Chocolate

Chocolate, that beloved confection, has a rich history as complex and delightful as its flavor. It all began over 3,000 years ago in the rainforests of Central America, where the ancient Maya and Aztec civilizations revered cacao beans as gifts from the gods. These precious beans were ground into a bitter, frothy drink enjoyed by royalty and warriors alike. Fast forward to the 16th century, and chocolate made its grand debut in Europe, thanks to Spanish explorers. Sweetened and transformed into a luxurious treat, chocolate quickly became the darling of aristocrats and eventually, a staple for people everywhere. From sacred elixirs to everyday delights, the story of chocolate is a testament to its enduring allure and the universal craving for a bit of sweetness in life.

Ice cream

DID YOU KNOW: The origin of creamy ice cream?

Imagine a stringy, elastic, and chewy ice cream – a bit like mozzarella? As one story goes, that was the original ice cream when it was invented in the Middle East in the 16th century.  The 500-year-old technique has been rediscovered by an ice cream shop in New York that serves elastic ice cream in a wide range of innovative flavours. Unusual consistency has made this “original” ice cream a big Insta-hit.

Another common myth is Italian traveller Marco Polo bringing back an ice cream recipe after travelling far east. The myth has been widely refuted but the fact remains that different Italian chefs experimented with ice cream recipes. Slowly it became softer, creamier, and resembled the ice cream we love today.

Next step likely happened in Florence where one farmer presented a homemade dessert from ice, fruit, and sugar to Caterina de Medici. She enjoyed it so much that she took him to her wedding in France, so he could make it for the wedding guests.

Today, ice cream is everything from old-fashioned homemade recipes, frozen cream with berries or chocolate pieces, famous rainbow ice cream and more. New ice cream variations with cake, cookies, toppings, and other fun combinations are being developed all the time. Ice cream is an adventure we associate with fun and indulgence on a hot summer day.

A novelty ice cream from the ’80’ties – the Wofler – is still popular in Denmark. Large crispy waffle cone filled with nougat and pineapple ice cream and sprinkled with hazelnuts, chocolate pieces and caramelized almonds. They call it a living legend!

Wine gums

DID YOU KNOW: The history of wine gums? It is only a little more than 100 years old and it started with sweet and chewy English wine gums. The first company to introduce wine gums were Maynard’s Sweets in 1909. Charles Riley Maynard started a handmade confectionary shop with his brother Tom and his wife Anne served the shop’s customers. Maynard’s son Charles Gordon Maynard joined the family business and he was the one who came up with wine gums – and was nearly fired for his creation. The story goes that the old Maynard came close to dismiss his son on the spot. It took a long time and a lot of perseverance to persuade the father, a conservative Christian, that there was no wine in a wine gum.

Subsequently, sometime in the 1920s, a poor sugar factory worker quit his job and went home with a bag of sugar, a kettle, and a marble board. He started making sweets in his kitchen. His wife took the candy to small local shops in her bicycle basket, while he stayed home by the sugar kettle. Eventually the couple decided to use cool elastic gelatine in their products and mould their wine gums as small dancing teddy bears – and today’s world-famous original wine gum was born.