Tag: ZINGERMAN’S CANDY MANUFACTORY
The Scandinavian candy classic
comes to Zingerman’s Southside
Lakrids is the story of a Dane, a man who had the courage and insight to make a small, but meaningful change. Instead of looking at licorice as the mass-market item it has become over the years, Johan Bulow believed he could create an artisan offering that would be wonderfully special. Bulow began his work on the island of Bornholm in 2007. When he started hand-cooking and selling his artisan licorice, the response was surprising. His small shop was swamped! Tourists were particularly drawn to this display of Danish tradition. In the process, a whole new set of licorice lovers was apparently born.
We have nearly a dozen different Lakrids’ offerings on the Candy Store shelves. All are excellent. In the moment, here are three that are high on my list!
Lakrids A
My favorite is probably this one. Bulow’s original offering, it’s dark black artisan licorice coated in milk chocolate and then dusted with cocoa powder. It’s got the complexity, balance, and finish that for us, at Zingerman’s, defines full flavor. (See “A Taste of Zingerman’s Food Philosophy” for much more on that!) Subtly sweet, a lovely touch of cocoa-ness, a creaminess on the tongue, and a liveliness that fills the mouth in a marvelous way.
Lakrids #2
Although salted licorice like this is barely known in the U.S., it’s by far one of the most popular confections you can find in Scandinavia. Over there, pretty much every kid grows up eating it, and most Scandinavian expats I encounter still seem to be crazy about it. Bulow says, “When your lips close around a bite of this strong, salty liquorice, the potent Nordic taste explodes on your tongue, bringing up associations of the sea, tar, bonfire smoke, and the scent of resin.” I’ve heard from whiskey drinkers that it’s a great pairing with well-aged bourbon or scotch.
Lakrids #3
If you’re ready for artisan red licorice, it might be time to let Twizzlers a back seat and give this red licorice that’s made from fresh fruit juice a shot. (I’m sorry to say, Twizzlers actually have no licorice in them at all!) These are colored and flavored with a blend of blackcurrant, cranberry, lemon, and strawberry juices. Delicious! Sweet! Superb!
Keep some of these delicious Danish licorice treats on your desk, stick ’em in your toolbox and take them to a job site, pack them for the plane, or pop a jar in your glovebox. They’re just right for moments when you need a little something to shake your mind back awake or help yourself get re-centered.
Jerry Garcia once said of the Grateful Dead, “Our audience is like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.” Whether you like the Dead or not, you might want to make your way over to the Candy Store. Ask for a sample of this delightful Danish treat!! It could be the beginning of a long and loving relationship!
Take a look at Lakrids
Surrender to the Sweet Spell of Allison Schraf and Zingerman’s Candy Store
I was thrilled to meet Candy Store manager Allison Schraf at Zingerman’s Coffee Company for some morning caffeine and a chat about what she’s been up to. Like so many Zingerman’s passionate food professionals, Allison’s career path began elsewhere. In her case, with a degree in Equestrian Studies followed by training horses and managing horse farms. Uncovering a zeal for cooking and moving from New York City to Ann Arbor (with several stops in between) led her to a career in specialty food shops. Thus far, her 19-year Zingerman’s career includes product specialist and staff supervisor for Zingerman’s Delicatessen from 1998 to 2006, wholesale sales manager for Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory from 2012 to 2017, and Candy Manufactory retail manager from 2017 to the present.
Although we have worked together for decades and I’m a regular at the Zingerman’s Candy Store, I learned many new things and was really energized by our talk. Her love of what she does, enthusiasm for customer service and a guided shopping experience (aka a confection consultation), and the joy that comes with being around candy is simply inexhaustible. I hope you have the pleasure of experiencing it for yourself, and very soon!
Sara Hudson
Zingerman’s Creative Services Director
Sara: How would you describe the feel of Zingerman’s Candy Store in a few words?
Allison: Magic. Warmth. Abundance. Joy. Fun.
Sara: What do guests say when they step inside for the first time?
Allison: I have found people in America have a complicated relationship with candy, or maybe more accurately, with treating themselves. Some common comments are: “This is a dangerous place,” “This is so sinful,” and “I don’t eat this stuff, it’s for my grandmother.” Others who happily give in to the joy say: “This is magical,” “I want to eat all of it,” or “You have so many things I’ve never seen before!”
One woman recently came in with great urgency and said “I heard you have calissons!” (a traditional French confection made of almond marzipan and candied orange melon). With tears in her eyes, she shared that they remind her of her family and childhood. Candy pulls on people’s memories of special times and special people. We get to watch them access those memories when they are in the store.
