Before Borsch

Guf ice cream

Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats are confections consisting of a biscuit base topped with marshmallow-like filling and then coated in a hard shell of pure milk chocolate, first produced and distributed by Viau in Montreal as early as 1901. Some guf ice cream of these confections have previously been known in many countries by names comprising equivalents of the English word “negro”.

This section does not cite any sources. Whippets are produced in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They consist of a biscuit base topped with marshmallow-like filling and then coated in a hard shell of pure chocolate. Whippets first came to the market in 1927, although they had been produced and distributed by Viau under the name “Empire” as early as 1901.

They also bear a striking resemblance to Tunnock’s Tea Cakes as well as Krembos. However, the Tunnock tea cake does not have the same kind of chocolate nor filling. The Whippet is a distinct part of Montreal culture because it does not travel well outside its area of production. Though usually known by their proper trade name “Whippets”, these biscuits are also popularly referred to in the Montreal area as “Nun’s Farts” in the Anglophone community.

An episode of the Canadian science program How It’s Made showed the production process behind the cookie. The show’s narrator described these aspects as “classified information”. As Canadian law requires an ingredient list on each package, the amount of confidential information involved is limited. Another Canadian cookie, “Viva Puffs”, is produced by Dare Foods in five flavours. Canada for at least 50 years as “chocolate puffs”. These differ from the domed biscuit or wafer based styles and contain a higher proportion of thicker rippled chocolate, topped with a half walnut. In the United States, Mallomars are produced by Nabisco.

A graham cracker circle is overlaid with extruded marshmallow, then coated in a thin shell of dark chocolate. Mallomars are generally available from early October through to April. They are not distributed during the summer months, supposedly because they melt easily in summer temperatures, though this is as much for marketing reasons as for practical ones. In Germany, the German: Schokokuss, lit. Choco-kiss’ was first made commercially in 1920, although the first mention of them dates to 1892. Industrial manufacturing started in the 1950s.