View Full Version : What's happened to chocolate.
hifi_dave
22-01-2019, 10:46
Went to the cinema yesterday and treated myself to a packet of Minstrels. It was £3.50 which is £2 more than Tesco but I do like a Minstrel, however what a disappointment. Gone was the lovely smooth, creamy chocolate, replaced by a nasty, mucky, chemical flavour, which I really didn't like. Most of the packet ended up in the bin.
Since the US bought up Cadburys I can no longer enjoy any of their products as I really don't like the 'chemical' background to the flavour. The Minstrels appear to now use the same or similar chocolate.
What's going on ?
walpurgis
22-01-2019, 11:00
The accountants get involved, order that cheaper constituents are used and the product gets adulterated. And the short sighted dummies think nobody will notice!
It's the same with the ever decreasing size of confectionary products. Nobody announces this, it just happens and again they hope nobody notices.
I just stop buying such items.
If you want nice sweets at a realistic price, pop into LIDL.
Pigmy Pony
22-01-2019, 11:25
Some of these manufacturers are really taking the piss these days, but as consumers we do have the power to make it right. We just need a concerted effort. I for one will use either Lidl or Aldi, and the rest can take a running jump.
Toblerones are my pet hate - you can drive a bus between the peaks these days :(
hifi_dave
22-01-2019, 14:14
Yes, I've seen the new Toblerone bars. They are a proper liberty.
I often buy Aldi chocolate which I prefer to anything from Cadburys, which I find tastes 'mucky' and 'bitter'. The sizes, as Geoff said, are getting smaller and smaller. I suppose this is the nanny state looking after our health !!! A Mars bar is now like a fun size rather than the almost too much to eat, size they used to be.
Went to the cinema yesterday and treated myself to a packet of Minstrels. It was £3.50 which is £2 more than Tesco...
That was your biggest mistake, mate! When we go to the flicks, we buy our sweets in advance from supermarkets, at half the price, and pop them either in my jacket pockets or Del's handbag, before we go in. Same applies with drinks (usually just a small bottle of water).
What cinemas charge for sweets [regardless of quality] and drinks is ridiculous, and a complete rip off. Don't entertain it!:nono:
Plus, if you want to taste *really* good chocolate, buy it from Lidl or Aldi, as it's German made and excellent:)
Marco.
hifi_dave
22-01-2019, 16:03
I realise that but wanted a last minute treat and damn the expense. Another thing is the pick n mix, which my Wife had. It's like £2 for 4 Jelly Babies. We took our own water.
Lol... Plan in advance, just pop by the supermarket and buy your chocs before you go to the cinema;)
Seriously though, try the chocolate you get in Lidl or Aldi. You'll never eat Cadburys shit again!
Marco.
hifi_dave
22-01-2019, 16:31
I do enjoy Aldi Almond and fruit and nut chocolate. As you say, it's far nicer than modern Cadburys.
Seriously though, why is Cadburys and any thing to do with the giant conglomerate which owns them, so horrid now ? They must have changed the recipe but for what ? Is it to suit the USA now, because all their chocolate is cack.
My sister bought me some chocolates from Waitrose over Christmas, best chocolate I've tasted in years. The dark chocolate was spot on, just the right blend of bitter and sweet and absolutely delicious, rich chocolate flavour. The milk were just as good, creamy and full flavoured. I've no idea how much it cost but it's surely better to pay a bit more and really enjoy quality chocolate.
I do enjoy Aldi Almond and fruit and nut chocolate. As you say, it's far nicer than modern Cadburys.
Seriously though, why is Cadburys and any thing to do with the giant conglomerate which owns them, so horrid now ? They must have changed the recipe but for what ? Is it to suit the USA now, because all their chocolate is cack.
Hershey chocolate is revolting, almost fishy.
walpurgis
22-01-2019, 16:38
Hershey chocolate is revolting, almost fishy.
It's always been revolting. They don't seem to understand food there. Oreos are disgusting too, made from flavoured birdcage sweepings I reckon :eek:.
Seriously though, why is Cadburys and any thing to do with the giant conglomerate which owns them, so horrid now ?
Like Geoff said earlier, cost cutting. Remember the old advert for Dairy Milk, stating that a 'glass and a half' of milk goes into every bar, or some such? Not now... More like a thimble full - and the rest is sugar!:spew:
Marco.
Hershey chocolate is revolting, almost fishy.
Are you sure you washed your hands after being with your girlfriend?:D
;)
Marco.
