As a child, I loved the Swiss dessert delicacy, from the tiny canton in Appenzell, we called the “biberli”. It was reserved as a reward for quality accomplishments and holiday celebrations in our home. The original recipe was an extremely delicate almond paste and honey, sandwiched between a richly perfumed cake, soft and dense like a rich and extraordinarily sweet ginger bread.
Words cannot express the distraught feelings of loss each holiday in recent years, as this delicacy became proselytized into a nothingness of no taste and no joy. Thanks to the Leibacker brothers, Silvan and Claudio, the true essence of biberli has returned to market. Once again the freshness of Saillon almonds and Swiss honey are being used in methods worthy of the “Old Swiss Ways”.
Silvan and Claudio Leibacker launched Leibacker Biber-Manufactur in 2010. Their traditional Swiss Dessert Biber begins with the old generational craftsmanship of wood carving scenes or pictures into a wooden board.
The natural ingredient-rich biber dough is a quality gingerbread sweetened with a high percent of Swiss honey, then pressed into intricate wood carved designs. The luscious cake dough is filled with a delicious Saillon-grown almond filling mixture, then baked to golden perfection.
Simply look into the expectant eyes of a child enjoying that melt-in-the-mouth moment of “Biberlicious-ness” and you’ll know the impact and value of a culture returning to their natural processes of food manufacturing. It’s time to kick out preservatives and cost-reducing manufacturing alternatives. Life is too precious to waste settling for less quality – for the sake of better transporting and extended shelf life. These traditionally handmade Biber Swiss pastries are far superior to the industrialized creations of recent years that use heavy preservatives and cheaper manufacturing ingredients.
It’s time to take a lesson from entrepreneurs like the Leibacker brothers and return to the traditional values of the “Old Swiss Ways”. Entrepreneurs and savvy consumers, like us, who have lived long enough to notice the drastic decline in quality taste and excellent food quality standards agree, the era for returning to past quality standards of authentic traditional foods is here.