“I opened your freezer and a bag of chocolate fell out onto the floor,” I shouted to my friend who was sitting in her living room. “The stars?” she asked.
I heard her jump off the couch and rush into the kitchen. To my shock, she scooped up the little chocolate stars from the floor and began entering them back into their packaging. “Those are special,” she said as she tried to save the tiny cold treats. “My mom brought them to me during her last trip here."
I stood next to the freezer with my mouth nearly on the floor. “These chocolates must be made of gold,” I thought to myself. I stood in the kitchen and pondered. Demand is high and supply is low. It makes sense.
For many olim (new immigrants), nostalgia comes wrapped in foil, crinkled in plastic, or hidden in the depths of their suitcases after a trip home. Childhood snacks may be just a hundred grams, but they carry a substantial emotional weight. They serve as edible time machines, transporting people back to their family sofas, school lunch breaks, or holiday gatherings.
Below is a list of beloved snacks and the stories behind them, shared by internationals in Israel who go to great lengths to stash these treats away in their pantries – and ultimately, their lives.
1. Ouma Rusks (South Africa)
“You can’t really mimic the texture with anything here, maybe a biscotti, but it’s not the same texture,” said Gaby from South Africa. “It’s part of your childhood… if I were in South Africa, however, it would be part of my day to day.”
Rusks are a heavy, dense cookie popularly eaten after being dunked in tea. Data reveals that they’re especially satisfying in winter paired with a hot beverage while watching TV.
“They’re quite bulky, so I only ask people to bring them if they have space in their luggage. If I want to get them here, people have to do me a favor and bring them to me,” she explained.
2. Percy Pigs (UK) & Everything But the Bagel (US)
“I am American and my husband is British, and there has been a transfer of favorite things,” said Shira Tober. “He did not understand the love and appeal of Trader Joe’s until he went to America for the first time. And now he understands why we pack our suitcases with Everything But the Bagel seasoning and whatever other seasonings they have.
“My husband introduced me to Percy Pigs, a gummy candy from Marks & Spencer, and now I can’t get enough of them,” said Tober. She explained that Percy Pig candies were especially popular in the Jewish community because you could find a vegan version, making them accessible for people who kept kosher. This is a common theme that has come up for many people interviewed for this article: Kosher snacks were something many Jewish kids growing up outside of Israel really paid attention to and appreciated for being kosher.
“I have to gate keep them [the Percy Pigs] for my husband, and I hide the packages around the house so we only eat one packet at a time. They remind him of his childhood,” she explained. “The last time we were in London, I brought back three packages. When I went to hide them, I found another package I had forgotten about.”
Tober also talked about peanut butter snacks, which she said taste different depending on whether they’re made with Israeli or American peanut butter. The processed American peanut butter is the taste she prefers.
“I made aliyah when I was 30, so my formative years were in the US,” she said. “In Israel, I like the nougat Bamba and the gummy cherries.”
3. Hotel Chocolat (UK)
“There’s this luxury brand of chocolate called Hotel Chocolat, and you can’t find it here. It’s high quality, smooth, and melts in your mouth,” said an olah from London.
It sounded so good, I have been trying to find an equivalent.
“I find the chocolate in the US to be powdery. And the chocolate here [Israel] feels cheap and milky,” she explained. “Hotel Chocolat feels better, like it’s good for you. It’s just well made.”
This chocolate lover is the woman who was running for the stars at the beginning of this article. In fact, they’re called Magic Stars. It sounds about right.
“It’s the type of chocolate you had as a kid. It was fun chocolate. It had faces on it. It’s the chocolate we had when we went to the cinema. It’s being young and carefree,” she reminisced.
“Every time I come back to Israel, it’s in my bag. No matter how heavy my suitcase is…there’s always room for chocolate.”
4. Blueberries & Roasted Chestnuts (UK)
“Blueberries!” said Chen Schimmer when asked what snacks she misses from home. “They’re abundant and not five shekels per blueberry.”
While $1.40 a blueberry is an exaggeration, it is true that berries are hard to come by and very expensive in Israel. Though it’s not your typical junk or snack food, we thought that blueberries should be on the list.
“It used to be coffee, but Tel Aviv coffee trumps British coffee now,” Schimmer expanded. “I love roasted chestnuts, so that’s something I look for when I’m in the UK …but its very seasonal.”
5. York Peppermint Patties (New York)
While we recognize that New York is one of 50 American states, some might argue that the culture is so rich, it might as well be its own nation. York Peppermint Patties are “the real deal” according to a cohort of New York journalists we spoke with (particularly Magazine Editor Erica Schachne, who keeps a hidden stash in her freezer she doles out like gold bars).
While there are options (like the UK’s Bendicks) for minty chocolates, there’s something about sinking your teeth into the pillow of peppermint gooey goodness that is unmatched.
As the commercial encourages, former denizens of the Big Apple love to “get the sensation” of the “dark chocolate-enrobed peppermint confection.”
6. General Tso’s Chicken (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Steven Reich said he’s not a huge snacker, but there are things he really misses from the fast-food world of Philadelphia, where he was born and raised. Among them are authentic Mexican food, big bowls of Pho, cheap steak, and General Tso’s Chicken (a Chinese American headliner dish).
“Maybe I miss Dunkin’ Donuts a bit, too,” he admitted.
7. Plantain Chips & Chokis (Colombia)
Silvana Rabinovitch was born and raised in Colombia. When asked to speak about her favorite junk foods, she said she didn’t like Bamba, Bisli, or any of the packaged chips the Holy Land has to offer.
“I think it’s a nurtured taste, but I love fried plantain chips with salt and lemon flavor. They’re amazing and addictive. Chokis too! They’re puffed wheat balls covered in chocolate,” Rabinovitch said. “The Chokis come in small packages. They’re the perfect amount of sugar you should get from chocolate. Not bitter, but smooth, crunchy and amazing. I like to have the plantain chips, and then the Chokis after. That’s incredible.
“I grew up with the flavors. They’ve accompanied me always.”
FOR EXPATS, food is more than sustenance – it’s memory, identity, and comfort all wrapped up in a snack-sized package. Whether stuffing suitcases with treats from home or rationing the last few bites of a beloved childhood snack, these Israelis-by-choice prove that a little taste of the past can make all the difference in the present.
Will you be bringing any special snacks to your Purim seuda? Send us a comment about the treats you miss or that you harbor at home for special moments.