Swiss Chocolate
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Swiss chocolate (; ; ) is
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...
produced in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Switzerland's chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality with many famous international chocolate brands. Switzerland is particularly renowned for its
milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a form of solid chocolate containing Chocolate liquor, cocoa, sugar and milk. It is the most consumed types of chocolate, type of chocolate, and is used in a wide diversity of chocolate bar, bars, tablets and other confectione ...
, the most consumed type of chocolate. In 1875, a Swiss
confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...
,
Daniel Peter Daniel Peter (9 March 1836 – 4 November 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Peter's Chocolate. A neighbour of Henri Nestlé in Vevey, he was one of the first chocolatiers to make milk chocolate and is credited for inve ...
, developed the first solid milk chocolate using condensed milk, which had been invented by
Henri Nestlé Henri Nestlé (; born Heinrich Nestle, ; 10 August 1814 – 7 July 1890) was a German-born Swiss confectioner and the founder of Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company. Early life Heinrich Nestle was born on 10 August 1814 in Fr ...
, who was Peter's neighbour in
Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...
. In addition to milk, a wide variety of ingredients other than cocoa are used to make the most popular chocolate bars. They notably include nuts (mostly
hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...
s and
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s) and dried fruits (
raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...
s).


History

The 17th century saw the start of chocolate processed in Switzerland. In the 18th century chocolate was only produced in a few areas, such as
Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
. The early 19th century saw the first mechanized chocolate factories, all in western Switzerland. Among the pioneering industrials were François-Louis Cailler, Philippe Suchard and Charles-Amédée Kohler. In the second half of the 19th century, Swiss chocolate started to spread abroad. Closely linked to this was the invention of
milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a form of solid chocolate containing Chocolate liquor, cocoa, sugar and milk. It is the most consumed types of chocolate, type of chocolate, and is used in a wide diversity of chocolate bar, bars, tablets and other confectione ...
by
Daniel Peter Daniel Peter (9 March 1836 – 4 November 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Peter's Chocolate. A neighbour of Henri Nestlé in Vevey, he was one of the first chocolatiers to make milk chocolate and is credited for inve ...
in Vevey and the invention of
conching upright=1.35, Conche (in the Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum) Conching is a process used in the manufacture of chocolate whereby a surface scraping mixer and agitator, known as a conche, evenly distributes cocoa butter within chocolate and may act as ...
by
Rodolphe Lindt Rudolf Lindt (16 July 1855 – 20 February 1909), often known by his francized name Rodolphe Lindt, was a Swiss chocolate maker, chocolatier and inventor. He founded the Lindt brand of Swiss chocolate and invented the conching machine and other ...
. Most large chocolate factories were founded in the 19th and early-20th centuries.


Early history

Brought from North America to Europe by
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
in 1528, cocoa beans and chocolate finally reached Switzerland in the 17th century. In the 18th century, hydraulic mills were already used in the production of chocolate in Switzerland, for instance the Schermenmühle in
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
around 1750. However, most of the chocolate made at the time was mainly the work of Italian and French migrant artisans, active in
Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
( Val Blenio) and
Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...
. A company was founded in 1767 in
Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...
(see below), another one in 1788 in
Morges Morges (; , Plurale tantum, plural, probably Ablative (Latin), ablative, else dative; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud and the seat of the Morges District, distri ...
. Two were founded in
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
in 1792. At that time, chocolate was essentially consumed as a drink and transport of cocoa beans was slow and difficult, therefore making the product very expensive. It is unclear when chocolate bars meant for raw consumption were made for the first time. It is known, however, that chocolate was also eaten in the form of bark or pastilles (instead of being grated into drinks) by the end of the 18th century. In the early 18th century, chocolate was still an artisan product. The chocolatiers (''cioccolatieri'') of the Val Blenio, in Ticino, are a particularly notable example. They migrated throughout Europe and created a network of small shops and cafés, where chocolate was sold and could be consumed. In the early 20th century, the Cima Norma Factory would be founded by returning emigrants. Earlier, in 1819, a chocolatier from the Val Blenio, Giovanni Martino Bianchini, founded a factory in
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
(Italy) which would be used by
Caffarel Caffarel is a chocolate-manufacturing company based in Luserna San Giovanni, Italy, which is a subsidiary of Lindt, Lindt & Sprüngli. The company was founded in Turin during the 19th century. According to the company, it was founded in 1826 when ...
. On the other hand, Vevey, in the canton of Vaud, would become a major center of the Swiss chocolate industry. The first well documented chocolate production in Switzerland is that of Philippe Loup and Benjamin Rossier, who started manufacturing chocolate in 1767. Two years later, their production was mechanized using the water-powered Clergère mill. They also obtained a ten-year ''Privilegium Exclusivum'' by the Bernese authorities. The cocoa beans were ground and blended with
molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...
. The hardened paste was then cut into cakes and delivered wrapped in a simple sheet of paper. Loup and Rossier would quickly face competition by numerous other chocolate producers in the region. By 1806, seven chocolate manufacturers were counted in the district of Vevey alone. Together, these seven companies produced about 450 (old) quintals of chocolate yearly (approx. 22 500 kg), of which the 7/8 was exported abroad, essentially in other Swiss cantons but also in France and Germany.


