction of banal American products that seem exotic in France. This has been a trend over the last few years, the marketing of North American groceries in France, ranging from nacho chips and salsa to Paul Newman salad dressing. Even Oceanspray fresh cranberries are now available in Paris in November. More and more shops specializing in the importation of American and Tex-Mex food items have entered the Parisian scene. And the outcrops of corresponding restaurants has continued to flourish since the late 80s.
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