In 1930, Eliahu Fromchenko owned a successful chocolate factory (מִפְעַל שׁוֹקוֹלָד) in Latvia. The factory employed around 500 workers, the sales were good, and the products were exported to Europe and the Middle East. But in 1933, after Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany, Eliahu and his business partners decided to immigrate to Israel. They came to Israel with their knowledge and funding, and didn’t waste a minute. They bought land outside of Tel-Aviv, and in 1934 their new candy factory started to operate.

מִפְעַל הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד הַמַּצְלִיחַ שֶׁל אֵלִיָּהוּ בְּלַטְבׅיָּה נִסְגַּר בְּ-1933.

Eliahu’s successful chocolate factory in Latvia was shut down in 1933.

בְּ-1934 אֵלִיָּהוּ וְשׁוּתָפָיו פַּתְחוּ מִפְעָל חָדָשׁ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.

In 1934 Eliahu and his partners opened a new factory in Israel.

One of their first sweets was a chocolate bar (טַבְלַת שׁוֹקוֹלָד). It was named שַׁמְנוּנִית (nowadays literally means “oily” or “greasy”) and had a drawing of cow on its wrapping. The name didn’t spread, but the chocolate did. The Israeli customers liked the chocolate more than its name and called it “Cow Chocolate” (שׁוֹקוֹלָד פָּרָה). Eliahu and his partners decided to go along with their customers and dropped the original name off the wrapping, leaving only the cow image on it – an image that became the chocolate trademark. The sellers, the consumers, and the advertisers are all using the name that has being given by the public. The wrapping is nameless even today.

הַשֵּׁם הַמְּקוֹרִי שֶׁל שׁוֹקוֹלַד פָּרָה הָיָה שַׁמְנוּנִית.

The original name of “cow chocolate” was “שַׁמְנוּנִית”.

עַל עֲטִיפַת הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד לֺא מוֺפׅיעַ שֵׁמוֺ.

The chocolate’s name doesn’t appear on its wrapping.

A TV commercial from 2014 – when שׁוֹקוֹלַד פָּרָה celebrated its 80^th birthday– give us a pick of five different historical wrappings of the chocolate. Its first from 1934 with the name שַׁמְנוּנִית on it; the second without a name on it, but with a more realistic cow drawing; the third when the cow became a smiling icon and remain so till today. The famous chocolate slogan always appears at the end of the video: תָּמִיד אׅיתְךָ שׁוֹקוֹלַד פָּרָה (“Cow Chocolate” – always with you).

It started as a milk chocolate bar. Today, more than 80 years later, there are many kinds of שׁוֹקוֹלַד פָּרָה: white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate with puffed rice, white chocolate with cookies, dark chocolate with nuts, milk chocolate filled with strawberry cream, and so on. The chocolate factory (מִפְעַל הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד) always think about new ideas. To celebrate the millennium, for example, the factory manufactured a special limited edition of milk chocolate with pop rocks. The Israelis liked it, and the unusual chocolate is still being produced. A few months ago the factory produced a new chocolate bar (טַבְלַת הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד): blonde chocolate. The first TV commercial for the blonde chocolate was a short promo:

“הֵם הָיוּ שְׁלוֹשָׁה” (they were three) announced the narrator, indicating to the milk, dark and white chocolate. The milk chocolate (שׁוֹקוֹלַד חָלָב) has more versions than the others. It sweet and children like it. But the dark chocolate (שׁוֹקוֹלַד מָרִיר) is the most selling one, because it’s not only a tasty treat, it’s also used for baking. White chocolate (שׁוֹקוֹלַד לָבָן) has only two versions (classic and with cookies), and is less popular. “טַעַם הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד הָרְבׅיעׅי” (the fourth taste of chocolate) is the first Israeli blonde chocolate (שׁוֹקוֹלַד בְּלוֺנְדׅי). For advanced reading in Hebrew about the launching of the first blonde chocolate in Israel read this article.

הַיּוֺם מִפְעַל הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד מְיָיצֵּר אַרְבָּעָה טְעָמׅים שֶׁל שׁוֹקוֹלָד: חָלָב, לָבָן, מָרִיר וּבְלוֺנְדׅי.

Today the chocolate factory produces four tastes of chocolate: milk, white, dark and blonde.

מִפְעַל הַשּׁוֹקוֹלָד מְיָיצֵּר 20,000 טַבְלָאוֺת שׁוֹקוֹלָד בְּשָׁעָה אַחַת.

The chocolate factory produces 20,000 chocolate bars in one hour.

לְטַבְלַת שׁוֹקוֹלַד פָּרָה יֵשׁ צוּרָה יׅיחוּדׅית: 20 קוּבִּיּוֺת שׁוֹקוֹלָד קְטָנוֺת מוּטְבָּעוֺת בְּלוֺגוֺ הַפָּרָה וּמַקּׅיפוֺת קוּבּׅיָה אַחַת גְּדוֺלָה.

The chocolate bar of “Cow Chocolate” has a unique form: 20 small chocolate squares embedded with the cow logo surround one big central square.

שׁוֹקוֹלַד פָּרָה is a delicacy. Next time you are in Israel, you must taste the most popular Israeli chocolate (and another Israeli snack – Bamba). I promise you – one square wouldn’t be enough:-)

Text vocabulary

Chocolate (masculine) = שׁוֹקוֹלָד

Factory (masculine) = מִפְעָל

Factories = מׅפְעָלׅים

Chocolate factory = מִפְעַל שׁוֹקוֹלָד

New factory = מִפְעָל חָדָשׁ

Old factory = מׅפְעָל יָשָׁן

Chocolate bar (feminine) = טַבְלַת שׁוֹקוֹלָד

Chocolate bars = טַבְלָאוֺת שׁוֹקוֹלָד

Milk chocolate = שׁוֹקוֹלַד חָלָב

Dark chocolate = שׁוֹקוֹלַד מָרִיר

White chocolate = שׁוֹקוֹלַד לָבָן

Blonde chocolate = שׁוֹקוֹלַד בְּלוֺנְדׅי

Chocolate square (feminine) = קוּבִּייַת שׁוֹקוֹלָד

Chocolate squares = קוּבִּיּוֺת שׁוֹקוֹלָד

Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew

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