Audio Al
22-01-2019, 17:24
Can't say as I dont eat it :)
spendorman
22-01-2019, 17:46
Hershey chocolate is revolting, almost fishy.
I agree
I also agree that Lidl chocolate is good
Pigmy Pony
22-01-2019, 21:19
You know, I've gone more than a week without any chocolate, cakes or biscuits - I even gave a box of Rover Assorted that a customer gave to me, to another customer! Thanks to this thread I now can't think about anything else.
So tomorrow I'm going to treat myself to some chocolate covered coconut which someone on here recommended a couple of months ago. I just can't remember if it was Aldi or Lidl.
Yes, I've seen the new Toblerone bars. They are a proper liberty.
I often buy Aldi chocolate which I prefer to anything from Cadburys, which I find tastes 'mucky' and 'bitter'. The sizes, as Geoff said, are getting smaller and smaller. I suppose this is the nanny state looking after our health !!! A Mars bar is now like a fun size rather than the almost too much to eat, size they used to be.
YUp and they don't deep fry properly as a result:lol:
Caber:ner:
You know, I've gone more than a week without any chocolate, cakes or biscuits - I even gave a box of Rover Assorted that a customer gave to me, to another customer! Thanks to this thread I now can't think about anything else.
So tomorrow I'm going to treat myself to some chocolate covered coconut which someone on here recommended a couple of months ago. I just can't remember if it was Aldi or Lidl.
Your memory is shit, daftee... It was me, and it was the coconut version of Ritter Sport! :)
Marco.
Hershey chocolate is revolting, almost fishy.
The first time I had a Hershey bar I couldn't believe how revolting it was. But was up in the Highlands last year and all they sell is Yank chocolate so I had no option. I like a bit of chocolate before bed. By the end of the week I'd sort of got a taste for it. I'd take it over any Nestles product any day. Except Drifters.
Pigmy Pony
23-01-2019, 07:13
I used to like the plain chocolate Drifters. You don't see them anymore as it was found that people were getting high on them, but they used to be hugely popular - they even made a film about them, starring Clint Eastwood.
Sorry about that, you'll be pleased to know I won't be here all week.
The British have always had a different taste in chocolate, and sweets for that matter, to Mainland Europe or the dreaded American obsession with peanut butter:D
walpurgis
23-01-2019, 08:51
The British have always had a different taste in chocolate, and sweets for that matter, to Mainland Europe or the dreaded American obsession with peanut butter:D
Good stuff peanut butter. Perfect for greasing wooden cart axles.
Good stuff peanut butter. Perfect for greasing wooden cart axles.
ive tasted it, and that was probably the makers original intention:lol:
spendorman
23-01-2019, 09:07
Good stuff peanut butter. Perfect for greasing wooden cart axles.
The only peanut butter I really liked the taste of was sold in Costco years ago, Skippy Peanut Butter, nice.
The British have always had a different taste in chocolate, and sweets for that matter, to Mainland Europe...
In what way?:)
Peanut butter....:spew::spew::bog:
Marco.
I have been addicted to peanut butter since childhood, scrummy and so versatile, goes with literally anything, jam, chocolate, jelly, tuna, cheese... I could go on but I fear some of you are already about to barf
walpurgis
23-01-2019, 10:04
I have been addicted to peanut butter since childhood, scrummy and so versatile, goes with literally anything, jam, chocolate, jelly, tuna, cheese... I could go on but I fear some of you are already about to barf
Yes, goes lovely in a corned beef and lychee sarnie with a dab of Marmite to round it off :).
Oh, gawd..... BOAK!!:no:
Marco.
montesquieu
23-01-2019, 12:14
Whatever happened to Aztec and Texan bars? And Ovaltine chocolate. And Cabanas while we are at it.
I think we should be told.
Yes, goes lovely in a corned beef and lychee sarnie with a dab of Marmite to round it off :).
You forgot the marmalade.
mightymonoped
23-01-2019, 12:20
PAH! To all you Peanut Butter Heretics!
For you must be unaware of it's two sacred uses:-
1: A layer of Crunchy Butter and another thin layer of Honey on buttered toast for breakfast or any emergency munchie requirement.
2. A tablespoon of Peanut Butter added to any Coconut-based Curry
this is the path of wisdom!
The second one, used sparingly, I could just about live with!;)
It's the smell of that shit that turns my stomach though (and it looks like baby puke), not to mention it's one of the most calorific things you can eat!
Marco.
Love peanut butter. Very good for you too.
hifi_dave
23-01-2019, 12:32
Yep, love Peanut Butter and so do the mice..:eek: My preferred bait in the traps - the mice can't get enough of it.
