Opera creams are a candy made of chocolate. They are most popularly associated with Cincinnati, Ohio, though they are sold in other Ohio cities, as well as Kentucky.
Opera creams are a candy made of chocolate. They are most popularly associated with Cincinnati, Ohio, though they are sold in other Ohio cities, as well as Kentucky.
Sources vary on whether the Cincinnati opera cream was invented by Bissinger's or the Robert H. Putnam Company, both Cincinnati confectioneries, though Dann Woellert notes that the first local advertisements for the candy was in 1924 by Putman's. A legend for how the candies got their name states that they were given to opera-goers at the Cincinnati Music Hall for free at intermission. [1] [2] They are a popular candy in Cincinnati confectioneries such as Schneider's Sweet Shop [3] and Aglamesis Bro's; [1] they've been called the "most Cincinnati of all sweets". [2] They are also produced by Esther Price Candies, however, which is based in Dayton, Ohio. [4] Chris A. Papas & Son, a Covington, Kentucky business, lists the opera cream Easter egg as their most popular Easter egg variety. [5]
The center of an opera cream is made of cream, sugar, vanilla, and a marshmallow cream. The exterior of the opera cream is milk, dark, or white chocolate. The creation of opera creams occurs in four stages. The ingredients for the center—cream, sugar, and vanilla—are heated in a double boiler to create what's called a "fondant". Once cooled, the fondant mixture is kneaded in a ball cream beater, which is a kind of horizontal circular mixer. In the third stage, the fondant is parsed into small pieces to form the cream center. Lastly, the cream center is coated in chocolate. [1]
The usual form of the opera cream is a rectangular chocolate, with dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties produced. However, around the Easter holiday, opera cream Easter eggs are popular, [1] with some varieties of opera cream egg weighing up to 3 lb (1.4 kg). [6] Other food and drink products are created based on the opera cream, including cakes, cupcakes, and flavored beer stouts. [1] The BonBonerie Bakery in Cincinnati makes and sells up to eighty 9 in (23 cm) opera cream cakes per day during the winter holiday season. [7]
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Central Africa and West Africa, and most parts of China, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier and the confiseur.
Cake is a form of sweet food made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, that is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and that share features with other desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.
Crème caramel, flan, caramel pudding or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce.
A macaroon is a small cake or biscuit, typically made from ground almonds, coconut or other nuts, with sugar and sometimes flavourings, food colouring, glacé cherries, jam or a chocolate coating; or a combination of these or other ingredients. Some recipes use sweetened condensed milk. Macaroons are sometimes baked on edible rice paper placed on a baking tray.
Fudge is a type of sugar candy that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at 240 °F (115 °C), and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. In texture, this crystalline candy falls in between fondant icing and hard caramels.
Dulce de leche, also known as caramelized milk or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours. The resulting substance, which takes on a spreadable, sauce-like consistency, derives its rich flavour and colour from non-enzymatic browning. It is typically used to top or fill other sweet foods.
3 Musketeers is a candy bar made in the United States and Canada by Mars, Incorporated. It is a candy bar consisting of chocolate-covered, fluffy, whipped mousse. It is a lighter chocolate bar similar to the global Milky Way bar and similar to the American version Milky Way bar only smaller and minus the caramel topping. The 3 Musketeers Bar was the third brand produced and manufactured by M&M/Mars, introduced in 1932. Originally, it had three pieces in one package, flavored chocolate, strawberry and vanilla; hence the name, which was derived from the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Rising costs and wartime restrictions on sugar saw the phasing out of the vanilla and strawberry pieces to leave only the more popular chocolate. Costing five cents when it was introduced, it was marketed as one of the largest chocolate bars available, one that could be shared by friends.
Sprinkles, which are known in some countries as hundreds and thousands, are very small pieces of confectionery used as an often colourful decoration or to add texture to desserts such as brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced in a variety of colors and are generally used as a topping or a decorative element. The Dictionary of American Regional English defines them as "tiny balls or rod-shaped bits of candy used as a topping for ice-cream, cakes and other."
Graeter's is a regional ice cream chain based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1870 by Louis C. Graeter, the company has since expanded to 50 retail locations selling ice cream, candy and baked goods in the Midwestern United States. It further distributes its ice cream to 6,000 stores throughout the country. As of 2017, the company had 1,050 employees and $60 million in revenue.
Whoppers are malted milk balls covered with an artificially flavored "chocolatey coating" produced by The Hershey Company. The candy is a small, round ball about 3⁄4 inch (20 mm) in diameter. They are typically sold either in a small cardboard candy box, in a larger box that resembles a cardboard milk carton, the “Fun Size” variety which is a tube-shaped plastic package sealed at the sides, containing twelve Whoppers weighing 21 grams (0.75 oz), or the even smaller variety of a tube containing three Whoppers weighing 6.8 grams (0.23 oz).
Molten chocolate cake is a popular dessert that combines the elements of a chocolate cake and a soufflé. Its name derives from the dessert's liquid chocolate center, and it is also known as chocolate moelleux, chocolate lava cake, or simply lava cake. It should not be confused with chocolate fondant, a recipe that contains little flour, but much chocolate and butter, hence melting on the palate. It is a type of self-saucing pudding.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Fondant is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes gelatin and glycerine are used as softeners and/or stabilizers.
Aglamesis Bro's is a Cincinnati, Ohio ice cream parlor chain with locations in the Oakley and Montgomery neighborhoods. The business was founded by Greek immigrant brothers in 1908. In addition to ice cream, it also produces and sells candies. The business is owned and operated by second- and third-generation family members of the original founders.