TASTE OF SWITZERLAND: SPRÜNGLI LUXEMBURGERLI

You must be wondering what these are!

We were so lucky that we had the most gracious host ever, the Nobles family! 

And Ate Evelyn couldn't really help but wanted us to taste the Luxemburgerli! So she brought us to the Sprüngli store in the Zurich train station as soon as we were done with the Chocolate store!

So from Wikipedia, this is what Luxemburgerli means:

Luxemburgerli (also Luxembourger) is a brand name of confectionery made by the Confiserie Sprüngli in Zürich,Switzerland. Essentially a small macaron, they have a top and bottom sugar-based confection with a center cream filling. The Luxemburgerli is lighter than a macaron and is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.

Flavors

Flavors include: vanilla, chocolate, stracciatella (chocolate chip), caramel, hazelnut, champagne, amaretto, chestnut, mocha, cinnamon, lemon, mandarin, and raspberry. Many flavors are seasonal. The shelf life is three to five days, refrigerated.

Invention

Luxemburgerli were invented by the confectioner Camille Studer who brought the recipe to Zürich after creating them in a Luxembourg confectionery shop (Confiserie Namur) in 1957. There, the recipe was refined for a confectionery contest. The name Luxemburgerli is derived from the nickname which a colleague bestowed on Studer, whose family originated in Luxembourg. The original name, Baiser de Mousse (foam kiss in French), perceived as appropriate for the new creation, was changed to Gebäck des Luxemburgers ("Luxemburger's confection") which became, in Swiss German, Luxemburgerli ("little Luxembourger")

Here is the store and the confections galore.

When I saw the name of the store after I left, I remembered Eunice's advice... then, later found out the confection store (Confiserie Sprüngli) is different from the chocolate store (Chocolat Sprüngli AG)!

The Luxemburgerli is lighter than a macaron and is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.

 

 

This is our Luxemburgerli box.

TO ENJOY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE 

top and bottom sugar-based confection with a center cream filling

This was our snacks while we were on our train ride to Milan!

As adviced on the box: TO ENJOY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!

These were sweet and yummy indeed! 

Thanks Kuya Nelson and Ate Evelyn for another distinct taste of Zurich, Switzerland!!
And thanks to Dr. Frankie F. for the opportunity to meet his wonderful cousins!!!

TASTE OF SWITZERLAND: LINDT AND SPRUNGLI

Before I left, my friend, Eunice told me not to forget her most favorite chocolates in Switzerland, SPRUNGLI!

 

I found out that Lindt and Sprungli is considered one company and this is what I read from Wikipedia:

Lindt & Sprüngli AG, more commonly known as Lindt, is a luxury Swiss chocolate and confectionery company.

History
The origins of the company date back to 1845. David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son, Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann owned a small confectionery shop in the old town of Zurich, to which two years later a small factory was added to produce chocolate in solid form.

With the retirement of Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann in 1892, the business was divided between his two sons. The younger, David Robert, received two confectionery stores that became known under the name Confiserie Sprüngli. The elder brother, Johann Rudolf, received the chocolate factory. To raise the necessary finance for his expansion plans, Johann Rudolf converted in 1899 his private company into "Chocolat Sprüngli AG". In that same year, he acquired the chocolate factory of Rodolphe Lindt in Bern and the company changed its name to Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Züricher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli (United Bern and Zurich Lindt & Sprungli Chocolate Factory Ltd.).

In 1994, Lindt & Sprüngli acquired the Austrian chocolatier, Hofbauer, and integrated it along with its Küfferle brand into the company. In 1997 and 1998, respectively, the company acquired the Italian chocolatier, Caffarel and the American chocolatier, Ghirardelli, and integrated them into the company as wholly owned subsidiaries. Since then, Lindt & Sprüngli has expanded the once-regional Ghirardelli to the international market.