19th century

In 1819, Swiss grocer and chocolatier François-Louis Cailler, inspired by the Ticinese chocolatiers, founded Cailler and opened a sophisticated and water-powered chocolate factory in Vevey, which allowed him to produce solid chocolate that was molded into tablets. He is sometimes credited for their introduction, although those had probably been made earlier. After a few years, sixteen different sorts of chocolate with different packagings were proposed. Shortly after, in 1826, another Swiss chocolatier, Philippe Suchard, opened a chocolate factory in
Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
where he developed a millstone machine to mix sugar and cocoa: the
melanger A melanger (or melangeur, from French: ''mélangeur'', lit. "blender") is a stone-grinder that is used in chocolate-making. It typically consists of two granite wheels, which rotate inside a metal drum on top of a granite base. Given enough time t ...
, which is still used today. Before opening his factory, Suchard realized that a small tablet sold at a pharmacy was worth three days' wages. A few years later another chocolate factory was founded by Charles-Amédée Kohler in Lausanne:
Chocolat Kohler Chocolat Kohler was a chocolate producer based in Lausanne, founded in 1830 by the Kohler brothers. It is currently a brand owned by Nestlé. Kohler notably introduced hazelnut chocolate, which was perhaps the first combination chocolate bar. ...
. One of the main specialties of the company was hazelnut chocolate, made since the beginning in 1830. Hazelnut chocolate was the precursor of all combination chocolate bars. The Kohler company is also the creator of the Branche, which ultimately became one of the most popular candy bars on the Swiss market. In 1875, the Swiss entrepreneur
Daniel Peter Daniel Peter (9 March 1836 – 4 November 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Peter's Chocolate. A neighbour of Henri Nestlé in Vevey, he was one of the first chocolatiers to make milk chocolate and is credited for inve ...
, based in Vevey and related to the Cailler family, first successfully combined cocoa mass,
cocoa butter Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible Vegetable oil, fat extracted from the cocoa bean (''Theobroma cacao''). It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter h ...
, and
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
with
condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...
, recently created by his neighbour and friend
Henri Nestlé Henri Nestlé (; born Heinrich Nestle, ; 10 August 1814 – 7 July 1890) was a German-born Swiss confectioner and the founder of Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company. Early life Heinrich Nestle was born on 10 August 1814 in Fr ...
, to produce milk chocolate. However, it is only after many years of fine-tuning that the original formula was developed and, in 1887, the Gala Peter brand was finally launched. Daniel Peter called his product 'Gala' after the Greek word meaning 'milk'. Meanwhile, the chocolate industry was again revolutionized by another Swiss chocolatier,
Rodolphe Lindt Rudolf Lindt (16 July 1855 – 20 February 1909), often known by his francized name Rodolphe Lindt, was a Swiss chocolate maker, chocolatier and inventor. He founded the Lindt brand of Swiss chocolate and invented the conching machine and other ...
from Bern, who developed
conching upright=1.35, Conche (in the Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum) Conching is a process used in the manufacture of chocolate whereby a surface scraping mixer and agitator, known as a conche, evenly distributes cocoa butter within chocolate and may act as ...
in 1879. The conching process allowed the production of a chocolate with superior
aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive v ...
and melting characteristics compared to other processes used at that time. The Lindt chocolate company states that Lindt (perhaps mistakenly) allowed a mixer containing chocolate to run over a weekend (or possibly overnight, according to other variants of the possibly
apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...
story). Upon returning to the device, Lindt recognised the final product to have different properties to conventionally produced chocolate at the time, with a less granular texture and greater shine than conventional chocolate at the time, which was generally gritty when solidified owing to the presence of non-ideal cocoa butter crystals. Lindt's invention made the mass-production of
chocolate bar A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nut (fruit), nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some variet ...
s more practical, eventually replacing chocolate beverages as the primary means of mass chocolate consumption.Talbot, Geoff (ed), ''Science and Technology of Enrobed and Filled Chocolate, Confectionery and Bakery Products'', Woodhead Publishing, 2009, , chapter 2.5 ''Conching''. The new conching technique and the success of Gala Peter in particular opened a breach into which all the manufacturers rushed. Not only did milk soften the bitterness of chocolate and refined its taste, but it also lowered its production cost due to a lower cocoa content; milk is a widely available resource in Switzerland. As a consequence, Peter's recipe leaked to other nearby manufacturers: Cailler and Kohler. In 1898, Cailler opened its new factory at Broc, where milk chocolate began to be produced on a large scale. Peter also opened a larger factory at Orbe in 1901, before merging with Kohler. The same year, Suchard launched the Milka brand; Carl Russ-Suchard had previously developed a first milk bar in 1896. The chocolate industry also expanded in the late nineteenth century with the establishment of new companies, such as Frey and Tobler.


