# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/121 "2007-05-17T16:53:48Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] I think people just _want_ to hate it. [/QUOTE] I think you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Tibidabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@Tibidabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibidabo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/122 "2007-05-17T20:57:17Z")
\*\*ralph124c \*\*, yes they still make Aero, I had a mint Aero this morning!! 🙂 hardly the finest of chocolate, I mean you’re sick of it by the end, but it’s alright. **lowbrass** , maybe some people do love to hate it, but I honestly had no reason to! I paid €2 for the bloody thing, I’d have preferred if was _good_! And I was completely unbiased; to my knowledge the only time I had ever even heard of a Hershey bar was in the film _Empire of the Sun_! "Hey kid wanna Hershey bar? - Yes please - So would I kid, ya got one?" There, see? Two people wanting a Hershey Bar. I was lead to believe it would be good :mad: And thank you **nevermore** , downright decent of you to offer but you’re right about the cutesy, I will change it ---
**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 18, 2007, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/123 "2007-05-18T11:13:49Z")
I second **QtR** - I paid a premium price for my imported Hershey products and I wanted to like them, but they just seemed awful to me. I don’t want to hate Hershey chocolate, but the product itself makes me dislike it. I wouldn’t even bother mentioning it if not for the perplexity characterised by people who seem to like it. ---
**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 18, 2007, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/124 "2007-05-18T12:04:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I wouldn’t even bother mentioning it if not for the perplexity characterised by people who seem to like it. Yep – color me “perplexed”. And don’t hedge with them weasel words – I don’t “seem” to like it, I do like it. Just had a bar yesterday. What I don’t understand are the people who seem to hate it. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/125 "2007-05-18T14:54:00Z")
With all due respect, would this thread still be going on if we were talking about rutabagas? It’s a food: some people like it, some don’t. How that can be such a befuddlement to folks escapes me. ---
**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 18, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/126 "2007-05-18T14:55:30Z")
> [@](#): > > With all due respect, would this thread still be going on if we were talking about rutabagas? It’s a food: some people like it, some don’t. How that can be such a befuddlement to folks escapes me. We might, if it was European rutabagas vs. the Giant American conglomerate rutabagas. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/127 "2007-05-18T16:52:20Z")
[QUOTE=TimeWinder] With all due respect, would this thread still be going on if we were talking about rutabagas? It’s a food: some people like it, some don’t. How that can be such a befuddlement to folks escapes me. [/QUOTE] I guess rutabagas don’t hold such sentimental value for some people. 😉 While I enjoyed Hershey’s as a child, I haven’t had a Hershey bar in seven years or so, and have no desire for one. My favorite chocolate now is Wilbur’s (a small company in Maine). When it gets too hot for that to be shipped, I rely on Lindt. Harry & David chocolate is pretty good too, but I have to drive to Smithfield to find it. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/128 "2007-05-18T18:30:08Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] PGPR? Yum, yum! [Cheaper chocolate through chemistry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGPR). [/QUOTE] > [@wikipedia (see above link)](#): > > Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (PGPR), E476, is an emulsifier made from **castor beans** > [@Cecil Adams (see today's column)](#): > > Ricin poisoning can be had from eating **castor beans** , the source of castor oil — the symptoms build slowly and gruesomely (basically your arteries plug up), culminating in death in a week or so. If injected or inhaled, a bit of ricin the size of a pin head could kill you. [today’s column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070518.html) (Bolding mine in both cases.) I guess this gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “Death by Chocolate.” 😃 ---
**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:** [May 18, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/129 "2007-05-18T19:11:34Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] We might, if it was European rutabagas vs. the Giant American conglomerate rutabagas. [/QUOTE] With all due respect, I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I’ve had mass produced Eastern European (especially Russian) chocolates that were far worse than Hershey’s. For me, Hershey’s is pretty low on the totem pole of chocolate quality. Both the mouthfeel and taste are off, and, for me, mouthfeel is a _big_ part of what makes great chocolate great. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/130 "2007-05-18T19:29:47Z")
When my friend worked in Oman Hershey chocolate was the only one they could get out there and when he bit into it the taste took him right back to the war and the candy bars they (as children) used to cadge off the GIs. Quite unlike domestic chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/131 "2007-05-18T20:32:25Z")
[QUOTE=Quoth the Raven] **lowbrass** , maybe some people do love to hate it, but I honestly had no reason to! I paid €2 for the bloody thing, I’d have preferred if was _good_! And I was completely unbiased; to my knowledge the only time I had ever even heard of a Hershey bar was in the film _Empire of the Sun_! [/QUOTE] O.K., fair enough. Just seems odd. I like Cadbury chocolate, but I would say Hershey’s is _less_ bland, not more. It actually has quite a strong flavor. It’s also more firm in texture, so I don’t understand the “too soft” criticism. And someone else actually complained about the _color_, for crying out loud. Last time I checked, it was brown, which I believe is the color of chocolate. I’ve had cheap, crappy chocolate, which tends to be waxy and gooey in texture and have no flavor. Hershey’s isn’t like that, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/132 "2007-05-18T21:00:27Z")
Hershey’s chocolate is about my least favorite brand; cadbury’s and dove are much better, and even nestle’s is better. But like other things in life, even the worst isn’t so bad. It definitely has a distinctive taste, kind of a grainy feeling in the mouth, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/133 "2007-05-18T21:45:28Z")
My main complaint about Hershey’s chocolate (especially the Hershey’s kisses) is that is has an off taste - kind of bitter and sour - that actually reminds me of vomit. I don’t want my mouth to taste like I’ve just thrown up after I eat a chocolate bar, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/134 "2007-05-18T22:11:52Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] (And I like New York wines, even over California wines.) [/QUOTE] Hear hear! Praise for Dr. Frank! ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/135 "2007-05-19T01:42:12Z")
But see, let’s go back to the title of the thread. It doesn’t ask “Why don’t I like Hershey’s chocolate?” or “Why do I prefer Dove/Godiva/whatever to Hershey’s?” Nope. The OP starts from the premise that there is something wrong with Hershey’s and many of the replies were attempts to identify what is “wrong” with the product. How many of the replies were “There’s nothing wrong with Hershey’s chocolate, but I prefer the following brand for this reason?” So, I think you are seeing a touch of defensiveness from people who like the product because of the perception that you are saying “since there is something wrong with Hershey’s, there must be something wrong with anybody who likes it.” For my part, I believe I’m detecting the same general feeling from chocolate snobs in this thread that one will find from beer snobs, wine snobs, gun snobs, film snobs, etc. in threads devoted to those topics. I can’t get that worked up about chocolate. Now if it was _herring_ we were talking about… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/136 "2007-05-19T02:46:23Z")
I like Hershey’s, but if you want real chocolate, go with [Sarris](http://www.sarriscandies.com/). ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024/137 "2007-05-19T03:33:39Z")
I like Hershey’s kisses. For me it’s mostly about the shape, which contributes to the mouthfeel. That said, they are horrible if they are the slightest bit stale. If they’re fresh, they’re great. FWIW, though, my favorite kiss-type chocolates used to be Ghirardelli Flicks, which came in a cardboard tube so that they always had a slightly cardboard taste. I would give a lot of money for some cardboard-flavored Flicks. It’s sort of my madeleine, I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-hersheys-chocolate/404024.md?page=6)