It’s A Women’s World

Belgian chocolate is unique in the world of chocolates and the standard of excellence against which all other chocolate candies are compared. Belgian chocolate products are unsurpassed in both the quality of ingredients used and methods of manufacturing. Almost all of these gourmet treats are still made by hand in small family owned shops.� The chocolate industry is an integral part of the Belgian culture, with an average of 15 pounds consumed each year by every person in Belgium.

A Swiss man named Jean Neuhaus is widely regarded as the “father” of Belgian chocolate making. In 1857, he emigrated to Belgium with his family, setting up his chocolate shop in Brussels.Â� This successful family business was handed down by generations, and Jean’s grandson, also named Jean became the creator of the first filled, bite-sized chocolate confection, which he named the praline.Â� It is not the almond paste confection we know in the U.S. These filled confections were so complex in flavor, few other chocolate makers of his day could replicate his unique creations.Â� Jean’s inventive wife created the ballotin, a special type of box used to hold the candies. Belgian chocolates are still sold in the ballotin today.

Belgian colonialaztion of the Congo in the late 1800s brought the fine African cocoa to Belgium’s chocolatiers, contributing substantially to the quality and boosting the popularity of Belgian chocolate.Â� Today, there are many Belgian chocolate praline makers, including the famous Godiva, Leonidas and of course, Neuhaus.Â� Another technique which distinguishes Belgian chocolate making is the tempering process. While other chocolate makers obtain their chocolate as a solid, most Belgian companies receive their chocolate in heated trucks, fresh from the tempering process and still in liquid form. Because the chocolate does not require a second heating, much more of the fragrances are retained, making the finished product more complex and rich in flavor.

When the European Union, in 2000, ruled that as much as 5% of the cocoa butter found in chocolate could be replaced by other vegetable fats and still be labeled chocolate. Belgian chocolatiers went wild over over this scandalous resolution. Shortly thereafter, Belgium’s Ministry of Economic Affairs created a special designation, AMBAO, to distinguish their chocolate from these inferior wannabes.

A visitor to Belgium can become well educated on the Belgian chocolate production methods by visiting the� Musée du Cacao et du Chocolat in Brussels. With over 2,000 chocolate shops in the country, a visit to a few of these are a must for your itinerary. Just as vintners sponsor wine tastings, Belgian chocolate shops have chocolate tastings. If a trip to Belgium is not in your near future, just get on the net to find some of these renowned chocolate treasures.

In my opinion, Brad Pitt is the epitome of the perfect man. With his chiseled looks, his ruddy complexion and killer smile.Â� Brad Pitt has won the hearts and lustful longings of many woman, young and old. But what happens when the world’s most perfect man is paired with the world’s most beautiful woman? And even more intriguing, what will be the result when this oh so perfect union results in the birth of a child? Will the combination of the perfect man’s features and the perfect woman’s body create some metrosexual nymph to titillate the fancy of both sexes? Or will an absolute abomination of nature result? Will the perfection of the one, combined with the perfection of the other, result in a neutralizing of beauty, creating the world’s most hideous form of humanity? Only time will tell.

The union of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may truly be the meeting of the perfect man and his female equal. With two adopted children and another one on the way, the world’s attention is transfixed on the outcome. Will the two perfects actually marry? And why did Brad leave Jennifer? Was it really because he wanted children and she wasn’t ready? And, now that the perfect man and perfect woman have those longed for children, are their lives truly complete and are they now the world’s most perfect parents?

These questions plague many, and yet the only real answer will come as time passes by, as the two children grow older and become accustomed to their adoptive parents, and the actual biological offspring of this perfect union is born.Â� It seems the perfect couple is intent on making this relationship last and making themselves into a real family. They’ve even gone as far as getting the children legal entitlement to use Brad’s surname as their own. But, the world still must ask, what will the repercussions be should this coupling be reduced to ashes as quickly as the relationships that went before it? How will this impact the adopted children and the little baby?Â� As for me, it’s all a matter of faith. Faith in the perfect man and his perfect woman to make perfect decisions that will make everybody happy. After all, they do have the perfect livelihoods, the perfect clothes, the perfect homes and perfect lives. I’m sure they’ll manage just perfectly. After all, this is a perfect world!