National Truffle Day

National Truffle Day is a food holiday that is held annually on May 2. National Truffle Day is an unofficial observance in the United States. National Truffle Day is dedicated to the chocolate truffle.

According to legend, a man named Louis Dufour invented the chocolate truffle in Chambéry, France in 1895. A few years later, Antoine Dufour opened the Prestat Chocolate Shop in London. Historians believe this chocolate shop was solely responsible for popularizing chocolate truffles in England (and beyond), but the relationship between Louis and Antoine is uncertain. Fun fact: Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was a huge fan of Prestat truffles!
The first recipes for chocolate truffles appeared in the 1920s. Today there are three main types—American, European, and Swiss. Each type of truffle has a slightly different twist, but they all include a creamy ganache filling and a topping like cocoa, coconut, or drizzled chocolate.
The American truffle was created in the mid-1980's by Joseph Schmidt. His truffle consists of a half-egg shaped chocolate coated truffle that mixes milk chocolate with butterfat. The European chocolate truffle is made of syrup, cocoa powder, and milk powder. The Swiss truffle is made by combining melted chocolate into a boiling mixture of dairy cream and butter and it is then sprinkled with cocoa powder. Swiss truffles have the shortest shelf-life and should be eaten within a few days of making.

To celebrate National Truffle Day, stop by your local candy shop and pick up a variety of delicious chocolate truffles or try making your own delicious chocolate truffles to enjoy!

How To Make Chocolate Truffles