'Pain au chocolat' or 'chocolatine?' What do the French actually consider correct?

Forget the recent presidential election, if there’s a topic that really gets people worked up in France, it’s not politics, it’s pastries!

Source: SBS

For as far back as we can remember, the French have been arguing about the name of the iconically French, deliciously buttery and flaky pastry filled with chocolate. Some call it 'pain au chocolat,'  while others insist it should be called 'chocolatine.'

So who is right? Let’s take a look at what we know:

North vs South

'Pain au chocolat' is the most frequently used expression in France for this delicious sweet treat. 

There’s even a website where French people can vote for their preferred word.

'Pain au chocolat' gets about 60% of the votes.  If you have a look at the map, you can see 'chocolatine' (in yellow) is used in the South-West of France and 'pain au chocolat' in the North.

Looking internationally, French Canadians also use 'chocolatine.'

chocolatineoupainauchocolat.fr Source: chocolatineoupainauchocolat.fr

Some background

'Pain au chocolat' might be more popular - but it seems that 'chocolatine' is actually the oldest expression - and was born out of mixed cultural origins - not just simply French.

According to culinary historian Jim Chevalier, the ancestor of the pastry we all love was created by an Austrian baker in 1830s Paris and was called schokoladencroissant.

The French would have then transformed schololaden in 'chocolatine.'

According to chocolate-maker Nicolas Berger, 'pain au chocolat' was originally a simple piece of bread stuffed with chocolate and given to children.

When the pastry was adopted by French bakers, some of them decided to use the same expression.

The winner(s)

'Pain au chocolat' is the winner here, as it is widely used and appears in more dictionaries. But if you want to sound like you’ve mastered French on your next vacation, use 'pain au chocolat' in Paris and 'chocolatine' in Toulouse.

Have we got your attention and your tastebuds? It’s French week on The Chefs' Line airing 6pm weeknights on SBS. Check out the program page for episode guides, cuisine lowdowns, recipes and more.

Watch the first episode of French Week below and catch more episodes at SBS OnDemand: 

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