Last week I was in London (fun fact: in England, the passengers drive the cars), and in my search for an organic chocolate (Green & Black) I saw advertised on the Underground, I was introduced to Cadbury, England’s own line of upscale chocolate. And a fine line it was, a worthy contender of Italy’s Perugina and Switzerland’s Lindt (I know I might get flamed for that, but I think all three really compete). While praising it, my English host and I commented on how the U.S.'s star brand, Hershey, tastes like crap compared to these.
Anyway, when I got back to U.S., I noticed Cadbury was availiable at my Giant, so I bought it. When I bit into it, though, I thought, “What the hell is this?”. It tasted like crap! A very familiar crap, actually. I looked on the back and saw “Mfd. by Hershy Foods Corporation”. Apparently, Hershey bought the Cadbury name for the U.S. market, and decided to crud up the recipie. Now I have an expensive, inedible chocolate bar in front of me that keeps daring me to taste it again, just to remind me how horrible it is. I can’t believe there isn’t a law against such bait and switch tactics.
[little hijack]
I have never liked chocolate, except Cadbury’s Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs. Recently, I was on a board that is populated mostly by Europeans, one of which had recently made a trip to the US. The discussion about Hershey’s being crap came up. It made me wonder if I would be a bigger chocolate fan if I tasted European chocolate. I’ll try to find some of the brands mentioned in these posts.
[/little hijack]
I’m with friedo. Nothing beats a Hershey bar. I’ve known Europeans who have let me try their favorite chocolates brought back from abroad. They were okay, but vastly overrated, IMHO. A Hershey bar (or an Almond Hershey Kiss …mmm) is much friendlier to my taste buds.
Then again, I grew up about 15 minutes away from the Hershey factory, so I may be a little prejudiced.
I can understand the annoyance though. For example, UK Mars Bars are nothing like the US version (I think the UK one is miles better - just an opinion).
And lots of foreign beers brewed in the UK under licence are nothing like the originals - and the UK versions tend to be nowhere near as good.
When I visited London, I was pleasantly surprised to find they had vending machines in all the stations, selling a variety of Cadbury confections. Those things wouldn’t last twenty minutes in a N.Y. subway station!
Hehe…I think for sheer candy lunacy, you can’t beat the confections available in Canada. Something Awful had a great series on this once (it’s in their archives, search for “The Canadian Candy Challenge”).
But to be fair to the Canucks, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are sold in 3 packs, unlike the 2 packs in the States. Score!
I love Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs! I also had a look at the Canadian Candy Challenge on Something Awful, and I can’t believe you poor people in the States are missing out on Caramilk and Crunchie bars. Don’t listen to what those people had to say about them, they’re delicious. And as for the difference between UK and US chocolate, according to a local candy store that specialises in UK imports, UK chocolate uses cream while US chocolate uses milk.
Cadbury’s chocolate in the UK isn’t upscale, it’s mundane. There is something about the US manufacturing of chocolate that makes it sweeter and waxier than other parts of the world - even Cadbury’s. Informed by Hershey’s, I guess. I personally don’t like it at all, unless it’s wrapped around a peanut butter cup. We used to get Tasmanian Cadbury’s in Hong Kong - made to be less melty in the heat - which IMO was nicer than the UK stuff. The Cadbury’s you get in Ireland is different again - a really distinctive cloying flavour and texture, presumably to do with the quality of the milk.
The losses due to vandalism are recouped by all the extra income from all those occasions when both the goodie-dispensing mechanism and the money refunding mechanism are f***ed. (about 50% IME)
I was never that keen on Cadbury’s, but the Australian version (made by a Cadbury’s factory in Tasmania, IIRC) is DIRE. How it is so different to the UK version is anyone’s guess.
I stick to Lindt, Toblerone, and have recently discovered Ritter Sport. Particularly the peppermint one.
How do US mars bars differ from UK ones?
And how have they got away with halving - if not quartering - the size of the mars bar in recent times? (Or did I just grow bigger and greedier by comparision?!)
