Each spring, Easter baskets throughout the world are stuffed with treats, and certain
to be among them are chocolate bunnies.
How they got there, however, is a fascinating story full of twists and turns.
Here's the untold truth of chocolate Easter bunnies.
"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!
Ack!"
Chocolate bunnies are now associated with the Christian Easter holiday, but rabbits
have been symbolic of springtime since well before the time of Christ.
As Rutgers University religion professor Dr. Diane Shane Fruchtman told Reader's Digest:
"Rabbits...are longstanding fertility symbols associated with the arrival of spring, because
they are so prolific and give birth as soon as the weather warms."
And while Easter commemorates Christ's resurrection, some of the trappings of the holiday stem
from pagan traditions.
Even the term "Easter" is believed to be derived from Ostara, also known as Eostre, a pagan
goddess once worshipped by Germanic people.
Her sacred animal was, you guessed it, the rabbit.
Pagans worshipped Ostara with an annual celebration of the spring equinox.
The holiday and its name remained, but got a whole new meaning among Christians.
Some of the original symbols of the ancient pagan festival, such as rabbits and eggs,
are still associated with Easter.
Chocolate Easter bunnies gained popularity throughout the U.S. in 1890 thanks to Pennsylvania
drugstore owner Robert L. Strohecker.
As Slate points out, a 2003 chocolate-themed exhibit at the American Museum of Natural
History identified Strohecker as the father of the chocolate Easter bunny.
Strohecker displayed a five-foot tall chocolate bunny in the window of his drugstore in Reading,
Pennsylvania.
According to Harbor Sweets a chocolate manufacturer founded by Strohecker's grandson the giant
bunny was made in the factory of candy manufacturer William H. Luden, who would go on to make
his fortune by inventing the menthol cough drop.
The Strohecker family's history with chocolate Easter bunnies eventually led Harbor Sweets
to create its own signature bunnies, the Robert L. Strohecker Assorted Rabbit collection.
According to the New York Times, the Bortz Chocolate Company, also in Reading, Pennsylvania,
was one of the first candymakers to undertake large-scale production of chocolate bunnies.
Entrepreneur says the advent of automation in factories enabled the company to take some
risks and get a little creative with their bunnies.
In 1934, Bortz introduced the first "personality" rabbits, including one that played an accordion
and another that drove a car.
But even with these more colorful variations, the tried-and-true chocolate bunny of yesteryear
isn't going anywhere.
Wayne Stottmeister, the then-vice president of sales and marketing for Bortz, told the
Times in 1989,
”There are bunnies today that ski, go to the beach and play video games.
But the traditional rabbit is here to stay."
Modern-day bunnies have pushed the envelope even further, with some being downright eccentric.
Several different confectioners make bloody zombie bunnies, for example.
Scrumptious, no?
Meanwhile, fans of actor Benedict Cumberbatch can start off Easter morning with the "Chocolate
Cumberbunny," which comes in a limited edition with an edible 22-carat-gold bowtie.
St. Louis chocolatier "Candy" Andy Karandzieff has gained fame for creating "misfit" chocolate
bunnies out of broken bunny pieces, combining misshapen chunks into what Today described
as "freakishly delicious works of art."
Karandzieff told NBC News,
"Nothin' says happy Easter like a creepy doll head in your Easter basket, you know?"
The thing about rabbits is they multiply.
And the business of selling chocolate bunnies has grown dramatically over the years.
Based on statistics provided by the National Confectioners Association, The Street reported
in 2017 that a whopping 90 million chocolate bunnies were expected to be sold in the United
States that year.
The Easter holiday that year was responsible for generating an estimated $18.4 billion
in spending within the U.S. alone, and the report estimated that 120 million pounds of
Easter candy is purchased in the U.S. each year, with chocolate bunnies representing
a substantial portion of all that sweet spending.
Chocolate is far and away the most popular Easter candy, with 90 percent of parents typically
putting some sort of chocolate treat in their kids' Easter baskets.
