FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: OZERSKY SOUVENIR CONFECTIONARY FACTORY, NOW OU KOSHER, OFFERS LARGE VARIETY OF CHOCOLATE-COVERED FRUITS, NUTS AND BERRIES
The “Ozersky Souvenir” Confectionary Factory, one of the largest manufacturers of confectionery products in Russia, received OU Kosher certification in late 2011. The company is located in located in the city of Ozery, southeast of Moscow, with its perfect environment for the manufacture of fine candies. For almost 75 years, Ozery Souvenir has been the leader in the Russian market for nuts and dried fruits under a chocolate coating.
According to Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, OU Senior Rabbinic Coordinator who worked with the company in setting up its OU certification, “This is an exciting development, the kosher certification of value added products manufactured in Russia. As Russian food imports to the West increase, we look forward to the growth of OU Kosher in Russia.”
The product line combines European quality and state-of-the art equipment with the best traditions of Russian confectioners, all in an up-to-date image. Modern technology together with exotic ingredients help to create high quality products with a unique flavor. Ozersky Souvenir pays special attention to its ingredients – selective nuts and juicy dried fruits, all of which undergo thorough quality control inspections, and are purchased from reliable suppliers in the United States, Turkey, Chile and Thailand.
Products are popular both in Russia and abroad, as noted by the numerous awards and prizes they have been awarded at Russian and international exhibitions. “Ozersky Souvenir” candies are both delicious and healthy: each contains real dried apricot, prune, cherry, almond, hazelnut and other natural products, with their large number of nutrients and vitamins.
The “Factory” manufactures more than 100 confectionary products and candies. Besides its traditional branded dried fruits and nuts in a chocolate coating, the company features other sweets popular with both Russian and foreign customers: chocolate candies; delicate cream-past candies; candies with a crispy wafer base under a milk chocolate coating; and natural marmalade with berry and fruit pieces.
Ozersky manufactures sweets under the “NUTland Treasures” trademark in which almond, hazelnut, walnut, pineapple or cherry are found under a chocolate coating. Candy connoisseurs are also familiar with the “Orehovochi” trademark line, consisting of candies and panned sweets made of nuts under various chocolate coatings, as well as “Fruktovichi” sweets – Prune Mikhailovich and Dried Apricot Petrovna and their “closest relatives, Pineapple Denisovich and Cherry Vladimirovna.”
The “O’Zera” brand of “djanduja” type sweets with their intriguing flavors “happy morning,” “successful day,” “romantic evening” and “passionate night” are made of exotic cocoa-products with hazelnuts and are manufactured nowhere else in Russia. The “Fruitstory” series of milk chocolate candies with nut or fruit-and-berry fillings made of oranges, almond and strawberry are also very popular.
The Souvenir Confectionary Factory line is not complete without mention of “Fruttobella” candies with the taste of raspberry, strawberry, nut and coffee resulting in fruit-and-berry marmalade and creamy chocolates with the trademark “Ozersky Souvenir” crispy filling.
New products manufactured in Russia only by Ozersky include the O`Zera elite line – unique chocolate in the form of cubes made of rare exotic cocoa beans, growing only at plantations of Africa, South America and Madagascar. The line includes four kinds of chocolate – a noble dark chocolate with high cocoa content; bitter chocolate with caramelized shredded hazelnut; delicate milk chocolate with almond; and original chocolate made according to the classic recipe, the standard of quality.
Ozersky confectioners have also created a product that is innovative for Russia – crispy Fruitstory panned sweets in a delicate milk and white chocolate coating in the form of funny hearts, stars and balls, highly popular among children and all those who want to pamper themselves with a candy novelty.
Rabbi Kalman Scheiner serves as OU Kosher’s Rabbinic Coordinator for Ozersky.
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