Don’t get me wrong, I like Hershey’s chocolate. I’ve had chocolate from sundry parts of the world, Belgium, the UK, Singapore, Australia, Philippines, etc. Hershey’s chocolate, IMO, isn’t bad, in fact, I consider it far better than many chocolates. I’ve no interest in food snobbery, etc.
Anyway, the point of my post… I wish Hershey didn’t have the USA rights to Cadbury. When I was a child, here in America, we used to eat the Fruit & Nut bar and the Caramello, when they came from England. Today, in the USA, these products are made by Hershey, and, while better than the Cadbury licenses in some parts of the world, I don’t think they measure up to the ones from England (same can be said of Hershey’s Rowntree license). Not only that, since Hershey got hold of the Cadbury rights, they still import the eggs from England, but they are no longer kept in good shape… always sticky or even dried out.
Just thought I’d mention it… before Easter is past.
It’s funny you should bring this up, Walden-- I’m glad you did because it solves a puzzle for me.
As a child I absolutely LOVED the Fruit & Nut bars, they were one of my favorite candy bars. A couple months ago, I got a huge craving to have one again (it had been years and years), and was so excited to see one at the grocery store while I was doing my shopping. I bought a bar and couldn’t wait to get home so that I could sit down and savor it… I took a bite, ready for my taste buds to dance in glee…and…it tasted really blecchy. Not at all like I remembered.
I used to be a big Hershey’s fan, but hadn’t had much chocolate at all over the past several years. While I was staying with my younger son back in January, my daughter-in-law bought an entire box of Hershey’s milk chocolate bars, and I tried to consume my fair shair. Oddly enough, they just didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t care for either the flavor or the texture.
To be fair, I should probably go out and get samples of as many other brands as possible and do a taste comparison. Just to be fair, you understand…
I’ve always loved Caramello bars too, but had the same experience that ad did. I still can eat them, but they’re not nearly as good as they used to be. Oh for the good old days! SIGH!!!
I didn’t realize just how big the difference was until a friend from Wales sent me some Cadbury goodies in a care package. Mercy! I’m going to have to take an extra suitcase to England to bring back all the chocolate I plan to buy!
I recently worked at See’s Candies as a seasonal employee at one of their offices (not a store). One of the benefits is all the chocolate you can eat, as long as you eat it in the lunch room. See’s is mostly in the western states, but also does mail order. I gained more of an appreciated for their candy and philosophy during my time there. See’s uses the freshest natural ingredients and no preservatives. See’s is expensive compared to some other store brands, but less money than most other no-preservative brands.
If this sounds like an ad, I no longer work there. A few people find See’s to be too sweet. I still crave chocolate to my detriment. I can’t justify the $13+ per pound price of See’s despite the quality, so I make do with what I can find on sale. Often times that is Reese’s peanut butter cups.
I agree! Even under Hershey’s, the Cadbury chocolate is still my favorite, but not as good as the real thing. When I was growing up, we would occasionally get the Cadbury Quality Street assorted chocolates … mmmmm. (Then there were Liquorice Allsorts, Rowntree Fruit Gums … )
Cadbury’s Dairy Milk: A glass and a half of milk in every bar.
“Everyone’s a fruit and nut case…”
Topic: A hazelnut in every bite!
Smooth and creamy…Galaxy.
I like “Milky Way Dark” bars, even if they are a little sweet. Otherwise, Paul Newman’s chocolate is the best.
Does anyone from the states enjoy Gertrude Hawk’s chocolate? The only place I’ve seen a store is in New York State . . . I don’t think they are in Jersey. They mall store’s are not nearly as good as in my childhood. They used to have HUGE amounts of bin chocolate for the holidays. Now they only sell boxed chocolate. Their dark chocolate bars are fabulous.
My wife got me some Godiva for Valentine’s Dy. It was from a department store, and it was covered in bloom (a chalky white coating caused by the changing of the fat crystals in the cocoa butter from one form to another form (alpha to beta I think). It comes from abuse, like letting it get too warm then cool again.
We sent an email to Godiva to let them know that the store was not taking good care of their chocolate. They were very happy we let them know and they sent us a box that as twice as big as a make-up.
We also ate the first box, since they didn’t want it back and since there is really nothing wrong with bloomed chocolate.
John, that is so cool that you know that-- I am thoroughly impressed. I had never known there was a term and an explanation for that occurrence. You rock!
