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The History of Chocolate Bunnies

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By: Heidi Wagenbach

Even in my twenties, I still enjoy receiving a chocolate bunny for Easter. Who wouldn’t? A delicate, melt-in-your-mouth sweet (if you get a proper one from a reputable candy store and not from a gas station). They’re always covered in gold foil and placed directly at the center of other sugary delights to celebrate the spring holiday. Not being very religious, we faded out of attending church on April Sunday, yet appreciate being around close family, laughing and eating brunch. But how did a bunny become associated as being the figure for Easter, nearly as popular as Santa is for Christmas? Keep reading to find out!

A Long Time Ago… 

The legend first originated in Germany with Oscheter Haws (Easter Hare), who laid colored eggs after a long winter’s sleep. She hid them in the garden as gifts for children to find. Hares were never domesticated like other rabbits and in medieval Europe, the rabbit was a popular symbol for spring because of their fertility. Professor Dr. Diane Shane who studies various religions stated that: “Rabbits (originally hares) are… fertility symbols associated with the arrival of spring, because they are so prolific and give birth as soon as the weather warms.” The term “Easter” derived from Ostara, a pagan goddess once worshipped by the Germanic people. And guess what? Her sacred animal was indeed a rabbit.

… In A Century Far Far Away

In the 1700s, German immigrants (or the Pennsylvania Dutch) brought Oschter Haws to the eastern part of the US. (Tins for chocolate molds have been found in Munich that date back to the late 1800s). There are no records to who specifically invented the chocolate Easter bunny, however drugstore owner Robert L. Strohecker played a large part in their popularity. He commissioned a 5-foot chocolate rabbit to advertise Easter. (Yes, 5-FOOT… that’s nearly as tall as me!) This giant bunny was created by candy manufacturer William H. Luden, who became recognized years later by inventing the menthol cough drop. Since then, chocolate Easter bunnies have remained an icon.

★Fun Facts★

  1. An estimated 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced each year.
  2. Chocolate bunnies are hollow because one piece is ½” thick, which makes it nearly impossible to bite through. It also allows chocolatiers to make them larger for visual appeal and enjoyment. This practice began during WWII cocoa rationing. Side note: The New York Times explored the lore and legends of the chocolate Easter bunny. They joked that biting into a hollow one is “a child’s first taste of deception” (ha!).
  3. The largest chocolate bunny was made in 2014 for the Chocofest in Brazil. It was over 8,000 pounds and towered 13-feet tall. The most expensive bunny, on the other hand, sells for almost $50,000 with eyes made out of 1.7 carat diamonds.
  4. The Bortz Chocolate Company in Reading, PA is credited with being the first company to introduce personalities to their bunnies in 1934, making the treats play sports, get married, and be overall more cartoony (even though the traditional is here to stay).
  5. The most popular bunny during the Easter season remains to be milk chocolate.
  6. 87% of parents will buy or make Easter baskets for their children, with 81% of them snagging some of the sweets themselves.
  7. 89% of Americans think chocolate bunnies should be eaten ears first.
  8. The Easter holiday itself generates an estimated $18 billion in the US.
  9. The Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) launched a campaign to encourage people to eat chocolate bunnies as opposed to buying a real one. In 2018, hundreds of abandoned bunnies were received by SPCA after the reality set in for families of having a pet for over a decade (bunnies live up to 12 years), rather than just Easter Sunday. 
  10. In Northern Canada, a “fluffle” is used to describe a group of bunnies.

Overall…

Writing these blogs is really opening my eyes to how unique some of the history is for foods we associate as “normal” in our everyday lives, without thinking too much about their origin. Too often we get wrapped up in the stress that holidays have, with scheduling get togethers and buying presents, that we don’t appreciate how we got here in the first place. So, this spring, no matter if you celebrate Easter or not, be sure to share some of these new facts with your friends and family… regardless, they’ll find it interesting!

Sources: 

Chocolate Bunnies, History Of

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Chocolate Bunnies

The Untold Truth Of Chocolate Easter Bunnies

 

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Why Do We Give Chocolate On Valentine’s Day?

by In Food Facts Tagged ,

By: Heidi Wagenbach

I adamantly told my boyfriend that I don’t want anything for Valentine’s Day. Personally, it’s a somewhat useless holiday that’s targeted at mushy-gushy couples to spend money on stuffed animals and flowers and of course, chocolate. I couldn’t care less about February 14th, but that doesn’t mean I will judge the couples who enjoy snuggling up with a cozy meal and glasses of wine to celebrate their relationship. I started thinking about how this tradition came along in the first place… how a heart-and-cupid filled holiday came to be associated with buying some sweets to gorge your lover with. So I went to trusty Google… and here’s what I found.

