Zingerman’s is pretty much the ultimate foodie business. Started as a deli in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1982, it has grown into a gourmet empire that includes a bakery, a restaurant, a cheese- and gelato-making creamery, a coffee roastery, a fancy-foods mail-order store, a small book publisher, a cooking school, a catering business, and a food-business consulting company. Whew!
But the most recent addition to the family is Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory. The company’s apparently been making candy bars since 2002, but only started making them for national sale last September, and I just saw them for the first time at the Birmingham Whole Foods the other day.
Zzang bars are made in small batches, by hand, using old-fashioned techniques. They come in four flavors, but the original most appealed to me: It’s caramel, peanut-butter-and-honey nougat, and butter-roasted (!) peanuts, all covered in dark chocolate. Wow, is this thing fantastic. The slightly bitter chocolate is the perfect foil for the super-sweet interior, the nougat is creamy and soft, with both the peanut butter and honey flavors coming through clearly, and the peanuts add crunch and extra richness, thanks to their having been cooked in butter (actual butter! It’s right there on the ingredient list!)
At $3 per 2 1/2-ounce bar, these things ain’t cheap (though compared to the $7 or so Whole Foods charges for Vosges bars, they’re a freakin’ bargain). But one will satisfy your candy craving for a good week.
Well, maybe one will satisfy YOUR craving. These things are sooooooo goooooood.