10 Surprising Facts About the Beloved Krembo

1. Contrary to popular belief, the Krembo is not originally Israeli; it was first made in Denmark and only imported to Israel in the 1940s, originally branded as 'Kushi'. 

2. It wasn't until 1966 that Israel's Whitman company started producing it locally, renaming it to 'Krembo'. 

3. Within a few years, Whitman was bought by the Strauss Group, which continues to dominate the Krembo market in Israel, successfully selling around 53 million (!) Krembos annually.

4. How do we really love eating our Krembo? Surveys by the Strauss Group indicate that about 69% of Israelis prefer to save the cookie for last, 12% eat it first, 10% eat the whipped cream and cookie together (!), while only about 4% switch it up by eating the Krembo differently each time. 

5. Vanilla is the most popular Krembo flavor, followed by mocha. Over the years, attempts have been made to introduce other flavors like orange, strawberry, and banana, but they failed as consumer demand dropped. Worldwide, Krembos are sold in flavors like coconut, chocolate-mint, mango, dulce de leche, and more. 

6. Unlike us, who have turned Krembo into a standalone treat, the Danes crush it and use the bits as a refreshing ice cream topping. Others freeze it and eat it as a mini ice cream, or warm it in the microwave and enjoy it like a 'soufflé'. 

7. One thing that hasn't changed is how Krembos are wrapped, done entirely by hand. The delicacy required for this task means no machine has yet been invented to do it without squashing the Krembo. If you think this slows production, think again. The average time to hand-wrap a Krembo on the production line is under two seconds (!) per Krembo.  

8. With an average consumption of nine Krembos per season per person, Israel is the world's largest Krembo consumer.

9. The ideal temperature to store Krembo is 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). 

10. For those watching their waistline, a single Krembo contains about 115 calories. Consider yourself warned!