FINDS : Fudge: Always and Forever

Get out the violins. Here’s a melodrama almost too gooey for words:

Fred and Susie Heminger, owners of Heminger’s Fudge & Chocolates, grew up next door to each other in Harbor Springs, Mich., a small town near Mackinac Island that is to fudge lovers what Coney Island is to hot dog fans. When they were teen-agers, they got jobs in the same fudge store, where they fell in love and promptly forgot about fudge.

Fudge came back into their lives in 1961, when they decided to study the art of fudge making under a grand master. Eventually, the Hemingers moved to Southern California and opened a shop in Old Town Pasadena, and later another in West Los Angeles.

The creamy fudge is cooked in huge copper kettles and poured onto 1,000-pound marble tables to cool--the way it’s done on Mackinac Island. Customers are invited to stop by and watch.

Besides plain chocolate, the fudge is available in 12 other flavors, including chocolate peanut butter swirl (the most popular), chocolate walnut, chocolate turtle, cappuccino and French vanilla pecan. All cost $9.95 per pound. Heminger’s also makes caramels, toffee, brittles and hand-dipped fruits and chocolates.

The chocolates, toffee and dipped fruits are available from October through May; the fudge, of course, is sold year-round. After all, for some, fudge is forever.

* Heminger’s Fudge & Chocolates, 42 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. (818) 793-2444. For mail order call (800) 653-8343.