I didn’t know Hershey’s used Cocoa, I thought the main ingredient was vomit.
I’m assuming you of course are aware, but that is a tasting note. As in hersheys will specifically call out that tasting note as intentional if you do a tasting tour. It explained why I only ever liked their special dark and hates their regular bar.
It’s a tasting note, because the original Hershey’s milk chocolate chemist accidentally spoiled the milk as part of his process.
It took a decade or two to figure out what was wrong, but by then the American public was used to vomit tasting milk chocolate.
Accidentally? I thought he had a large batch of spoiled milk powder and was looking for a way to use it up.
It was very word for me. Like with most American products that were in TV series, but weren’t available in Europei was anxious to try them first time I went to the states.
Mountain dew was amazing. Taco Bell was not all I imagine it to be, but Hershey’s was just straight up disgusting.
It’s fine, it’s only sold in the US.
Right? These candies have never made their money with quality.
I took two bites and had to spit it out
That’s how I reacted the first time I tasted Hershey’s chocolate.
Inb4: butyric acid
A somehow necessary ingredient in Hershey’s which lingers unpleasantly on the palate, otherwise known as a stomach acid which imbues your vomit with the unmistakeable flavor of vomit
Whyyyyyyyyy
“One German brand, the Nestlé-owned Choco Crossies, recently announced it was eliminating cocoa altogether from its new Snack Vibes line, replacing it with ChoViva, a lab-grown chocolate alternative made from fermented sunflower and grape seeds.”
How the fudge did we end up in this dystopian nightmare? ಥ_ಥ
We continued releasing more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for decades after learning that it was causing increasingly extreme weather
Sorry, but I really want to try the fermented seed cocoa. There are non-Nestlé versions and having an option that doesn’t exploit child slaves is always a good option.
By coveting.
There’s a scene from Band of Brothers, two GIs meet a French family on D-Day. One of the soldiers offers the boy, 4 or 5 years old, a chocolate bar. The boy smiles from ear to ear when he tastes it. His father says, “Thank you. He’s never had chocolate before.”
Imagine that. Imagine living in a society where chocolate is considered an exotic food. That’s how the world was, for almost all of human history. You live in Norway and you want a lemon? HA! Tough shit, you’ll never even know what lemon smells like.
But, at some point, Americans got used to having every delicacy from every corner of the world. We forgot that each nibble of chocolate is exotic. That the beans aren’t native to our country. That most people in the world can’t afford real chocolate except as a rare treat. And look at us now - just like the rest of the world.
Lab-grown? Lab-GROWN? What fucking part of the metal tank has the growing area?
The hydroponic lab?
Shits like a century old.
Cyanide is “natural”. Not everything “natural” is good for you. I’m all for alternatives, although as with any other thing, they need to study them to make sure they’re safe. Like aspartame, which is one of the most studied substances on earth. It’s safe. And it’s a fantastic tool to have - saying this as a diabetic, but artificial sweetners gives us the ability to make tasty foods that save calories/carbs, which is something most people can use.
So I don’t know about ChoViva in specific, but if there’s an alternative to cocoa that doesn’t rely on slave labour and isn’t harmful… I’m all for it.
Hey I started a new community: Enshitification.
I posted this Reese’s article the other day.
It’s for articles like this but also personal experiences, like things you noticed going to shit.
So if you want to rant a bit about a product quality decrease, feel free to post about it there.
Another way of reminding us there is enshittification.
Nearly no one touches the chocolates at most supermarkets I went to. Far cry from when 40 years ago, workers from overseas would include chocolate bars in care packages.
That real cocoa are mostly from developing countries, not all are politically stable.
We have an inflation target now, they either raise prices or shrinkflate. Its much easier to shrinkflate.
It’s fascinating how hard some sectors are fighting to forbid replacement meats or milks to call themselves steak or milk. But those products barely resembling the original name are completely allowed to call themselves chocolate or fruit juice (based on some concentrate and some other stuff).
This might be the case in the US. In the EU, chocolate is taken much more seriously. This vomit-flavored abomination called Hersheys “chocolate” is probably illegal and unfit for human consumption here.
it’s about marketing.
people don’t buy what is not familiar. so it’s very much in their interest to market these replacements as familiar products.
food is a emotional thing, it’s not logical of thoughtful. people typically only eat what they know or perceive to be good based on what others eat.
EU has laws stating how much raw cocoa a product that calls itself chocolate must have.
US has none of that
The US, UK and EU all have government regulations about how much – or how little – cocoa an item can contain and still be considered “chocolate”, but those regulations are much stricter in Europe. In the UK, for instance, after Pladis reduced the amount of cocoa bean-derived ingredients in its McVitie’s Penguin and Club bars to below 20%, both treats were officially demoted from “chocolate” to “chocolate flavour”. In the US, the threshold is 15%, and low-cocoa items like the Unwrapped Mini Hearts can still be described as “chocolate candy”.
From the article, this is where the other answer probably got they link.
They’ll phase anything but sugar.
But the real appeal of mass market chocolate like Hershey’s has always been its cheapness.
There it is.
Yeah I bought small container of bakers cocoa bout a month ago and it was half the size it used to be and almost three times the price.
Is carob more sustainable than chocolate? Does it have the same ethical problems?
I bought a caramello bar a week or two ago
Threw it away after two bites. If i wanted to chew on wax id go find those sugar water filled coke bottle shaped ones.
Why did you take a second bite?
I didn’t believe myself when i thought it tasted that bad
I’ve had some products that use ChoViva (fake chocolate made from sunflower seeds and oats) and they were ok. On the other hand my only memory of Hershey’s chocolate is just pain, even 30 years ago (last time I was in the US). So maybe it’s not replacing cocoa as such that’s the problem.
A buddy of mine has everything but his birthday is coming up …. I found the ideal indulgence: a $20 chocolate bar!
No it’s not one of those monsters, it’s normal sized. But it’s single sourced beans, gold medal award winning, local farm fresh dairy , infused with whiskey from a local distillery. That’s something he’s never had!
