I couldn't have been much older than five.
Even at that advanced age, the chocolate bunny was taller than I was. It had jelly beans for eyes, and held a basket of mints on its back. I will never forget that bunny.
As I walked past the counter and into the kitchen, I felt my father's grip on my hand tighten a bit.
"A commercial kitchen is no place for a child" he said "but I want to show you something."
Everything was bigger than I was in that kitchen. Several copper kettles that could have held me easily were cooling along the side wall. A huge marble work bench in the center of the room was large enough for six people to have a picnic on, and it was covered in recently filled chocolate molds in a variety of animals and shapes. There were racecars and bulldogs and pigs rowing boats; there were roosters and turkeys and lambs and horses and rabbits galore. Trays of colorful mints filled a cooling rack - pink, green, blue and white. The white ones, peppermint, were my favorites. My father pulled one off the tray, still warm, and placed it on my tongue. There were trays of peanut clusters, peanut brittle, ribbon candies, nut barks, and much more, everywhere I looked. These were the fruits of that day's labors. It would all be left to cool and set overnight, then packaged for sale in the morning.
Glorious! Every child's dream! Even better, it belonged to my Uncle Steve, who had opened it with his father, my Papou, in 1947.
Years later, when my career turned out to be that of pastry chef, my Uncle Steve showed me how to make most of those candies in the basement of his home where, after the candy store closed, he continued to produce his candies for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter. I learned how to temper the chocolate by swishing it around on a baker's tray with my bare hand until I could feel that the chocolate was the correct temperature for pouring into the molds, no thermometer needed. I learned that the chocolate had to be a shade warmer when I mixed in the peanuts for peanut clusters. I learned how to cook sugar and water to make the brittles and the mints in one of those big copper kettles. I went on to sell all this and more in my own store in the Big Apple, 300 miles away, using antique molds and a great copper kettle that had been used by both my Papou and my uncle, and were given to me by my father.
Then came the day I moved back to the tiny town I was born in, in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, which makes me a Greek hillbilly. I bought the very house my uncle taught me how to make candy in. Tucked away in the attic of the garage were two more copper kettles and a small collection of unusual chocolate molds, among other relics from the long ago soda fountain and candy store. I even found a 1947 ration check for their first shipment of sugar!
When people notice these copper kettles in my home, and they are quite hard to miss, I have always said "They are my inheritance." When I read the prompt for this week's creative non-fiction challenge, there was no question about what I would write.
My inheritance was much more than a few kettles and chocolate molds. I come from a line of candy makers, my career was in sweets, and I still love me a good bit of chocolate, although I haven't molded any of my own in quite a while.
Maybe it's time to change all that.
This is my entry to the Ink Well Community's weekly creative non-fiction challenge #13. The prompt is heritage. All the images are mine.
We are so glad this story was triggered in you by our prompt. You bring us to the scenes. We are small children surrounded by large pots. We are in the kitchen cooking. We are tasting the confections.
Your pictures are a priceless bonus.
Thank you for sharing this heritage with us. It is quite unforgettable. Have you read and commented on at least two other pieces in the community this week? Thank you!
Not yet, but I sure will! Thanks for your positive comment. I;m glad you could go there with me. That suggestion of "The Moth," which I have listened to some, was really helpful.
Ditto that!
LOVE the photos, the child dwarfed by the big kitchen, the child growing up to use those same giant kettles and those gorgeous candy molds. To return to that childhood home is a dream my mother has but will never fulfill (her cousin got the house and tore it down to build a typical 1970s ranch).
No thermometer necessary - you remind me of the Pinball Wizard, relying on intuition and senses other than sight or sound.
Bravo! I love this!
Thank you my dear Carol! I like this post myself. I liked putting it together, and what came up for me as I did. I am living differently in the house now too. As if all those others are still here with me. The empty house is getting harder and harder to live in. xo
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=schwarzer+chocolate+mold+23955&_sacat=0
It seems to be a schwarzer mold, but I didn't find the model number.
