I think my dad often has trouble deciding what to get me for Christmas. But he knows me well enough to know that he can’t go wrong with chocolate. So this year, my gift included a box of Griotte Sour Cherry and Liqueur-Filled Chocolates from my favorite Italian market. A box as big as my torso. Ho ho ho… Merry Christmas!
Griotte are made by the Kras company from Zagreb, Croatia. According to their website, Kras has been churning out quality chocolates since 1911. Under the name of Union, it was the first chocolatier to operate out of Eastern Europe, where it supplied confections to the Royal Court of Austria-Hungary. The company was later renamed after Josip Kras, “an antifascist fighter and a distinguished leader of the worker’s movement.” The company was socially owned until 1992, and now they’re known for a variety of popular candies and a chain of “CHOCO BAR” chocolate shops.
That’s all interesting enough, but unlike other European countries like Germany and Switzerland, I’ve never heard that Croatia has any particular reputation for producing great chocolate. Like they say, the proof of the pudding (or in this case, the chocolate) is in the eating.
