Why British chocolate tastes the way it does(bbc.com)
bbc.com
Why British chocolate tastes the way it does
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231221-why-british-chocolate-tastes-the-way-it-does
83 コメント
> I noticed the mouthfeel is just lacking vs other Ghirardelli products. I've tried retempering them and adding more cocoa butter…
In two sentences you’ve captured what I love about HN. Thank you.
In two sentences you’ve captured what I love about HN. Thank you.
precisely what I love about HN. folks here are into esoteric obsessions like myself
Aha! Vindication for my belief that chocolate from the U.S.A. literally tastes rancid! Now I know why it tastes like off milk, but not why you guys like it :/
Plenty of us don’t like it but it’s ubiquitous unfortunately like McDonalds or sliced white bread.
It's a pleasant tangy taste that's pretty nice if you grew up eating it. Chocolate from other places sometimes feels like it's missing something...
It's strange but I actually like Hershey's chocolate, even though I've had much better quality chocolates. A Hershey bar seems like something you grab a bite of whenever, but better chocolate feels like too good/rich for that.
Ehh, only cheap chocolate tastes that way in the US. Even then not all of it, mainly a Hershey’s thing.
Wouldn't it be great if cheap chocolate tasted good too?
Then it wouldn’t be cheap
Not so! There's a lot of snobbery with things like chocolate because adults want to distinguish themselves whilst eating what's considered a "childish" sweet, and chocolate makers aren't exactly going to correct them when they're willing to pay twice the price for that privilege.
There's plenty of good cheap chocolate out there (at least here in Europe). You can even get decent stuff at the supermarket; Tony's isn't bad.
There's plenty of good cheap chocolate out there (at least here in Europe). You can even get decent stuff at the supermarket; Tony's isn't bad.
You can usually get expensive chocolate for pretty cheap right after a holiday is over from supermarkets or convenience stores (CVS/Walgreens). I'll buy enough to last until the next big holiday (Xmas, Valentine's, Easter, Halloween).
They want to have their chocolate and eat it, too.
There is good cheap chocolate, just not from Hershey.
Affordable luxury for the masses? Isn’t that communism?
In communism everything was a luxury, unless you were a part of the elite. They had different stores then the masses.
Wait until you find out we also prefer rancid olive oil.
One person's moldy cheese is another's delicacy.
One person's moldy cheese is another's delicacy.
"durian" has joined the chat
I find the difference vs American far more pronounced than any of the europe side difference. Can't stand the vomit like undernotes in US choc.
> Can't stand the vomit like undernotes in US choc
As the article notes, the butyric taste is a hallmark of Hershey’s and its ilk. America makes some great chocolate, from Ghirardelli to Jacques Torres.
(We have a segmentation problem in that our discerning—read: premium paying—adults tend towards dark chocolate, leaving milk to be marketed to children and adults who eat like them. But again, notable exceptions.)
As the article notes, the butyric taste is a hallmark of Hershey’s and its ilk. America makes some great chocolate, from Ghirardelli to Jacques Torres.
(We have a segmentation problem in that our discerning—read: premium paying—adults tend towards dark chocolate, leaving milk to be marketed to children and adults who eat like them. But again, notable exceptions.)
Ghirardelli is ok, it’s good but nothing special. Seas candy and guittard (for baking) are significantly better
Which See’s do you grab? I’ve tended to find them a touch too sweet, though I suppose that can be fixed with a dash of salt.
Sugar Free Dark Almonds from Sees[1] has to be one of my favorite chocolate products of all time. Friends and family always gobble them up at my place so I sometimes buy them as little gifts. I normally abhor anything “sugar free” because substitutes like aspartame taste absolutely disgusting to me, but this uses maltitol, which is a sugar alcohol that achieves a more subtle sweetness with none of the gross fake sugar taste, and since I like my chocolate on the less sweet side, it strikes a perfect balance for me. Maltitol is a mild laxative, but I’m pretty sure you would have to eat multiple boxes to feel anything.
[1] https://www.sees.com/dark-chocolate/sugar-free-almonds/20037...
[1] https://www.sees.com/dark-chocolate/sugar-free-almonds/20037...
Fran’s, based out of Seattle, makes excellent chocolate.