Perhaps you can ask one of the sellers, they should be able to tell you.
Thanks for doing that! I suspected it was a German soldier, and now I know it's a German mold. My Uncle was in the air force for WWII, so it could very well be a German soldier, but I am still not sure.
I looked through what etsy had on offer and only saw one soldier, but it wasn't like that one, more rotund.
So, I'm gonna guess that it's either rare, or unpopular.
Lots of rabbit and santa molds.
Some of them over 100usd.
As I understand it, the rabbits and santas are much more common and much less valuable than some of the other stuff I have. I have lots of bunnies. One of them is rowing a washtub while wearing prison stripes. Really weird!
That is so cool, what a great career 🍬 I'm sure that was really exciting as a kid. You really describe it with great vivid detail.
Thank you! I'm glad you thought so. I really like writing these.
Can I assume that it tastes like European chocolate? ;) I never liked the hershey stuff
Well, good question. My uncle used a high quality milk chocolate, which I didn't like much either except in peanut clusters. My customers prefered dark chocolate, those NYC high falutin trendy customers of mine, and a tiny bit of white chocolate, which I dislike intensely. But I sold all three. All three require different temperatures to stay shiny and smooth when cool, so it was a challenge, and not one I was ever able to train someone else to do. Hersheys is the WORST if you ask me. Yuk.
What an inheritance!!!! What a journey through life! and now you're a pastry chef - my stomach is grumbling for your desserts now hahahahahaha
oh my goodness LOLOL sometimes when I read posts - I almost feel like I truly have a peek into some movie clips of a person's life! hehehe that's the sign of a good writer!!
I love how you knew the chocolate by feel and warmth... I'd love to actually see this hehehe and i think that you should start molding and show us in a video!! hehehehe
beautiful memories here... love to see those incredible molds too! wow... hehehe andthat note for the tons of sugar!!!! LOLOL i LOVE things like this!! they connect us to the story in such visual and emotional ways! I felt a sense of pride when I was looking at the metal molds for your chocolate - and they aren't even in my family!!! but it was like i could sense the meaning and value and how precious they were to be passed down and cherished... so so cool!
loved this!!
Aw shucks...
It's always so nice and warm and fuzzy whenever you stop by!
Thanks!
What better than having an uncle Steve with a chocolate shop? Why having one of your own of course! What a lovely reminiscence and so beautifully penned as always.
I dunno about that. I got pretty sick and tired of making sweets (and stuff - we owned a catering/bakery/deli shop) for people to eat during holiday gatherings, while I was working my tuches off! But I do think my uncle loved making the candies. It was meditative for him, and he did it until the end of his days.
Thanks for the nice comment!
Dear @owasco,
Our previous proposal expired end of December and the Hivebuzz project is not funded anymore. May we ask you to review and support our new proposal (https://peakd.com/me/proposals/248)?
Thank you for your help!
They are so nice. And also, really valuable. I am a chocolate lover and what I have been eating are just bare chocolate bars, they taste exquisite of course! However, as a chocolate lover, I believe that eating chocolate molded from those molds would be even more exciting and worth-trying.
I always had trouble taking the first bite. Do I start with the ears, or the toes? And to be honest, as a child these chocolates were all milk chocolate, which I have never been a big fan of, except in peanut clusters.
How lovely to see you here in The Ink Well, @owasco. I love the sights and sounds of these memories that you shared.
Details like these take us to the place and time you are writing about, and give us a sense of the richness of life experienced in that time and place!
Thanks @jayna. It's nice to be here producing pieces that take time and thought. This one has colored my days nicely, I feel enriched for having written this. Thanks for it!
That's wonderful!
Wonderful inheritance! Memories like this are priceless, thanks for sharing.
When you make that candy, be sure to post it here.
The bunny army was likely from Water ship downs; guarding the warren against Woundwart from effraffra, LOL!
