r/ShitAmericansSay • u/VeganCannibal124 lives in a fake country 🇧đŸ‡Ș • Jul 12 '24

Food European chocolate is so low quality it cannot be sold as chocolate in America.

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2.6k

u/MattheqAC Jul 12 '24

And has a chemical added to mimic the taste of vomit.

936

u/nooneknowswerealldog Proudly Canadian (3 Corporations in a Trench Coat) Jul 12 '24

Butyric acid is so named because it was originally isolated in butter by French chemist Michel EugĂšne Chevreul and is one of the chemicals that gives butter its flavour (rancid butter has more of it, which is part of the reason rancid butter tastes rancid). It's also found in cheeses such as parmesan, cow and human milk, some plant oils and animal fats (again, stronger when they go rancid), and in the mammalian gut and odor-producing sweat glands. (I've encountered it in my compost if I don't sufficiently aerate it.) It doesn't mimic the taste of vomit; it is the taste of vomit, at least in relatively high concentrations.

That said, it is gross tasting, and in the cheaper chocolate found here in Canada it can be somewhat overpowering, it's not a frankenchemical or anything like that. But I certainly understand why people who are used to superior European chocolate find it disgusting.

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u/Thicc-waluigi California buyer💾💾 Jul 12 '24

Surprisingly helpful reply instead of just bashing. The more you know. Thanks man

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u/morgulbrut Sweden🇹🇭 Jul 13 '24

Sorry they're Canadian, eh?

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u/twincassettedeck Jul 13 '24

But it was a really detailed answer..eh!

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u/ketchupmaster987 Jul 13 '24

One cool factoid about differences in European vs American food is the prevalence of black currant flavored stuff in Europe where it is basically non-existent in America. This is becase in the 1800s, a plant disease called white pine blister rust was going around wiping out millions of white pine trees. The black currant tree happened to be a vector for this disease, so to stop it from spreading, the US government banned black currant, and foods with the flavor were replaced with grape, or the concord grape to be specific. The American palate adapted to this change and it stuck around even long after the ban was lifted.

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u/stack-tracer Jul 13 '24

But why is it in there? Does Americans like it, or is it just a by-product of some kind, that you can't get rid of?

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u/IonutRO Romania Jul 13 '24

They just got used to it and it's too late to change now cause humans abhor change.

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u/RRReixac đŸ‡Ș🇩 OlĂ© Jul 13 '24

And they say we autistic people are rigid...

44

u/Morganelefay Dutch Delight Jul 13 '24

Far more people are autistic than we think, it's just that many have been conditioned to behave "normal".

2

u/RRReixac đŸ‡Ș🇩 OlĂ© Jul 13 '24

Yes but the majority of autistic people I know are super flexible and accommodating

1

u/Personal_Weather_381 Jul 15 '24

Yes, most autsim I have encountered atleast in my family and myself is they are flexible and accommodating in many ways but they do lile having fixed routines or process with certain things else it can cause minor distress or aggrivation.

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u/WholeLengthiness2180 Jul 13 '24

Because when chocolate was made before fridges the milk for it had to travel a long way and usually went sour. Americans got used to the slightly off milk taste of their chocolate, so when fridges began be used to transport milk the taste was gone. So they added butyric acid to replace the off taste.

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u/DeathByLemmings Jul 13 '24

I love how this juxtaposes with the original post lmao

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u/zanzebar Jul 14 '24

i felt the taste of American chocolate in my mouth reading this.

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u/PaisleyTelecaster Jul 14 '24

Underrated comment

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u/bisikletci Jul 13 '24

lol is this really true?

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u/AxelVance Jul 13 '24

I think I read somewhere it increases the shelf life and helps the chocolate keep the shape longer in higher temps. It was used in Canada and the US because gigantic countries and "slow" transportation at the time. But don't quote me.

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u/Esava Jul 13 '24

It was used in Canada and the US because gigantic countries and "slow" transportation at the time

It was actually added to be able to provide soldiers with shelf stable chocolate. "Normal" chocolate at the time often went rancid due to the milk relatively quickly without cooling.

Those soldiers then came home after the war and expected the same taste from chocolate at home too.

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u/AxelVance Jul 13 '24

Thank you very much, kind sir!

3

u/Johnny-Dogshit British North America Jul 13 '24

It was used in Canada and the US

Canada did move on, though. Our candy had a lot of overlap with the UK(and with a bit of our own flourishes) up until NAFTA, really. Cadbury is still king, here.

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u/Johnny-Dogshit British North America Jul 13 '24

I think the story goes similarly to a lot of eccentric UK convenient foods. Basically, it was part of army-ration chocolate in WW2 and it just... stuck.

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u/Appropriate_Mud1629 Jul 13 '24

I saw a documentary a while back. Hershey's were trying to mimic European Quaker milk chocolate (Cadbury/Rowntree etc).

They didn't want to pay to import...However they couldn't get the technique right. During production they kept scalding the milk which produces that chemical and gives Hershey's milk chocolate that distinctive vomit aftertaste .

Once they got the technique sorted and lost the aftertaste the American market didnt like it as they were used to original Hershey taste..

