What to Eat in Toulouse: A Deep Dive into the Famous Chocolatine
No French breakfast is complete without the mention of a delicious pastry - the Chocolatine, better known in some parts of France as the Pain au Chocolat. This puff pastry, filled with one, two or even three bars of dark chocolate, forms the heart of French gastronomy and has a fascinating history that traverses continents, a historical queen, and linguistic boundaries.
The traditional Chocolatine from the Southwest.
The Chocolatine Defined
The Chocolatine is a staple of French bakeries and a favorite among pastry-lovers worldwide. It is a rectangular-shaped pastry made from layers of butter and dough folded together to create a flaky, buttery puff pastry. The center is filled with one, two or even three sticks of chocolate that melt during baking, creating a delightful contrast between the sweet, gooey chocolate and the crispy, salty pastry.
Chocolatine vs. Pain au Chocolat: A Pastry with Two Names
The name debate is a contentious one and typically depends on where in France you are. While the term "pain au chocolat" is generally used in the northern part of France, "chocolatine" is predominantly used in the southwest region, including Toulouse.
An amusing, albeit serious, testament to the strength of this regional loyalty lies in a small bakery just around the corner from my place in Toulouse. This bakery sells the very same pastry we've been discussing – the blissful mix of flaky pastry and melting chocolate. However, they've taken a stand in the linguistic battle. If you walk into this bakery and order a "chocolatine," you're charged the standard price of €1.00. On the other hand, should you dare to order a "pain au chocolat," you'll find yourself shelling out a whopping €1.50 for the same pastry! That's how deeply this local pride runs, and it's a good indicator of just how seriously the residents of Toulouse take their culinary heritage.
In addition, this Chocolatine vs. Pain au Chocolat linguistic divide is so notorious that in 2017, a group of right-wing MPs brought it to the Parliament. The deputies, from the party Les Républicains, were demanding a modification of the rural and maritime fishing code, in particular article L. 640-1 concerning the "policy conducted in the field of quality and origin of products". The aim of this amendment was to "promote the common use of the name due to the public reputation of the product and its recognized qualities through a popular name".
"Such a light evolution of the law will restore the nobility to many local products. This will be the case, for example, with a pastry whose name has historically originated in the Gascon Region and is the pride of the entire South of France: the chocolatine", write the signatories of the amendment. "I am the deputy from the South-West who wants to defend the trademark of his territory against my Parisian colleagues and their snobbism of the pain au chocolat", specifies the deputy of Lot Aurélien Pradié.
Aurélien Pradié, representative (LR) for the first district of Lot, main promoter of the "chocolatine amendment" submitted to the National Assembly.
However, the Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Travert considered that this was not up to Parliament. While this amendment was rejected, the deputies voted in favor of the proposal of the former socialist Delphine Batho. She wished for the inclusion in the rural and maritime fishing code of the will to "promote products that have not contributed to imported deforestation".
The Role of Occitan and its Influence on the term Chocolatine
The prevalence of the term 'Chocolatine' in the southwest of France has a lot to do with the Occitan language. This Romance language, used in the Middle Ages, is still spoken in some parts of southern France today.
Although French is now predominantly spoken, Occitan is still cherished in the region and continues to influence its local dialect. This influence extends to culinary terminologies, such as the term 'Chocolatine'. Its usage in the southwest is a linguistic testament to the region's vibrant cultural identity and historical resistance to centralizing tendencies of Paris.
The Croissant's Austro-Hungarian Origins
Understanding the roots of the Chocolatine requires diving into the history of its culinary cousin - the Croissant. The origins of the Croissant dough, rolled puff pastry, can be traced back to 13th century Austria, where it began life as the 'Kipferl', a bread roll made from laminated dough with butter or lard and sugar.
The Kipferl crescent shape came later, tracing back to the 17th century and the city of Vienna, Austria. The story takes a turn in 1683 during the Ottoman siege of Vienna. As the legend goes, the city's bakers, working late into the night, heard the Ottoman tunneling operation and raised the alarm. The city was saved, and to commemorate this victory, the bakers crafted a pastry in the shape of the Ottoman flag’s crescent moon, thus giving birth to the contemporary shape, as a symbol of victory over the invaders.
The traditional Kipferl from Vienna, the origins of the contemporary French Croissant.
The Journey to France
The Croissant didn't find its way to France overnight. The road from Vienna to Paris was long, with two competing theories about how it came about.
Marie Antoinette and the Viennese Tradition
One popular theory involves Marie Antoinette, the young Austrian princess who married Louis XVI and became France's last queen. It's often said that the young homesick queen introduced the Kipferl to the French court to help her adjust to her new home. This theory, while romantic, lacks solid historical evidence, and it's more likely that the pastries entered France through more mundane means.
August Zang and the French Bakery Revolution
The more widely accepted theory credits the introduction of the Croissant to France to an Austrian artillery officer named August Zang. In the early 19th century, Zang left his military career to open a Viennese bakery in Paris called Boulangerie Viennoise. He brought with him a host of Viennese recipes, including the Kipferl. His innovative baking techniques, the introduction of steam ovens, and a wide range of Viennese pastries soon attracted the Parisian elite, transforming the city's bakery scene.
Over time, French bakers adapted the Kipferl to their preferences, creating the more familiar Croissant (which means crescent in French) made with puff pastry. This luxurious variation quickly became a staple of French bakeries and a symbol of Parisian gastronomy.
The Chocolatine’s Creation
While the Croissant was busy taking Paris by storm, the city of Bordeaux was quietly creating its own variation: the Chocolatine. Some say that during the 19th century, an unknown baker decided to fill the Croissant with chocolate, creating the first Chocolatine. However, the exact details remain a mystery, wrapped in layers of historical conjecture. Some food historians argue that Chocolatine was an English creation due to the similarity of the term to the English word 'chocolate,' but this theory is often met with resistance, particularly in the southwest of France.
As the Croissant made its way into the south, the locals started to refer to the chocolate-filled version by the Occitan term "Chocolatina," which eventually morphed into "Chocolatine" in French. This regional term, along with the linguistic and cultural history of Occitanie, contributed to the Chocolatine's identity and sparked the ongoing debate with the "Pain au Chocolat" of the north.
The Chocolatine Today
The next time you bite into a warm, flaky Chocolatine, remember its fascinating journey, from the Ottoman-battling bakeries of Vienna to the cocoa-infused innovation in Bordeaux, and how it came to represent regional identities within France. With each bite, you're tasting a slice of history, a testament to culinary evolution, and most importantly, a shared love for this delicious pastry that transcends borders and language barriers. Enjoying a Chocolatine, whether in the south of France, the bustling streets of Paris, or a bakery in your hometown, is partaking in a global gastronomic experience that is as rich in flavor as it is in history. So, the next time you hear the "Chocolatine vs Pain au Chocolat" debate, you'll appreciate that it's not just about a name, but a delicious symbol of regional pride and cultural heritage. Bon appétit!
