LAEDERACH: Quality Guaranteed
Freshness
It all depends on the freshness. Only the finest hand-picked ingredients from the best origins are good enough for our creations. Taste the difference and savour the fresh taste experience of Laederach chocolates and confections.
Craftsmanship
Our chocolate and confectionery specialties are prepared with loving care and according to the highest standards of the art of Swiss confectionery making. As in the good old days, hazelnuts and almonds are roasted and caramelized by hand in real copper pans.
Switzerland
All our products, which have been finding their way to the best addresses both here and abroad for years, are of Swiss origin and are manufactured in Ennenda, at the foot of the powerfully inspiring Glarner Alps.
Individuality
With precision and respect for the smallest details, we strive to present you with a unique and varied choice of chocolates and confections throughout the year. We have over 80 recipes of pralines and truffles and a wide range of hand-finished petit fours, petite pastries and tea cookies.
Family
As an independent family run business, we take great pride in the quality of our products. Our love for the world of chocolate making now spans four generations of Laederach family dedicated to uphold our authenticity and personal commitment to quality and innovation.
I guarantee that this confectionery specialty has been created by hand using the best ingredients and according to the strictest quality criteria.
Jürg Läderach
RAW MATERIALS
HAZELNUTS
Hazelnuts are the seeds of the plant Caryllus avellana L. and are rich in fats and full of flavour. They grow mainly in Southern Europe, Turkey and North America. Läderach obtains its hazelnuts solely from the Piemont region in Italy. Piemont hazelnuts have the highest reputation for quality and a strong, full-bodied nutty taste. The nuts are roasted gently according to a special recipe. This heating process cleans the hazelnuts microbiologically and the desired tasty roasted aroma is established. The hazelnuts can be further improved when they are lightly caramelized and so create an unforgettable sensory experience. Finely ground and mixed with chocolate, a Gianduja mass can be produced. The combination of chocolate and roasted caramelized hazelnuts is a culinary high point.
ALMONDS
Almonds are the seeds found in the stone fruit of the almond tree (Prunus amygaldus Stokes). The main areas of cultivation for almond trees are Spain, Southern Italy and California. Like the sweet almond, the bitter almond can also be used for aroma in marzipan. The sweet almond is gently roasted to create aromas and to obtain a microbiologically correct raw material. Almonds are widely used like hazelnuts in confectionery specialities, for example: caramelized almonds, almond-Gianduja, finest marzipan, or as almonds for decoration on pralines.
BUTTER
Butter is obtained by a process of concentration from pure cow’s milk. Läderach uses pure butter – a natural product – for various products. The freshness and the incomparable taste of butter gives our praline fillings their tender and typical trade-mark. We use only the highest-quality butter from Swiss producers.
CREAM
Fresh cream is produced by centrifuging (high speed rotation of) milk. In order to obtain the freshest cream and to use it as a feature of our quality we receive our cream from local producers. Fresh cream is used in various in-house recipes for our confectionery specialities. So, for example, our fresh cream truffles are particularly delicious having a crispy outer shell with a soft inner centre.
COCOA BEANS
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao L.) belongs to the family of Sterculiaceae and thrives in tropical rain forest zones +/- 10 ˚ north and south of the equator. Essentially there are two well-known basic forms of cocoa:
Criollo (Spanish: Creole) comes originally from Venezuela
Forastero (Spanish: stranger)
Main areas of cultivation for Central and South American cocoa are:
Ecuador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Grenada, Venezuela, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica
Main areas of cultivation for Asian cocoa:
Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua-New Guinea
Main areas of cultivation for African cocoa are:
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Congo
Cocoa pods are 15 -20 cm long, have different colours according to their type and ripeness, from yellow to orange to violet and grow directly on the trunk of the cocoa tree. The cocoa beans are embedded in the sweet, white flesh of the cocoa pod. After the cocoa pods have been carefully harvested, they are opened by hand and the cocoa beans are taken out, together with the surrounding layer of pulp, and covered in banana leaves to start fermentation. Fermentation is a ripening process in which the cocoa aromas are developed and the characteristic taste of the cocoa bean arises. After fermentation the remainder of the pulp is removed and the cocoa beans are put out to dry in the sun. Then the beans are packed into jute sacks and undergo very strict controls at central collection points where the quality criteria are clearly defined. After passing the control the beans are loaded onto container ships and transported to the countries where they will be processed.
COCOA MASS COCOA BUTTER COCOA POWDER
The characteristic ingredient of chocolate is cocoa mass that is a result of grinding gently roasted cocoa beans. The cocoa beans are subjected to a strict quality control before they are used. As a first step the cocoa beans are thoroughly washed, so that any possible impurities, such as pieces of jute sacks, sand or stones can be easily removed. Then the thoroughly cleaned beans undergo a controlled heating process in order to receive a microbiologically clean raw material and to make it easier to remove the husks from the bean. The cocoa beans are now broken down and separated from the pieces of husk by means of a controlled stream of air. The centre of the bean, the so-called ‘nibs’ are gently roasted and finally finely ground in a cocoa mill. By this process the cocoa butter in the nibs is released and a thick, viscous dark mass is produced – cocoa mass. The cocoa mass can now be used as an ingredient which gives taste to chocolate. In hydraulic presses the cocoa mass is pressed out under very high pressure. In doing so, the cocoa mass is separated into a liquid component – cocoa butter – and a firm part – cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is an important ingredient of chocolate that influences its soft, melting qualities and the firm snap. Cocoa powder is used in breakfast drinks containing cocoa, bakery goods and cakes or also for the decoration of pralines and confectionery specialities.