On March 17, 2009, Lindt announced the closure of 50 of its 80 retail boutiques in the United Statesbecause of weaker demand in the wake of the late-2000s recession.^[1]

Lindt & Sprüngli has six factories located in Kilchberg, Switzerland; Aachen, Germany; Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France; Induno Olona, Italy; Gloggnitz, Austria; and Stratham, New Hampshire in the United States. The factory in Gloggnitz, Austria manufactures products under the Hofbauer and Küfferle brand in addition to the Lindt brand. Caffarel's factory is located in Luserna San Giovanni, Italy and Ghirardelli's factory is located in San Leandro, California in the United States.

After Lindt recorded net profits of 4.7 million in the 2011 calendar year, it was stated by the marketing team that its market share amounted to 29%, surpassing its past years.

Lindt chocolates are quite familiar to us. So here are some more photos of these. 

Well, of course, there are lots of different variations and these could be tasted in the box with the mini chocolates.

Note that the chocolate bars are written in Swiss.

 

I always like nuts, so these are my favorites!

Note: this is written in Swiss since this was the chocolate that the Nobles family  (Dr. Frankie F.'s gracious cousins) gave us as our souvenir from Zurich!

Try these out!

Of course, I mean the Lindt chocolates which we can find over here (you don't have to get it in Switzerland)!

By the way, I saw these in Budgetwise!!!

TASTE OF SWITZERLAND: SLABS OF CHOCOLATE

The first time I saw large slabs of chocolate was in Hong Kong... and, now here in (one of) the chocolate capitals of the world, Switzerland.

Although, our Swiss trip was too short and we said we wouldn't buy chocolates anymore, but Ate Evelyn still brought us to the store at the Train Station and of course, we couldn't help but do so!

Wouldn't your eyes just pop out ... and salivate at these!!!

Well, Ate Evelyn really gave us these chocolates to complete our Swiss experience and gave us take home gifts, too.

Here is a close-up of the "slabs" of chocolates as I call it! But I found out these are called Fresh Chocolates.

FRESH CHOCOLATE: It's all down to the freshness. The original Läderach chocolate captivates with its uniqueness and fills all lovers of authentic quality chocolate with enthusiasm. The great choice of over 30 hand-created sorts invites you to try out new, true, taste experiences and delights a growing number of fans.

Fresh chocolate simply tastes better! See for yourself! A large selection is available in our Merkur shops or directly from our boutique shop in Glarus. 

By the way, I missed the name of this Chocolate store but it was located at the Train station In Zurich.


Anyway, I saw the mark Läderach stamped on the Fresh Chocolate so I googled about it. Here is what I found out from their website...
http://www.laederach.ch/en/unternehmen/markenwerte/schweiz.php

PURE DELIGHT IN QUALITY has defined the philosophy of «Läderach – chocolatier suisse» since the family-owned business was first founded by Rudolf Läderach in 1962. In a bid to simplify the chocolate-maker’s craft for his fellow confectioners the passionate chocolatier Rudolf Läderach invented the hollow truffle shell. This semi-finished product vastly improved the quality of truffles and simplified the manufacturing process, much to the delight of his colleagues in the trade. The foundation stone to a success story had thus been laid.     

Surrounded by the mighty Glarner Alps stands an impressive factory,
with over 240 employees, creating authentic Swiss confectionery specialities.

Jürg Läderach, the founder’s son, now heads the independent business in its second generation, producing a wide range of pralines, truffles, petite pastries, confectionery and seasonal specialities as well as semi-finished convenience products for a discerning clientele.

Well, I guess our brief Swiss sojourn was indeed complete... THANKS A LOT TO EVELYN AND NELSON NOBLES for their grand hospitality!!!

TASTE OF SWITZERLAND: LIGHT BLUE TOBLERONE

Have you seen a Toblerone in a light blue packaging?

I guess it isn't as well known yet because when I browsed about this, I've seen only a few articles and pictures of the LIGHT BLUE TOBLERONE: CRUNCHY ALMONDS.

From Wikipedia, this is what they say about Toblerone!!!

Toblerone ( /ˈtoʊbləroʊn/; German: [tobləˈroːnə]) is a chocolate bar brand owned by Kraft Foods, who acquired the product from former owner Jacobs Suchard in 1990. It is well known for its distinctive prism shape (triangular prismor pentahedron).