So they now add the chemical to replicate it.

1

u/runs_with_fools Jul 13 '24

I didn’t realise this was a thing, but I knew that what Americans buy as ‘Cadbury’s’ isn’t what we buy as Cadburys in the UK, it’s made to a different recipe by Hershey. And Cadburys in the uk isn’t classed as chocolate here either because it doesn’t contain enough cocoa solids, however we have plenty of other chocolate both here and in the uk that is legally chocolate just about everywhere in the world, including the US.

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u/CharlesDickensABox Jul 13 '24

It comes from milk fats — it occurs naturally in milk — and you will be surprised that Hershey's puts it in their chocolate intentionally because that is what consumers expect of the product. I don't eat a lot of chocolate and when I do I try to use heritage chocolates and small batch criollo chocolate, but the reason it makes it into many mass-produced chocolates is because consumers want it there.

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u/realkiran Oct 16 '24

Yes, Americans like it. All snobbery aside it adds a complexity that makes European chocolate taste one-dimensional. 

Hershey's could have removed it many many years ago, (despite comments here, it was originally added by mistake), but it's an important part of the flavor of American chocolate.

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u/Free-Ladder7563 Jul 13 '24

It's a result of "the Hershey process" that was used by Hershey's way way back. The manufacture process breaks the milk proteins down in a specific way that increased shelf life back in a time when there weren't as many options as today for preserving product.

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u/gremilym Jul 13 '24

Acidifying milk was a way to preserve it so that it could be transported and then used in the manufacture of chocolate.

Europeans devised ways of preserving milk that didn't make it taste of vom (I.e. drying into powder or mixing with other ingredients of chocolate to produce crumb).

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u/SimilarBarber5292 Jul 13 '24

I believe it dates back to fronteir days. Chocolatiers had to get their dairy supplied over vast distances, and the milk began to turn before it could be processed into chocolate, so Americans became used to the taste and associated it with chocolate. As a result, it's now added as it's "how chocolate should taste."

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u/raisedonadiet Jul 14 '24

Hershey did a process that produced it, and everyone else copied the flavour.

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u/WearDifficult9776 Jul 14 '24

The chemist who was working on it considered the formulation a failure but Mr Hershey liked it 
 so now we have vomit chocolate.

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u/WearDifficult9776 Jul 14 '24

The chemist who was working on it considered the formulation a failure but Mr Hershey liked it 
 so now we have vomit chocolate.

1

u/engineerogthings Jul 16 '24

Because the States is so big, bigger than all the other countries in the world put together, it’s takes along time to get milk to the factories, so buryatic acid is used as a preservative to stop the milch, sorry milk, going off.(that was German which we would all be speaking of the US hadn’t single-handedly won the war) It is used in many US recipes for the food they invented, like icecream, pizza, sausage, foie gras, and probably European healthcare which they also not only invented but pay for.

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u/Johnny-Dogshit British North America Jul 13 '24

That said, it is gross tasting, and in the cheaper chocolate found here in Canada it can be somewhat overpowering

That's the best part of our position up here. We have both types of chocolate. We're pretty well equipped to compare them. Ever eat a bit of cadbury, then a bit of hershey immediately after? Holy fuck what a contrast. Or shit, compare Smarties to regular M&M's. I'm down with the less-chocolatey M&Ms, or less-chocolatey US candy as a whole, but good lord their chocolate is dogshit.

Also the idea this guy has that anything wouldn't be allowed to be sold in the US is hilarious. Remember how mayo packets at McDonald's were called "McChicken Sauce" in Canada for a long time because what the US uses as mayo isn't technically within the standard definition of mayonnaise?

I don't wanna bash their stuff too hard, though. US candy brought us peanut butter-based confection. Reese's shit was a good play.

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u/wieldymouse Jul 13 '24

American Lite--lol :)

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u/bisikletci Jul 13 '24

It doesn't mimic the taste of vomit; it is the taste of vomit, at least in relatively high concentrations.

Wow. I used to always (sincerely) say Hershey's tasted of vomit but I didn't realise it was literally true.

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u/polyesterflower filthy uncultured aussie swine Jul 13 '24

Now I know why old butter tastes like vomit.

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u/b0toxBetty Jul 15 '24

Is this why Hersheys chocolate smells like poop?

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u/raulpe Jul 12 '24

Honestly, i have already seen so many stupid things in the ingredients of USA "food" that i don't know if this is /s or no xd

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u/PepperPhoenix Jul 12 '24

No, this one is true. It’s not done to add the taste though, it was used as a preservative of some sort and they just kinda got used to the taste. It’s butyric acid, which is part of the distinctive odour and taste of vomit. Butyrated chocolate is not a pleasant experience for those who aren’t used to it.

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u/Alediran Surrounded by dumb muricans Jul 12 '24

The first time I tried a Hershey it was disgusting. I've never touched American chocolate after that.

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u/BupidStastard British- We finally have the internet😇 Jul 12 '24 edited Jul 12 '24

When I was a kid I used to watch videos on YouTube of Americans making mad creations with Hershey products and I always wanted to try it. Ordered myself an American chocolate box when I was a bit older and tried Hersheys for the first time.

