Ciokarrua

The roots of the Cicero family business date back to the 1990s, when, under the name Karrua, they began working with one of the ancient, though at the time increasingly forgotten, crops of the Sicilian landscape: the carob.

The carrubahad been an integral part of the so-called Iblean landscapein southeastern Sicily for centuries. The extremely resilient, long-lived carob tree thrives in the island's dry, sunny climate, yet it was sidelined for a long time as a raw material for human consumption. One of the Cicero family's goals became precisely to give new value to this characteristically Sicilian crop.

A new chapter in the story began when Giovanni Ciceroturned his interest toward chocolate making. In 2005, the encounter between carob and cocoa gave birth to Ciokarrua, and in 2007, the family opened their first small chocolate workshop in the countryside of Modica. The founding principle has remained unchanged ever since: “innovazione nella tradizione” – innovation within tradition.

In Modica, this means a great deal. For centuries, the city has preserved a very unique chocolate-making tradition. Traditionally, cocoa is processed with sugar at a low temperature, so the sugar crystals do not melt completely. This makes Cioccolato di Modicadifferent from traditional chocolate bars: it is not as smooth and creamy; it has a firm snap when broken and a characteristically grainy, crystalline texture in the mouth. In the traditional recipe, cocoa mass and sugar play the leading role, without added lecithin, emulsifiers, or cocoa butter.

This special method of preparation is now officially protected: Cioccolato di Modica PGIenjoys protected geographical indication status. In its traditional line, Ciokarrua produces chocolate with at least 50% cocoa content, combined with cane sugar and, in certain varieties, spices, fruits, and Sicilian nuts.

However, Ciokarrua does not simply reproduce an old recipe unchanged. The core of the family's philosophy is precisely combining traditional Modican technology with the flavors of Sicily. Almond and pistachio, orange and lemon, prickly pear and pomegranate, Marsala and coffee are paired with cocoa – flavors that often tell the story of the island itself.

In 2017, the enterprise took another step: the small laboratory was transformed into a more modern artisanal workshop, for which they also designed machines according to their own needs. In cocoa processing, they went even further: their Grezzopuroproduct line is already made in a true bean to bar

system, meaning they sort, roast, and process the cocoa beans in their own Modican workshop all the way to the finished bar. Meanwhile, they have not forgotten the starting point of their story, the carruba. In 2018, their own development was born, Carrubato di Sicilia®

, a carob-based bar made without cocoa or added sugar. The product actually summarizes Ciokarrua's way of thinking quite well: rethinking an old, local ingredient while preserving its origin and character.

Their Sicilian connection is also important in their operations. They source their carob from selected Sicilian organic farms, work in direct contact with local producers, and return the residual carob and cocoa waste from processing to the local farmers, who use it for soil improvement. Their packaging is recyclable, and their long-term goal is the increasingly complete traceability of the production chain. Ciokarrua, therefore, both preserves and experiments. They combine Modica's old chocolate-making technique, Sicilian ingredients, and the curiosity of a modern artisanal workshop

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