Science, Sales, and Sovereigns 

Chocolate contains tryptophan (hey, that sounds familiar… remember my Does Turkey Make You Sleepy? blog?) and phenylethylamine, which are both chemicals that affect the brain’s pleasure and reward systems, but doctors agree that the amount is too little to have an effect. Dark chocolate is notorious for its health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease and improving brain function. 58 million pounds of chocolate are purchased during Valentine’s week alone. In 2017, there were $695 million sales regarding chocolate gifts but we have to go back even further than three years. The connection between love and chocolate dates back to the Aztecs (check out my recent 10 Fun Facts About Hot Chocolate blog for more history) and apparently, Emperor Montezuma ate cocoa beans by the handful to “fuel his romantic trysts.”

The 1400s and Chaucer

In his 1382 poem Parlement of Foules, Geoffrey Chaucer references various early Christian martyrs named Valentine, describing the nature of love: “every bird cometh to choose his mate” on “seynt Voantynes day.” Wow, that’s bringing back memories of my good ol’ college days when I took a class all about The Canterbury Tales.

Valentine’s Day became a really popular late winter-early spring holiday; songs, poetry, and roses celebrated loving hearts, while sugar was still a precious resource not to be shared lightly.

Fast Forward 200 Years

Chocolate became popular in Western Europe after being introduced by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. It was so expensive that it was pretty much only consumed by the wealthy. Chocolate houses began to rival coffee houses as social gathering spots and in 1657, those shops advertised chocolate as “a Western Indian drink… cures and preserves the body of many diseases.” In France, Madame de Sevigne wrote about enormous chocolate consumption throughout the court at Versailles. Louis IV drank it daily and Madame du Barry used chocolate to stimulate lovers.

Marie Antoinette and the Victorian Era

Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI in 1770 and brought her own personal chocolate maker. That simple action created inspired recipes such as “chocolate mixed with orchid bulb for strength, chocolate with orange blossom to calm the nerves, or chocolate with sweet almond milk to aid the digestion.” Victoria became Queen in 1837, and technology transformed Valentine’s into a commercial success. Men enjoyed showering their crushes and lovers with gifts, however a 19th century commentator said that men knew chocolate was an instinctual way to someone’s heart. Men were able to demonstrate their tastes and expertises in regards to desserts by choosing the “right” box… yet etiquette books warned women to not accept gifts from men to whom they aren’t engaged.

Mid-1800s and Beyond

Halfway through the 19th-century, the British company J.S. Fry & Sons created their first ever chocolate bar, combining cacao powder, sugar, and cacao butter. Richard Cadbury, a “marketing genius,” introduced the first box of chocolates, deeming it the “Fancy Box” in 1861. Seven years later, his company produced its first heart-shaped box of fruit, ganache, and nut-filled chocolates in time for Valentine’s Day. The containers could be used afterwards to store love letters or other tokens after all the chocolates were eaten.

In the U.S., Hershey’s introduced their small and romantic Kisses in 1907. A little over a decade prior, Hershey’s was making caramels covered in chocolate, but this was revolutionary, the recognizable little treats said to be “a most nourishing food.” Russell Stover marketed their line of heart-shaped boxes across the midwest in the 1920s before becoming the #1 brand of boxed chocolates in the states. Their biggest seller was the “Secret Lace Heart,” adorned with… you guessed it, black lace. 

So It’s Safe To Say…

That the tradition of Valentine’s and chocolates is relatively new, while the history of romance and chocolate is timeless. I think this is a holiday that will continue to thrive and stores will be decked out in red, pink, and white to encourage boyfriends, husbands, girlfriends, and wives to splurge a bit and treat their significant other to some chocolatey goodness. Some will succumb and others will avoid.

Sources:

Why Do We Give Chocolate On Valentine’s Day? Here’s The History Between Chocolate & Love

Why Do People Give Chocolate on Valentine’s Day?

How Chocolate and Valentine’s Day Mated For Life

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