Actually I thought it would be interesting to compare American chocolate to something I am familiar with. This is all based on my assumption that American chocolate is mostly sugar with less cocoa. Let's see if my assumption is correct. So I have 3 bars of chocolate to try.
From Left to Right: English Cadbury Dairy Milk, American Cadbury Dairy Milkand Hershey's Milk Chocolate
Contender Number 1: Cadbury Dairy Milk
This is the original made in Bournville Birmingham England, that I found in a candy store at Fisherman's Wharf the other day. I've already had a bit and it is very good, like how I remember Dairy Milk tasting before they started playing with it a few years ago.
Ingredients as listed: Milk, Sugar, Cocoa, Cocoa Butter, Vegetable Oil, Emulsifiers (Ammonium phosphatides, Polyglycerol, polyricinoleate, Vanilla.
Appearance, Smell etc...: Typical Cadbury Dairy Milk, bits start flaking off as soon as you break it. Smells of cocoa.
Contender Number 2: Cadbury Dairy Milk, manufactured in the USA.
Manufactured under licence by the Hershey Company in Hershey PA it comes in the original foil pack with paper label wrapped around, it even carries the royal seal and the words "By appointment to H.M the Queen..."
Ingredients as listed: MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; SOY LECITHIN; PGPR; EMULSIFIER; NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR).
Appearance, Smell etc...: Looks and smells just the same as the English variety.
Contender Number 3: Hershey's Milk Chocolate
As far as I know this is the default chocolate for the US I could be wrong though, as Ghiradelli Chocolate is everywhere in San Francisco. (I bought some Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa dark chocolate the other day and it is pretty good. See not at bottom)
Ingredients as listed: MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE MILK FAT; SOY LECITHIN; PGPR; EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN; ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR).
Appearance, Smell etc...: Darker in colour than both Cadbury's, but smell's not too sweet. Reminds me of Easter egg chocolate a bit.
And now for the moment of truth. I have clensed my palate with a good swig of the Sierra Nevada's finest natural alpine spring water, and will do so between tastings.
The Taste Test
English Cadbury Dairy Milk:
Makes a nice snap when you bite through the piece, the creamy texture fill's your mouth and you get that first burst of cocoa. Leaves a nice milky cocoa aftertaste.
American Cadbury Dairy Milk:
Starts well with that nice snap sound on the first bite, but then you hit the granular texture and sickly sweet taste. The after taste is sugary.
Hershey's Milk Chocolate:
The snap is barely noticable, the texture is sticky and a bit mushy. The taste is too strong and very sweet. The aftertaste is unpleasant. I didn't even finish the piece I bit into.
The Verdict:
English Cadbury by a mile. I don't know if I was just confirming my subconscious prejudices, but the American chocolate was awful. I was surprised that even the Cadbury made by Hershey's was not closer to the English version. I should get some English Cadbury when I get home and compare it to the Australian made version. The Hershey was just too sickly sweet, just all wrong wrong wrong. There is very little chocolate there. Looking at the ingredients it is clear that there is something wrong when you see that "artificial flavor" is listed. Also telling is that the first ingredient on both USA made bars is sugar, assuming ingredients are listed by percentage.
I think I will bin the American ones and continue to nibble the English Cadbury.
Ghirardelli Chocolate
As I said, the Ghirardelli Chocolate I had was very good dark chocolate. It is made right here in San Francisco, which probably accounts for its popularity here. It seems to be made to a higher standard than Hershey's. If you come here I recommend buying this over other American chocolate.
No comments:
Post a Comment