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Chicago: The Chocolate City


Chicago has many ties to the chocolate industry, making it a chocolatey town. Chicago's special relationship with chocolate can be traced back as far as the Columbian Exposition of 1893, which featured a chocolate pavilion, a cocoa mill, a 38-ft. chocolate statue, and German chocolate-processing machines on display. Milton Hershey bought one of these machines and used it to start a successful business you may have heard about. Chicago is also home to Fannie May chocolates, Frango Mints, and the Blommer Chocolate Company.

H. Teller Archibald opened the first Fannie May candy shop on LaSalle Street in 1920. By the 1930s, the business grew to nearly 50 stores throughout the Midwest. Fannie May's Pixies, consisting of a winning combination of caramel, pecans, and chocolate, would become its most popular offering. Fannie May shops can still be found throughout the Chicago area.  

In 1929, Marshall Field & Company introduced Frango Mints. These mint chocolate truffles were made in large melting pots on the 13th Floor of Marshall Field's State Street store for nearly 70 years. Production of the candies has since moved out of state. However, the giant pots are still on display and Frango Mints can still be purchased at the State Street store, which is now a Macy's.  

In 1931, the Associated Retail Confectioners of the U.S. elected Chicagoan Ora Snyder as its first woman president. Snyder had started selling candy out of her home in the early 1900s after her husband became ill. Her business eventually grew to eight chocolate shops. Snyder also set up a shop at the Century of Progress World's Fair in 1933-1934. The shop was air-conditioned, which was cutting edge for the time. After seeing how it kept the chocolate from melting and kept her staff comfortable, Snyder made headlines when she decided to use air conditioning in all of her shops. Snyder's business remained in the family until 1967, when it became part of Fannie May.  

Almost half of the country's processed cocoa comes from the Blommer Chocolate Company, a chocolate wholesaler founded in Chicago in 1939. Blommer now operates chocolate processing plants across the globe. If the wind is blowing in the right direction, you can smell the chocolate in the downtown air thanks to the Blommer processing plant that still operates today in the West Loop. 

Today, Baby Ruth and Butterfinger candy bars are manufactured in suburban Franklin Park. The Mars chocolate factory makes its home on the North Side and even has its own Metra stop. (When I was a kid, my older sister convinced me that this building was Willy Wonka's magical chocolate factory.)  

Only a recipe as chocolatey and classy as this one for chocolate truffles can properly pay homage to Chicago's deep ties to the chocolate industry. It's based on a recipe that appeared in the New York Times, so you know it's good. 

Chocolate Truffles

Makes about 25-30 truffles

Ingredients:

7/8 c. heavy whipping cream

8 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate

For the toppings:

   Unsweetened cocoa powder

   Powdered sugar

   Cinnamon and sugar mixed together

Instructions:

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Heat the cream in a pot until it steams; this won't take very long. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. It will take a while to get the mixture smooth. You can microwave the mixture for 10-second intervals and stir between intervals to get all the chocolate to melt.  

Cover with plastic wrap and chill the mixture until it is solid all the way through, at least 1 to 2 hours. Using latex gloves to prevent the chocolate mixture from sticking to your hands, use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out about a tablespoonful of the mixture at a time and form it into a ball. Repeat, lining the truffles on a plate. 

If the truffles become too soft to handle, place them in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. Roll the truffles in the topping of your choice: unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, or cinnamon and sugar. Serve immediately or wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to four days. 

Sources:
Mark Bittman, "Chocolate Truffles," New York Times Cooking.
Catherine Grandgeorge, “Confectionately Yours: The Story of Ora Snyder, Chicago’s Candy Queen” The Newberry’s Source Material blog (March 8, 2022).
Shannon Perich, “Chocolate Dipped: The Popularity of Custom Candy in 1940s Chicago,” The Atlantic (January 29, 2012).
Brittany Tepper, “Sweet Home Chicago: Celebrating Chicago’s Candy History,” Chicago Loop Alliance (2015). 
Tom Schaffer, “13 Iconic Candy Makers in Chicago” L Stop Tours blog (October 2, 2019).
“History of Chocolate and Candy Making in Chicago,” University of Chicago Library website (December 20, 2017).


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