# What the hell is wrong with Hershey's chocolate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024 "2007-05-14T12:35:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/21 "2007-05-14T14:44:43Z")
I’ve eaten Hershey’s in Canada and in the US and it’s all similarly awful. It’s got a bitter taste, but not cocoa-bitter; it’s more like some wierd chemical-y bitter. And this gal’s a bigtime chocolate fan. As for Lindt in the US - you must’ve gotten stale ones because the ones I’ve had have been fine. You have to look for expiry dates - not all chocolate has 'em but Lindt tends to. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/22 "2007-05-14T14:49:14Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Just out of curiosity, does anyone have an ingredients list from the back of a Hershey Bar? The web seems to be silent on the subject. [/QUOTE] From the back of a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin and PGPR, emulsifiers; and vanillin;, artificial flavor) and almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and sunflower oil). ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/23 "2007-05-14T14:49:17Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Purl McKnittington] Oh my god, you really will eat it all. I always thought the username was a joke, but I guess not. [/QUOTE] Oh pshaw! My brothers and I tried dog treats as kids! We were curious. Even today I’ll pretty much taste anything, as long as it’s not _wiggling_ or something. I’m with indygrrl on this one. Chocolate? I’m in! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/24 "2007-05-14T14:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Just out of curiosity, does anyone have an ingredients list from the back of a Hershey Bar? The web seems to be silent on the subject. [/QUOTE] Here you go: > [@](#): > > Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Peanuts, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Crisp Rice, Contains 2% or less of Milk Fat, Lactose (milk), Soy Lecithin, PGPR (Emulsifier), Salt, Malt, Vanillan, artificial flavor and milk. I do like the Hersey Special Dark Chocolate, I am not a fan of any milk chocolate. We have a local chocolate factory that makes great chocolate. IMHO, far superior to Hershey’s, Godiva, Cadbury or any other well know brand. The local factory is [Criterion Chocolates](http://www.criterionchocolates.com/index.html). Jim ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/25 "2007-05-14T14:56:15Z")
I recall reading in a biography of Milton Hershey that Hershey’s chocolate has a sort of bitterness to the taste that most chocolates don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Ad\_Here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b2d939/32.png) [@Your\_Ad\_Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Ad_Here)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/26 "2007-05-14T14:59:10Z")
_shrug_ I get exactly what I expect from a 55 cent candy bar… ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/27 "2007-05-14T14:59:21Z")
I loathe the stuff. Even as a kid, I couldn’t eat a Hershey bar. It feels really lousy in the mouth, as if it were made of clay. But the main thing is that it just tastes yucky. Nestle’s isn’t so great either, but at least it’s edible. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/28 "2007-05-14T14:59:31Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Pepper Mill** REALLY likes UK Cadbury, but doesn’t like the US version, for precisely the reason you give. Whenever we or I go abroad, I stockl up on it, and dole it out to her afterwards. I’ve also found a nearby store that sells British goods, where I can get UK-type Cadburys. That said, I’ve never heard that Hershey’s (or any American chocolate) has _paraffin_ in it. The idea sounds bizarre. [/QUOTE] Bizarre but true. I only have annectotal evidence, but my Father in Law used to work for Gadiva as a product buyer and can quote off the top of his head the percentage of parafin in different brands of chocolate. He says Hershey’s has by far the most wax in it (something like 80% of the bar is food grade parafin wax) with American Cadbury and Nestle following at a close second. He refuses to eat these brands of chocolate these days because he say all he can tast is the wax now that he knows. He says the companies will claim that this is done to prolong shelf life, but in reality it is a cost cutting measure. Purly annectodal I know, but I trust the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/29 "2007-05-14T15:02:23Z")
Isn’t Hershey’s part of that group that lobbied the FDA to allow the industry to market the stuff that has vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter as genuine chocolate? Their new motto could be “Hershey’s. We’d sell you shittier chocolate, but it’s against the law.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/30 "2007-05-14T15:12:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Bizarre but true. I only have annectotal evidence, but my Father in Law used to work for Gadiva as a product buyer and can quote off the top of his head the percentage of parafin in different brands of chocolate. He says Hershey’s has by far the most wax in it (something like 80% of the bar is food grade parafin wax) with American Cadbury and Nestle following at a close second. Not if you believe the ingredients roster, quoted twice above. They’re required by law to list the ingredients in the product, and in order by their relative presence. > [@](#): > > Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin and PGPR, emulsifiers; and vanillin;, artificial flavor) and almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and sunflower oil). Even if they slipped “paraffin” in there under some unexpected by barely-allowable heading (like “emulsifiers”), it’s still a relatively small proportion of the bar. No WAY is a Hershey bar 80% paraffin – you’d be able to wax skis and surfboards with it. I still find it hard to believe there’s any paraffin in the bar. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/31 "2007-05-14T15:13:58Z")
Hershy extracts a lot of the cocoa butter from the cacao beans it uses. The cocoa butter is what makes the chocolate soft and creamy-but Hershey’s makes more money by extracting it and selling it to cosmetics mfgs. (makeup, lipstick, skin creams, etc.). They replace the cocoa butter with cheap edible oils (whatever the market has)-stuff like soybean, safflower, peanut oils, etc. that is why the chocoate is hard and has an “off” taste. capitalism at work! I like the Belgian chocolates-or buy from a small local firm (like Lake Champlain Chocolates)-much better! ---
