Krembo
(Hebrew: קרמבו, literally "cream-in-it") is very popular in Israel, especially in the winter as an alternative to ice-cream. It comes wrapped in colourful aluminium foil, and consists of a round biscuit base on the bottom and whipped egg whites cream from above, coated in a thin layer of chocolate. There are vanilla and mocha flavoured Krembos.
In Hebrew, the word krembo is a combination of krem (cream) and bo (in it). The average krembo weighs 25 grams (0.882 ounces) and has 115 calories.[15] In Israel, the "krembo season" is very short, from October to February. Nevertheless, 50 million krembos are sold each year—an average of 9 per person in Israel. According to a study funded by Strauss, Israel's leading krembo producer, 69% of Israelis prefer to eat krembos from the top down (starting with the cream), and only 10% start with the biscuit at the bottom; the rest had no preference. Krembos are exported to the United States and Canada, and sold mostly in kosher shops and import stores. The concoction was popular as a homemade sweet in pre-state Israel in the 1940s, when it was known as Kushi (Hebrew: כושי, "negro"). It entered mass production in 1966. The first manufacturer, the Whitman Company, coined the name Krembo. A mocha flavour was introduced in 1967. In 1979 Whitman was acquired by Strauss-Elite. Today Strauss controls 54% of the krembo market in Israel. In 2007, Nestlé introduced an ice cream variation of krembo called Lekbo (Hebrew: לקבו, "lick inside"). In the Hebrew version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore's favourite sweet is a Krembo, rather than a sherbet lemon. The Krembo has become a pop-cultural/national icon. While considered a children's favourite, sociologists have found that it is consumed as a comfort food by Israeli expatriates in the United States.
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