Sara: What would you tell someone about Zingerman’s Candy Store who’s never been?
Allison: There is something for everyone! Craft chocolate for every taste, hand-made candy bars and nut brittles, flavorful gummies and fruit jellies, locally-made bonbons, imported Scandinavian licorice, Italian marzipan, Spanish nougat, nostalgic hard candies, vegan milk chocolate, and more! Our staff is here to help you choose the right treat for yourself or gift for someone else.
Sara: What’s the best part of your job as Candy Store manager?
Allison: The very best part of my job is curating the product mix. It is endlessly exciting to learn about and explore the enormous world of confections and then bring them to the store to delight our guests.
Sara: What is your philosophy when sourcing a new confection?
Allison: We love updated nostalgia, when your inner child meets your grown-up palate and they have a good time together! A great example is the Askinosie chocolate-covered malt balls. You probably grew up with a version of chocolate malt balls as a kid, but maybe now you would love them to be made with better quality ingredients and more flavorful dark chocolate. The Askinosie version pleases your childhood memory and your adult palate.
Like all Zingerman’s businesses, we are guided by seeking out traditionally made foods. Some traditions are disappearing, so we try to champion these things, make them available to those who are looking for them, and introduce them to new fans. For instance, I knew I wanted to import really high-quality artisan Italian marzipan, so I searched and tasted (for two years!) before finally finding the one! They’re really special.
Sara: What’s next on your search?
Allison: I would like to add more confections from India, China, and the Middle East to expand the variety of flavor profiles we have in the shop. We’re also continuing to grow our “Provisions” selections which are non-candy items like nuts, dried fruits, sauces, syrups, and snacks to round out your pantry.
Sara: How many items does the candy store offer?
Allison: We offer around 400 to 500 items year round! More than 60 of those are handmade in-house by the skilled candy cooks at Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory. You’ll find an even larger selection during the holidays when we’re stacked with seasonal exclusives.
Sara: Tell me about the “chocolate wall.”
Allison: We have about 100 different bars of craft chocolate in the candy store (that expands for the holidays) and we are looking for new and amazing craft chocolate all the time. You can find white, milk, dark, vegan, the full spectrum of cacao percentages 40-100%, and a world of flavors–from the familiar peanut butter, raspberry, and coconut to the less-common cardamom, bergamot, and hot paprika.
Sara: How does one pick from 100 bars?
Allison: I ask four questions to find out where you are in your journey with craft chocolate. (That’s Step 1 in Zingerman’s 4 Steps To Great Service, find out what the customer wants!) Based on your answers, I choose two or three recommendations and offer a taste. Typically people are surprised and delighted at the thought of samples, but also those lovely Midwest manners kick in and they say, “Oh no. Don’t go to any trouble. Not if you have to open it.” But once they taste, it’s highly likely they’re going home with a new favorite confection. Watching them as they taste and seeing their reaction, it’s just the most fun. I had the same experience at the Deli seeing people leave so happy with their choice and they found the perfect things. We’re so lucky to be able to do that.
Allison’s 4 Questions to Guide Chocolate Choices
- Is it for you or someone else?
(If it’s a gift you might not have answers to the rest of the questions) - Dark or milk?
- If dark, what %?
(It’s okay if you don’t have an answer, we’ll help.) - Stuff in it, or not?
(The industry term is inclusions, but we think that sounds too posh. We’re aiming for easy!)
Sara: What are your picks for the most unusual, rare, and prized treasures on your shelves today?
Allison:
- Unusual: Askinosie’s Sweet Potato Pie white chocolate bar (with toasted mini marshmallows!)
- Rare: Caputo’s Wild Juruá foraged Brazilian cacao, a 70% dark chocolate bar by Luisa Abram
- Prized: Ziba Shakhurbai Almonds, an ancient heirloom variety grown in Afghanistan
Sara: What are your personal top three favorites right now?
Allison: That is so hard! I am excited about these lately, in no particular order:
- Fruition’s Bolivian Wild Harvest, a 74% dark chocolate bar
- Coloma Garcia Tender Turron with Marcona almonds and orange blossom honey
- Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory Peanut Brittle
Confection Consultation
Our interview gave me sweet daydreams of candy, so I headed back to the store to buy my usual favorites: Omnom Sea Salted Caramel Chocolate Malt Balls, J. Patrice Lime Coconut bonbons, and an Askinosie Coconut Milk Chocolate bar. Lucky me, Allison was still working and gave me my very own confection consultation. In just a few minutes, she introduced me to things I had never even noticed or tried before, especially after she zeroed in on my love for coconut, like strawberry cheesecake bonbons, fruit punch vegan gummies, and coconut hard candies. I didn’t know I needed a personal candy shopper in my life, but a confection consultation made my experience so much sweeter. I highly recommend you try it out!