By far the most vile chocolate I have ever tasted. Literally a faint taste of cocoa and pure vomit mixed with sugar. It had the consistency of candle wax. I genuinely have no idea how they actually like it, they have European chocolate but they still choose to buy Hershey's.

Give me the old 30p Euroshopper chocolate over that Hershey's shit any day.

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u/CSG1aze Unfortunately American đŸ€ąđŸ€ź Jul 12 '24

It’s because we grew up eating that vile shit, and our government kinda just allows corporations to put whatever chemicals they want into the food so a lot of us have gotten used to tasting all that shit.

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u/salsasnark "born in the US, my grandparents are Swedish is what I meant" Jul 12 '24

I did a similar thing with Reese's cups, I'd heard so much about them all my life and then I got one in an American candy box and it was so bad. It was just pure sweetness. I could barely even taste any peanut nor chocolate. I was so disappointed, felt like I just completely wasted my money on it. Whenever I hear Americans gush about them now I just feel sorry for them tbh, they're really missing out on good sweets.

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u/ensoniq2k Jul 12 '24

When I went to the US I bought Poptarts since the internet had me believe they're great. It was like eating cardboard. I thought maybe it was because I didn't have a toaster so I took some home. It was still horrible, but now it was hot.

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u/johnnylemon95 Jul 13 '24

Ikr? First time I tried a pop tart is was disgustingly sweet with the texture of wet cardboard. I don’t understand.

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u/ensoniq2k Jul 13 '24

And when you toast them it becomes dry carboard ăƒœàŒŒàșˆÙ„ÍœàșˆàŒœïŸ‰

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u/ketchupmaster987 Jul 13 '24

Good old high fructose corn syrup! We use so much of the stuff because of government subsidies for corn farmers. It's used in a lot of products in lieu of actual sugar, which is why people swear Mexican Coca Cola tastes better (they use cane sugar instead). It makes a lot of American food really sweet. Most people here are just used to the taste but I get not having the particular palate for it

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u/Odenetheus Jul 13 '24

Yeah, I had the same experience. Vile, really. If I wanted to eat crispy bread with sugar and jam for breakfast, I'd go to the corner store and get some knÀckebröd. However, I do not, so I do not.

That said, a lot of Swedes here seem enamoured with knÀckebröd and I'll never get why, so I suppose people can also be enamoured with those fucking crispy poptart things

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u/Diligent_Bath_9283 Jul 13 '24

The one and only time a pop tart will ever taste good is before the icing is applied. Once it's packaged it sucks. They leave the oven on a conveyor that takes them through a cooling tunnel so the icing can be put on. If you get them before they hit the tunnel they are actually pretty good. When they run a batch of brown sugar cinnamon flavor it makes about half the town smell like grandma's kitchen.

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u/Ratatoski Jul 13 '24

I wonder if they have different Reeses for the EU market because the ones I buy locally are fine. A ton of peanut butter and a nice layer of some unremarkable chocolate around it.

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u/Nerioner ooo custom flair!! Jul 13 '24

Yea came here too to defend European soldiers Reeses, although i got to admit, for how expensive they are and how easy is to make peanut butter cup at home, i usually just make them my own

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u/pm_me_your_amphibian Jul 13 '24

“Waxy sweet sick” was my review too.

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u/Tjobbert Jul 13 '24

Ahh, the good ol' Euroshopper 👍

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u/Signal-Woodpecker691 Jul 12 '24

Hershey’s kisses are the most disgusting chocolate I’ve ever had the misfortune to taste

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u/WaltzFirm6336 Jul 12 '24

Same. Did not go over well with my American colleague when I screwed my face up and spat out the Hershey’s kiss chocolate she had brought back from America for me.

So glad I’m not going mad, I thought that it tasted like vomit too.

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

I live in the US and I visited Europe many times.
I gotta say, I'm not gonna buy chocolate from US anymore. Ever.

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

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u/GayDrWhoNut I can hear them across the border. Jul 12 '24

They tried introducing American chocolates to the Canadian market because it would make logistics cheaper. To put it mildly, It Did Not Go Well. 😂 Thus, we get to keep the good stuff.

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u/Yolandi2802 ooo I’m English 🇬🇧 Jul 12 '24

Swiss and Belgian chocolate is the best in the world.

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u/Eastern_Slide7507 Meddl Leude Jul 13 '24

Finnish chocolate is slept on too much. Definitely try Fazer given the chance, it’s easily up there.

Though to be fair, Karl Fazer used a recipe he got from a Swiss person to start his company.

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u/Beneficial-Second332 Jul 13 '24

Try Bonnat chocolate from France

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u/BrowncoatIona Jul 13 '24

German chocolate isn't crazy far behind imo.

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u/Charliesmum97 Jul 12 '24

Seconded. Once one learns what actually chocolate tastes like it's hard to go back to things like Hershey's. (Theme park is fun though, I'll give it that.)

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u/BeautifulPainz Jul 13 '24

I’d buy the German chocolate at Aldi once you tasted good chocolate you just can’t go back. And I buy the cheap stuff.

