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Community Corner

One Sweet Day for Huntington Confectioners

One merchant figures it will sell a half-ton of chocolate by the end of the day on Monday.

At Bon Bons Chocolatiers on Main Street, Mary Alice Meinersman and her employees began producing Valentine’s Day chocolates right after Christmas. And by the time they close their doors at 8 p.m. on Monday, they expect they will have sold about a half ton of the truffles, caramels and other sweets, mostly in heart-shaped boxes.

“When everyone else is shoveling snow, we’re making chocolates for Valentine’s Day,” she said.

It’s an important day for Bon Bons.

Valentine's Day is the fourth biggest holiday of the year for confectionery purchases (after Halloween, Easter and Christmas), according to the National Confectioners Association, which says that more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold nationally.

The confectioners trade group says chocolate has inextricably been tied to romance throughout  history. Viewed as an elixir for love, chocolate has been believed to bring smiles to the broken-hearted and to prompt amorous feelings in both men and women. It is believed that Madame Du Barry served it to all her suitors; Casanova consumed chocolate instead of champagne to induce romance; and Montezuma, the king of the ancient Aztecs, believed chocolate would make him virile. In the 1800’s physicians commonly advised their lovelorn patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining. The first chocolate candies (as we know them today) reportedly were invented in the 1860s by British confectioner Cadbury, which was also the first to market them in a heart-shaped box for Valentine's Day that same decade.

“Chocolate is definitely the star,” says Mary Alice’s daughter, Susannah, the store’s marketing chief. “It tastes great and makes you feel good. Who better to buy it for than someone you love.”

Bon Bons’ top sellers for this day of romance, not surprisingly are heart-shaped boxes filled with assorted truffles and other chocolate candies. The boxes range in size from a half pound to 71/2 pounds, priced at $38 a pound an up. Customers also can buy plain boxes wrapped in appropriate paper for $32 a pound. There are also chocolate lollipops for the kids and molded items,  This year, Bon Bons has a new Valentine’s Day offering, a molded chocolate high-heel shoe filled with mixed chocolates and wrapped in clear cellophane. Available in both milk and dark chocolate, one shoe sells for $21. 

Bon Bons makes virtually all of the candies it sells.  Using an American-made, Swiss formula chocolate, the confectioner cooks its own centers, hand dips, hand rolls and enrobes more than 50 different chocolates.  “Everyone has their favorites,” says Mary Alice, who own preference varies with the day. She said she eats at least a piece a day. Susannah says she favors peppermint thins, sea salt caramels and peanut butter filled confections.

Dark chocolate and milk chocolate rank evenly among customers’ preferences, though the number of patrons purchasing dark chocolates has climbed over the years.  “People have more sophisticated palates  now,” Susannah says, adding, “We also do a few things in white chocolate.” 

Dark Chocolate ingredients include cacao liquor, sugar, cacao butter, lecithin, and vanilla, accoring to the Fine Chocolate Industry Association. Milk chocolate, meanwhile, is a blend of cacao liquor, sugar, cacao butter, milk solids, milk fat, lecithin and vanilla. White chocolate is a blend of sugar, cacao butter, milk solids, milk fat, lecithin and vanilla.

Haven’t gotten that gift yet?  You’re not alone, says Mary Alice. “It’s always a last minute holiday.”  Chocolate doesn’t go bad, she adds. “As long as you don’t eat them, they’ll be fine."

Bon Bons,  319 Main St., (631) 549-1059, is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for Valentine’s Day, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

To be sure, Bon Bons isn’t the only Huntington confection producer that’s been busy preparing from the day.

Not far away, tucked into a corner of a shopping center at 57 Wall St., Fiorello Dolce owner and pastry chef Gerard Fioravanti, also has been churning out candies and pastries. He expects his customers to stretch the romantic holiday over the weekend, stopping into his small shop for dessert and some expresso.

With that in mind, he’s has turned out a variety of romantic offerings for the day that also can be purchased for take away. These include bright red, heart-shaped raspberry mouse cakes ($5.25), hand-rolled chocolate truffles ($14 for 18), heart-shaped pink meringues ($14.99 a pound), heart-shaped linzer tarts ($2.50) and heart boxes filled with an assortment of flavored macaroons ($7 and $20). The shop is closed on Monday and  open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.  For more information (631) 424-0803.

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