In an article exploring the lore and legends of the chocolate Easter bunny, a New York
Times reporter joked that biting into a hollow bunny is "a child's first taste of deception."
And it's easy to assume that chocolate manufacturers make their bunnies with hollow centers as
a cost-cutting measure.
But there's actually another reason behind most bunnies' hollow core: safety.
Mark Schlott vice president of operations at R.M. Palmer in the chocolate bunny capital
of Reading, Pennsylvania, told Smithsonian Magazine in 2010,
"If you had a larger-size bunny and it was solid chocolate, it would be like a brick;
you'd be breaking teeth."
R.M. Palmer has been identified as "one of the first and largest manufacturers of hollow
chocolate bunnies," so Schlott would be an expert on the subject.
Though he did concede that hollow bunnies are a less-expensive alternative to the solid
versions.
Discussing the financial advantages of hollow bunnies vs. solid ones, Schlott explained
that a hollow bunny, quote, "has a greater perceived value.
It creates a much greater chocolate footprint than solid."
Eating a chocolate Easter bunny is something of a ritual for those that do it.
According to Science Daily, a study with more than 28,000 respondents revealed that a full
59 percent of people who enjoy chocolate Easter bunnies start with the ears, while 33 percent
of respondents claimed to have no preference.
A mere four percent said they preferred to eat a chocolate bunny by starting with the
feet or tail.
"Who here eats the tail first?
Oh my gosh.
Well, good, you're all correct."
A tongue-in-cheek study published in medical journal The Laryngoscope examined the "seasonality
of auricular amputations" in chocolate bunnies, concluding that there appeared to be "annual
peak incidence" of these chocolate bunny amputations near Easter.
The report also noted that "human adults and children appear to be wholly responsible"
for all those bunny-ear amputations.
Dr. Kathleen Yaremchuk, lead author of the Laryngoscope study, said,
"It was interesting to discover that few other confectionary symbols, such as Santa, succumb
to isolated defects, like the chocolate bunnies do."
According to Cooking Light, what consumers assume to be chocolate in their Easter bunnies
might actually be, quote, "a mix of sugar, oils and emulsifiers masquerading as such."
Pastry chef Shelly Toombs says Easter bunnies are typically made from two types of chocolate,
one of which isn't technically chocolate.
The way to determine whether a chocolate bunny is legit is to check the label.
What consumers need to look for is chocolate couverture, a higher-quality chocolate derived
from cacao beans.
According to Toombs,
"The higher the percentage [of coverture], the less sweet it's going to be, and the more
intense flavor you're going to get."
The stuff to avoid is lower-quality bunnies made from what's known as "compound chocolate,"
which, unfortunately, is what a lot of mass-produced candy is made from.
Toombs explained,
"[Compound chocolate] is basically a combination of vegetable fats and sweeteners.
Some brands will use these along with emulsifiers, because they're low-cost ingredients, compared
to using cocoa butter."
When it comes to sheer size, one chocolate Easter bunny stands head and shoulders above
the rest.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, in 2014, a Brazilian company called Senac-RS
celebrated the city of Gramado's annual Chocofest by constructing a mammoth 8,488-pound chocolate
bunny that was officially declared the world's largest.
It reportedly took a nine-person team five days to construct the bunny using 6,000 large
bars of chocolate that were, quote, "set like bricks."
Melted chocolate was used as a type of mortar, essentially mimicking the same process that
would be used to build a brick wall.
A professional engineer was brought in to make sure the towering bunny was stable, with
a sculptor then using an axe and chisel to create the gargantuan bunny's final design.
The bunny stayed on display for a week.
After Chocofest concluded, the rabbit was deconstructed and the chocolate was donated
to Mesa Brasil, a nationwide organization that distributes food to the needy.
Now-defunct luxury retailer VeryFirstTo produced a chocolate Easter bunny with a jaw-dropping
$49,000 price tag.
It weighed 11 pounds, and was made from chocolate that originated in Tanzania.