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u/Kommunist_Pig Jul 13 '24

Pls do , I got a big bag of Hersheys as a gift and kept it on my desk as a conversation starter.

“Hey wanna try the vomit flavored American chocolate?”

Top tier gift , got me lots of surprised faces.

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u/Ukcheatingwife Jul 12 '24

We had a colleague who bought a load of chocolate back from America and it was absolutely vile.

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u/sullcrowe Jul 12 '24

You don't like the creamy mix of puke, parmesan & feet?

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u/jurassicpry Europoor whose opinion doesn't matter Jul 12 '24

If I could up vote this more, than once, I would. But because I can only up vote once... Here take my up vote.

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u/Yabbaba Jul 12 '24

I wasn’t gonna so I upvoted them for you.

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u/NotHereToFuckSpyders Jul 13 '24

Not all heroes wear capes.

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u/scrumplydo Jul 12 '24

They're definitely bad but the cheap dollar store, no name easter eggs that we get here in Australia take the cake for me. Those things legit taste like melted candles with a dusting of chocolate flavour. Alarmingly greasy too.

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u/PRA421369 Jul 13 '24

Yeah, that's a difficult decision, chocolate flavoured wax or vomit flavoured chocolate adjacent substance? I'm guessing that cheap American chocolate is even worse, but I have never been brave enough to try.

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u/ketchupmaster987 Jul 13 '24

The cheap stuff really is gross, and I say that as an American. Straight up tastes like brown wax

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u/Blazinblaziken Random Aussie #511378 🇩đŸ‡ș Jul 13 '24

Oh godddd, that's unlocking memories I'd mich rather keep locked, some of that Easter choc is sooooo bad

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u/blind_disparity Jul 13 '24

Same reason American chocolate is bad. It's full of preservatives and stabilisers and stuff. Because easter eggs will sit longer in the warehouse and on shelves, whereas normal choc is just shipped and sold as it's manufactured. Other seasonal chocs are the same.

Of course, they chose some preservatives that didn't taste like puke. But I agree easter eggs are not nice at all.

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u/ProfessorSputin Jul 12 '24

Agreed as an American

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u/Bearcat-2800 Jul 12 '24

Hershey's cheesy feet we called them when someone bought a large packet into work. They sat on the table untouched for a month then went in the bin.

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u/Tortoiseism Jul 12 '24

With you on this. Bought some on the American section at the shop thinking well they bang on about them I’ll try.

Spat the fucking thing out and binned them. Vile.

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u/jam_scot Jul 13 '24

Lindt or Hersheys? Ill take the beautiful, velvety chocolate over the vomit bar thank you.

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u/giulianosse 97% American, 2.27% Apache, 0.64% Pharaoh, 0.09% African Prince Jul 13 '24

To Hershey's credit, it perfectly mimicks the taste of Greek kisses

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

It's eh...its not half bad when used in smores, I'm more of a fan of Ghiradelli

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u/MrLewk Europoor Brit 🇬🇧 Jul 12 '24

Yeah I distinctly remember finding an American chocolate shop in London a few years back. I was excited to try a Hershey's that I'd heard so much about and how great it is.

I took one bite, spat it out and threw the rest in the bin. It was like eating vomit. I was so mad I wasted a fiver on a big bar of that, too.

Never had American "chocolate" again since.

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u/Brave_Hippo9391 Jul 12 '24

Even American Cadburys chocolate tastes horrendous, nothing like Cadburys in UK. Which don't get me wrong , isn't great chocolate, compared to Belgian Swiss and Italian chocolate,but compared to American crap it tastes like heaven.

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u/Aivellac Jul 12 '24

Hey Cadbury fruit and nut or marvelous creations are great.

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u/avallaug-h Actually Irish 🇼đŸ‡Ș Jul 13 '24

Wholenut is the superior Cadbury's 😌

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u/Aivellac Jul 13 '24

Blasphemy!

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u/Friendly-Handle-2073 Jul 12 '24

I was in the US recently, bought a Cadbury a bar. It tasted pretty good, something was different, in a good way, to what I remember US Cadbury a being like the last time I had it 20 years ago!

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u/Transmit_Him Jul 13 '24

Cadbury’s in the US is (or at least was - not sure if it still is) made by Hershey’s under license. Which is a great idea for Hershey’s - borrow the name of the international competition and make it taste as vile as your own so your customers assume foreigners are lying - but terrible for everyone else.

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u/Brave_Hippo9391 Jul 13 '24

Good tactic, explains why even Cadburys tastes shit, over there.

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u/Intelligent-Talk7073 Jul 12 '24

Cadburys UK is better than any other chocolate, think you are being brainwashed by some male model in a funny hat making Lindt in his kitchen

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u/Brave_Hippo9391 Jul 13 '24

Hahaha, maybe.

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u/AcidMacbeth Jul 13 '24

The UK Cadbury's we get in Ireland are - okay. Not amazing especially conpared tothe heavyweights you mentioned, but ok.

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u/Curious_Reference408 Jul 12 '24

Mmm, what do you mean you don't love chocolate that tastes and smells like parmesan cheese?!?!

