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The Mozart Controversies – The Man and The Chocolate Mozart Kugel

The Mozart Controversies – The Man and The Chocolate Mozart Kugel

Was Mozart poisoned or did he die of natural causes? Is a Mozart Kugel still a Mozart Kugel if it’s not made in Austria? Two weighty controversies.

And for that matter why is a Mozart Kugel a Mozart Kugel and not a Bach Bonbon or a Clara (Schumann) Confection? And further more…what is a Mozart Kugel!?!?!?
Gingerbread World Blog: Mozart Kugeln – Pistachio Marzipan, Nougat and Chocolate
A Mozart Kugel (or Mozart Ball) is a small round confection made with an inner ball of pistachio marzipan covered in nougat and then coated in dark Gingerbread World Lebkuchen Schmidt Canada: Blog - Mozart Kugelnchocolate – “the multi-layered taste of the delightful praline reminds of Mozart's music”. As you can see there are many brands each with their own take on the old recipe.

They were first made in Austria in 1890 by a confectioner named Paul Fürst who chose the name “Mozartkugel” to pay his respects to Salzburg’s own Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Unfortunately Mr. Fürst failed to trademark his new creation and soon cafés and chocolatiers around Austria were serving up versions of their own.

The controversy played out over decades and countries and the Courts were called in to make decisions over who could use the name Mozart Kugel.

Gingerbread World Blog: Mozart Kugeln – Pistachio Marzipan, Nougat and ChocolateCafe Konditorei Fürst uses the trademark “Original Salzburger Mozartkugel” and because their Mozart Ball is still made by hand it is perfectly round. We can’t get these delicacies here in North America – they only ship within the EU and Switzerland. But on a trip to Nuremberg to visit the Schmidt Lebkuchen bakeries I had two dozen Fürst Mozartkugeln shipped to me in Germany to bring home to Canada.

Given that we here at Gingerbread World import Christmas specialties from Germany, we chose to include the Reber Mozart Ball in our Christmas Collection of German Chocolate and Marzipan. Due to the naming controversies, Reber is must always use a hyphen in the word Mozart-Kugel: As in “Genuine Reber Mozart-Kugeln®”. Gingerbread World Blog: Mozart Kugeln – Pistachio Marzipan, Nougat and ChocolateAs special as the Fürst confection is, I personally like the Reber balls better – they have both pistachio and almond marzipan surrounding hazelnut nougat and then double coated in dark chocolate. Reber has created a whole collection of Mozart cofnections including a Constance Mozart Ball that is coated in milk chocolate rather than dark. Check out this non-overly impressive video to see what Reber Mozart-Kulgen look like.

Gingerbread World Blog: Mozart Kugeln – Pistachio Marzipan, Nougat and ChocolateMozart Kugeln are not cheap – they are made in Europe and imported to Canada and the high nut content drives up the price. But you get what you pay for. We brought in a less expensive line of Mozart Kugeln this past year and loved that many more of our customers got to enjoy the little chocolate balls. Victor Schmidt Confection of Austria makes a simpler Mozart Ball with a smaller layer of almond marzipan and more nougat. I like the stop-sign-shaped gift boxes they came in – great stocking stuffer at a good price.

As you can see from the controversy and legal battles over the name, German and Austrian confectioners take this little chocolate bonbon pretty seriously. But I found this crazy little video on YouTube made by the Reber company – I think Mozart (the real one) would have approved!!

 

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Comments

Peter Reber - July 15, 2021

Hello, my name is Peter Reber and I am a direct descendant of Paul Reber, who opened the famous confectionery in Munich in 1865.
Quite by chance, while browsing the web, I came across your site, which I find very sympathetic. You are welcome to ask me questions about our genuine Reber Mozartkugeln. We also have great new varieties, such as white raspberry or lemon Mozartkugeln in the assortment.
By the way – take a look at the backs of the packages. You will have noticed that Reber never uses palm fats in its recipes. We pay attention to quality and sustainability of the noble raw materials!
So- best regards from Europe-
Your Peter Reber

Erika W - March 8, 2017

LOL – that is quite the video!
I have good memories of sitting in the Alter Markt in Salzburg at the Café Konditorei Fürst. I’m so glad that the Mozart Kugeln are available here in Canada – even if they’re not the Fürst brand!

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