Why Is American Chocolate So Bad? QI

[OnDoutside]

I never liked American Chocolate, and now I know why !!!

[spooky3]

1. They're comparing mass produced, cheap US chocolate

With the best of European chocolate? Like comparing McDonald’s with the finest meal in Paris. Excellent chocolate is made in the US. Ghirardelli’s is mass produced but very good.

I personally found French chocolates abominable when visiting there; I also dislike Godiva. Some Belgian and Swiss chocolate is wonderful.

[CrispyQ]

2. I was thrilled when someone gave me a box of Godiva, & then so terribly disappointed!

One Christmas a co-worker gave me a small box of the most luscious chocolate I've ever had & it was from Belgium.

[lark]

10. I was told in Belgium thst the difference is the low standards for caccao (sp?) in US chocolates.

Belgium has to have at least 32% to be considered chocolate, where in the USA chocolate has around 20% caccao and sometimes even less. I had spectacular chocolates in both Belgium and Germany - amazingly good! I ate chocolates at a number of places in Belgium, and they were all wonderful, even the not expensive ones.

[OnDoutside]

17. In Europe, Lidl and Aldi do the sea shells for an amazing price and they're lovely. Less than $3

[spooky3]

22. Those are delicious. A Belgian friend brings them

When visiting.

[lark]

30. I've gotten these in the past from one of the Aldi's in Jacksonville.

They are wonderful! Wish they still had them.

[lindysalsagal]

12. Long time ago Godiva was good.

Now it's weak and gritty

[OnDoutside]

16. I think they're comparing cheap mass produced US chocolate to UK cheap mass produced chocolate.

At a basic level, Hersheys vs Cadburys (which ironically is now owned by Kraft). Actually the Cadburys chocolate made in Ireland is different to the Cadbury made in the UK (nicer in my opinion).



Some of the more expensive mass produced chocolate in the UK and in Europe, I also find to be awful. One of those in the UK is Thorntons Chocolate which I find to be very dry. I agree with you about Godiva, one of the ones I liked bringing back from Belgium was Neuhaus.

Another mass produced chocolate that is almost a luxury producer is the Swiss chocolatier Lindt's Lindor range

[spooky3]

20. I love Lindt milk chocolate; can't have it in the house because

I’ll pig out.

And they had Roger Federer as an endorser—can’t beat that!

[OnDoutside]

28. Except for Christmas Day, I'm with you !

Dangerously good !

[smirkymonkey]

18. Yes, then there is Green Mountain Chocolate company (made in Burlington, VT) which

is very good. Vosges chocolate which is exquisite (from Chicago), ScharffenBerger (San Francisco) and many other smaller, handmade chocolate companies that turn out excellent products.

They are like the confectioners version of craft breweries or artisan cheesemakers. They specialize in what they do and learn their craft from the experts in Europe and duplicate it over here, with some local touches.

[spooky3]

21. I'll have to watch for these. Nt

[smirkymonkey]

24. Green Mountain Chocolate isn't inexpensive, but you can find it in Whole Foods and some other

specialty markets, or order off their website. I will sometimes send gifts from there, which people always appreciate.

We had a Vosges boutique in New York near where I worked (Soho) so I would always pop by and get myself some treats. The thing about Vosges is that they have really interesting combinations of chocolate and other spices/herbs/ingredients. They have the best truffles!

Some of my favorites were a Mexican one with chili powder and cinnamon (very dark choc.) or a rosewater and champagne (semi-dark) or an Indian one w/ curry, or a Hungarian one w/ Paprika, or a Japanese one with wasabi and roasted sessame seeds, etc.

There were so many more interesting flavors (including caramels, marshmallow cremes, and other chocolate confections), but even though they sound kind of disgusting, the flavors of the spices were so subtle, you mostly tasted just the chocolate with just a tiny hint of the spices/herbs that they featured. They would feature new truffles every month, sometimes with flower essences, exotic spices, or just everyday ingredients.

It's a nice little way to treat yourself if you have an extra $40 to spend and love good chocolate (You can spend more, but you can get a good intro for $40-ish). I know they sell the chocolate bars in Whole Foods, but those are not the best of their assortment. If you know a chocolate fanatic, it is a great gift.

Now I really want some of their chocolate!

[spooky3]

25. Thanks! Nt

[Old Crank]

37. I don't like Kinder or Milka

in Germany. They are mostly milk chocolate and overly sweet for my tastes. They are marketed for children mostly.
There are a good number of brands that I do like. Lindt, Ritter Sport. Vahlrona is the French brand I like.

[comradebillyboy]

3. Personally I like a good Hershey chocolate bar.

The chocolate snobbery is just like any other food snobbery.

[Phentex]

5. I gotta say

I don't think I've ever met a chocolate I could not eat. Hell, I'm buying the dairy free baking chips and I eat them for a snack sometimes.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

7. Growing up I loved Hershey's

But I've had a few people tell me they think it tastes like vomit. Apparently there's some sort of additive that Hershey's uses that is similar to sour milk or something, and some people are VERY sensitive to it. I've never noticed it myself.