Its glittering and very inedible eyes were made from massive diamonds said to be worth
$37,400, while a trio of chocolate eggs at the bunny's feet were decorated with gold
leaf.
To create the costly confection, renowned pastry chef Martin Chiffers hand-carved the
chocolate over a two-day period.
The former Harrods' chef decor told Cacao Barry,
"The project was challenging in every aspect.
But for me it was mostly about getting the right shape and doing the carving well to
achieve perfection."
Did you ever challenge a sibling to see who could eat their chocolate bunny fastest on
Easter morning?
Wolfgang Confectioners of York, Pennsylvania, took that mentality pro with its Chocolate
Bunny Challenge, in which competitive eaters attempted to consume a 1.25-pound chocolate
bunny as quickly as possible.
Flipside PA reported that in 2015, Steve Hillegass set a record by inhaling the entire chocolate
bunny in seven minutes and 57 seconds.
The following year, former champion Don Yeager regained his title when he chowed down his
entire bunny in nine minutes and 30 seconds.
For anyone contemplating entering the competitive chocolate bunny-eating game, the pros insist
the best way to get it done is crush the bunny and then eat it in pieces rather than trying
to devour one big bunny.
And Hillegass and Yeager had better watch their backs.
In 2017, competitive eater Nela Zisser posted a video on YouTube in which she scarfed down
an entire, massive chocolate bunny in a mere seven minutes.
Swedish home decor retailer IKEA unveiled its own version of a chocolate Easter bunny
in 2019, and like its iconic bookcases and end tables, its chocolate bunny is packed
flat.
It must be unpacked and then assembled by hand.
IKEA's description of its Varkansla chocolate bunny reads,
"Go ahead, play with your food!
That's what this certified sustainable chocolate bunny is for.
It's easily assembled, only three parts.
And when finished playing, we bet you'll enjoy eating it, too."
"Varkansla" translates to "spring feeling," which is certainly the vibe one would experience
when constructing a flat-pack chocolate bunny.
With only three pieces to assemble, the chocolate bunny, made from UTZ-certified cacao with
a minimum of 30 percent cocoa, is reportedly a breeze to put together.
And unlike most of IKEA's furniture, there's no Allen key required.
In 2019, iconic British retailer Marks & Spencer introduced its own clever take on a chocolate
Easter bunny, gearing its bunny toward yoga aficionados.
The Yoga Bunny is depicted in the yoga pose known as the "downward dog," in which the
hands and feet are on the ground while its posterior is pushed as high in the air as
possible.
As Ireland's Extra reported, controversy ensued when the company posted a photo of its Yoga
Bunny on Twitter, writing,
"Hop to it and try this cheeky Easter treat for yourself in store now."
One Twitter user joked,
"The M&S Yoga Bunny is very 'door’s on the latch, find me upstairs.'"
Another, named Christian, joked that,
"#JessicaRabbit's gone a bit suggestive for #Easter."
Marks & Spencer responded, tweeting,
"Suggestive?
It's merely a bunny in the 'downwards-facing dog' yoga position, Christian!"
The Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA, launched a campaign encouraging
people to chow down on chocolate bunnies for Easter instead of buying actual bunnies as
pets.
As CBC News reported in 2018, the Montreal SPCA receives hundreds of abandoned rabbits
each year.
"Uh….
Parents who decide to actually bring home a live bunny?
For the most part, this is where they end up."
With a rabbit's lifespan averaging 12 years, owning one is a major commitment that extends
far beyond Easter weekend.
Lorie Chortyk of the British Columbia SPCA said,
"The animals turned into SPCA shelters are the fortunate ones.
Many others are simply abandoned in the wild to fend for themselves, and these domesticated
rabbits often fall prey to predators such as coyotes, are susceptible to disease, or
end up starving to death."
A whole other problem can arise when rabbit overpopulation takes place, upsetting the
delicate balance of nature.
So the best bunnies to enjoy at Easter are definitely the chocolate ones.
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