Toblerone was created by Theodor Tobler (1876–1941) Bern, Switzerland in 1908. Theodor Tobler together with Emil Baumann (Theodor Tobler’s cousin) developed a unique milk chocolate including nougat, almonds and honey with a distinctive triangular shape. The product's name is a portmanteau combining Tobler's name with the Italian word torrone (a type of nougat). The image of a bear is hidden in the Matterhorn mountain symbolizing the town of its origin.

The triangular shape of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps is commonly believed to have given Theodor Tobler his inspiration for the shape of Toblerone. However, according to Theodor's sons, the triangular shape originates from a pyramid shape that dancers at the Folies Bergères created as the finale of a show that Theodor saw.

Theodor Tobler applied for a patent for the Toblerone manufacturing process in Bern in 1909.^[3] The Toblerone brand was trademarked in 1909, at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property in Bern.

The Tobler company was independent for many years. In 1970, it merged with Suchard, the makers of Milka, to become Interfood. A merger with the Jacobs coffee company in 1982 created Jacobs Suchard. Kraft acquired the majority of Jacobs Suchard, including Toblerone, in 1990.

Since the 1970s, other variants of Toblerone have been produced. These include:

Plain chocolate: (dark chocolate) in a green or black triangular box

White chocolate: in a white triangular box

Snow-Capped: editions with white chocolate peaks, also in a white/silver triangular box

Filled editions: milk chocolate with a white chocolate centre (blue triangular box)

OneByOne: individually wrapped triangular chunks

Toblerone Pralines: released in 1997, a single peaked version in the distinctive yellow packaging

Fruit and Nut: in 2007 with a half purple triangular cardboard box

Honeycomb crisp: with a half white box with honeycomb pieces pictured on it

Crunchy Almond: with honey and almond nougat and salted caramelised almonds

Berner Bär: 500 g (18 oz) milk chocolate bar, with a relief portrait of the Bernese Bear and the Coat of arms of Bern on its face. The only non-triangular Toblerone.^[5]

Toblerone Tobelle: Toblerone thins in a yellow triangular box

This is the white Toblerone in a pack of 6.

 

Here is the NEW TOBLERONE!

The lady in the store said this was a new offering in their store, about 5 months ago,  probably early 2012.

 

Anyway, since I love almonds (and other nuts for that matter!) in my chocolates, then I really love this one, too!  One proof is: I decided not to give away all of these... had to leave some for myself!

This is how it looks when I opened it.

Though, I wanted to bring more, I was already worried about my baggage allowance so had to control the urge to buy more!


I hope I can see more of these!!!

TASTE OF ITALY: GELATO VS. ICE CREAM

Gelato is the Italian name for Ice Cream but it has some differences which makes one distinct from the other.

GELATO: NIKON D90 AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm

ISO 800   40 mm    0EV   f/6.3   1/160

CONE: NIKON D90 AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm

ISO 800   35 mm    0EV   f/6.3   1/160

GELATO IN CONE: NIKON D90 AF-S DX VR 

Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm   ISO 800   70 mm    0EV   f/8   1/640

I had the joy of experiencing the Gelato in Rome. As they say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

You can get a gelato from a mobile ice cream van or from a little ice cream store down the street.

So what is the difference between the Gelato and the Ice Cream?

I guess, the best answer is to lift this from the Wikipedia and here goes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

Gelato (Italian pronunciation: [dʒeˈlaːto]; plural: gelati) is the Italian word for ice cream. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. 

It is correct to say that most gelato is different from the traditional recipe of ice cream because it is lighter having a lower butterfat content than traditional, factory made ice cream. Homemade gelato typically contains 4–8% butterfat, versus 14% for ice cream in the United States. Depending on recipes and the person making it, dairy based gelato contains 16–24% sugar. Most ice cream in the United States contains 12 to 16% sugar. The sugar content in homemade gelato, as in traditional ice cream, is balanced with the water content to act as an anti-freeze to prevent it from freezing solid. Types of sugar used include sucrose, dextrose, and invert sugar to control apparent sweetness. Typically, gelato -- like any other ice cream -- needs a stabilizing base. Egg yolks are used in yellowcustard-based gelato flavors, including zabaione and creme caramel. Non-fat milk solids are also added to gelato to stabilize the base.