[spooky3]

19. They may be "super tasters"

About 25% of the population has a gene that can make people more sensitive to bitter tastes. 25% are “non-tasters”, and about half are in the middle. This could account for differences in how people experience different chocolate flavors.

[smirkymonkey]

27. Yes, I can definitely taste that in Hershey chocolate, although I don't totally hate it, but I

completely know the taste they are talking about and it is something that is in authentic Parmesano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, both of which I love and cook with frequently.

I am also a super taster. I can taste things in food that a lot of others can't, such as when meat has gone rancid, or anything is the slightest bit spoiled. I love almost all vegetables and will eat anything vegetarian, but Brussels sprouts and Kale (not baby kale) both taste very bitter to me.

[electric_blue68]

33. Ha! Never heard of "non-tasters". Knew about super tasters.

[Ron Obvious]

34. It's the butyric acid

I'm one of those who thinks Hershey's tastes like vomit. I'm not sure if I'm a supertaster or not, but I did grow up in Europe and I understand that butyric acid is much more prevalent in the American diet when you grow up here than elsewhere.

My wife loves European chocolate now and can't stand the Hershey's of her childhood anymore either.

[MoonchildCA]

4. See's Candies are really good.

I don’t like Hershey’s or Nestle, or any of those counter brands. They taste like wax to me.

[Upthevibe]

26. MoonchildCA....Yes! You beat me to it....

I love my good old California See's candy.

[Old Crank]

38. I like See's and Gihradelli

But I generally don't like milk chocolate. Just too sweet and not enough chocolate flavor. Up to 70%, after that it is too bitter and should be used for cooking only.
When I was in Las Vegas an owner of M7Ms started Ethyl M's in his retirement and makes great chocolate. Pricey though.

[Boxerfan]

6. I remember thick chalky chocolate in Mexico.

Didn't slow me down a bit....

That was in the late 60's. I have no idea if it's still available.

[Bayard]

8. There is no bad chocolate

[keithbvadu2]

9. Chocolate is up there with vitamins and minerals.

Chocolate is up there with vitamins and minerals.

Maybe the sixth food group.

[malthaussen]

11. Frankly, I think this is elitist bullshit.

I've eaten chocolate from America and sundry European manufacturers. I don't find any of it "bad" to begin with. Some of the more specialized and expensive chocolates are better than the cheaper, mass-produced stuff, which is to be expected.

But there, I'm a food barbarian who does not feel the need to sneer at the more accessible foods.

-- Mal

[Ptah]

13. food barbarian!

Excellent phrase!

[Skittles]

15. I agree

yes indeed

[Skittles]

14. I've tried chocolate from all over the world

my favorite is, and has always been, Hershey's.

[drmeow]

23. Interesingly

when I first went to Ireland and England as an adult about 25 years ago or so, I could not find dark chocolate to save my life. I was so frustrated. EVERYTHING was milk chocolate!

[OnDoutside]

29. You'll find it everywhere now if you go back !

[drmeow]

32. I know

I've been back since

[Doc_Technical]

31. Goggle "hershey's chocolate added vegetable oil"

[jmowreader]

35. Oh FFS....

There seems to be an industry in England and India that does nothing but slam the United States. They don't like our sports, our food, our music, our taste in clothing, our restaurants, anything. And they seem to have an especial case of the ass for our beer, chocolate and cheese.

Please remember that the least offensive thing to eat on the whole bloody island is spotted dick, which should tell you something. There's a reason why the two most popular things to eat there that aren't fish and chips are Indian dishes - it's because British food is fucking inedible! It's what they use in prisons when the nutraloaf didn't get the desired effect. "Bruiser Martin, you have committed fifteen serious violent crimes since you've been with us. We have tried everything to get you to shape up. We've done solitary confinement, chain gangs, everything we can legally do to you - and every time you come out of the hole you're worse than before. Well, we've got the worst punishment of all. We're going to put you on a steady diet of eel pie, mushy peas and bubble and squeak until you quit fucking up." "Oh God Sir, not that! Not the British Food Torture! I'm turning over a new leaf right now! I'll be a model prisoner from now on! Do anything you want to me! Let the other prisoners beat me up! Throw me off the roof! Just don't make me eat the British food!"

So, naturally, I don't give a rat's ass what the British think of our chocolate.

[GenThePerservering]

36. Hershey's tastes like plastic

and I come from a family that drinks our wine out of boxes. No snob.

Really good chocolate is made in the US, but by small makers, not big corporations. And it doesn't have to be expensive.

[Old Crank]

39. An oversimplification like most cases.

The US does produce good chocolate. But in my opinion the major names aren't the best product available.
I did use Herseys or Bakers unsweetened for cooking along with the cocoa powder. Now, because of where I live, I use Lindt or the Edeka market's house brand. For chips I prefer Ghirardelli or Guittards semi sweet. Here I can't find the same size chip so I am now buying a smaller chip in kilo packs. (Danger! Will Robinson!)
Sees makes excellent chocolate and Ethyl M's.
I found a great old chocolatier in St. Louis.
For my taste milk chocolate from almost all sources is too sweet and cloying. Fter you hit 70+% chocolate it is too bitter for me.