One of my favorite Seattle moments was having gotten some Frans chocolate from the factory in Georgetown to bring home from traveling, and some as a gift for my cousin I was staying with, watching two folks at the table next to me at a business dinner exchange little bags of Frans chocolates as a greeting.
Ah yes, if your tastes aren't like my tastes, you eat like a child.
What is the point of this? People are allowed to have different likes and dislikes, and they are allowed to eat whatever they want.
What is the point of this? People are allowed to have different likes and dislikes, and they are allowed to eat whatever they want.
> if your tastes aren't like my tastes, you eat like a child
Read it again. I like milk chocolate. But in America, the target market for milk chocolate is kids. So the sugar content is amped and the flavour profile is simplified.
Also, there is nothing wrong with eating like a child. I like Sour Patch Kids and gummy bears. But it is eating like a kid.
Read it again. I like milk chocolate. But in America, the target market for milk chocolate is kids. So the sugar content is amped and the flavour profile is simplified.
Also, there is nothing wrong with eating like a child. I like Sour Patch Kids and gummy bears. But it is eating like a kid.
Has nothing to do with eat like a child (?!?!).
Butyric acid - the key difference - is in vomit. Literally & factually. Even wikipedia characterises the odor as such as a result.
If people prefer American choc - more power to them
Butyric acid - the key difference - is in vomit. Literally & factually. Even wikipedia characterises the odor as such as a result.
If people prefer American choc - more power to them
Yes, for cheap chocolate I completely agree. I pack out a few Snickers every time I'm in the UK because the taste is so markedly different and better.
Ahem, Marathon, for us old enough to remember.
Guess what Marathon bars were called before?
I had no idea, but that was before my time! TIL.
https://twitter.com/richardosman/status/1122390906206814209
https://twitter.com/richardosman/status/1122390906206814209
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My kid had her first vomiting episode a month ago.
This morning she ate a large Hershey kiss and went to wash her hands and came back proclaiming "my hands smell like throw up" and having just read about this a few months ago I proudly educated the family on why emesis and hershey smell similar.
My day will only go up from here!
Merry christmas.
This morning she ate a large Hershey kiss and went to wash her hands and came back proclaiming "my hands smell like throw up" and having just read about this a few months ago I proudly educated the family on why emesis and hershey smell similar.
My day will only go up from here!
Merry christmas.
Somehow I've never found either remotely reminescent of the other.
Interesting that the reasons both US and UK chocolate are weird are largely down to two separate pre-refrigeration practices which are now unnecessary.
The differences led to the so-called "chocolate war" in Europe: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/17/foodanddrink
Ah, yes, the real-life version of that Yes Minister episode where Europe requires British sausages to be marketed as ‘emulsified high-fat offal tube’.
I didn’t remember the detail that the label included the word “family”… what an incredible marketing coup by the British, Danes, and Irish.
I strongly recommned Valrhona... https://www.valrhona.us/our-products/retail-range/all-produc...
I'll admit, I am addicted to the stuff.
I'll admit, I am addicted to the stuff.
I can’t stand Cadbury and can only tolerate Hershey’s because I grew up with it. Now ALDI has huge cheap chocolate bars of European chocolate that I like.
Which version of Cadbury?
There are several licensees of the Cadbury name internationally and they use different recipes for the same product.
There are several licensees of the Cadbury name internationally and they use different recipes for the same product.
Even American Cadbury is superior to Hersheys, and the Cadbury you could get in Singapore was divine.
Which countries Cadbury? Cadbury in Australia tastes better than UK IMO
I know it’s irrational but this bothers me.
I know its irrelevant, but i am curious - which bit? Hate for cadburys, tolerance of hershey or love for lidl? Or just the whole worldview :)?
The hate for Cadbury’s but also the idea you would love Hershey on the other hand. I can understand not thinking Cadbury’s is the best chocolate available but hating it just seems crazy, it’s such a non offensive product. If you like chocolate then Cadbury’s should be perfectly palatable to you. Hershey’s is just absolute garbage. If you like Hershey’s but don’t like Cadbury’s I would go as far as to say you simply don’t like chocolate.
There are a similar ilk of frustrating people who will claim Starbucks is disgusting and undrinkable when it’s just perfectly regular coffee and better than many options.
