The International Easter Bunny

There's nothing like Easter candy, especially when it;s from other countries. Don;t get me wrong. I love our own brands, the Russell Stover and Palmer bunnies, the Reese's peanut butter eggs, The Hershey's kisses ,the Almond Joy coconut eggs and so on . However it's the Euro chocolate that makes me swoon. Some how the dark chocolate is more intensive while the milk has a creamy texture and feel, as if it was made yesterday.

Since the Germans more or less invented th e modern Easter tradition, it's no wonder that their chocolates are the best. I remember when my Swabian cousins brought someover one Easter. talk about goo d chocolate. It was ethereal, with a lighttexture and amazing cream (not milky ) taste. This is the stuff of Easter legend. Not to be outdone there is Perugina a staple at my houseand my other cousins in Northern Italy. Their eggs, these large ostrich size confections are hollow and filled with treats . Their bittersweet is almost like a cacao liqueur, deep, almost coffee like in flavor and smoothness . Te milk is creamy, light in flavor without that cloying aftertaste that some milk chocolates possess. Perugina is the master chocolatier throughout Europe and their holiday candies reflect this the best. This is where you can taste their fine candymaking with pieces of unadulterated chocolate.

The English know how to do candy right as well (well they should. They're the number one candy consumers in Europe).Their filled Cadbury eggs are a fun reminder of what Easter candy should be. Break open an etched milk chocolate one and out pours this gooey mix of fondant white and yolk. Their filling is similar to the one you find in Cella cherries , a rich gooey creme that has to be slurped up quickly. It';s a nice offset to the chocolate and adds to the shell's flavor.

it;s nice to know that the Easter bunny is a global creature. He picks up candy from all over the world to give to us. Now if only the little cotton tail could stop the global recession.


Note: Remember to help the victims of L'Aquilia earthquake. You can go to www.redcross.org and then click on where it has info about L'Aquila. 1,500 are homeless and they need more shelter and food to survive.