Tuesday January 2 10:55 AM ET Ukraine Co. Offers Pure Fat Candy
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A Ukrainian candy company has begun marketing what may be the stickiest, richest and most fattening holiday treat on the market: pure pork fat covered in chocolate.
Cracking open a finger-sized stick of the dark chocolate bar reveals a vein of white fat where other candies conceal butterscotch, caramel or other traditional sweets. The candies are called ``Fat in Chocolate.''
The product pokes fun at the traditional Ukrainian snack of salo, or salted pork fat, usually consumed with vodka and pickles. Salo is a national symbol of Ukraine and is recognized throughout the former Soviet Union though younger people in this country these days often turn up their noses at the dish.
A spokesman for candy company AO Odessa said the ``Fat in Chocolate'' bars were made as a lighthearted and self-deprecating joke for Ukrainians. While edible, they are not really meant to be eaten, the official said.
A bar tried Tuesday was very sweet, while the fat filling retained some of its saltiness. The fat had the gooey texture of overcooked pasta.
The bars, wrapped in red holiday foil, show a Ukrainian Cossack with a mustache munching a piece of fat. The candies sold briskly to laughing customers in stores in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, on Tuesday.