Translation can be a funny thing!
It’s always fascinating to learn new terminology when conducting research for these posts. For example, the label of this bar made by Zotter Schokoladen in Austria:
You see three ingredients that start with “ERD” – the German word for earth.
- ERDnuss – literal translation is “earth nut” (meaning peanut)
- ERDäpfel – “earth apple” (meaning potato)
- ERDbeere – “earth berry” (meaning strawberry)
Like many of Zotter’s unique inclusion bars, this one is “handscooped,” meaning that it is comprised of multiple layers. The first is a handmade peanut nougat with chunky pieces of brittle and next is an equally sized layer of potato vodka enhanced ganache made with apricot and sweet potato. All this is enrobed (coated) with strawberry flavored milk chocolate.
The overall taste is an adult peanut butter & jelly chocolate sandwich! Even though vodka is listed as an ingredient, it really isn’t boozy at all.
Speaking of that alcohol, until recently I assumed that all vodka was produced by fermenting potatoes. Turns out that vodka was also traditionally made from fermented grains like wheat, barley and rye. Looking through a list of vodkas on Wikipedia, I was surprised to see ones made with grapes, peaches, figs and even horseradish or creamed corn!
Did you notice letters behind the three bears on the label illustration? It says “klima wandel” (climate change). Based on reading the inner wrapper, my guess is that this bar was created in support of a climate initiative/earth talks in Vienna. So, in keeping with the earlier translations, could it be that the name of the bar “Rettet die ERD-Bären” (save the earth bears) really means “save the humans”?
If you’re in the U.S. and would like to buy some Zotter bars for yourself, please visit their website: https://www.zotterusa.com/
For those in Europe, use this link: https://www.zotter.at
Wherever you are in the world…
Cheers/Prost/Na Zdorovie on this Thirsty Thursday!
