# To what demographic does a Hershey bar appeal?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794 "2014-08-18T00:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/61 "2014-08-18T18:47:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > But there is an objective element here. Budweiser (and in all probability Hershey’s too) is constantly reformulated to broaden its appeal. The trick is not to appeal to the most palates; it’s to make the beer drinkable to the most palates. Budweiser tastes the way it does _because it’s designed to appeal to people who don’t like beer_. > > This process might be uniquely American. I’d revise that, and say that it’s designed for people whose perception of an ideal beer is highly carbonated, not very hoppy or malty, and refreshing, with about 5% ABV. They like beer just fine, but they don’t see something like Pilsner Urquell in Pilsen, or a British Cask Ale as the ideal beer. There’s no problem with this really; it’s the same exact thing we see on any mass-market product. Television, music, wine, beer, chocolate, hamburgers, etc… the mass market versions are always inoffensive, rather bland, lowest common denominator products. There’s always a segment of people who decry these versions as “terrible” or whatever, which is almost always never really true. A McDonald’s burger may not be a burger from say… Five Guys or Smashburger, but they’re rarely “bad”. It’s total snobbery when people say that, not really an objective observation. There are plenty of people out there whose idea of a “chocolate bar” is a Hershey bar, and who wouldn’t enjoy a 80% cacao Valhrona bar. Doesn’t make them unsophisticated necessarily, it just means that they like that particular type of chocolate. What really stands out at me is that Hershey hasn’t phased out the butyric acid flavor over time to make it’s products less distinctive. I guess they’re big enough that they can keep it for the US, and sell chocolate elsewhere that doesn’t have that taste. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/62 "2014-08-18T19:06:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Googling these claims suggests urban legend to me. I’ve been unable to find anything authoritative. From [On Food and Cooking](http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen-ebook/dp/B000PAAH1W/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408388579&sr=1-1&keywords=on+food+and+cooking) by Harold McGee: > [@](#): > > … in the United States, large manufacturers [of milk chocolate] have long encouraged their milk fat to undergo some breakdown by fat-digesting enzymes. This breakdown develops a slight note of rancidity, whose cheesy, animal overtones blend well in their own way with chocolate flavor and make a positive contribution to the complexity of flavor. So it’s not exactly sour milk, but it’s close. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/63 "2014-08-18T19:31:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Why can’t we all get along? Here, let me buy you a Hershey bar!🙂 Milk Dud. Offer him a Milk Dud. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/64 "2014-08-18T19:42:18Z")
I don’t mind Hershey bars. They’re not as good as they used to be when I was a kid, but they’re not _horrible_. I don’t go out of my way to eat them, but I won’t turn one down, either, if I have a chocolate jones and they’re the only thing available. I prefer them frozen solid. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/65 "2014-08-18T19:45:23Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I don’t mind Hershey bars. They’re not as good as they used to be when I was a kid, but they’re not _horrible_. I don’t go out of my way to eat them, but I won’t turn one down, either, if I have a chocolate jones and they’re the only thing available. I prefer them frozen solid. You’re supposed to freeze Charleston Chews, not Hershey bars. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/66 "2014-08-18T20:02:18Z")
The pedestrian but tolerable taste of a basic Hershey’s milk chocolate bar is greatly enhanced by the tears of chocolate snobs everywhere. 😃 Meh. I’m an American. What am I supposed to know about taste? De gustibus non est disputandum. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/67 "2014-08-18T20:43:16Z")
Oh great, now the hershey bar, vomit association is forever in my brain. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/68 "2014-08-18T20:53:49Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > You’re supposed to freeze Charleston Chews, not Hershey bars. Snickers and Mars bars, preferably bite-sized! :o ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/69 "2014-08-18T20:56:48Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Oh I get it. People love to hate whatever is popular, and thanks to the internet, we all become aware of it. Some people are really adept at making _you_ seem to be the wrong, uncultured, _ordinary_ even, for liking things that happen to be popular. > > It’s the thinking that, if it is popular, it CANNOT be good. Where does that come from? I feel that, if something is say, the number 1 brand, it is “good” by definition. Well, I don’t particularly think that’s true at all. Over the last decade or so, I’ve seen an embrace in connoisseurship circles (or whatever you want to call it) that encompasses loving the low-brow and the high-brow (both on their merits). For example, on a music board I frequented, the biggest music snobs were as likely to be waxing poetic about the latest M83 record (or whatever it is people listen to these days) as much as the new Britney Spears hit single. Hating something just because it’s popular seems to be more something I’ve seen in the 80s and 90s than in the 00s and beyond. It also seems to be generational. That type of hate I perceive more from Gen X and older, not as much in Gen Y. Or it’s possible that I (as a Gen Xer) have an anomalous perspective. I mean, the current “no true Scotman” position seems to be that if you’re really a connoisseur on taste–whatever that means–you don’t limit yourself to high brow or obscure stuff. And, I admit, I’m kind of like that. But, as I said above, there’s plenty good reasons for people not to like Hershey’s milk chocolate for that lingering sour taste it has. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/70 "2014-08-18T21:15:47Z")