There are a similar ilk of frustrating people who will claim Starbucks is disgusting and undrinkable when it’s just perfectly regular coffee and better than many options.
Brown saved British steel but let the yanks buy Cadbury’s… sigh.
I get that others have preferences but I will never understand preferring Hershey’s. It’s almost like a lesser version of the coriander thing. It just contains a flavour that my mind body signals to me “do not consume”.
I think animus about Starbucks can arise from sources extrinsic to the coffee but from a coffee consumption perspective there are many good coffees. I think in a place with a strong coffee culture drinking Starbucks is essentially voting for its death.
I get that others have preferences but I will never understand preferring Hershey’s. It’s almost like a lesser version of the coriander thing. It just contains a flavour that my mind body signals to me “do not consume”.
I think animus about Starbucks can arise from sources extrinsic to the coffee but from a coffee consumption perspective there are many good coffees. I think in a place with a strong coffee culture drinking Starbucks is essentially voting for its death.
I think Starbucks is disgusting and undrinkable. I've been a coffee enthusiast for four decades now so it's not an uninformed opinion.
Although, I agree re: Cadbury vs Hershey. I'm not much of a Cadbury fan, but imo it's orders of magnitude better than Hershey.
What does, the enormousness of the aldi bars?
Anyone else think Lindt is pretty tasty for an inexpensive milk chocolate bar? I never liked Hersheys and agree about the weird almost vomit note in the flavor. I used to like Cadbury but it changed.
Yeah I really like Lindt
My go to. +1
I’ve come to the opinion that chocolate as a food is just much harder to make good than chocolate as a flavor or additive.
Fancy chocolates are ok but not really satisfying like how you remember it as a kid. But chocolate flavored stuff and melted chocolate is still pretty solid generically.
If you don’t want “sophisticated and subtle” chocolate, I would recommend Tony’s (slave free) chocolate. This gets closest to what I actually want in a chocolate bar.
Fancy chocolates are ok but not really satisfying like how you remember it as a kid. But chocolate flavored stuff and melted chocolate is still pretty solid generically.
If you don’t want “sophisticated and subtle” chocolate, I would recommend Tony’s (slave free) chocolate. This gets closest to what I actually want in a chocolate bar.
Tony’s is fantastic. But I think part of it is their 51% bar is the perfect sweet spot between milk and dark.
The article was interesting, too bad it did not deep dive a bit into Asian chocolate. So far I've been mostly disappointed when buying chocolate in China and Vietnam (not much taste, not sugary enough for my taste) but I quite liked some of the bars sold in Thailand
And Russian chocolate is a whole nother deal.
TFA is about milk chocolate; but British dark chocolate is also distinctive. I think there's probably just a lot more sugar in it than in Belgian or Swiss brands.
It's been decades since I tasted US chocolate; so, no comment on that.
It's been decades since I tasted US chocolate; so, no comment on that.
It's because it's not technically chocolate. Or at least this was the basis for the "chocolate war" of Europe:
https://europe.wisc.edu/outreach-opportunities/european-unio...
https://europe.wisc.edu/outreach-opportunities/european-unio...
I too was surprised, I was really surprised by this statement and would love to see more data on it:
> while adding vegetable fats to chocolate is something that is a unique practice among British manufacturers, these fats are tasteless, so they're unlikely to be contributing.
> while adding vegetable fats to chocolate is something that is a unique practice among British manufacturers, these fats are tasteless, so they're unlikely to be contributing.
That interested me, as well. Where I live, Cadbury chocolate was the go-to option for chocolate. I remember the switch to them using palm oil - I hated it. Stopped buying their product after that.
You switched because of the change in taste? Texture? Environmental or philosophical concerns? Health concerns (does palm have more saturated fat than cocoa?)
I remember reading that Ferrero tried to switch away from palm oil but never managed to recreate the taste and texture and all tests showed that people did not like the alternatives, so Ferrero kept it and invested in ethical palm instead.
I remember reading that Ferrero tried to switch away from palm oil but never managed to recreate the taste and texture and all tests showed that people did not like the alternatives, so Ferrero kept it and invested in ethical palm instead.
For a lower-end, easily available chocolate in the US, I'd recommend Dove
Dove and lint are good. Tony’s is good for a bit more. See’s is good, though mostly I like the chocolate covered caramels.
