Food News
Chocolates from scratch
By Kimberley Jackson
In an industry directed toward mass production, there is an East Central Indiana candy producer that focuses on quality, not quantity. Lowery’s Candies, located at 6255 W. Kilgore Ave. in Muncie, Ind., creates fine chocolates and candies with fresh ingredients and old-fashioned skills.
Scott Funk, a chocolate representative for Bloomer Chocolate, says that Lowery’s is among the few candy shops in the nation that still make its own signature candy centers from scratch and use no preservatives in its chocolate.
Bloomer Chocolate, the largest processor of cocoa beans and ingredient chocolate products in the United States, is Lowery's chocolate supplier.
Of course, Funk is proud to be the chocolate supplier to Lowery's because he believes his company's chocolate adds to the quality of Lowery's product.
Besides using quality chocolate, Lowery's also is very particular about the quality of the butter and sugar it uses. If the ingredients don't cook or blend together as they should, that batch of candy is discarded.
This dedication to excellence in candy making started with founders Garrett and Delia Lowery in 1941. And though the business was sold in the mid-1960s to Donald and Thelma Brown, cousins of the Lowerys, the promise of quality has remained the same.
Behind the retail area of Lowery’s sets the company's original copper kettles, a 1923 gas candy furnace and marble slabs that are still used today. Also, trained candy makers instead of automated machinery make all of Lowery's candies.
“I don’t think there is anyone else in the country who employs hand-dippers like the artisans at Lowery’s,” Funk said. “They take exceptional pride in what they do.”
Funk added, “The expertise behind the making of the candy always makes the difference in the quality of the final product."
In the area where the chocolate artisans work, handmade signs hang on the wall to remind them to achieve shape and shine as they go about dipping the flavored centers in chocolate with remarkable speed.
Throughout its history, Lowery’s has produced thousands of pounds of chocolate. It currently makes more than 30 different types of candies, including its legendary “Dark Secrets,” which are trademarked. Other signature candies of Lowery's are its toffee, vanilla creams rolled in black walnuts, bon bons and peanut butter/vanilla creams. Most candies are available in light and dark chocolate, and a line of sugar-free candies also is carried.
Bars of chocolate bearing different messages, such as thank you, or reflecting different holidays can be purchased, as well as bars of chocolate in the shape of the state of Indiana.
Another item special to Lowery's is a hallow chocolate egg that can be filled with candies for Easter. The egg comes in three sizes: small, medium and large.
Lowery’s busiest season is Valentine’s Day, but if you want candy for Christmas, you have to place your order prior to Thanksgiving Day, or you might not have Lowery's for the holiday season.
Lowery's has a loyal customer base, but the fastest growing part of the business is mail order, http://www.loweryscandies.com/.
Because Lowery's doesn't use any preservatives in its candies, the business closes for the summer as of Mother's Day. It reopens after Labor Day.
To contact Lowery’s Candies, call 800-541-3340 or 765-288-7300.
