To wonder if Americans actually like hersheys chocolate

[OfstedOffred]

Colleague returned from a trip to the states and brought various sweets back including Hershey chocolate.

I tried a bit and it tastes terrible. I mean really. I have a sweet tooth so can cope with how sugary it is but there's a weird sicky flavour I can't place.

Is this how Americans like chocolate? Or is it just that international brands maybe don't get imported there or are expensive?

It hasnt gone down well at work. Huge bag and after everyone tried it once no one went back for more

@luckylavender

This is such a rude post. Each to his own. But really talking about Americans so dismissively.

What? Pointing out that Hershey's actually does contain a chemical that tastes of vomit, that we all prefer the chocolate of our childhoods and that Cadburys is also now being destroyed is hardly dismissive.

Hell, there's even a scientific paper included.

Hardly dismissive!

Sadly neither Americans nor the British make decent chocolate, Cadbury is meh, I’d rather go without!
Even the higher end stuff like charbonnel et Walker is so disappointing !

Some years ago my husband brought some bags of it home for the children to share in school.

Absolutely disgusting.
Worse than cooking chocolate.

Vomilicious!

Here's the story about Hershey's chocolate. It was the first mass produced chocolate in the US. The process Milton Hershey invented used milk that was slightly cooked so that it has a tang, which gives it that taste that people who are not used to it hate. If you hate it, you'll think of it as vomit. You might also think of it as a parmesan cheese flavor. Which is strange in chocolate, but it's not bad if you're used to it. As far as the quality goes, its ingredients are better than those in a Cadbury's bar, which of course isn't saying much, because Cadburys chocolate is horrible. But they are both economy chocolates, so the cost is appropriate to the price. And there are many delicious kinds of chocolate to buy in the US. Often from smaller companies.

I work with Americans they love Hershey's and those horrible Reeses Peanutbutter things.

@Mercurial123

I work with Americans they love Hershey's and those horrible Reeses Peanutbutter things.

One of my sons likes these. Disgusting too.

I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

In fairness I would eat a scabby horse if you put enough peanut butter on it.

I love reeses pnb cups. That chemical definitely not in reeses pnb cups

I'm British but have lived in the US for nearly 30 years. I can't stand the taste of Hershey's. My (American) husband and children like it. I think it just depends if you've grown up with it. Having said that, my husband and kids much prefer high quality chocolate, of which there is plenty available in the US.

bit like Brits loving Cadbury‘s, it’s grim and barely passes for chocolate but weirdly a lot of them like the stuff

Neither are great. The only American chocolate I really like (American btw) are Reese’s peanut butter cups and they have to be stored in the fridge or freezer so the chocolate doesn’t melt onto your fingers.

@ThirdElephant

Is it actually classed as chocolate? I thought it was candy.

You don't know what you're talking about, do you?

Candy is a generic term for sweet treats, like chocolate bars, lollipops, sweets, etc. Anything like that would be categorized as candy. Chocolate is a subset of candy.

I feel as if there is a disappointing lack of curiosity and openmindedness on this thread. I am not saying anyone should like Hershey's chocolate. I don't love it myself. But tasting the foods of another culture can be a visceral way of experiencing something about another culture, and there is often a fascinating history behind them that can open a door into another world, whether it is the foods of the wealthy or the junk food of the poor or everything in between. I see 138 messages so far, the great majority pretty much sneering at the tastes of another country, and very few asking "What's the why?" which is the only really interesting question. WHY is it that a certain people eats the foods they do? How did they acquire a taste for such a thing? Is there any food that we eat that we might have an equivalent taste for? And might other peoples view us in the same way? And are there any other countries that have similarly odd food products? Etc. These are interesting ways to talk about a foreign food and how you feel about it. Not just "Foreigners are stupid."

@PrincessNutella

I feel as if there is a disappointing lack of curiosity and openmindedness on this thread. I am not saying anyone should like Hershey's chocolate. I don't love it myself. But tasting the foods of another culture can be a visceral way of experiencing something about another culture, and there is often a fascinating history behind them that can open a door into another world, whether it is the foods of the wealthy or the junk food of the poor or everything in between. I see 138 messages so far, the great majority pretty much sneering at the tastes of another country, and very few asking "What's the why?" which is the only really interesting question. WHY is it that a certain people eats the foods they do? How did they acquire a taste for such a thing? Is there any food that we eat that we might have an equivalent taste for? And might other peoples view us in the same way? And are there any other countries that have similarly odd food products? Etc. These are interesting ways to talk about a foreign food and how you feel about it. Not just "Foreigners are stupid."

I think you may be overthinking this a tad.

It's just nasty 'chocolate'.

You don't know what you're talking about, do you?

Candy is a generic term for sweet treats, like chocolate bars, lollipops, sweets, etc. Anything like that would be categorized as candy. Chocolate is a subset of candy.

I know that, but I was in under the impression it didn't contain enough cocoa to be legally classified as chocolate.

mobile.twitter.com/qikipedia/status/1226898620613644289

I don't know how accurate that is though, or where I heard it originally. Hence why I queried it.

Sorry, the above should be tagged

@Anonymous48

I'm not American but I love Hershey's chocolates

@PrincessNutella

I feel as if there is a disappointing lack of curiosity and openmindedness on this thread. I am not saying anyone should like Hershey's chocolate. I don't love it myself. But tasting the foods of another culture can be a visceral way of experiencing something about another culture, and there is often a fascinating history behind them that can open a door into another world, whether it is the foods of the wealthy or the junk food of the poor or everything in between. I see 138 messages so far, the great majority pretty much sneering at the tastes of another country, and very few asking "What's the why?" which is the only really interesting question. WHY is it that a certain people eats the foods they do? How did they acquire a taste for such a thing? Is there any food that we eat that we might have an equivalent taste for? And might other peoples view us in the same way? And are there any other countries that have similarly odd food products? Etc. These are interesting ways to talk about a foreign food and how you feel about it. Not just "Foreigners are stupid."

You can’t have remotely read the full thread at all before saying this, as I posted an article upthread about the reasons and history of why US chocolate tastes different, and lots of posters have been discussing it.

I lived in the USfor five years and stopped eating chocolate or sweets when I was there .Everything tasted awful especially Hershey's .even my kids didn't eat the sweets there when they arrived first .They eventually did find a few types of sweets or candy that they liked but in general it was always spat out.

American chocolate is the alcohol free beer of confectionery. Their bread disintegrates upon contact with butter. I love root beer though and they make good hash brownies.

and they make good hash brownies

Was that an autocorrect fail or did you actually mean "hash brownies"? 😁

PrincessNutella honestly, it’s nothing to do with history or being sneery to others food or culture.
lots of US chocolates use banned or restricted ingredients in UK and EU,
That’s why we find many cereals, bread , sweets and chocolates very synthetic, there is no cap on the percentage of PGPR used in the US , but the uk has a limit and I think EU countries have banned them all together, also some of the food dyes used in US chocolates are totally banned here Like red 40.

Not RTF, but I have tried it and it tastes like vomit. I guess Americans are used to that.

There are many things I do like about America. Ford Mustangs, the cup measuring system, Nascar, New York, BBQ ribs and more.
However, Hersheys is minging. It really does taste like vomit.

This of an American trying British chocolate bars sums it up pretty well.

Have any of you tried s'mores with real graham crackers, Hershey's, and toasted marshmallows?

I think they would change your mind about Hershey's.