Nowhere else in the world is Mozart's music interpreted with such perfection as in his birthplace - Salzburg Austria. His works are omnipresent and can be heard in the large concert halls, in palaces, churches, in the ancient streets of this lovely city and even in your mouth as sweet chocolate candies - Mozart kugel.
Mozart chocolates in Salzburg
You can not leave Salzburg without buying Mozart chocolates. In factory Mirabell is from Grodig by Salzburg and they made around 90 millions chocolates per year. They export chocolates in 30 countries in the world.
But original Mozart chocolates kugel are only those that are hand made and produced in a confectioner's shop Furst. In year 1890 Paul Furst create chocolates and named it after Salzburg most famous music genius. You have to find out one of four confectioner's shop in Salzburg to buy Mozart kugel. By producing hand made fine kugel they don't use chemical additives so the chocolates must be eaten in six to eight weeks. Mozart chocolates are made from marzipan, nut cream, nougat and covered in liquid chocolate.
The story of the chocolates kugel
The story of chocolates kugel begins with Salzburg's entrepreneur Paul Furst, 100 years after the composer's death (1791) - around the year 1890.
Salzburg Master Pastry began producing marzipan sweets round - kugel wrapped by the hazelnut nougat cream, and finally, each poured with melted chocolate. His clients have been enthusiastic about the taste of chocolate balls and soon they all wanted to taste Mozart balls. Specialty was named at first Mozart Candy, and at the turn of century renamed,, when Furst in 1905 traveled to Paris on the food show. For his bitter-sweeti gem he won a gold medal - this event was the beginning of the unprecedented victorious rise.
Mirabell or Reber kugel - chocolate pralines
There are two companies that produce Mozart chocolate pralines one is the Mirabell and the second is company Reber from bad Riechenhall with original Mozart pralines. Paul Reber GmbH & Co. KG has been family-owned for more than 140 years and is famous for manufacturing high quality sweet treats most of all the "Genuine Reber Mozart-Kugeln® exquisitely filled with pistachio marzipan made out of fresh green pistachios, almonds and hazelnut praline covered with milk chocolate and bitter sweet chocolate.
Those two rival companies had in the past some tough battles. Mirabell is with 90 million pieces one of the leading company in Austria they export pralines all over the world. Company Reber is more successful in marketing the Mozart name and they produce half an milion Mozart kugel per day. Confectioner shop Mirabell cant produce anymore traditional hand made of Mozart pralines, because they cant satisfy the growth of inquiry of the pralines.
The biggest Mozart chocolate kugel
In year 2008 that old Bavarian sweetshop Reber made the biggest Mozart praline in the world. It weighs one ton and measured four meters in extent. With this huge praline they celebrated the 20 years of saling Mozart pralines which started with a first record in year 1988 in Dortmund.
This ton gigantic chocolate praline suits 50.000 common little Mozart pralines. They written the record in 1988 in Guinness book of records