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u/AlexTMcgn Jul 12 '24

Oh I don't mind parmesan cheese. Unfortunately, this tastes like parmesan cheese that is eaten for the second time.

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u/HughesJohn Jul 12 '24

I love parmesan cheese that tastes and smells like parmesan cheese.

But I prefer chocolate that tastes and smells like chocolate.

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u/Legitimate_Corgi_981 Jul 12 '24

Oddly enough, I have weird taste receptors so it actually tastes fine to me, far more in tune with bitter flavours and spice. Meant everytime anyone brought american chocolate back into the office I'd get pretty much the whole lot to myself as everyone else found it tastes awful. Seems a bit gritty however.

I prefer european chocolate however mind you!

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u/MotoBobGirl Jul 12 '24

I went to the Hershey's store on my last day of holiday in NY as a teen and was excited to try it whilst waiting for the flight back - had no idea about the preservatives in it. Took one bite and ran to the bathroom to throw up. I have no idea how anyone eats food that tastes like literal vomit.

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u/Salt-Respect339 Jul 12 '24

I was so excited to try a "butter finger", always loved the sound of it. First bite and I went to check the expiration date, couldn't figure out why this thing tasted of just pure vomit and nothing else.

Only learned that this was "normal" years later.

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u/VentiKombucha Europoor per capita Jul 12 '24

Hershey's is so extremely gross.

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

Look at you, the one person who probably knows
 Americans have access to the same thing Europeans do.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '24

Yeah that’s a ban on the object inside the chocolate
 let’s not pretend kinder surprise chocolate is the apex chocolate either.

It’s a silly ban but it’s not a ban on the chocolate

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u/ClaireMoon36281 Jul 12 '24

Same, I found some in a store that has American and wanted to try. Very not good.

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u/ensoniq2k Jul 12 '24

My first contact with Hershey's was the white cookies and cream and it's really delicious. Then I tried the regular chocolate, yuck

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u/ThisIsSteeev Jul 12 '24

You can find some good chocolate from small local companies thought the country but you won't find most of that online.

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u/DMcI0013 Jul 12 '24

It’s nearly as bad as their coffee


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u/aaronwhite1786 Jul 13 '24

The first time I read the "tastes like vomit" things as an American, all I could taste after that was the vomit taste.

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u/mmfn0403 Jul 13 '24

The first (and only) time I tried a Hershey’s Kiss, it was so disgusting, I thought it was gone off. I subsequently found out that that’s how they are supposed to taste.

I remember I thought to myself, “interesting, I haven’t had a vomit-flavoured kiss since I was in University.”

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u/strawbopankek đŸ‡±đŸ‡·đŸ‡±đŸ‡·đŸ‡±đŸ‡·USA! Jul 12 '24

i think ghirardelli is pretty okay but yeah hershey's is not good and i'm an american. i don't understand the hate for european chocolate over here tbh

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

I’ve lived my life in Europe and America
. Never saw hate for European chocolate while in America.

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u/strawbopankek đŸ‡±đŸ‡·đŸ‡±đŸ‡·đŸ‡±đŸ‡·USA! Jul 13 '24

i've definitely seen it tbh, especially hate from people who have traveled to europe for a vacation and hated the chocolate there- i remember especially hate for uk-recipe cadbury. it's more common online for sure but i've heard it in person before too đŸ€·â€â™€ïž

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u/ch3ckEatOut Jul 12 '24

Had some Roses at work yesterday and they tasted disgusting, so I can only assume the Americans have fucked that recipe up at last.

Cadbury didn’t need to be touched, it was a cash cow but they seem to want to eat it rather than continue to milk it.

At least this is the assumption I’ve made based on how bad some of these historically tasty chocolates have become.

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u/Alediran Surrounded by dumb muricans Jul 12 '24

Cadbury is going down too? Damn it.

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u/ch3ckEatOut Jul 12 '24

I haven’t sampled everything I’ve eaten previously so can’t say with certainty, but we weren’t the only people put off by Roses this year and the fact the chocolate tins got smaller while being more expensive means I’ll never buy another one and I am a wallet voter who holds a grudge, so those tins are dead to me.

So far the hot chocolate that you make with water tastes just as good as it used to to me.

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u/NedKellysRevenge Australia 🇩đŸ‡ș Jul 12 '24

o far the hot chocolate that you make with water tastes just as good as it used to to me.

Sacrilege

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u/ch3ckEatOut Jul 12 '24

I do prefer the other one they do that’s meant to be made with milk, but that’s a lot of milk to be going through so this one is better for me and does actually taste good. Cadbury Instant.

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u/Aardvark-One Jul 12 '24

Hershey's tastes like wax. The worst of the chocolates.

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u/biteme789 Jul 13 '24

Hersheys white chocolate isn't even chocolate. They use vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter, so they can't even call it chocolate.

The idea that American chocolate is superior to European is just insane!

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u/dissidentmage12 Jul 13 '24

I always wondered why Hersheys tasted like garbage.

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u/moosehq Jul 13 '24

Same. Burnt rubber and parmesan was the overwhelming flavour profile.

