From chocolates to jellybeans to other sugary delights, observant consumers have a wide selection of kosher candy from which to choose.

The Orthodox Union certifies a host of popular treats that are available in supermarkets and movie theaters, including Nestle’s Crunch, Double Bubble gum, Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales, Zours, Teenee Beanee, Just Born Jelly Beans, Mars, Snickers, Three Musketeers, M&M;’s and Hershey’s.

One of the most popular kosher candy producers is California-based Gimbal’s Fine Candies (800-344-6225, ), which sells Gummi Bears, Sour Worms, Sour Fish, Fruit Slices and 34 flavors of gourmet jellybeans including fruit punch, pink grapefruit, toasted marshmallow and pear.

In addition, local companies create gourmet kosher sweets. Take the Sweet Tooth in North Miami Beach (305-682-1400, ), for example.

Candy is important to kosher Jews because it can be part of religious traditions. In orthodox circles, congregants throw candy at the groom when he is called to the Torah on the Saturday before his wedding. In conservative synagogues, the bar mitzvah boys are often pelted with candy.

“We have to keep the children happy, right?” says Rabbi Kalman Scheiner, the self-described “candy man” who certifies candy for the OU.

The Sweet Tooth offers kosher chocolates for all occasions and appeals to non-kosher consumers as well. For St. Valentine’s Day, it makes heart-shaped baskets, and bars that say “Love.” For Christmas there are Santa lollipops and chocolate candy canes.

One of the ingredients in the chocolate is derived from soybeans. That is taken out for Passover when treats also include the Ten Plagues represented in three-dimensional colorful chocolate such as “frogs” and “darkness” and even a chocolate Seder tray.

Co-owner Marilyn Newman says her shop is different from what regular candy stores offer because of the breadth of the artistry and because it is kosher.

The company shipped 250 chocolate roses to London for a wedding because the bride wanted pareve roses that could be eaten with meat, Newman says.

In addition, candies for christenings include marshmallows with crosses; for baby showers there are three-inch chocolate babies and chocolate baby blocks. Newman gets requests for pareve chocolate place cards for weddings and bar mitzvahs. She also gets requests for pareve table markers. Instead of number markers, teens often like chocolate tennis rackets, baseballs or footballs to tell guests where to be seated.

“The uniqueness of our store is we make everything,” Newman says. “It’s a family business and we have the factory here. We customize things to the customer’s likings, and we do the baskets with fresh-baked cookies. They like the idea of kosher cause they know there’s cleanliness.”

In certifying kosher candy, Rabbi Scheiner says, “They [consumers] know there’s an extra step, an extra quality control, another step of assurance that everything is fine.”

When candy is kosher, the ingredients don’t contain forbidden things such as flavors (such as grape), release agents, gelatin, glycerin, food coloring, monostearates, as well as emulsifiers and oils.

Some of the important compounds used in the flavoring industry are inherently non-kosher, but can be listed on ingredient lists as “natural flavors.” These can’t be used in kosher candy. Examples of non-kosher ingredients include civet, which comes from an Ethiopian cat, and castorium from beaver.

Castorium tincture, for example, can be used in flavors such as almond, grape, rum, scotch, vanilla, and raspberry. Civet is often used as a flavor enhancer. These are all natural but can never be kosher, according to the OU.

PASSOVER KOSHER: Rabbi Dov Schreier, the Orthodox Union Kosher Division’s Rabbinic Coordinator for Food Services, is making final preparations for certifying two Miami restaurants as OU Kosher for Passover. The restaurants are Prime Grill, 3599 NE 207 St., Aventura, 305-692-9392; and Le Marais, 4210 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, 305-538-9455.

New utensils, including sheet pans and glasses, are a necessity. The restaurant is scrubbed — an engineer arrives to raise the temperature of the dishwashers, a steam cleaner is used on the kettles, the silverware is purged in boiling water, ovens are purged with torches, and stovetops are cleaned under high heat and covered with foil. The staff is taught the rules: they can’t bring outside food or drink into the restaurant. The restaurants will be open for the Passover Seders April 12 and 13.

PASSOVER FESTIVITIES: On April 17, Boomers amusement park in Dania Beach will be kosher for Passover. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Boomers will leave its 622 video and arcade games on free play, plus unlimited entry onto all rides.

In adherence to the strict dietary laws of Passover and the biblical requirement of not coming in contact with any food product not kosher for Passover, Boomers has agreed to close all of food concessions at the main arcade, allowing Chabad exclusive rights to offer a kosher barbecue and specially marked and certified soda and refreshments to be sold. Proceeds will benefit Chabad of Southwest Broward. Tickets cost $20 in advance; $25 at the door for people ages 4 and older (children 4 and younger are free). For advance tickets, call 954-252-1770.