20th and 21st century

From these developments, Switzerland soon dominated the chocolate market. Production increased dramatically, and by 1905, the country was producing of chocolate, a vast proportion of it exported. As a result of the increasing popularity of chocolate, world cocoa consumption began to grow extraordinarily. To meet these demands, cocoa production expanded, notably in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, where the Forastero variety began to be mass cultivated in the early twentieth century. Although considered inferior to the Criollo variety, the Forastero type bean is more suited for the manufacture of milk chocolate and is cheaper to produce owing to its higher yields. Conversely, milk became the critical ingredient. Unlike cocoa and sugar, milk spoils quickly, therefore it cannot be stored for long periods of time. This favoured the implantation of large factories (as well as new populations of workers) in the countryside, where abundant fresh milk supplies are readily available. The Cailler factory of Broc is a typical example. The ''Union libre des fabricants suisses de chocolat'' ("free association of Swiss chocolate manufacturers") was founded in 1901. It gave birth to Chocosuisse, the umbrella association of chocolate manufacturers in Switzerland. Swiss chocolate consumption increased dramatically from the beginning to the end of the 20th century, from about 1 kg to 12 kg per capita per annum. Although partly developed outside Switzerland,
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
and ruby chocolate were also invented by Swiss-based chocolate manufacturers
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
and Barry Callebaut, in 1936 and 2017 respectively.


Timeline of chocolate factories foundations

* 1819 – Cailler in
Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...
(today
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
) * 1826 – Favarger in
Versoix Versoix () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. It is located in the northern suburbs of Geneva. Geography Versoix has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.1% is used for agricultural purpose ...
, Canton of Geneva * 1826 – Suchard in Serrières (today
Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
) * 1830 – Kohler in
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
(today Nestlé) * 1836 – Sprüngli in Zurich, company split into Confiserie Sprüngli and
Lindt & Sprüngli Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, Zürich, K ...
in 1892 * 1852 –
Maestrani Maestrani is a Swiss chocolate producer based in Flawil (Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen). It was founded in 1852 in Lucerne by Aquilino Maestrani (1814–1880), a Ticinese chocolatier from Aquila, Switzerland, Aquila. The company became prosper ...
in
Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
(today in Flawil) * 1856 – Klaus in
Le Locle Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...
, Canton of Neuchâtel * 1867 –
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
in Vevey (today Nestlé) * 1879 –
Lindt Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, Zürich, K ...
in
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
(today Lindt & Sprüngli) * 1887 – Frey in
Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...
(today
Migros Migros () is Switzerland's largest retail company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It is also one of the forty largest retailers in the world. It is structured in the form of a cooperative federation (the Federation of Migros ...
) * 1899 – Tobler in Bern (today Kraft Foods) * 1901 – Villars in Villars sur Glâne * 1903 – Cima-Norma in Torre (closed in 1968) * 1908 – Felchlin in
Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...
* 1928 – Stella SA in Lugano (from 1987 in Giubiasco) * 1929 – Camille Bloch in Courtelary * 1932 – Teuscher in
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
* 1932 – Bernrain in
Kreuzlingen Kreuzlingen () is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in north-eastern Switzerland. It is the seat of the district and is the second-largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of about 22 ...
* 1933 – Halba in Wallisellen (today
Coop Coop or Co-op most often refer to: * Chicken coop or other animal enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association co-operating for mutual social, economic or cultural benefit ** Consumer cooperative ** Food cooperative ** Housin ...
) * 1934 – Kägi Söhne in Toggenburg * 1957 – Alprose in
Caslano Caslano is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lugano (district), Lugano in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino, near to the Italy, Italian border. History The center of the village is bui ...
* 1962 – Läderach in Ennenda