**Author:** ![iluvurmom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iluvurmom/32/7276_2.png) [@iluvurmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iluvurmom)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/32 "2007-05-14T15:22:06Z")
Well, personally, I don’t eat a lot of hershey’s chocolate but i definitely will eat it and have known to eat a lot of it 🙂 As chocolate goes, I’ve always liked it and have never really noticed that it’s not good. That said, I’ve had Cadbury’s chocolate abroad…and that is the BEST. But I don’t think Hershey’s is a bad next choice. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/33 "2007-05-14T15:23:06Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Hershy extracts a lot of the cocoa butter from the cacao beans it uses. The cocoa butter is what makes the chocolate soft and creamy-but Hershey’s makes more money by extracting it and selling it to cosmetics mfgs. (makeup, lipstick, skin creams, etc.). They replace the cocoa butter with cheap edible oils (whatever the market has)-stuff like soybean, safflower, peanut oils, etc. that is why the chocoate is hard and has an “off” taste. capitalism at work! I like the Belgian chocolates-or buy from a small local firm (like Lake Champlain Chocolates)-much better! [/QUOTE] Unless you’re willing to accuse Hershey’s of fraud in it’s ingredient lists, your claim seems hollow. I wonder how many people are misremembering some cheap chocolate as Hershey’s, because theirs’s the ubiquitous chocolate in the U.S. The ingredients are right on the wrapper. You may not like their exact formulation, but don’t claim stuff that’s not in there is. ,Pleonast, chocolate junkie Edit: pronouns! ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/34 "2007-05-14T15:28:25Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Not if you believe the ingredients roster, quoted twice above. They’re required by law to list the ingredients in the product, and in order by their relative presence. Even if they slipped “paraffin” in there under some unexpected by barely-allowable heading (like “emulsifiers”), it’s still a relatively small proportion of the bar. No WAY is a Hershey bar 80% paraffin – you’d be able to wax skis and surfboards with it. I still find it hard to believe there’s any paraffin in the bar. [/QUOTE] I believe it does fall under the heading of emulsifiers, and I may be way off about the percentage. Like I said this is second hand info from someone who worked at a competing chocolate company, so take that for what it is worth. ETA: Also, some of the food grade wax might have been replaced with the soy extracts etc that you list. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/35 "2007-05-14T15:34:57Z")
[QUOTE=Hershey’s chocolate bar with almonds] Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin and PGPR, emulsifiers; and vanillin;, artificial flavor) and almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and sunflower oil). [/QUOTE] PGPR? Yum, yum! [Cheaper chocolate through chemistry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGPR). For the time, at least, they’re not putting junk like that into the “premium” chocolate. From their 65% “Cacao Reserve” Ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate, sugar, cocoa, milk fat, cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin, vanilla beans) milk. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/36 "2007-05-14T15:36:15Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] Even today I’ll pretty much taste anything, as long as it’s not _wiggling_ or something. [/QUOTE] Lightweight! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/37 "2007-05-14T15:43:26Z")
Just a thought: are ingredients in brackets required to be in order of proportion? Furthermore, how is the proportion measured? Mass? Volume? (Genuine q. as I don’t know how we do it in Europe either). ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/38 "2007-05-14T16:00:37Z")
I like Hershey’s and I’ve tasted many chocolates from around the world. It’s Hershey’s. Good, but that’s it. Hershey’s is also starting to market more ‘upscale’ Chocolates, and they are noticably softer, more fragile and higher quality. I think the comparison to bad beer is unfair. People eat Hershey’s and enjoy it as a snack, knowing there are other more gourmet-type chocolates, and most people get to enjoy them from time to time. Piss poor beer like Budweiser, Coors Light and others are truly embarrassing examples that we in the USA should be completely ashamed of. Why? Because one could walk into a pub with his five best buddies, and have 32 beers on tap (draft/draugth) available, and his buddies will order, Bud Light or Coors Light **in a bottle!**. This is embarrassing. If one were to go out for a night of Chocolate, and there were 32 different chocolates to be had fresh in hand, I doubt anyone would be asking for a freakin’ Hershey bar in a wrapper! Well, I’d hope not. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/39 "2007-05-14T16:01:04Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Even if they slipped “paraffin” in there under some unexpected by barely-allowable heading (like “emulsifiers”), it’s still a relatively small proportion of the bar. No WAY is a Hershey bar 80% paraffin – you’d be able to wax skis and surfboards with it. I still find it hard to believe there’s any paraffin in the bar. [/QUOTE] I wasn’t sure if you meant you didn’t believe 80% (which also seems crazy to me) but I would definitely believe _any_ paraffin, er, _some_ paraffin. It’s not at all uncommon to add paraffin to chocolate when making candy or other desserts at home - adding a small amount of paraffin helps melted chocolate “set” nicer - less sticky and more glossy. I would say that most people have probably eaten chocolate with some paraffin added without even knowing it – very common on chocolate-covered strawberries, for example. Too much, of course, gives it an unpleasant waxy taste. I don’t know if paraffin is one of the emulsifiers used by Hershey, but it _can_ be used that way for chocolate. EDIT - oh, I wanted to add that I like Hershey’s just fine. I also like imported, high end, and small, locally-produced boutique chocolates as well. I do think some of my enjoyment of Hershey’s comes from having grown up with it – I _like_ how it’s a little gummy and clay-like. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/40 "2007-05-14T16:17:43Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Just a thought: are ingredients in brackets required to be in order of proportion? Furthermore, how is the proportion measured? Mass? Volume? (Genuine q. as I don’t know how we do it in Europe either). [/QUOTE] In the US, it’s done by weight, as far as I know. I don’t know if bracketed ingredients are ordered, but they usually seem to be. The Hershey’s bar list makes sense - mostly sugar in it. Also, there really doesn’t seem to any case for paraffin - the ‘emulsifiers’ is clarifying what soy lecithin and PGPR are. It’s hard to believe that Hershey’s would fail to list that while being upfront about PGPR. Wax or processed castor oil, I still don’t like Hershey’s chocolate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024.md?page=3)