Marabou Symphony

Chocolate! Oh that wonderful product that leaves our tastebuds craving for more! That notoriously calorie rich sweet that many of us love, especially in the cooler seasons when it will not risk melting, save in our hands, and mouths!

So let’s celebrate it on this World Chocolate Day here in Journeys of Life as well by shedding some light on the makers of this treat!

Cocoa - the basis of chocolate - has been around for ages. It is thought to have first been used by the Maya civilization of Central America, and brought to Europe by the Spaniards in the 16th century. People have always had a sweet tooth, and once societies have gotten richer, so has also the nutrition. We do get nutrients too from chocolate as we know. Cocoa powder definitely has some health benefits. But in the end, it is a treat, and is well treated as such.

Just to make it clear, this article does not deal with the business side of chocolate making - the competition, prizing etc. It goes without saying too that chocolate is for many of these companies only a portion of their business. This article is à la Journeys of Life, i.e. about the people behind the business. Including people like you - if you make homemade chocolate!

THE CHOCOLATE MAKERS

The 1900s saw an emergence of chocolate makers all around the world. The following men gave their name to brands that have become known worldwide. Many of which are number ones in their respective countries.

1814-0810 Henri Nestlé* chocolate maker - Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany (1890/75)
1855-0716 Rodolphe Lindt* chocolatier/ inventor/entrepreneur – Bern, Switzerland (1909/53)
1857-0913 Milton S. Hershey* chocolate maker/ philanthropist – Derry Township, PA USA (1945/88)
1866-0816 Karl Fazer* businessman/confectioner/founder of Fazer – Helsinki, GD of Finland (1932/66) Karl Fazer Company
1876-0124 Theodor Tobler* chocolatier/ businessman/co-creator (with Emil Baumann) of Toblerone – Bern, Switzerland (1941/65)

Then there are a lot of brands of course that don’t bear the name of their creators. They might carry a combined name of the chocolatiers, or have just a random (or not so random) name. Here are some of them:

Bendicks - The name Bendicks combines the surnames of Mr. Oscar Benson and Colonel Bertie Dickson who founded the business in 1930. Their dedication to producing quality handmade chocolates quickly established an excellent reputation. Bittermints were created in 1931 by Mr. Benson’s sister-in-law Lucia Benson and these unique mint chocolates remain a favorite today.

Milka - The name is a portmanteau of the product’s two main ingredients: “Milch” (milk) and “Kakao” (cocoa). It is associated with Switzerland. The Milka brand was invented in 1901 by Carl Russ-Suchard, son-in-law of the Swiss chocolatier Philippe Suchard who founded Chocolat Suchard.

WHO MAKES THE BEST CHOCOLATE?

It is - naturally - a matter of taste. But if you ask the Swedes, they would often say Marabou. If you ask the Finns, they would say Fazer, especially the Fazer’s Blue. If you ask the Swiss, they would of course say Milka. And if you ask the Americans, they might say Hersheys. Ask the British, and they might say Cadbury. And so on. And luckily we do get to taste them all no matter where we are. The favorite treat in every season expect perhaps the summer, chocolate never ceases to attract the tastebuds of most of us, especially since there is no lack of variety of them.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE

With the vegan life style spreading all over the world, it is a smart move of any chocolatier to invest in making quality vegan chocolates. And so they have! The only vegan chocolate around used to be bitter chocolate - not a favorite taste for many of us. We do usually desire the milky taste to soften the bitterness of cocoa. So plant based milks began to be used - especially oat, almond and coconut milks. Many smaller, family-owned chocolatiers started the trend, and luckily the big ones have followed suit. Even the German Ritter Sport has its own vegan chocolate now. And naturally many of these chocolates contain nuts, fruits and some other pretty interesting ingredients.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE

You can easily make your own chocolate too! All you need is the butter/margarine and cocoa powder. And if the powder is sweetened, you don’t need to add sugar either. Many of the cocoa powder mixes that you buy in the store also contain milk/vegan milk powder, so in that case you wouldn’t need to add any milk either! Just some water perhaps. And of course, the less water you have, the creamier the end product!

So, just mix these simple ingredients, store in the fridge for a while, and voilà, you have your chocolate! But like they in the link admonish - beware! You might end up making some really delicious chocolate. With those treats - and calories - within easy reach!

LINKS

The links below are there just to broaden your view of the immense variety we have at hand when it comes to chocolate. Which is so welcome, right? W takes you to to the company’s Wikipedia page. Plus some other interesting links.

xx - Bendicks - Cadbury - Chocolate in Japan - David Lepovitz - Fazer (W) - Healthline - Hershey (W) - iChoc - Karl Fazer - Lindt-Sprüngli (W) - Marabou (W) - Mars (W) - MIlka (W) - Ritter Sport (W) - Simply Sweet -

Updated 7.7.2023