Their name derives from the usual shape they take as the word 'truffle' derives from the Latin word tuber, meaning "swelling" or "lump", which later became tufer.
Varieties
hand rolled chocolate truffle
The chocolate truffle is thought to have been first created by N.Petruccelli in Chambéry, France in December 1895.[1] They reached a wider public with the establishment of the Prestat chocolate shop in London by Antoine Dufour in 1902, which still sells "Napoleon III" truffles to the original recipe.[2] There are now three main types of chocolate truffles: American, European, and Swiss:
The "American truffle" is a half-egg shaped chocolate-coated truffle, a mixture of dark or milk chocolates with butterfat and, in some cases, hardened coconut oil. Joseph Schmidt, a San Francisco chocolatier, and founder of Joseph Schmidt Confections, is credited with its creation in the mid-1980s.[3]
A Canadian variation of the American truffle, known as the Harvey truffle, includes the addition of graham cracker crumbs and peanut butter.
Other American companies may shape their truffles similar to that of peanut butter cups.
The "European truffle" is made with syrup and a base made up of cocoa powder, milk powder, fats, and other such ingredients to create an oil-in-water type emulsion.
The "French truffle" is made with fresh cream and chocolate and then rolled into cocoa or nut powder.
The "Belgian truffle" or praline is made with dark or milk chocolate filled with ganache, buttercream or nut pastes.[4]
The "Swiss truffle" is made by combining melted chocolate into a boiling mixture of dairy cream and butter, which is poured into molds to set before sprinkling with cocoa powder. Like the French truffles, these have a very short shelf-life and must be consumed within a few days of making.[5]
The "Vegan truffle" can have any shape or flavor, but is adapted to modern-day diet by replacing dairy with nut milks and butters.[6]
In addition to these main types, the "raw" truffle is made by combining coconut oil, raw cacao and raw yacon syrup or raw agave, then rolling them in either raw, shredded coconut, raw cacao and/or chopped almonds.[7]
Truffles are sometimes made with various flavourings. This includes truffles flavoured with small amounts of alcohol, such as Marc de Champage or Whiskey, or truffles infused with herbs and spices such as Rose and Violet or Ginger .[8]