Its always fun to see through the eyes of a child again! When I was 3, there was a local grocery store that had popsicles. I didn't know they cost money...I used to be cute, ROFLOL! I located that store building recently, it's now a house.
👍😳😆👍🤠💙🙏
I might just have to do it! I can even do it in the basement where I learned how if I want to. Set it all up again, the gas burners and tables are still down there, itching to be covered in chocolates again. Maybe. Writing this post has sure relit my desire to make that stuff again, if only to give it away. My cousin made them for a while, but he has mostly stopped.
How's your wife?
Sounds good, I'll watch for it! Sounds tasty....
She's still in the hospital, and I got sick with flu; so I had to leave her to keep her safe. Been a bad week!
I used to work for Russell Stover, and when I left for school; I transferred to another store. It was in a building that was the original factory. They had copper kettles large enough to stand inside. It was fun nosing around in that old factory.
🍬😆👍🤠😋
Your childhood must have been filled with great experiences. I wish my uncle or dad taught me cool stuff like how to make candies and chocolate.
I'm sure when you're in the kitchen, and you see the cooper kettles and molds, they take you way down memory lane. It's great to have objects like that that constantly remind you of fond memories with loved ones.
Nice story.
Thank you! Writing this post has brought so much that I had forgotten back to me. I feel enriched for having written it.
What wonderful history! Loved reading about your Uncle Steve teaching you. And those molds!
I know, and I have more of them. Those are just some of the ones I found in this house. Thanks for stopping by!
Nice story 😊
Came from @dreemport
Thank you!
What a wonderful passion to share with your family. Do you think it is something you will ever share with your children? As in showing them how to make the candies and chocolates using the molds? I'm sure you've shared all your stories with them already 🤗
It's pretty incredible when one's inheritance is more than just the physical copper molds and pans but extends to shared knowledge, passion, and love forsomething that has fulfilled you for so many years. !LUV !ALIVE !LADY
I dropped in from Dreemport this evening. #dreemer for life.
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I showed my kids, now adults, how to make more simple chocolates, and how to make marzipan creatures and marzipan roses. By then I was on hiatus, run ragged by their lives, their schooling, and their health issues which were daunting.
I gotta look into this dreemport. So many of you came here today that I have quite the warm and fuzzy feeling from you all!
Thanks for the love and the LUV!
Sounds wonderful... and yeah children, as much as we love them... wow the energy levels and some of the struggles we have to face and walk them through. It can take a lot out of parents. Wonderful that they are all grown up now and you get a chance to reclaim a piece of you.
Dreemport... yes... a wonderful curation platform and community. In exchange for reading nd ranking 5 randomly assigned posts that have been shared by writers with Dreemport, you get to share one of your own. It gives you guaranteed visits to your blog and the dreemers are a lovely bunch of engaging people.
You can check out a bit more about the project here and how to get started:
Dreemport - getting started videos
And if you want our discord link, you can find it here:
discord
Feel free to reach out if you need any help although the videos should be pretty useful to get you going.
!LUV !ALIVE
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The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
Thanks! I followed the account on hive, but was flummoxed right off the bat. That getting started link will be very helpful! Thanks again!
No problem and then if you click on Home once you are on the dremport website, there is a little blurb in writing about the platform too :-) !LUV !ALIVE
Feel free to reach out any time 🤗
@owasco! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @samsmith1971. (6/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
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Love your SWEET family story and the photos of your inheritance. Such wonderful molds and memories.
Thank you! I've always been proud of this part of my family, and their labors of true love. It was lovely to be able to write about it.
I found this so interesting! I love the molds. Walking through such a kitchen as a kid must had been heavenly. The smell of sweets…hmm.
Lovely inheritance and precious memories. 🥰
@owasco, congratulations, your story was chosen as one of the best stories of the week and is part of the 89th Featured Author Magazine!
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-highlights-magazine-89
I'm happy that you could do so. Isn't writing incredible? I just write what I see, and you can see it too. Imagination is contagious.