Toblerone

Toblerone (pronEng|ˈtoʊbləroʊn in English, and /IPA|to.blɛ.ˈʁo.ne/ in Swiss German) is a chocolate bar made by Kraft Foods Switzerland. It is best known for its triangular chunks (representing the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps),cite web
title = Toblerone: Shape and Name
work = Our Secret: A Different Form of Enjoyment
publisher = Kraft Foods
date = 2006
url = http://www.toblerone.com/our_secret/shape-en.html
accessdate = 2008-02-03] its distinctive packaging, its prism shape and its ubiquity in airport duty-free shops.

Toblerone was created by Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann in Bern, Switzerland in 1908. The two gentlemen developed a unique milk chocolate including nougat, almonds and honey with a distinctive triangular shape. The product's name is a portmanteau combining Tobler's name with the Italian word "torrone" (a type of nougat). The image of a bear is hidden in the Matterhorn mountain symbolizing the town of its origin. [http://www.moillusions.com/2007/03/hidden-bear-in-toblerone-chocolate.html]

Theodor Tobler applied for a patent for the Toblerone manufacturing process in Bern in 1906. [http://www.toblerone.com/_pdf/patent-en.pdf] The Toblerone brand was trademarked in 1909, at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property in Bern. Albert Einstein was employed there as a patent clerk at the time.cite web
title = Toblerone: 1909
work = How it All Began: Tobler's Chocolate
publisher = Kraft Foods
date = 2006
url = http://www.toblerone.com/time_machine/toblers_1909-en.html
accessdate = 2008-02-03]

Variations

In 1932 Tobler made the first filled bars of chocolate, the Tobler-O-rum.

Since the 1970s, other versions of the Toblerone have been produced. These include plain chocolate (dark chocolate) in a green or black wrapper, white chocolate in a white wrapper, "snow-capped" editions with white chocolate peaks (also in a white/silver wrapper), Filled editions - milk chocolate with a white chocolate centre (blue wrapper), and OneByOne, individually wrapped triangular chunks. New for 2007 is a Fruit and Nut version with a half purple cardboard box. New for 2008 is a Honeycomb crisp version with a half white box with honeycomb pieces pictured on it. Bar sizes range from ten centimetres to nearly one metre, all similarly proportioned.

izes and peaks

According to Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany the sizes and number of peaks for "Toblerones" are as follows:

"Toblerone affair"

In 1995 it was revealed that the Swedish politician Mona Sahlin had bought, among other things, a Toblerone using her Riksdag credit card. She was forced to step down as a candidate for the post as Prime Minister. This was later called the "Toblerone affair." She returned to politics in 1998. cite news |first=Britta |last=Svensson |author=Britta Svensson |title=Nej det handlade inte bara om Toblerone... |url=http://www.expressen.se/1.511241 |publisher=Expressen |date=2007-01-05 |accessdate=2007-01-24 |language=Swedish]

Health considerations and composition

Toblerone's variants sold outside the US may contain trans fats because as of July 2008, Kraft foods refuses to disclose the existence of trans fats in its chocolate products.

Notes

References

* Ben Schott. "Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany" (2003) Bloomsbury ISBN 0-7475-6654-2

External links

* [http://www.toblerone.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.design-technology.org/toblerone.htm History of Toblerone with packaging perspective]