Callebaut Hazelnut Praline Paste

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Praline is a French confectionery that is composed of a ground mixture of sugar and nuts. The Callebaut Hazelnut Praline Paste uses only quality hazelnuts from Spain, Turkey, and Italy. They are carefully picked once they are completely sun ripe, then stored away from air and temperature changes for at most 12 months. They are then roasted after being shelled only around 12 hours before, therefore preserving their essential oils and their delicate flavors. After roasting, they are ground, then mixed with sugar, and rolled into praline.

This paste has a smooth texture and a gold color, with a pleasantly sweet flavor, with fruity notes and toasty hints. It’s composed of 49.7% hazelnuts, and 50% sugar.

PREPARATION AND PAIRINGS

Mix the Callebaut Hazelnut Praline Paste with chocolate for pastry fillings and cremes, for making molded pralines and tablets, and for flavoring ice creams. Use it also for mousses, icing, sauces, or making truffles, ganache, spreads, muffins, biscuits, and fillings for tarts, pies, and Danishes.

THE FINEST BELGIAN CHOCOLATE

Established by Octave Callebaut in 1911 in the small village of Wieze in Belgium, Callebaut quickly established itself a favorite amongst chocolatiers, pastry chefs, and bakers. Octave Callebaut’s chocolate recipes became so iconic, that 811 of his 823 recipes are still produced to this day. They steered their focus early on toward the professional market, making chocolates that would supply and service chocolatiers, bakeries, restaurants, and confectioners everywhere.

It was after the second World War that couverture chocolate became their core business, with a wide range of blocks, bars, and tablets. Their famous callets made their appearance in 1988, and revolutionized baking chocolate.

They remain the finest bean-to-bar Belgian chocolate, with all their cacao beans sourced from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Ecuador. They have a dedicated team that perfects each blend of beans, and each batch is tested and molded to perfection. Cacao beans, after all, vary in taste depending on many factors: harvest, seasons, terroir, climate conditions, etc. It is only with the meticulous and constant attention to detail that Callebaut dedicates itself to that they maintain consistently superior in quality over the years.

Storage Instructions

Keep praline in an airtight container and refrigerated, and consume within 12 months.