Unlike most commercial ice creams in the world, from a process point of view, gelato is typically frozen very quickly in individual small batches while the conventional ice cream is frozen with a continuous assembly line freezer. Churning during the freezing process incorporates air into the mix making it lighter. The added air is called overrun. The overrun in gelato is generally 20–35%. The gelato lower overrun (compared to ice cream) results in a more expensive, denser product and with more intense flavors.

Gelato = = Yum, yum, yum, Oh I mean, Delizioso (in Italian) !!!

HAPPY CREAM PUFF

I was brought by my friend to HAPPY CREAM PUFF in Makati when she wanted to give a pasalubong to a group of friends.

This is the store where we went to...

Here I am amazed by the new ideas!!!

 

Here is the line up of CREAM PUFFS...
Puff Pastry

The ultimate advantage of our product is geared towards our motto “always pippin fresh” because here at Happy Cream Puff, we only use fresh ingredients starting from our milk, eggs, butter, flour, whip cream, vanilla beans, sugar, salt, vegetable oil, mineral water, chocolate ( Eclair only ), and none the less.

We always make sure that everything is natural and without preservatives.

 

And Eclairs....

AND, they even had free tasting... 

so I found out, they were really good!!!

But, what caught my eyes most, were the Croquembouche!
French for "crunch in mouth" a classic croquembouche is made with custard-filled cream puffs and stacked in a tall pyramid shape.
Croquembouche is usually served at celebrations such as weddings, birthdays and Christmas Party.

Large = P 3,500.00 

Medium = P 2,200.00

Small = P1, 500.00

What HAPPY CREAM PUFF takes pride in is that they are baked fresh in their Makati Branch!

The Zone 7224 Malugay Street

corner Buendia, Bel Air, Makati City

Telephone: +632 7071263

www.happycreampuff.com

I'd like to share some things from the website:

This Happy Cream Puff story all started when the family went to Japan for a vacation. Mrs. Yamagishi was first introduced to this palatable pastry upon visiting various food establishments in the key cities of Japan and was overwhelmed by the cream puff enthusiasm of the Japanese people despite its English origin. Prompted by its unique fresh subtle taste and the noble idea of sharing the Happy Cream Puff experience to her beloved kababayans, Mrs. Yamagishi decided to get into baking and introduced this “puff wonder” to their own restaurant as a flavorsome dessert and as expected without any doubt receives good response from their customers and loyal patrons.

The first Happy Cream Puff experience was first shared officially at Alabang Metropolis Mall and few months later was transferred to SM South Mall to accommodate its increasing demand for space. Now business has been good for the family, and in order to bring their business to a higher level, they have decided to look for a more recognized space at the heart of the business district and considered “The Zone” which is strategically situated in Bel Air, Makati. Since then eating cream puff has never been the same again and because of the exceptional demand and acceptance from the people it soon paved the way to opening it’s another branch now at “Rada Regency” located in Legazpi Village, Makati.

Happy Cream Puff trademark product is made up of a choux pastry shell filled with custard cream or whipped cream and piped in only as you order, adhering to their motto of “Always Pippin Fresh” which is the very groundwork of this simple yet sophisticated pastry shop. So if you are eating with your friends or family and want to impress them with a new kind of dessert which is not too much on sweets. 

Concept and Vision

1. To make Cream Puff more popular and widely known in the Philippines.

2. To spread the Cream Puff craze in the Philippines.

3. To generate more happy and satisfied customers.

Another great gift idea!!!


Wanted to bring it as Pasalubong to Zamboanga City but since I was leaving the next day, I was wary because of the cream and might spoil!


They also had Toasted Cream Puff which could be brought home as Pasalubong but I left it... 


P.S. Still just posted because it caught my attention and not a paid ad!!!