# Reese's Peanut Butter Cups question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 27, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699 "2014-10-27T23:51:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/221 "2017-10-10T11:05:36Z")
\*”You got your Great Debate in my Cafe Society topic!” “Well, you got your Cafe Society topic in my Great Debate!”\* ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/222 "2017-10-10T11:19:59Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Reese’s PBCs are just flattened buckeyes. In comparison, they are certainly more like a candy bar, but in my view that doesn’t mean they are. > > In the three years this thread has been extant, I note that a relevant question remains unasked: Is a Sugar Daddy a candy bar? According to some definitions ( general shape; hold in one hand, steer with the other) it is. What say the Teeming Millions? A Sugar Daddy is a lollipop. Note the paper stick on which the toffee is mounted ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/223 "2017-10-10T11:26:33Z")
Yet it is shaped like a candy bar. And though caramel is pretty much pure sugar, it’s not sugar in the form most lollipops take. So is the stick the only thing that would define it as a lollipop? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/224 "2017-10-10T11:33:59Z")
I’m gonna have to say no, lest some smartass accuse me of thinking that a corndog is a lollipop. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/225 "2017-10-10T11:51:13Z")
And I feel a Sugar Daddy is too darn THIN to be considered truly “bar”-shaped. As is an Abba-Zabba, and a Big Hunk, both of which I think of as “strips.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/226 "2017-10-10T12:28:27Z")
What the hell else is it? A health food? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/227 "2017-10-11T01:24:02Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m gonna have to say no, lest some smartass accuse me of thinking that a corndog is a lollipop. Well, a Reese’s is made of candy, as is a lollipop, but a corn dog isn’t. To me, the only sticking point is whether or not it can be called a “bar.” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/228 "2017-10-11T05:06:12Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > If not asked already, would the Reese’s peanut butter cup sell better or worse as a bar? > > Who remembers the original commercials for it? Are those the ones where it shows how they supposedly came up with the idea? When one guy accidentally stuck his chocolate bar inside another’s jar of peanute butter? Of course Reese’s is a candy bar. What sort of morn thinks otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/229 "2018-10-31T19:17:32Z")
Just under the wire I wanted to repost this important question for Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/230 "2018-10-31T20:15:15Z")
Has it occurred to anyone that the key requirement of the ‘bar’ shape is for _packaging_ and not eating? Candy bars are confectionaries sold in rectangular packages of a certain size, designed to fit into vending machines, display counters, etc. From a manufacturing/shipping/retail standpoint, a ‘candy bar’ is anything that will fit within certain standard dimensions. You expect to find ‘candy bars’ near the checkout in grocery stores, or in candy bar vending machines. By that definition, the ‘bar’ can be anything from a single bar of chocolate to a bar-shaped box of individual candies, to a rectangular package of peanut butter cups. They are ALL ‘candy bars’ as far as the retail side of the industry is concerned. And I think people pick up on that. As others have said, no one would bat an eye if they asked for a candy bar and were handed a package of peanut butter cups. And no one would be surprised to be see a box of smarties or M&M’s in a ‘candy bar’ vending machine. The idea that the only reason for the ‘bar’ shape is to be able to hold it while eating it sounds like a rationalization for an arbitrary classification. So… Candy Bar == a confection in single serving size, typically in a package of rectangular dimension of a roughly standard size that can fit in the typical type of display for a candy bar, that can be found in the same location as other candy bars, and usually for the same price as other candy bars. Within that framework, there is a wide variety of confections from licorice to chocolate that can qualify. But if it looks like a candy bar, and it’s found with candy bars, and it costs the same as candy bars - it’s a candy bar. As for being able to hoid it and eat it at the same time… First, that seems arbitrary, and second it doesn’t hold for lots of things we woud consider ‘candy bars’. For example, I don’t think many people eat Caramilk ‘bars’ like a bar. Rather, they break off the little chocolate pouches of caramel and eat them separately. Lots of ‘bars’ are eaten that way. If Caramilk bars came with the little pouches fully separated instead of having a thin link of chocolate between them, but were still packaged the same way, would they stop being candy bars, despite being identical in content? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/231 "2018-10-31T21:03:36Z")