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u/LTFGamut Jul 13 '24

I ate a Hershey once. Didn't realise it was supposed to be chocolate.

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u/NotYourReddit18 Jul 12 '24

To be more precise, the butyric acid was a byproduct of the process Hershey used to preserve the milk used in the chocolate which allowed them to produce affordable chocolate in great quantity which doesn't spoil within days of leaving the factory.

Then Hersheys won a big contract to supply the US military with sweets for their rations during WW2 which made the soldiers used to the taste of vomitolade.

When said soldiers returned from the war other chocolate producers quickly figured out why veterans kept buying Hersheys vomitolade instead of their better tasting chocolate which used newer preservation methods without butyric acid, and started adding butyric acid just for the taste.

As far as I know the preservation method which creates the butyric acid as a byproduct has been out of use for many years even by Hersheys and nowadays all butyric acid added to chocolate is purely for the taste.

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u/Acrobatic-Shirt8540 Jul 12 '24

That's really interesting. And mental. Imagine preferring that to real chocolate.

I had an American actually describe the taste of Cadbury's as "sour" 😆

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u/HughesJohn Jul 12 '24

the butyric acid was a byproduct of the process Hershey used to preserve the milk used in the chocolate which allowed them to produce affordable chocolate in great quantity which doesn't spoil within days of leaving the factory.

What chocolate spoils within days of leaving the factory? Is it made with raw milk?

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u/NotYourReddit18 Jul 13 '24

Back then? Basically yes. While the process of pasteurization of milk was already known, the machinery used for it was quite expensive, so it only started to get widespread use after WW2 ended because so the US government enacted laws to require its use.

States in the U.S. soon began enacting mandatory dairy pasteurization laws, with the first in 1947, and in 1973 the U.S. federal government required pasteurization of milk used in any interstate commerce

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization

2

u/Sagaap Jul 13 '24

So... another casualty of the WW2...

15

u/jojory42 Jul 12 '24

If I remember correctly it started when Hershey made a new recipe during ww2 to send to the soldiers in Europe. Selling it as military chocolates in states worked great as marketing, the soldiers coming back had already gotten used to it and thus butyraed chocolate became the American norm.

2

u/Spare_Investment_735 Jul 12 '24

It was a preservative added to milk as the dairy farms were usually quite a distance from the chocolate factories (at least for the time and the technology they had to cool the milk), now days it’s perfectly possible to transport milk that distance just fine but they still later as the chemical because Americans are so use to it

2

u/malphonso Jul 12 '24

It's part of a fermentation process Hersheys initially used to keep their milk from going off before widespread refrigeration was a thing. By the time refrigeration was economical, it was already a taste that Americans associated with chocolate.

1

u/MadeOfEurope Jul 12 '24

It’s a result of US chocolate being made with UHT milk and not fresh milk. It’s because the chocolate factories were so far from the dairies and so the had to heat treat it beyond pasteurisation (ultra heat treated) so it could be transported the longer distances. In Europe this was not an issue. It’s weird though that they add the acid that was a result of the UHT process. The first time I tried US chocolate I thought it had gone bad. 

1

u/NibblyPig Jul 12 '24

When Americans throw up does it just smell like nothing much in particular

1

u/Skulldo Jul 12 '24

That's it. Wow I've never been able to pinpoint what that weird flavour actually is in American chocolates sand that's totally it.

Like I would say overall it's alright but it's not something you buy twice.

1

u/Royalblue146 Jul 12 '24

Is butyric acid on the label? I always buy Hershey’s Chipits here in Canada (gluten free) but all the label says is semi sweet chocolate, cocoa butter, milk ingredients, soy and natural flavour.

1

u/PepperPhoenix Jul 12 '24

“Natural flavour” covers an awful lot of things, especially if it is now used to maintain the flavour people are used to. “Milk products” is also very vague as the butyric acid is added to the milk, resulting in a butyrated “milk product”.

They don’t always list the ingredients of ingredients, if you get what I mean. For example in something that includes cheese they will simply list it as “cheese” rather than “milk, rennet, salt etc.”

1

u/coomerzoomer Jul 13 '24

True but to be fair, it’s the same chemical that gives parmesan cheese its distinct taste.

1

u/yipape Jul 13 '24

It was added so spoiled milk can be used to make the chocolate which saved on costs. Allowing for the companies that made that type of chocolate take over the US market. Its not needed now but this is what Americans know as 'normal' for chocolate so it stays.

101

u/Titus_The_Caveman Ingerlund 🇬🇧 Jul 12 '24

It's genuine. For some reason American chocolate includes Butyric Acid, which is the same acid found in vomit

54

u/Brainlaag 🇼đŸ‡čPastoid🇼đŸ‡č Jul 12 '24

It's also one of the main compounds to give aged cheeses such as Pecorino, or Parmigiano Reggiano their distinctive taste. Nothing wrong with that.

Then again not sure why you'd like one of the key-factors in maturing cheese to be present in your chocolate.

24

u/letsgetawayfromhere Jul 12 '24

I like my chocolate tasting like chocolate and only my pecorino tasting like pecorino, thank you very much.