Beobloke
23-01-2019, 12:53
not to mention it's one of the most calorific things you can eat!
Marco.
What's that got to do with anything? All the best tasting stuff is calorific! If you're worried about calories, stick to lettuce... ;)
Personally, peanut butter and marmite on toast is one of the greatest inventions ever, IMHO.
Love peanut butter. Very good for you too.
Yes, buy only is small quantities, as it's very fattening, which of course isn't good for you... You could do with eating a jar a day though, to put some 'meat' on your bones!;)
Oh, and I detest lemon curd too, as it reminds me of snot!!
Marco.
What's that got to do with anything? All the best tasting stuff is calorific! If you're worried about calories, stick to lettuce...
Personally, peanut butter and marmite on toast is one of the greatest inventions ever, IMHO.
Lol - enjoy what you enjoy! It's not about being "worried" about calories, but having a healthy, balanced diet - and yes which peanut butter (consumed in moderation) can be a part of.
However, the calories aren't worth it, if you don't enjoy it! Ethics aside, I feel exactly the same way about foie gras;)
Confit de canard, though.......
Marco.
Beobloke
23-01-2019, 16:24
Ethics aside, I feel exactly the same way about foie gras;)
.
I know what you mean. I strongly disapprove of the way it is produced and would be quite content if it were ever banned.
The trouble is, when I’m in a restaurant and it’s on the menu, I can’t get past it as it is just wonderful! I usually justify it by thinking to myself that the goose is already dead and gone and it would be a shame to waste it, which probably makes me a terrible hypocrite, but there you go...
hifi_dave
23-01-2019, 16:45
Foi Gras is one thing I wouldn't eat because of the way it is produced but no Peanuts die making Peanut Butter. Well they do, I suppose but who cares ?
Frazeur1
23-01-2019, 17:13
Since the US bought up Cadburys I can no longer enjoy any of their products as I really don't like the 'chemical' background to the flavour.
How the heck do you think we are getting rid of all of our chemical waste? One Cadbury's at a time....:eyebrows:
Yes, buy only is small quantities, as it's very fattening, which of course isn't good for you... You could do with eating a jar a day though, to put some 'meat' on your bones!;)
.
I do in about a jar a week. The proper chock full of additives American stuff too not the health food crap. Doesn't put a pound on for me. The only two things that put weight on me are staying in 5 star hotels or eating KFC every day. And I've not done either in years.
I like Reeces Nut Bars as well. Chocolate plus peanut butter and nuts. The crack cocaine of the sweet world. Got addicted while in the U.S. I Used to bulk buy them off Amazon before they came into the shops here. Had a bit of a problem with them at one point, five a day habit. Under control now though.
willbewill
23-01-2019, 23:15
Can't do much chocolate nowadays due to lactose intolerance, just the very high cocoa content stuff.
The thing that really winds me up now is the sugar tax on soft drinks. I don't want mine complete with sweeteners, makes them taste funny and sometimes brings me out in a nasty itchy rash on my arms. I gave them up a good while ago and felt much better for it. But virtually the only soft drinks without them now are Coke and Pepsi, for which one pays a premium. Yes too much sugar ain't good but I can't help feeling that these sweeteners will prove to be an even worse problem in the future
I just drink water now. Very rarely a piece of choc. Even rarer cream.
Cadbury was a very rare treat here in the U.S. because it cost 3x what a Hershy bar cost but was worth every penny.
The quality went downhill over the years till it is not my favorite any more.
Another thing that is no longer the same is HP sauce.
Most beer companys make crap beer now , a bottle of Budwiser from the 70's was a fantastic lager, and has little resemblance to what they sell today.
At least RC cola and Moon pies have survived .
willbewill
24-01-2019, 00:17
Most beer companys make crap beer now , a bottle of Budwiser from the 70's was a fantastic lager, and has little resemblance to what they sell today.
But you now have a lot of really good craft beers.
I just drink water now. Very rarely a piece of choc. Even rarer cream.
I mostly drink water, but love (good quality) fresh orange juice and the occasional fizzy drink, such as those from San Pellegrino. Their 'Aranciata Rossa', served ice-cold, is to die for! I also love chocolate and eat it fairly often, but only in moderation. We've still got a stack of it left over from Christmas...
Cream I only have a little bit of in mashed potatoes or sometimes in sauces, which accompany meat dishes. However, I *ADORE* quality dairy ice-cream (especially Mackies vanilla), and also ice lollies, especially during the summer months!