what abut the forthcoming “thin” reeses ? > **[Hershey Is Introducing A New "Thinner" Reese's Cup & The Internet Is Mad](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/10/215556/reeses-thins-peanut-butter-cups-smaller)** > > The internet is having a strong reaction to Reese's Thins. > **[Hershey plans to roll out Reese's Cups that are 40% thinner — and people are...](https://www.businessinsider.com/thinner-reeses-cups-spark-backlash-2018-10)** > > Hershey's announced plans to roll out a Reese's Cup that is 40% thinner than the original last week. Now, Reese's Cups fans are reacting with horror. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/232 "2018-11-02T16:06:15Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Has it occurred to anyone that the key requirement of the ‘bar’ shape is for _packaging_ and not eating? Candy bars are confectionaries sold in rectangular packages of a certain size, designed to fit into vending machines, display counters, etc. From a manufacturing/shipping/retail standpoint, a ‘candy bar’ is anything that will fit within certain standard dimensions. You expect to find ‘candy bars’ near the checkout in grocery stores, or in candy bar vending machines. > > By that definition, the ‘bar’ can be anything from a single bar of chocolate to a bar-shaped box of individual candies, to a rectangular package of peanut butter cups. They are ALL ‘candy bars’ as far as the retail side of the industry is concerned. I disagree. Just because they fit into a vending machine doesn’t make them a candy bar. Vending machines selling candy bars also sell bags of chips, gum packages, and donut type products (donuts, honeybuns), even cookies. Plus, candy bars have now been max-sixed to be larger than a vending machine can sell. In short, vending machines are irrelevant to the classification. Retail placement near store registers in display racks is irrelevant. I think a box of junior mints, for instance, is not a candy bar. Reese’s peanut butter cups are a gray area borderline case, but Reese’s Pieces are not a candy bar, unless they’re the newfangled pieces inside cups, which once again is that borderline case. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/233 "2018-11-02T16:20:17Z")
Nah. I’d suspect that if you think that’s a “candy bar” you’d probably think York Peppermint Patties are a “candy bar”. The shape is wrong, and the structure is really not strong and dense enough for me to consider it a “bar.” I think the shape is important, but not as important as the density. Like, a round shaped butterfinger would be closer to a “candy bar” than a peanut butter cup. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/234 "2018-11-02T16:28:52Z")
I hadn’t seen this topic before today. People think Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are a candy bar? Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/235 "2018-11-02T16:39:47Z")
If someone says “Let’s stop here, I want to get a candy bar” and walks out with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, would you say “Hey, what happened to going to get a candy bar?” You might say that if they came out with a box of Good N Plenty, or Twizzlers, but with RPBC? I think not. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/236 "2018-11-02T16:46:30Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > If someone says “Let’s stop here, I want to get a candy bar” and walks out with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, would you say “Hey, what happened to going to get a candy bar?” > > You might say that if they came out with a box of Good N Plenty, or Twizzlers, but with RPBC? I think not. [Reese’s Peanut Butter Bar](https://www.quill.com/Reeses-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Bar-Extra-Large-425oz-12-Case/cbs/288619.html?cm_mmc=SEM_PLA_CB_19p_288619&mcode=SEM_PLA_CB_19p_288619&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1oWGjpS23gIVRUSGCh3VXga2EAQYAiABEgLQMvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd, I think we are done here. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/237 "2018-11-02T17:00:32Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > [Reese’s Peanut Butter Bar](https://www.quill.com/Reeses-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Bar-Extra-Large-425oz-12-Case/cbs/288619.html?cm_mmc=SEM_PLA_CB_19p_288619&mcode=SEM_PLA_CB_19p_288619&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1oWGjpS23gIVRUSGCh3VXga2EAQYAiABEgLQMvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) > > Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd, I think we are done here. If it’s not at my local Piggly Wiggly\*, it’s not a legitimate candy bar. In the hierarchy of confections, can I convince you to at least give RPBC a dotted line to ‘candy bar’? \*I’ve never been in a Piggly Wiggly, but I like the name. Suck it, Winn Dixie! ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/238 "2018-11-02T17:09:12Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > If it’s not at my local Piggly Wiggly\*, it’s not a legitimate candy bar. > In the hierarchy of confections, can I convince you to at least give RPBC a dotted line to ‘candy bar’? If I do that, it will result in two people agreeing to something on the Internet, possibly causing a rip in space-time. So no! I reject your dotted-line compromise!!! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/239 "2018-11-05T18:56:57Z")
It’s candy, but not a bar. So no. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699/240 "2018-11-05T19:01:51Z")
“You got your designation in my appellation!” “Well, you got _your_ appellation in my _designation_!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-question/702699.md?page=13)