Feb. 1, 2024
By Keso Mumladze
Staff Writer
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, you may be wondering what to get that special someone in your life. Look no further than chocolate, which can perfectly convey emotions ranging from love to passion, care and friendship. Here are eight chocolates to consider giving as a gift this Valentine’s Day:
Created in 1982 in Alba, a small town in Italy, Ferrero Rocher is known for its unique and exquisite recipe, refined golden wrapper and distinctive transparent box. Ferrero Rocher is the largest consumer of hazelnuts in the world, with 25% of hazelnuts that are consumed coming from its products.
Ghirardelli Signature Chocolates
Ghirardelli was founded by Italian chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli, who, after working in South America, moved to California. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, which was incorporated in 1852, is one of the oldest chocolate companies in the United States. Ghirardelli Chocolate sets itself apart from its competitors because its higher cacao content means its chocolate tastes darker, has a more intense chocolate flavor and contains less sugar.
Godiva Goldmark Assorted Chocolate
Godiva was founded in 1926 in Brussels, Belgium by the Draps family who opened its first shop in the Grand-Place under its present name in honor of the legend of Lady Godiva. Godiva chocolates are known for their exceptional quality and unique flavor combinations. The Goldmark Collection combines legendary chocolate craftsmanship with creatively modernized techniques and recipes. Godiva’s assorted chocolate gift boxes feature dark chocolates, milk chocolates and white chocolates.
Hershey Kisses, Cookies and Cream
Milton Hershey filed a trademark for Hershey’s Kisses back in 1921. When it comes to the name of this chocolate, the Hershey Archives notes that no one knows for sure who came up with the name. Some say it could have been coined from the sound the chocolate machine made when the chocolate came out of it. Others say the word “kiss” was a common confectionary term at the time to refer to a small piece of candy.
The Lindt Lindor company dates back to 1949 when the introduction of a new recipe made the chocolate taste like liquid gold. Therefore, it should come of no surprise that Lindor combines the French word for gold (‘or’) with Lindt. The secret to this chocolate’s luxurious taste is the conching process Rodolphe Lindt invented, which created a fine-melting texture by evenly combining the cocoa mass and cocoa butter with other ingredients like sugar and milk for a prolonged time. Conching is still used by chocolate manufacturers all over the world.
Raffaello is a spherical coconut–almond truffle that Italian manufacturer Ferrero brought to the market in 1990. It consists of a spherical wafer filled with white milk cream and white blanched almonds. It is then surrounded by a coconut layer. This combination of ingredients gives it a one-of-a-kind flavor.
REESE’s Valentine’s Peanut Butter Miniature Cups
Launched nationally in 1997, the ingenious flavor combination of REESE’s Peanut Butter Cups can be traced back to 1928, when H.B. Reese, an employee of the Hershey Company, created them in his basement. The Hershey Company supplied Reese with the chocolate coating for his candy and eventually purchased his business in 1963. The original name of the chocolate-coated peanut butter candy was penny cups because each one only cost a cent in the 1930s.
