Valentine Chocolate Memories
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| Heart-Shaped Chocolate Box, 1950s |
Valentine's Day makes me think of a lot of things. Above all: chocolate. When we were kids, my father would buy the family a heart-shaped box of chocolate, or just some chocolate candy in an ordinary box. My memories are not detailed, but I do know that he and my mother particularly liked a local St. Louis candy manufacturer called Mavrakos, whose plant was located not far from where we lived. The company had several stores in St. Louis from early in the twentieth century until 1984, so they definitely existed throughout my childhood. My mother always saved the chocolate boxes, so I also remember loose buttons or rubber-band-bound letters kept in faintly chocolate-scented boxes with the Mavrakos logo.
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| 1961 Mavrakos newspaper ad. |
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| Heavenly Hash from Mavrakos -- a real treat we enjoyed from time to time. |
A write-up of the Mavrakos candy company's history: https://losttables.com/mavrakos/mavrakos.htm
More Chocolate
While we were in graduate school, Len and I lived in Berkeley, California, for several years. A favorite chain of chocolate shops at the time was See's Candies (blogged here). I'm sure See's had lots of special chocolate for Valentine's Day, but I mostly remember that I used to stop on ordinary days at the shop on Telegraph Avenue, and buy just a few pieces of chocolate from the candy counter. After California, we moved to Michigan. One local candy company was Sanders' Candy; it went out of business for a while and has now been reborn with different owners. Better than Sanders' Candy, though was Drake's, a diner and candy store next to the University of Michigan campus (blogged here). Opposite the soda fountain and antique wooden booths, Drake's had a whole wall of little cubby holes with various chocolates from which you could choose just what you wanted. And I did.
Today, See's Candies, founded in California, has been making chocolate continuously for over 100 years. They are now a national company. Here in Ann Arbor, we have a See's candy counter in our local Plum Market. Interesting price comparison: a 1 pound box of assorted chocolates at Mavrakos from the ad in 1961 cost between $3.25 and $3.49. The Plum Market website offers a 1 pound box for $36 or a heart-shaped box for $44.99.
More critically: in 2022, the price of chocolate has gone up 5% to 10% over last year, which is pretty much an average rise in these price-troubled times. Sorry, I can't keep from thinking about the economy.
I hope that you enjoy a great Valentine's Day with your favorite treat, whatever it may be!
Blog post © 2022 mae sander.
12 comments:
Hello,
The chocolate prices are going up. My favorite treat are the dark chocolate Hershey kisses they are going to cost more. Happy Valentine's Day to you!
The heart-shaped boxes bring back memories. Daddy would bring my sister and me one small box each and a big one for Mother. Sweet! Happy Valentine's Day!
I hope you have a great VAlentine's Day and treat also Mia. Hugs-Erika
I love chocolate! Even though I'm an adult, my parents still get me candy for Valentine's Day. This year, I got Twix. :)
Happy Valentines Day! Now I am remembering saving the heart boxes my Dad gave us each Valentines to keep my treasures in, and the faint after scent of chocolate!
Have a wonderful Valentine's day.
We always used to save chocolate boxes, too! It's a pity that some brands have disappeared over the years. Happy Valentine's Day and happy T Day, Valerie
My grocery bill doubled in the past month! We used to have a chocolate shop where you could buy individual pieces. I must look to see if they are still open. I buy Lindt chocolate from their own shop, at a hugely discounted price as I buy bulk.
The heart shaped boxes as pretty. I have a few old chocolate boxes where I store buttons, zips, postcards ...
I love chocolate anytime of the year and my favourite Australian brand is Haigh's Chocolate. In Europe my favourite were the
cherry-filled "Mon Chéri" by Ferrero Rocher, but sadly we don't get them in the shops here.
I was introduced to See's candies when I first went to CA. They are far superior to the Brach's I was used to growing up. I've not heard of the other companies you mentioned in your post. I cant believe the cost has risen so much since the early 90s. Since I never have cared for dark or bitter chocolate, I always loved that I could get boxes of See's in milk chocolate only. Thanks for the memories and happy belated Valentine's Day.
Your post is a lovely treat!
I love the price comparison of chocolate then and now. I'm glad it's not my favorite! We do have a lovely chocolatier here, Fabiano's. I may skip down there this week to get Rick a Valentine's treat. You can't get in the store before Valentine's day but since we won't celebrate till this weekend, I bet they'll welcome the business and I'll welcome no line!
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