I'm lucky that, health-wise, I can eat or drink what I like, and I'm not allergic to anything I know of either:)
Marco.
But you now have a lot of really good craft beers.
Indeed - and I've been enjoying a few of them recently on the beer thread:https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?506-Wine-Whisky-and-Real-Ale-Recommendations&p=1050229#post1050229
Those pale ales are bloody fantastic!!:cool:
Marco.
But you now have a lot of really good craft beers.
It is true, we now have so many small brewers, beers so dark , sweet and dry, never see the same ones on the shelf for more than a week. Find one you like and it's gone by the end of the month. My last hope for a good lager that tastes good every time and never brewed with defoamers to speed the presses is Papst Blue Ribbon from the tap.
Red neck ,white socks and Papst Blue Ribbon!
Interesting, Jeff. Hadn't heard of Papst Blue Ribbon before! And they sell it here in Tesco: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300616314
:cool:
Does it taste like Bud used to? I used to like Rolling Rock and Lone Star.
Marco.
Interesting, Jeff. Hadn't heard of Papst Blue Ribbon before! And they sell it here in Tesco: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300616314
:cool:
Does it taste like Bud used to? I used to like Rolling Rock and Lone Star.
Marco.
It's an old beer here, they where a big deal before the beer wars of the 70's. Bud went international and dropped both price and quality. Beer that is mass produced uses chemicals to speed the brewing processes defoamers then another presses to finally remove the defoamers. Both Papst and Schlitz stayed to there original recipes and refused to go global.
As a result some beer companies became very wealthy and powerful and bought out other smaller beer companies. Strohs bought Schlitz , in Schlitz was once the best lager in America but then the original recipe was scrapped and they created Schlitz malt liquor and sold it in or cities. Papst manage to survive , there beer is fantastic out of a keg , ok from a bottle but they don't use the process that keeps it from taking on the flavor of the aluminum can so their beer if bottled or canned needs to be consumed shortly after canning to still taste best.
PBR is a very popular beer her at bars. Not in stores.
It is considered the organic beer. It absolutely tastes similar to all the once great American beers of the 70's beer quality took the first hit about the time we stopped putting it in tin cans. Bud really changed something in the mid 80's we all noticed it.
Papst bought the rights to sell Schlitz from Strohs a few years back , they had the names but no original recipe ! So they found some of the original employees that made the beer and an original brew master from the 60's using social security records .
All these guys where very old .80's and 90's . They recreated the brewing secrets and recipe and for awhile Papst sold original Schlitz . It was amazingly great.
hifi_dave
24-01-2019, 16:21
The thing that really winds me up now is the sugar tax on soft drinks. I don't want mine complete with sweeteners, makes them taste funny and sometimes brings me out in a nasty itchy rash on my arms. I gave them up a good while ago and felt much better for it. But virtually the only soft drinks without them now are Coke and Pepsi, for which one pays a premium. Yes too much sugar ain't good but I can't help feeling that these sweeteners will prove to be an even worse problem in the future
+1 for that. I can't tolerate sweetener of any type, even one mouthful leaves me with a 'sweet, taste all round my mouth and tongue for 12 hours or more. There are very few canned or bottled drinks I can tolerate as more and more add sweeteners. I have to study the labels to read between the lines if sweetener is included. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
julesd68
24-01-2019, 16:32
Last week I bought a big packet of Revels for the first time in a long while - absolutely deeelicious and tasted exactly like I remember them!
Unlike the Aero bar I tried a few weeks ago - that's another one that has been completely ruined!!
revels were good, bar the manky coffee one
Top tip for those like me who miss Texan bars...
Strip the top nougat layer from a Double Decker and put it in the fridge for 10 mins.
Gets 90% towards a Texan bar, thank me later. :)
mightymonoped
24-01-2019, 17:13
revels were good, bar the manky coffee one
Revel Russian Roulette!
Revel Russian Roulette!
indeed :D could always tell by the twisted face, when the joker came out of the pack
Anyone remember Raspberry Ruffle bars:
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/924/CZmXGS.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/922/Xlq3Lg.jpg
Fully of coconutty goodness... LOVED those, as a kid!!:cool:
Marco.
Marco,
http://sneakhype.com/chicas/2015/05/hot-chicks-drinking-pbr.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/17/pabst-blue-ribbon-is-finally-earning-its-hipster-cred/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.09f469499107
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5503950&page=1
Nice one, Jeff. I'll keep an eye out for the Schlitz and get some Blue Ribbon when my current stock of beers dwindles!:barrel:
Marco.
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