myMEGusta

What Does Mozart Have To Do With Chocolate?

Original Mozartkuglen

In reality, nothing.

But in beautiful Salzburg, Austria, everything.

On a recent visit, myMEGusta could not help but notice the ubiquitous Mozartkugeln, little foil wrapped confections sold in specialty shops and anywhere else a tourist could be found. More about these goodies later.

Pretzel truck

Then she notice local vendors, including food shops and trucks dedicated solely to pretzels, and the ones dipped in chocolate were called Mozart pretzels.

Mozart Pretzels

And, this is not to mention the signage all over touting Mozart chocolate liqueur.

So, was Mozart a chocoholic, in addition to his other excesses?

There is absolutely no evidence of it, one way or the other.

Marzipan praline and chocolate in a Furst Mozartkugel

But, over a hundred years after Mozart’s death, Paul Furst, a marketing savvy baker, invented little chocolate covered balls which he christened Mozartkugeln (Mozart cakes), which became wildly popular and immediately imitated. Marzipan and praline cream dipped in bittersweet chocolate, sold on a stick, was reportedly the original recipe. Later on, the little balls were wrapped in foil.

But, today it gets complicated.

Visit Salzburg, and you’ll see two major, competing brands, Mirabell and Furst, in addition to a smaller Baviarian firm, Reber.

Mirabell

Mirabell, the most widely available brand at 90 million balls per year, is wrapped in gold.

Furst, bearing the name of the inventor, produces fewer than 1.5 million, allegedly still made from the original recipe and hand dipped before being wrapped in silver. This is the only one allowed to be labeled Original Salzburg Mozartkugeln, because Chef Furst knew he had a hit on his hands, and so he secured the rights to this labeling in 1905.

The Furst Shop

Having tasted only the silver wrapped Furst goodies, myMEGusta can attest to their being really delicious.

Inside the Furst Shop

Perhaps a return visit to Salzburg for a comparative tasting of all three Mozartkugeln, plus a sampling of those chocolate pretzels is in order?