Yeah - those huge honking pieces they sell at various places are not my idea of a 'proper' truffle. Lazy man's truffle - got tired of scooping and rolling so made them bigger!

--
www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

Ahh, so they are a sub-category of Bon Bons. That's a helpful way to think of it. Tho, the ones they are selling can be cut into quarters easily! They're cake pop sized. 

Thanks for the input.

I've never completely convinced myself that I clearly know what a truffle is vs a bonbon. I tend to think of the little (and I do mean little) one bite ganaches shaped like the thing that pigs dig up in France - to be a truffle. A cut piece made from ganache might also qualify. And when I pipe a ganache into a shell - I might call it a truffle filling. 

To me various chocolate items count as bonbons - truffles, molded chocolates, enrobed chocolates...

--
www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

Hi! I have a tiny chocolate company in S.E. Wisconsin - something of a social venture project. Sweet Impact Chocolates is in it's 4th year, but I only started doing full-fledged chocolates in the summer of last year. I'm focused on all-natural products, using ethically-sourced chocolate and then 10% of my sales goes to NGO's that help trafficked kids and education for girls/young women. I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that to spare you all 

Among many other things I'll be running to this forum for, I have a fundamental question for you all. Honestly, I hadn't needed to address it until a florist approached me about carrying my chocolates in her shop. 

What differentiates a "truffle" from a "bon bon?"  My understanding was that a shell, with truffle filling, no matter the shape, could be called a truffle. But, based on what lines they already carry, a truffle needs to be enormous and a ball, and dipped. They carry a product that, honestly, after taking the class I did from Ecole Chocolat, offends my food snob sensibilities. It's 1.5 ounces and has so much artificial junk in it, including the coating not actually being chocolate, that I was stunned. She wanted to know if I could do anything like it. Which I can, but if I'm going to put my name on it, it won't be that sort of product. Trouble is, she only pays 1.42 for each one, and has a 3-6 month shelf life. Color me gob-smacked!

So, are there any technical rules about what makes a truffle?

Thanks in advance and I'm so happy to have found this forum!

-Kristi