On the Chocolate Trail

“Did Jews ‘Invent’ Chocolate?” An Exclusive Interview with Deborah Prinz by Walter Bingam for his radio program “Walter’s World” at Israel National Radio about my book On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao, published by Jewish Lights and now in its second

Shavuot’s dairy customs celebrating the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai beckon me towards milk chocolate. As Janna Gur, Chief Editor of Israel’s Al Hashulchan–The Israeli Gastronomic Monthly explained to me in a phone conversation, Israelis love chocolate and have a distinct preference for milk chocolate. The Elite brand developed several favorites in the milky

In response to a recent request: (fuller information in my forthcoming book Jews on the Chocolate Trail: Stories of Jews and Cacao) 1.  Some people think that Jews brought chocolate to France. 2.  In the eighteenth century, Jews were thought to be specialists in chocolate making. 3.  Woody Guthrie wrote a song about Chanukah gelt.

The hot chocolate I tasted in December 2009 in Israel struck me as pretty flavorless.  At Nona’s lovely chocolate boutique near the King David and YMCA in Jerusalem, the melted marzipan addition compensated for the chocolate deficit.  That, in a proudly French style chocolate purveyor using mostly Valhrona chocolate, rather than the generally Israeli preferred

Visitors to Israel soon discover the impossibility of seeing all the sites, museums, beaches and stores, despite the small size of the country. A typical tourist visit of a week or two just cannot cover it all . Now, in addition, it is possible to add fun chocolate experiences to the rich mix of viewing