Patty Pearce, a Pittsburgher, makes the trip to Lititz, Lancaster County, routinely to purchase the chocolate she finds indispensable for a sauce that family and friends ask for on their ice cream. When she sent an e-mail mentioning the trip, I invited myself along.
How I could have allowed it to happen, I can't think, but I hadn't had a Wilbur bud in 15 years. It's a nubbin of dark or milk chocolate about the size of a hollyhock bud, $5.99 a pound and absolutely delicious. I have heard it whispered that the buds, developed in 1894 and unchanged since then, were a precursor to Hershey kisses. Both companies recognize that when you require it, a bite-sized piece of solid chocolate provides a surge of energy along with a smile of pleasure.
According to Douglas Root's guide book "Pennsylvania," the town of Lititz was settled in 1740. Members of the Moravian Church who came there seeking sanctuary named it after a village in Bohemia. For a hundred years, theirs was the only church permitted in this closed community.
Over the years, Lititz has morphed into a tourist town, its main streets lined with 18th-century buildings now housing gift shops and tea rooms. Wilbur Chocolate Co., a small factory at 48 N. Broad St., shares with the Sturgis Pretzel House, 219 E. Main St., the honor of being one of the town's two most famous food attractions. The stone Sturgis House and Bakery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Pretzels are baked in two century-old ovens and are sold warm.
Inside the Wilbur Chocolate Co., there's a hum of activity. To the throbbing beat of machinery turning out chocolate upstairs, customers move among the displays. The staff, known as "gift ladies," in pretty pink aprons are ready to assist with sales or to direct you to the live demonstration of chocolate enrobing or to the Americana museum with its antiques related to chocolate and its informative video.
Wilbur Buds and Wilbur Dutch processed cocoa too, are available in all manner of festive packaging, much of which is illustrated in the free Wilbur Chocolate mail order catalog. (For a catalog call toll free: 1-888-294-5287, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Inside the store, however, are many kinds of candies made with Wilbur Chocolate but not made at the Lititz site. These include enrobed dried fruits (a partial list includes dates, pears, exceptional orange slices, orange peel and peaches) chocolate-covered nuts, marshmallows, graham crackers, animal crackers, Ritz crackers and lollipops in amusing shapes. Once you've visited and have found what you like, you can inquire about reordering by mail. Many of the wares available in the store but not listed in the catalog can be mail-ordered for an additional $5 fee.
Chocolate fanatics, and I count myself among them, need to find their way to the little town of Lititz, 8 miles north of Lancaster, and experience the old-fashioned Bud. Annually 100,000 visitors do. Samples abound. Someone stepping inside might be as astonished as I was to learn that this operation is part of Cargill, Inc., one of the largest privately owned food suppliers in the world.
From Harmarville, via the Turnpike, the trip to Lititz takes more than four hours. On the way back to Pittsburgh it was Patty's idea to stop at The Back Door Cafe, 402 Chestnut St., Johnstown, for dinner. Here is another worthy food destination. Owned by Tom and Denise Chulick -- Tom is the chef, and Denise, who manages the front of the house, often contributes an excellent dessert or two. You can count on both for the freshest local produce.
For his "Artichoke Hymn to Spring," Tom harvested morel mushrooms and ramps locally. Watercress for his excellent Cream of Wild Watercress Soup and his Tabbouleh Provencal salad was foraged from nearby streams. The Back Door Cafe (1-814-539-5084) posts menus on its Web site: www.thebackdoor-cafe.com.
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Wilbur Dutch processed cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
"Wilbur Chocolate Flavorful Treasures Cookbook"