Anyone who likes chocolate and is in or visiting S.F. absolutely has to go visit the store called chocolate covered in Noe valley.
They don’t carry cheap chocolate but they have an amazingly large variety of craft chocolate bars from all over the world
They don’t carry cheap chocolate but they have an amazingly large variety of craft chocolate bars from all over the world
So happy to have found cheap European chocolate at LIDL in the UK. It’s great.
Because it is now, mostly, American chocolate with British branding?
Same for tomatoes British grown tomatoes have no taste compared to southern Europe equivalent. Among an endless list of other produces. Taste standards are much lower in the UK than anywhere else in Europe so not surprising
I think it's a combination of several things.
The climate obviously doesn't allow growing nice tomatoes all year in Britain, and can't satisfy demand for the whole country even in the summer.
Income equality is the worst in Europe, so there are far more people than you might expect who can't afford nicer food.
The country is generally more car-centric, which can necessitate weekly shops for produce that keeps well, rather than ripe fruit which won't last.
The climate obviously doesn't allow growing nice tomatoes all year in Britain, and can't satisfy demand for the whole country even in the summer.
Income equality is the worst in Europe, so there are far more people than you might expect who can't afford nicer food.
The country is generally more car-centric, which can necessitate weekly shops for produce that keeps well, rather than ripe fruit which won't last.
I think you’ve been rather blunt, and the fact is that the UK does have some exceptional local produce, but there is a kernel of truth: people in the UK accept particularly low standards from their supermarkets compared to the wealth that exists in the country. And they have done so for a very long time.
But you can get great strawberries in summer. Great seafood in Scotland. Many a hearty meal is to be had if you stick to local food.
Tomatoes are native to Mexico and developed in Spain and Italy. If you want them in the UK the trade offs are harsh.
But you can get great strawberries in summer. Great seafood in Scotland. Many a hearty meal is to be had if you stick to local food.
Tomatoes are native to Mexico and developed in Spain and Italy. If you want them in the UK the trade offs are harsh.
The tomatoes that you can buy in Britain usually come from the Netherlands.
In any case, they're pretty tasteless.
In any case, they're pretty tasteless.
Tastelessness perhaps has something to do with the distance which they must travel. Less ripe tomatoes transport better.
They come from all over the place but on average the quality is lower
But this is not just UK. Southern Europe is exception. While you can get tasty tomatoes in many countries on the continent - those sold in supermarket are very sad ones.
Have you try an organic (farm) shop?
This narrative about American chocolate tasting like vomit is just marketing from Cadbury. Sadly I only know this from speaking to a food scientist in person and don't recall the details, but it's tiring to see this go around on Reddit, er I mean HN, every few years.
Hershey's does not taste like vomit. Y'all are imagining it after being told by Cadbury that it does.
Hershey's does not taste like vomit. Y'all are imagining it after being told by Cadbury that it does.
I'm sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. Some years ago a work colleague went on holiday to America (I'm English) and brought back some Hershey chocolate. At that point I had never heard about American chocolate tasting like vomit, but when I tried it that's what I immediately thought of. I then looked online and found out the reason it tasted like that. Since I'd never heard anything bad about American chocolate at that point it can't be blamed on propaganda.
I’ve never seen the marketing you speak of from Cadbury and immigrated to the US over 20 years ago. I still can’t stand Hersheys. What horrible chocolate. The only people that like it grew up on it and didn’t know any better, so I understand. I truly hope American palates can rescued from this travesty.
You’re just used to it. It’s extremely obvious if you didn’t grow up in the US.
As a non-American, I have to disagree. All power to you if you like it thou.
I recently bought a couple 5lb bags of Ghirardelli(lower lead+cadmium, maybe) chips as a cheaper way of satisfying my chocolate cravings(also handy because I realized I eat over a lb/month). I noticed the mouthfeel is just lacking vs other Ghirardelli products. I've tried retempering them and adding more cocoa butter, but they just seem... a little less smooth. I don't know, maybe they weren't conched as much?
My favorite is the Trader Joe's Fair Trade Organic 72 % Cacao Belgian Dark Chocolate Bar which, for a cheap, readily available in the US, relatively dark chocolate is amazingly smooth with a wonderful taste and mouthfeel.