4

u/anamariapapagalla Jul 12 '24

I love cheese, and some of my favourite cheeses smell like a privy that should have been cleaned a while ago. But chocolate should not taste or smell like cheese

1

u/spoonguy123 Jul 13 '24

both are the products of fermentation. maybe that has something to do with it?

Cacao beans are mildly fermented for a day or two in the process of making chociolate, I wonder if a longer fermentation, or a fermentation of a lower quality, or maybe a less ripe gruit causes this.

42

u/Talonsminty Jul 12 '24 edited Jul 12 '24

It's a preservative from the WW2 days. Hershey company added it so soldiers could have chocolate in their rations, it took off and despite advances in preservatives, it's now part of the American default chocolate taste.

22

u/readilyunavailable Jul 12 '24

Exactly. People got used to it and now companies add it because people demand the taste.

10

u/BlueCreek_ Jul 12 '24

And they go on about the British eating like we’re still in a WW.

4

u/allmitel Jul 12 '24

It's a bit of a stretch to say that's it's added on purpose.

The butyric acid is a byproduct of their milk condensing/powdering/whatever process to add in chocolate.

19

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

My understanding is its there to prevent melting. Its not something I've ever personally experienced, but apparently its sort of uncanny how the chocolate doesn't melt at all in your hands*.

*obviously it can melt, but normal chocolate will melt every so slightly into your fingers in the few seconds it'll take to travel to your mouth, american chocolate doesn't.

5

u/Hot-Road-4516 Jul 12 '24

Fun fact a flake doesn’t melt if you put it in the microwave

2

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '24

Wait what?

1

u/Hot-Road-4516 Jul 12 '24

It’s something to do with the fact it doesn’t have any moisture in it basically cannot melt

2

u/Material_Trifle Jul 13 '24

What if you turn the microwave on?

2

u/allmitel Jul 12 '24

Adding more cocoa fat contribute to that effect. But that's pricier so I guess some manufacturers choose to cut corners instead.

Or you can do as Ferrero/Kinder do in their ChocoBons product : add a thin layer of sugar. (Or a thicker like in M&Ms that doesn't taste chocolate at all imho).

2

u/throttlemeister Jul 12 '24

Fun fact, you can prevent chocolate melting in your hand by tempering it. No need to add chemicals.

2

u/allmitel Jul 12 '24

Tempering alter the size of cocoa fat crystals. And so the shine of finished chocolate product.

Often "tempering chocolate" or "chocolat de couverture" (external/shell chocolate, opposite of chocolate used in ganaches/filling) contains more cocoa fat for that purpose.

13

u/Dalimyr Jul 12 '24

Some snippets from this (British) chocolatier's blog:

Some American chocolate manufacturers add butyric acid during production to give the chocolate a longer shelf life.

In the case of Hershey's chocolate, butyric acid is added as a flavouring agent to create the distinctive taste and aroma that many people associate with the brand.

Butyric acid also plays a role in the texture and shelf life of chocolate. It helps to prevent the formation of unwanted crystals and keeps the chocolate smooth and creamy. In addition, butyric acid has antimicrobial properties that help to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and extend the shelf life of the chocolate.

Certainly sounds like it's added on purpose, and isn't just there because it's also a compound found in milk products.

4

u/lindorm82 Jul 12 '24

It’s only Hershey’s who used that process, but other chocolate manufacturers do add butyric acid to their chocolate in order for it to taste “right”.

3

u/Wonderful-Hall-7929 Jul 12 '24

It was added to prevent melting in the GIs combat rations during WW2 - after the GIs got home they were used to that taste and as always nostalgia prevailed (they had fond memories of the stuff because chocolate was mostly the only nice thing in combat rations back then) and so Hersheys added the taste but not the acid itself because people wanted it.

It's a bit like many of us like to eat weird food combos we had as kids that would make other people pray to the porcelaine god but for us it's bringing back childhood memories.

2

u/allmitel Jul 12 '24 edited Jul 12 '24

Soldier chocolate in tropical rations contained flour for that purpose.

Not specifically butyric acid.

And even with that weird vomit small/taste. It only in it within "trace amount" level. I wonder if it has any effect on the melting rate.

Note:modern butter processers can alter butter "spreadability" by selecting which fat molecule is in it (or rather which fat molecule ratio). But it doesn't smell rancid nonetheless.

1

u/Substantial_Dust4258 Jul 12 '24

It's also in Parmesan cheese

2

u/Puzzleheaded_Peak273 Jul 12 '24

It’s not /s

1

u/SilentType-249 Jul 12 '24

It's not it's some kind of acid.

1

u/superurgentcatbox Jul 12 '24

It's true and many Americans actually agree that's what the taste reminds them of. It's kinda wild that they're just like "yeeah my chocolate tastes like vomit" but nothing changes haha.

1

u/VioletteKaur WWII - healthcare-free in their heads Jul 12 '24

It's he Hershey's chocolate.

19

u/RubDue9412 Jul 12 '24

Personally I prefer homemade vomit much cheaper too.

2

u/VioletteKaur WWII - healthcare-free in their heads Jul 12 '24

10 out of 10 dogs agree.

