Why British chocolate tastes the way it does

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231221-why-british-chocolate-tastes-the-way-it-does

by pseudolus • 3 years ago

62 81 3 years ago

PaulHoule• 3 years ago

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.

solumunus2• 3 years ago

I know it’s irrational but this bothers me.

goodlinks• 3 years ago

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 :)?

rsynnott3• 3 years ago

What does, the enormousness of the aldi bars?

Lio• 3 years ago

Which version of Cadbury?

There are several licensees of the Cadbury name internationally and they use different recipes for the same product.

sunnybeetroot• 3 years ago

Which countries Cadbury? Cadbury in Australia tastes better than UK IMO

Der_Einzige• 3 years ago

Even American Cadbury is superior to Hersheys, and the Cadbury you could get in Singapore was divine.

rsynnott3• 3 years ago

Interesting that the reasons both US and UK chocolate are weird are largely down to two separate pre-refrigeration practices which are now unnecessary.

NoboruWataya• 3 years ago

The differences led to the so-called "chocolate war" in Europe: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/17/foodanddrink

rsynnott3• 3 years ago

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’.

robocat• 3 years ago

https://youtu.be/sPwQ0PmK9lw?t=1m08s

Affric3• 3 years ago

I didn’t remember the detail that the label included the word “family”… what an incredible marketing coup by the British, Danes, and Irish.

Havoc2• 3 years ago

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.

JumpCrisscross3• 3 years ago

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.)

bushbaba• 3 years ago

Ghirardelli is ok, it’s good but nothing special. Seas candy and guittard (for baking) are significantly better

mcsniff• 3 years ago

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.

nullindividual• 3 years ago

Fran’s, based out of Seattle, makes excellent chocolate.

technofiend• 3 years ago

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.

nickt2• 3 years ago

Ahem, Marathon, for us old enough to remember.

EZ-E• 3 years ago

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

jeffrallen• 3 years ago

And Russian chocolate is a whole nother deal.

011000112• 3 years ago

Interesting. I always wondered why I hated Hershey's. It's not just the taste, but also the horrible mouthfeel.

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.

voisin• 3 years ago

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.

hackernewds• 3 years ago

precisely what I love about HN. folks here are into esoteric obsessions like myself

denton-scratch• 3 years ago

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.

ghusto3• 3 years ago

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...

dorfsmay2• 3 years ago

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.

peterashford4• 3 years ago

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.

ghusto3• 3 years ago

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 :/

gedy• 3 years ago

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.

ch4s32• 3 years ago

Ehh, only cheap chocolate tastes that way in the US. Even then not all of it, mainly a Hershey’s thing.

djmips2• 3 years ago

Wouldn't it be great if cheap chocolate tasted good too?

fred_is_fred• 3 years ago

Plenty of us don’t like it but it’s ubiquitous unfortunately like McDonalds or sliced white bread.

Spivak• 3 years ago

Wait until you find out we also prefer rancid olive oil.

One person's moldy cheese is another's delicacy.

jareklupinski• 3 years ago

"durian" has joined the chat

depletedgherkin• 3 years ago

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...

FuriouslyAdrift• 3 years ago

I strongly recommned Valrhona... https://www.valrhona.us/our-products/retail-range/all-produc...

I'll admit, I am addicted to the stuff.

leetrout• 3 years ago

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.

jimmaswell• 3 years ago

Somehow I've never found either remotely reminescent of the other.

hankchinaski2• 3 years ago

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

okeuro49• 3 years ago

The tomatoes that you can buy in Britain usually come from the Netherlands.

In any case, they're pretty tasteless.

hankchinaski2• 3 years ago

They come from all over the place but on average the quality is lower

011000112• 3 years ago

Tastelessness perhaps has something to do with the distance which they must travel. Less ripe tomatoes transport better.

Affric3• 3 years ago

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.

Symbiote• 3 years ago

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.

rad_gruchalski• 3 years ago

Have you try an organic (farm) shop?

2devnull• 3 years ago

More lead. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-...

dazc2• 3 years ago

Because it is now, mostly, American chocolate with British branding?

dingnuts• 3 years ago

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.

pazimzadeh• 3 years ago

You’re just used to it. It’s extremely obvious if you didn’t grow up in the US.

Digit-Al• 3 years ago

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.

dkobia• 3 years ago

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.

peterashford4• 3 years ago

As a non-American, I have to disagree. All power to you if you like it thou.

bluedino• 3 years ago

For a lower-end, easily available chocolate in the US, I'd recommend Dove

therealdrag02• 3 years ago

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.

djmips2• 3 years ago

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.

laomai• 3 years ago

My go to. +1

peterashford4• 3 years ago

Yeah I really like Lindt

jncfhnb2• 3 years ago

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.

therealdrag02• 3 years ago

Tony’s is fantastic. But I think part of it is their 51% bar is the perfect sweet spot between milk and dark.

bdavbdav• 3 years ago

So happy to have found cheap European chocolate at LIDL in the UK. It’s great.

mint2• 3 years ago

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

Why British chocolate tastes the way it does

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