If you prefer to shop local and subscribe to the notion that fresh is best, then look no further than Ingeborg’s Danish Chocolate Factory to finish your Christmas shopping this year.
The colorful and cheery chocolate shop, in the heart of delightfully decorated Solvang, is not just a feast for the eyes; it’s filled with more candy than you could eat in a lifetime.
There are 70 different homemade chocolates in every shape and size. This time of the year, that means chocolate Santa Clauses, chocolate Christmas trees, chocolate candy canes, chocolate Merry Christmas signs, old-fashioned boxes of chocolates wrapped in holiday paper, and the list goes on and on.
The fresh gourmet chocolates are handcrafted on site in the small factory in back of the shop on Copenhagen Drive.
Elsemarie Petersen, who grew up in Denmark, bought the shop 2 1/2 years ago from Bent and Inge Lisa Pedersen, who owned and operated Ingeborg’s for 35 years.
The Pedersens bought it from the shop’s namesake and founder Ingeborg Larsen, who was a chocolate dipper in a prominent chocolate factory in Denmark before she came to the “Danish Capital of America” and opened her own store in Solvang in 1961.
With another native of Denmark at the helm, the Danish tradition thrives at Ingeborg’s. Petersen bought all of Ingeborg’s original recipes, and they still use the same Danish/Swiss-style chocolate after all these decades.
“Luckily, we’ve been able to get that forever and ever, so it works out really well,” Petersen said.
She said there are lots of Danes living across the United States who order their Danish delicacies, like Ingeborg’s popular nougat logs and marzipan pigs.
“We’re famous for our marzipan, so people order marzipan around the holidays and we ship it all over the country,” Petersen said.
If you want to splurge this year, check out the huge show-stopping chocolate cornucopia, brimming with soft-centered truffles and other chocolates ($195), eight pounds of chocolate total, used as a Christmas dinner table centerpiece that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser come dessert time.
You can taste and feel the difference between big chain chocolates and the terrific treats made fresh in Solvang.
“We don’t add preservatives to our chocolates, so it’s really pure,” Petersen said. “And when you taste it, you can tell that it’s really creamy in texture because it’s few ingredients, good quality, and no preservatives.”
I had the pleasure of trying a velvety, mocha bean-topped Danish chocolate truffle fresh off the assembly line—a rich treat that melted in my mouth, more than satisfying my sweet tooth.
The only downside is it’s difficult to decide from the dizzying array of goodies such as chocolate nut clusters; almond bark; after-dinner orange, raspberry, or peppermint sticks; kringlers; chocolate mousse bars; gummy bears; double salted licorice; and every kind of candy you can think of.
Keep Ingeborg’s in mind for Easter and Valentine’s Day, too. They make specially shaped chocolates for every major holiday.
Sun food and wine writer Wendy Thies Sell dedicates this column to her chocolate-loving mom, Reva. Send story ideas to wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 20-27, 2012.