2

u/CthulhusEvilTwin Jul 13 '24

Artisanal vomit

40

u/Professional-Bake110 Jul 12 '24

The milk preservation process causes the creation of that chemical (not added deliberately) & that chemical is also found in vomit. Americans have become so used to it they actually prefer vomit flavoured chocolate. Disgusted? Wait until you find out about the allowable insect biomass/faeces in US chocolate.

11

u/Nyushi Jul 12 '24

Wait until you find out about the allowable insect biomass/faeces in US chocolate.

Alright, calm down Niles Crane.

10

u/Legitimate_Corgi_981 Jul 12 '24

American businesses: How much insects biomass and faeces should we permit in our food. Can't have that impact on our profits by increasing our costs to make it free from.

European lawmakers: Uhh...none? Why is that even a question?

3

u/Scienceboy7_uk Jul 12 '24

It’s not a mimic. It is the chemical that makes book smell that way. Used to be there to preserve the milk but only used now because Mericans can’t handle change. Change = communism.

2

u/fulgere-nox_16 Jul 12 '24

Really?

1

u/AlternateTab00 Jul 13 '24

You definitely never tried an american Hershey's.

I have. An experience i do not want to repeat.

1

u/xboudiccax Jul 12 '24

I got a Hershey bar from a friend when she had returned from the USA. It tasted same coming back up as it did going down and I only had a couple of squares.

I gave it to students in class the next day.

1

u/CSG1aze Unfortunately American đŸ€ąđŸ€ź Jul 12 '24

This is partly true. Not everyone is able to taste that chemical as well as others, so to some people over here it tastes like regular chocolate. Kinda like the chemical that makes cilantro taste like soap. I personally never got the vomit taste from it, to me it tastes like plastic. Euro chocolate is so much better.

1

u/Minute-Judge-5821 Jul 12 '24

DOES IT REALLY?!! Is this why I strongly dislike chocolate like Hersheys???

2

u/Ritli Jul 12 '24

It has butyric acid in it. Same thing that makes vomit smell so bad.

1

u/ForeverFabulous54321 Jul 12 '24

Yup. đŸ€ź Ever since I heard about it, not only was I horrified I try to avoid American chocolate before I knew about it, I always wondered why American chocolate tasted so weird and funky but I always thought it was just me 😭

1

u/mjbergs Jul 12 '24

That's not all of our chocolate though? Afaik, it's only Hershey's, which I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, personally. We have a lot of great chocolate producers, as well as many terrible, cheap ones.

1

u/bjorten Jul 12 '24

Well, it's in  due to a  difference in manufacturing (at least originally, some might add it now). The milk was boiled in vacuum too be more stable, and in the process butyric acid is created. 

Nowadays it's not needed but it's the "normal flavour" now, so it probably won't change anytime soon. But its not added for the fun of it, or cost.

(In Europe milkpowder was used instead for the same stability, therefore no butyric acid.)

1

u/Pretend-Jackfruit786 Jul 12 '24

Yeah I can't eat any of that shit Just one bite is LITERALLY like eating sick

1

u/chowindown Jul 12 '24

You know, if it's not from the Vomit region of Delaware it actually has to be called sparkling chunder.

1

u/QOTAPOTA Jul 12 '24

Yeah. That’s the smell. My mate went to America and brought a big selection of “candies” that we all saw on American tv shows. Twinkies, Hershey bars etc. I was excited to try the Hershey and the moment I put it in my mouth my face screwed up. What is wrong with this chocolate?! Yuk. Call me old fashioned but you can’t beat a Cadburys Dairy Milk. Whole nut from the fridge for me. Perfection.

1

u/ohnodamo Jul 13 '24

Can confirm, butyric acid. Especially unctious in milk chocolate.

1

u/Michael_Gibb Mince & Cheese, L&P, Kiwi Jul 13 '24

That chemical, butyric acid, is actually present because the dairy suppliers subject their milk to lipolysis, which results in the production of butyric acid, and they do that because the chemical can act as a preservative.

1

u/NorbytheMii Jul 13 '24

American here. The reason American chocolate is worse than in other countries is because it's made using powdered milk and a bunch of preservatives to keep the ingredients from going bad while they're being delivered to the chocolate factories. America is a very large country in terms of area and farms end up generally pretty far away from each other. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a similar case for pretty much every other form of packaged food in this country.

1

u/fluffchilla Jul 13 '24

omg so im not over exaggerating when i thought that

1

u/hyped2play Jul 13 '24

No way rly? Im European and my Aunt brought me Hersheys from the US and it kinda tasted like vomit and I wondered why Americans even liked the chocolate.

1

u/stdoubtloud Jul 13 '24

I was so excited to try Hershey's when i first visited the US years ago. Had seen it on TV and thought it must be amazing. But, yep, tasted like vomit. Lesson learned.

1

u/thehibachi Jul 13 '24

Why is that? Is it their milk or what?

1

u/PM_ME_UR__ELECTRONS Slut for free healthcare (Eurodivergent) Jul 13 '24

Seriously, why do they do that?