ETA before board crash: or the waxy mouthfeel or whatever. (Remember, I actually enjoy Hershey’s despite these things.) The problem with the “you don’t like it because it’s popular” arguments is that they’re lazy. How does one respond to that? Plenty of people here have mentioned exactly what it is they don’t like about Hershey’s, and what they do like about other popular brands, so I don’t buy this line or argument. For example, I hate Burger King. But not because it’s popular, as I like McDonald’s (which is an even more popular brand.) I don’t like Miller or Bud–once again, not because of popularity, but because I simply don’t like the way the taste. When I’m drinking cheap beer–it’s Old Style, because that I actually do like for that macrolager flavor. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/71 "2014-08-18T21:52:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There is no bad chocolate. There is good chocolate, and better chocolate. Hershey’s might not be better chocolate, but it is good chocolate. Pfft. A TRUE Scotsman knows bad chocolate when he tastes it! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/72 "2014-08-18T21:58:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There is no bad chocolate. There is good chocolate, and better chocolate. Hershey’s might not be better chocolate, but it is good chocolate. Oh, there’s bad chocolate out there. Waxy, foul tasting crap. Usually comes in cheap treat packs and Advent Calendars. One could argue it isn’t really chocolate, but it is. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/73 "2014-08-18T22:02:31Z")
I like Hershey’s chocolate, tastes fine to me. I like Aldi’s big bars of chocolate from…Germany?..and even Palmer’s chocolate bunnies at Easter. I don’t eat much because it will bring on a migraine. Yes, I’ve heard there is much better out there, and if you send me some I will gladly give my opinion. The best is those round foil wrapped truffles, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, caramel, mint, or peanut butter they sell in the bulk foods section of the grocery store about $3-$4 a pound. Easter, Halloween, and Christmas foil wrappings. (they put them away for the summer, but I noticed last week they are back in the bins.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/74 "2014-08-18T22:11:59Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Oh, there’s bad chocolate out there. Waxy, foul tasting crap. Usually comes in cheap treat packs and Advent Calendars. > > One could argue it isn’t really chocolate, but it is. Oh, yeah, those are the worst. And whatever they make those chocolate Santas and Easter bunnies from. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/75 "2014-08-18T22:13:15Z")
Antabuse for chocoholics: [Hershey’s US military chocolate](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_chocolate) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/76 "2014-08-18T22:16:40Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Oh great, now the hershey bar, vomit association is forever in my brain. Butyric acid is also the most obvious flavor component in Parmesan cheese, but for some reason food snobs don’t seem to get too worked up over the latter. Like anything, the taste isn’t for everybody, but “Hershey’s = vomit” is way too simplistic. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/77 "2014-08-18T22:23:38Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Butyric acid is also the most obvious flavor component in Parmesan cheese, but for some reason food snobs don’t seem to get too worked up over the latter. Like anything, the taste isn’t for everybody, but “Hershey’s = vomit” is way too simplistic. Thing is, that flavor is expected for that type of cheese. It isn’t for something sweet like chocolate (or whatever the exact flavor compound is.) So there is a contextual difference there, too. It’s like saying that saying that because I don’t mind the taste of, I dunno, acetobacter in vinegar that I would like it in wine. Or how some people are put off by the taste of any non-fish item that’s been fried in oil in which fish has been fried in. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/78 "2014-08-18T22:43:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Thing is, that flavor is expected for that type of cheese. It’s also expected for chocolate, by anyone raised eating Hershey’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/79 "2014-08-18T22:44:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Thing is, that flavor is expected for that type of cheese. It isn’t for something sweet like chocolate (or whatever the exact flavor compound is.) So there is a contextual difference there, too. It’s like saying that saying that because I don’t mind the taste of, I dunno, acetobacter in vinegar that I would like it in wine. Or how some people are put off by the taste of any non-fish item that’s been fried in oil in which fish has been fried in. It is expected, though–for Americans that grew up on Hershey’s, that is. For Europeans or others where chocolate never had that flavor, it’s indeed unexpected. I don’t think you can really claim that butyric acid is inherently incompatible with sweet foods; it’s in lots of dairy stuff and I’ll bet if I researched it some I could find other examples (anything with a buttermilk component, for instance). A huge fraction of the foods we eat are basically rotten in some way. Takes great if you’re used to it, and revolting if not. Nothing right or wrong about it. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794/80 "2014-08-18T23:14:14Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Hershey bars are not low quality. Low quality chocolate has paraffin in it, sometimes a lot. (Mexican and east-Asian brands are especially guilty of this.) Hershey’s does not. Point taken. I remember the texture seeming different when I was young. I could be wrong. That is the thing about the bar that makes it seem “low-quality” to me: it is chalky and gritty. > [@](#): > > It’s fine to have a favorite brand or bar. Simple-minded rejection of Hershey’s demonstrates an unsophisticated palate–more like a toddler than a snob. I don’t think the rejection here has been “simple-minded.” People seem to have specific reasons. My favorite candy bar used to be Hershey’s Bar None, which was discontinued long ago (the first version, not the second). I also used to like Symphony with toffee a lot (I still find it to be fine). So I never had a bad impression about the brand. My feelings about the Hershey bar are based on “modern” tastings, and it seems to have gotten grittier and less tasty over time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-demographic-does-a-hershey-bar-appeal/695794.md?page=5)