NEW EATERY: Dougie’s Bar-B-Que and Grill, 468 41st St., Miami Beach, opened earlier this year. The kosher menu includes items such as chili burgers, buffalo-style chicken wings, ribs, pasta and wraps. We tried the barbecue beef sandwich and the grilled sliced steak sandwich with grilled onions. If you don’t want to leave your home, Dougie’s ships its ribs and wings nationwide. This restaurant is in seven spots in New York and New Jersey, and this eighth location — in the heart of an orthodox neighborhood — is the first in Florida. 305-604-8800.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: The Kramer Senior Services Agency in West Palm Beach is seeking volunteers to deliver kosher Passover meals on Tuesday to needy seniors from Boca Raton to Jupiter. Since the Homebound Mitzvah Program was launched in 1997 to deliver packages for the high holidays, Passover and Shabbat, thousands of homebound seniors have been helped. The Homebound Mitzvah Program prepares and delivers meals, traditional holiday items and a videotaped Passover Seder. Volunteers are also needed to prepare packages. To help, call 561-687-5337.

SURVIVOR recipeS: Survivors willing to share their stories and who have kosher recipes are encouraged to share those recipes for a cookbook. Sarah and Yonatan Caras, an American couple who live in Israel and volunteer at the Carmei Ha’Ir soup kitchen in Jerusalem, are working with Yonatan’s parents in Maryland to create a book to benefit the soup kitchen. They don’t have a publisher yet, but they are hoping to compile 100 survival stories and 100 recipes and sell the book as a fundraiser to synagogues, with proceeds shared with that organization and the soup kitchen. Already, submissions are pouring in.

“The stories are incredible about survival, and so are the recipes they are able to preserve and share,” says Joanne Caras, Yonatan’s mother in Clarksville, Md. “We hope when families have this dish brought to the table, the stories will be shared.” For information, go to or call 443-604-2643.

books for kosher cooks: Cucina Ebraica (Chronicle Books, $19.95) by Joyce Goldstein tells the story of Italian Jews through their recipes. This book includes recipes such as pumpkin-filled ravioli, which was brought to the New World by the Spanish Jews who were expelled during the Inquisition. Desserts include buricche, a flaky pastry stuffed with meat and budino, a traditional chocolate and almond pudding.

easy access: offers an infinite amount of candy. Type in “kosher” for your search and then chose dairy or pareve candies. Just some of the many products for sale at the Sweet Candy Co. in Salt Lake City are orange, grape, vanilla or rum taffy, almond clusters, chocolate cherry sours, double dipped peanuts and raspberry sticks.

What’s New: Tetley Tea, one of the world’s largest producers of tea, has produced Kosher for Passover tea bags, under the supervision of Kedassia Bais Din of London. The Passover tea bags are being distributed worldwide by Rumplers Kosher Food Distributors of London.

Labeling Alerts: The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America put out an alert recently on Osem’s Bamba snacks. This popular Israeli product bears an unauthorized OU-P symbol and is not certified for Passover. Consumers who see this product are requested to contact the Orthodox Union at 212-613-8148.

Kosher Connection appears on the first Thursday of each month. Lisa, who keeps a kosher kitchen in her Broward home, can be reached at or 954-572-2008. Be sure to include your telephone number.

ENTREE

POLLO ARROSTO ALL’ARANCIA, LIMONE E ZENZERO (ROAST CHICKEN WITH ORANGE,LEMON AND GINGER)

THIS IS A WONDERFUL RECIPE FOR PASSOVER, WHICH BEGINS WEDNESDAY EVENING.

1 lemon

2 oranges

1 (5-pound) roasting chicken

3 tablespoons peeled and grated ginger root

Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

5 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate zest from lemon and cut the lemon into quarters. Grate zest from 1 orange and cut into quarters. Rub outside of the chicken with 1 lemon quarter, then discard lemon quarter.

In a small bowl, stir together lemon and orange zests and 1 tablespoon ginger root. Rub mixture evenly in chicken cavities. Put cut lemon and orange quarters inside cavities. Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, combine olive oil, lemon and orange juices, honey and remaining ginger. Mix well.

Baste chicken with this mixture. Place chicken in roasting pan and place in oven and roast, basting with citrus juice mixture at least three more times during roasting. Cook about 1 hour until juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a knife. Transfer to a serving platter and let rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Cut remaining orange into sections and use as garnish. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Per serving: 504 calories, 57 percent calories from fat, 32 grams total fat, 7 grams saturated fat, 130 milligrams cholesterol, 12 grams carbohydrates, .13 gram total fiber, 11 grams total sugars, 12 grams net carbs, 40 grams protein, 121 milligrams sodium.

Adopted from Cucina Ebraica (Chronicle Books, $19.95) by Joyce Goldstein that tells the story of Italian Jews through their recipes.