Chocolate products

Chocolate produced in Switzerland can take a wide variety of shapes. The most common products are chocolate tablets (typically standard 100 g bars) and individual bars. These are either plain or made with other ingredients, such as hazelnuts and almonds, in more or less elaborated ways. Chocolate eggs, bunnies, or figurines are also made by most manufacturers during
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
and
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
. Most of the chocolate produced is
milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a form of solid chocolate containing Chocolate liquor, cocoa, sugar and milk. It is the most consumed types of chocolate, type of chocolate, and is used in a wide diversity of chocolate bar, bars, tablets and other confectione ...
, followed by
dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...
and
white chocolate White chocolate is a chocolate made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. It is Ivory (color), ivory in color and lacks the dark appearance of most other types of chocolate as it does not contain the non-fat components of cocoa (cocoa sol ...
. Chocolate specialties like
ganache Ganache ( or ; ) is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries, made from chocolate and cream. In the broad sense of the term, ganache is an emulsion between (melted) solid chocolate (which is made with cocoa butter, the fat phase) and ...
and praline/ gianduja are often used for filled bars, combinations bars,
truffles A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, one of the species of the genus ''Tuber''. More than one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including '' Geopora'', '' Peziza'', '' Choiromyces'', and ' ...
and pralines. In addition to being popular, hazelnut specialties (like gianduja) help minimize the amount of cocoa, historically an expensive ingredient, in the finished product. The Branche, a praline-filled bar, is a typical example of a combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. The primary ingredient, cocoa, is not grown in Switzerland; only anecdotal quantities of chocolate using fully indigenous ingredients have been made to date. Cocoa is essentially imported from West Africa. The other common ingredient,
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
, is widely available in the country, which has a long dairy farming tradition. Milk ingredients are complex and critical in delivering the properties and taste to milk chocolate. Milk-origin (
terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
) and associated farming have become an important marketing topic.


Sales market

From the 19th century until the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and throughout the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the Swiss chocolate industry was very export-oriented. After the Second World War Switzerland began to outsource production due to commercial restrictions. Today most Swiss chocolate is consumed by the Swiss themselves (54% in 2000), and Switzerland has the highest per capita rate of chocolate consumption worldwide (11.6 kg (25.6 lbs.) per capita per annum). In 2004, 148,270 tonnes of chocolate were produced in Switzerland. 53% of this was exported (20% to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 11% to France and
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and 13% to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
). The gross income of the Swiss chocolate industry in 2004 was 1.37 billion CHF (814 million from the local market, 551 million from exports). In 2019, around 200,000 tonnes of chocolate were produced in Switzerland, amounting to almost 1.79 billion CHF in sales. 74% of this was exported (32.7% to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 10% to France and 14.7% to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
).


Advertising

Since the expansion of the chocolate industry following the invention of milk chocolate, Swiss chocolate has been heavily advertised using images of Alpine sceneries (often with the
Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...
) and dairy farming traditions. This replaced the typical colonial imagery that was used before. Alpine themes eventually became widespread among international chocolate manufacturers.


Industry structure

In 1901, Swiss chocolate producers created the . In 1916, this was divided into the and the . The former "Chambre syndicale" (today the Chocosuisse) protects the interests of Swiss chocolate producers. The "Convention chocolatière" focused on the quality of the chocolate and sought a uniform price strategy. In 1994 the Convention was disbanded.


Tourism

Several factories have also become tourist attractions as they include guided tours and chocolate museums. Some of the largest are the ''Lindt Home of Chocolate'' in Kilchberg, the ''Maison Cailler'' in Broc and the ''Maestrani's Chocolarium'' in Flawil.


See also

*
Culinary Heritage of Switzerland The Culinary Heritage of Switzerland (, , , ) is a multilingual online encyclopedia of traditional Swiss cuisine and produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, ...
* Military chocolate (Switzerland) * Belgian chocolate


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

*Some content of this article came from the equivalent German-language Wikipedia article (retrieved October 10, 2006), where the following references is cited: Alain J. Bourgard: ''CH comme Chocolat'', 2003, * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Swiss chocolate
in the
Culinary Heritage of Switzerland The Culinary Heritage of Switzerland (, , , ) is a multilingual online encyclopedia of traditional Swiss cuisine and produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, ...

Chocosuisse: Union of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers

Information about Swiss Chocolat:www.swissworld.org

Annual International Chocolatiers and Chocolate Fair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swiss Chocolate
Chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...
Economic history of Switzerland Culinary Heritage of Switzerland Swiss confectionery Economy of Switzerland