This interview originally appeared in the March / April 2024 edition of Zingerman’s News. Check out the latest issue now!
A confectionery homage to Catalan almonds at the Candy Store
Before there were chocolate shops, and centuries before bonbons became a thing that anyone could even imagine, if you wanted to impress someone you were going to visit and you lived in Spain, you probably took them some turron. This terrific soft almond turron (the top one in the photo) from the Alemany family in Catalunya is beyond amazing!
The Alemany family began to sell honey and honey-based confectionery all the way back in 1879. One hundred and twenty-four years and five generations later, they’re still at it. Alemany is located in the small town of Os de Balaguer, about half an hour north of Lleida in Catalunya. The village has only about 300 residents, which means the Alemany family and their artisan workshop have been very much at the center of local life for nearly a century and a half now.
A big part of their business is honey. They travel all over Spain to gather the best single-blossom honeys when they’re in season. The family also uses them to craft a whole range of honey-based confectionery. Their products are new to us, but the family have been working as they do since they started in 1879! Technology clearly has advanced enormously, but the techniques—and the taste of the turron—remain pretty much as they were in the late 19th century.
Alemany’s Soft Almond Turron is a concentrated confection that’s made mostly of Marcona almonds (which are denser and far more flavorful than almost any other almond) with the addition of a small bit of honey, sugar, and egg white to help hold it together! Catalunya is the world capital of this amazing almond variety. At seventy percent almonds, the turron is the almondine equivalent of dark chocolate. Honey and sugar remain wholly in the background, which means that the turron is only a tiny bit sweet, and very wonderfully almondy. It’s easy to carry these small packets with you in your purse or even a coat pocket. Terrific with coffee—a shot of Espresso and a nibble of this terrific turron would make any afternoon better! It’s so, so, good!
P.S. We are also stocking Alemany’s Burnt Sugar Turron that’s sweetened with white chocolate. And we have the family’s really terrific honey vinegar at the Deli as well!
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The classic way for Dutch kids to start their day
Although it’s not a combination that has historically been given much thought on this side of the Atlantic, the practice of eating bread and chocolate in tandem has long been hugely popular in Europe. The Pain au Chocolat I wrote about last week is one of the most famous French versions. Alternatively, many French folks will put a chunk of good chocolate into a piece of freshly baked baguette and eat it as is. The Chocolate Sourdough bread at the Bakehouse is one of our American adaptations, and the Roadhouse’s new pancakes made with freshly-milled spelt and laced with French Broad chocolate chips are another awesome addition.
If you go to the Netherlands, the combo is altogether different. There you’ll see slices of buttered white bread that have been covered liberally with chocolate sprinkles. You read that right—chocolate sprinkles are the star of the morning meal. While we think of sprinkles here as something kids like to see on cupcakes, in the Netherlands, sprinkles are serious business. The formal “invention” of sprinkles in this way came in 1919. How did sprinkles show up on the Dutch culinary scene? One version (as Ted Ownby of the University of Mississippi told me 20 years ago, “All origin stories are disputed”) is that they were invented in Amsterdam by a candymaker named B.E. Dieperink. Dieperink, it seems, was inspired by bad weather. One day when it was hailing outside, he came up with the creative idea to make a confection that resembled the pellets that were falling from the stormy Dutch sky. The original version was crispy, anise-flavored sprinkles. Dieperink named them Hagelslag, meaning “hailstorm” in Dutch.
The chocolate sprinkles seem to have followed about 15 years later. They quickly became a huge commercial and culinary success. Since the middle of the 20th century, Dutch kids have delighted in eating slices of generously buttered bread, covered completely with chocolate sprinkles, for breakfast. Sprinkles in the Netherlands are serious business—they take up the same sort of significant aisle space in Dutch supermarkets as tuna, anchovies, and sardines do in Spain. To illustrate the seriousness with which they’re taken, many families with kids will pack a box of them for travel abroad, in much the same way some children bring stuffed animals. For folks who grew up with them, the Hagelslag offer a sense of continuity and calm comfort.
