Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Edelweiss Chocolates

Edelweiss Candy Kitchen in Beverly Hills is an old fashioned candy store. From the classic awning outside to the displays inside, it was like I’d stepped back to 1953 (they’ve been there since 1942) and perhaps Julie Andrews would step out from the counter in her Sound of Music outfit and sing a little song about a the wonders of chocolate.

There’s even a sign on the back wall that purports that the famous I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel get jobs on the factory line at a candy company was conceived of here when Lucille Ball saw the conveyor in the back. In truth the episode ended up being filmed at See’s (in Culver City, I think).

The store shelves are filled with plenty of novelty chocolate items and glass jars filled with everyone’s favorite candies available by the scoop. They had gummies, licorice, misty mints, Swedish fish, foil covered chocolates, panned nuts ... just about anything you might want. But I went for the things that I can’t find everywhere. They make their own custom chocolates on site and are rather well known for their candied and chocolate dipped fruits. At $28 a pound, they’re certainly not cheap, but also not the most expensive candies I’ve come across. Especially in Beverly Hills.

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Here’s what I picked up:

Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Slice - this one was not nearly as good as the Jacques Torres I had in NYC. The orange was firm, but the peel was a little too tough in spots, especially on the edge that wasn’t dipped in chocolate. However, it wasn’t too sticky or too sweet, so the flavors were wonderfully deep and complex.

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Chocolate Covered Fig - the amber-colored fig was plump and sweet with a strong tart bite to it that mixed well with the chocolate. That fresh herby taste of the fig goes so well with chocolate, I was sorry I didn’t get more of these. After eating dried figs all week, it was nice to have something plump and juicy ... and of course covered in chocolate.

I wish all the chocolates were a bit glossier - they’re a little dull looking but I’m not sure if that affected the taste or texture much.

I don’t remember what the little chocolates in cups were called (and there’s no reference to them on their website), but it was described as ground almonds and honey in either dark or milk chocolate. I got one of each. The milk chocolate one was pleasant, not too sweet and not too milky. I couldn’t really taste the honey, but the almond flavors mixed with the chocolate and the slightly chewy, crunchy bite of the nuts was nice. I liked the dark chocolate one a bit better, as the flavors of the chocolate were more complex and I could detect the honey tones.

I’m not suggesting that anyone order up some over the phone, but if you’re in Beverly Hills and looking for something authentic, this might be a nice stop amidst the Cartier and Tiffany and Prada overload. If you want some tasty chocolate that’s not too expensive then I always suggest See’s. But since there isn’t one in this area of Beverly Hills, Edelweiss might be nice.

Edelweiss Candy Kitchen
444 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, California 90210

Name: Edelweiss Fruit/Nut Assortment
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Edelweiss Candy Kitchen
Place Purchased: Edelweiss Candy Kitchen
Price: $28.00 a pound (I spent $8.10)
Size: 4.63 ounces
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, Nuts, United States, Los Angeles

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:13 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. Beverly Hills—our Upper East Side.

    Comment by desertwind on 5/31/06 at 9:26 pm #
  2. That fig looks delicious…yum. we don’t get fresh figs here muchin WA..lots of apples though..lol

    Comment by Amy on 6/01/06 at 11:52 am #
  3. I know Cybele is not a huge Marshmallow fan, but their various chocolate covered marshmallow candies, esp. the toffee ones,are really very good—and also come in sugar free for those who do not/cannot indulge in sugar.

    Comment by Karen on 6/24/06 at 9:08 pm #
  4. I live near Edelweiss. They are famous for their delicious chocolate dipped marshmallows, which are pricey.
    I had a hunch their caramel dipped apples (available only in October) would be just as good. I was wrong.  They were mediocre and very expensive.
    Edelweiss has long been the darling of the ‘Old Hollywood’ celebrity crowd.  I think they are over rated and over priced.

    Comment by mimi on 1/07/07 at 7:55 am #
  5. ASK THE CANDY MAKER AT EDELWEISS IF HE CAN “CREATE” ANYTHING SPECIAL AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

    Comment by bobby on 4/21/07 at 6:13 am #
  6. WHAT EVER HAPPEN TO THAT GREAT CANDYMAKER THAT CHANGED AND IMPROVED THE RECEIPES AND MADE THEM WHAT THEY ARE TODAY?

    Comment by bobby on 4/21/07 at 6:15 am #
  7. I have been going to this chocolate shop for 20+ years and would not rate them as the best in the world but they are high up there. There aren’t many chocolate factories that make all of their candies completely by hand any more, especially not many with as large a selection as Edelweiss. I have a few things to say about the review that was given and about the comments that were made.

    1. I would first off recommend that you contact the director of the I Love Lucy chocolate episode (he is still alive), do a fact check on what you wrote about that episode, and remove the misleading information. The episode was not taped there; the idea for the episode came Edelweiss because the staff and cast of the show shopped there and Lucy did her research and was taught how to make the candy at Edelweiss. This is a unique piece of history, don’t distort it.

    2. Why, if you are writing a review for a candy store, would you only pick pieces that do not showcase the stores ability? I mean fruit and nuts?? You should have tried some of the other 70 types that include fillings that they actually created. They didn’t make the fruit and they didn’t grow the nuts!! You need to try their marshmallows and truffles.

    3. It sounds as if some of the people leaving comments on this site have a personal motivation that does not have anything to do with the actual product. Their chocolates are a bit expensive but nothing compared to Godiva or any of the other chocolate shops in the area, especially not more expensive that any other shops that actually hand make their chocolates.

    All in all, if you haven’t been to Edelweiss, you’re missing out. It’s a complete multi-sensory experience: from the intoxicating aroma of the candy being made onsite to the visual stimulation of the 75+ varieties to the mouthwatering taste of the chocolates.

    Comment by Katherine on 11/13/07 at 11:44 am #
  8. to katherine

    you are correct about all things you wrote. I was “the” candymaker there at edeleweiss from 1978 to 2000 (21 years) I worked for the originator of Edeleweiss (Herman and gretchen who personally did all the cooking, dipping and packing until I was hired) and was passed on to the second owners (sam and shirley)

    See’s Candy takes credit for the Famous Lucy chocolate scene

    again, you are correct about the most popular cany being the marshmallow and the truffles and edelweiss has more of a varity than most shops- when I first started at edeleweiss, there were about 150 different candies but the selection was too overwhelming and was cut down to the best sellers  

    edelweiss usually was the best chocolates in town for the lower price and if I remember correctly Zagat said something like this: Godiva was like paying for a rolls and geting a chevrolet and edeleweiss was the opposite.

    because of my years there I am still known by many in beverly hills as the “candyman”

    if you entered through the back door like most customers didd the whole time I worked there, we most certainly saw each other have a sweet day

    bobby

    Comment by bobby on 12/13/07 at 7:28 am #
  9. If See’s candy takes credit for anything more than the filming of the episode, they are wrong. Anyone who would like to find out for certain can find and contact the director of that famous episode and find out directly that the idea for the episode and the research for the episode did indeed come from Edelweiss’ factory.

    Comment by Steven on 12/17/07 at 11:28 am #
  10. Cybele's avatar

    Steven - I’ve never seen See’s take credit for anything more than being the location for the famous episode of I Love Lucy. Katherine seems to have misunderstood the wording in my post.

    Comment by Cybele on 12/17/07 at 11:44 am #
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