Unlike the kid-style sprinkles they sell here in supermarkets, the Dutch ones actually have flavor and are made from good chocolate. The Dark Chocolate are my preference. I have happily eaten them out of hand, as well as made myself a slice of buttered bread and Hagelslag to have as a snack. We also stock the Milk Chocolate version for those who are so inclined. Assembly couldn’t be easier. Stop by the Candy Store to buy a box (or two). Pick up a loaf of Bakehouse White bread (which is far more flavorful than standard supermarket white breads). When you get home, cut a thick slice. Spread on a fair bit of room-temperature butter. Cover generously with the sprinkles! Smile. Eat. Enjoy!
Go for the Dark Chocolate
And maybe the Milk Chocolate, too
P.S. You won’t see chocolate sprinkles on the Zingerman’s Mail Order site, but we’d be super happy to send some of the Hagelslag your way. Email us at [email protected] soon!
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Dark chocolate artisan “nuggets” ready to mix with milk
If you’re looking for a great-tasting drink to bring comfort as the colder weather works its way into our lives this fall, check out this superb new Sipping Chocolate from my friend Shawn Askinosie. Everything we’ve gotten from Shawn for the last fifteen years has been nigh on phenomenal and this new offering is as outstanding as the rest. The crew at Askinosie alters the chocolate origin from time to time depending on what’s tasting best for this application. Right now, it’s Tanzania, a few months ago it was from the Philippines. All are excellent. I rarely drink milk, but I made a cup to try it out and it was so good I drank the whole thing in a matter of minutes. Because it’s chocolate and not cocoa (which is alkalized), the flavor is more chocolatey with less of the light, slightly bitter taste of cocoa.
The chocolate it’s made from is, like everything we get from Shawn, superb. It’s from the Mababu coop in Tanzania. Shawn has been working with the farmers there for about fifteen years now. You can taste the chocolate in its “eating”—as opposed to sipping—form in the terrific Tanzania chocolate bars we have from Shawn at the Candy Story and Deli. Made with rare Trinitario cacao beans, it’s been one of my favorites for ages. Smooth, cocoa-y, dark but not at all overwhelmingly so. The Askinosie crew shared that, “When roasted, the beans evoke subtle, fruity notes of strawberry and blueberry and when tempered, it creates the creamiest mouthfeel of all of our chocolates.” The single-origin Sipping Chocolate brings that same super tasty complexity to the cup.
To make the Sipping Chocolate, the chocolate is broken up into small “nuggets.” The crew at Askinosie makes them by using a special mill that’s designed specifically for that purpose. I’ve been eating them out of hand at home—it’s a good way to sneak an afternoon pick-me-up (keep a container in your desk drawer?). There’s a recipe/ratio on the “can” (it’s made from recyclable cardboard) but Shawn suggests warming the milk or heavy cream and whisking in the small morsels to your own taste and thickness. No additional sugar is needed. Want a second opinion? A few years back the Wall Street Journal wrote that the Askinosie Sipping Chocolate is “basically pure, satiny ganache. The bittersweet chocolate is intense and brooding, brightened with hints of sandalwood and spice.”
Snag some Sipping Chocolate at Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory
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Terrific topping for gelato, cake, toast
Here’s an easy and delicious new taste treat from the crew at the Candy Manufactory. The caramel we’ve been making for years as an ingredient in other confectionery work is now available to take home in 8-ounce cups. If you’re like me and making caramel is not part of your regular cooking routine, then grab some! Since the Candy crew has done all the work for us, the Caramel Sauce is excellent and easy to use.
The Candy Manufactory Caramel, like so much of what we craft around the ZCoB, is made special by the quality of the raw materials that go into it. We long ago made the commitment to cook and bake with Muscovado sugar from the island of Mauritius. Muscovado is essentially old-school brown sugar. Here in 2022, it’s much more work to produce but the flavor is far bigger, more complex, and delicious. Muscovado retains the sugar cane’s natural molasses, and adds great depth and complexity to this sauce, the Zzang! Bar, our Toasted Pecan Pie, the Butterscotch Pudding and Donuts at the Roadhouse, and many more. (We sell the Muscovado sugar at the Bakeshop and Deli as well for your home cooking and baking.) Caramel was likely first made in the Arab world—where sugar was well-established—over a thousand years ago by slowly cooking sugar with water. Milk would have come along much later, most likely in the middle of the 19th century.
This new Caramel Sauce is super tasty on gelato, with cakes, or tortes. Add it to coffee for a caramel latte. Drizzle a bit on French toast or pancakes. Steve Mangigian, managing partner at the Coffee Company, has been dipping slices of autumn apple into it!
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