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17 September 2007
Please Rank In Order: 1. Mr Goodbar
2. Milk Chocolate
3. Special Dark
4. Krackel
1. Milk Chocolate (I know, it's uncool to admit that this is my favorite of all the Hershey's options)
2. Special Dark
3. Krackel (is it my imagination, or do these taste waxier and not as yummy as they used to?)
4. Mr. Goodbar (ugh, always used to trade away when I'd get them in my Halloween bag)
1. Mr Goodbar
2. Milk Chocolate
3. Special Dark (I love Hershey's milk chocolate as a kind of junk chocolate, but for dark chocolate I'll go with something higher quality).
4. Krackel: only putting this last because I can't remember the last time I even saw one outside of a bag of miniatures. I don't think I've ever had a proper sized one, though I love Nestle Crunch bars.
I agree with Lentroetc. about the quality of Special Dark. I love dark chocolate but Hershey's isn't quite what I'm looking for.
The milk chocolate, despite being maligned for having most of the worst qualities of American chocolate, has a graininess and mildness I've come to love over a lifetime. It's familiar.
Love the Goodbar. The peanuts! Mmm.
And I agree with scody about Krackel. It looks exciting, like it's going to be the zany younger sister of the bunch, but delivers almost no flavor.
Potato chips, barbecue kettle corn, lime tortilla chips, beer, cheese, ginormous helpings of pasta with parmesan, etc. . .
123: Special Dark
124: Milk Chocolate
125: Krackel (these used to be great when I was a kid and in fact I would sneak them out of our Halloween candy and eat them all before they could be given away, bwah ha ha!, but now they are sadly disappointing and I think they have totally changed the recipe and not for the better.)
397: Mr. Goodbar, ewwww.
None of the listed items are on my list of top 10 chocolate candies, but I must note that Hersheys also makes:
1. Cadbury chocolates (in the US)
2. both the Heath and Skor toffee bars
3. KitKat
4. Rolo
5. Mounds and Almond Joy (they paid Peter to pay Paul and they own Peter Paul now)
(among Hershey products, I'd put Krackel at 6, Special Dark at 7 and their classic Milk Chocolate at 8 ahead of...)
9. Milk Duds
10. Whoppers Malted Milk Balls
11. York Peppermint Patties
and other stuff with peanuts I can't eat like Reese's.
But I also prefer the Hersheys Kisses to their bars, putting the product line at #2.5 with special props to the ones filled with Caramel, Coconut, and everything but Peanut Butter.
I don't much care for the taste of chocolate (especially hot chocolate and chocolate ice cream) but I don't despise it enough that I can't appreciate its flavor.
1 Goodbar
2 Krackel
3 Special Dark - I think I taste dark chocolates as more bitter than others do, but not in a bad way.
If I'm not mistaken, Halloween must be approaching, because when I was a trick-or-treater (kids these days! hmph) these were the four bars in a Hershey's snack size variety pack.
Special Dark > Milk Chocolate ~ Krackel >> Goodbar
That's exactly why I listed them, Joe - the people in the office below mine have a bag of Hershey's miniatures, and while sampling I realized I have a rigid hierarchy of their relative value.
However, I always feel somewhat obligated take one of each. None must be spurned. I eat them in order of least to most enjoyed.
It used to be, in a trick-or-treat or office-bag or whatnot kind of situation, I'd just take the Special Darks, because nobody else ever likes 'em (ditto black jellybeans, for example). But that seems to be ever-so-slowly changing. Antioxidants, plus maybe increased commercial availability.
It means chocolate in general is likely to get more expensive, because there are more cocoa solids in dark chocolate, which will drive up the prices of the raw ingredients.
4. Fuck that noise: >80% or GTFO. And even if you don't like it quite that dark and bitter, there is so much great chocolate out there the futzing around with Hershey's mainstream stuff is like arguing about tapwater.
krackel, milk chocolate, dark, goodbar (actually, I don't eat the goodbars... no like nuts in my candy)
wish they made a full-size krackel (thick nestle crunch are similar... my mom used to buy me one when I was sick... with a stuffed nose, I never could taste it, though)
Cortex, I know from my good chocolate - the house fondue is Valhrona. But chocolate has a spectrum, and Hershey's has pleasures that Belgium knows not of. When you want a fine ale, you go get it. But sometimes you want a cold 40.
Edward McPherson's book? Yep! He plays at my club. In the book, he talks about my regular partner, Jeff, who teaches the improving players. yay bridge :)
Yes, that's the book. Wow, vicarious fame! The review made bridge sound very enticing.
My family used to play canasta...my grandparents were absolute sharks at it. Occasionally we muddle our way through a game. I'd love to find others who enjoyed social card games.
- Lindt 72%, it's all about the right texture
- Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans
- Black Licorice (more anise-y than salty)
- Hot Tamales or Jolly Rancher Cinnamons
Mmm, Lindt. I remember when it was a rarity in the states -- we only got a taste of it about once a year when relatives would ship us a care package from Germany. It still seems faintly weird to me to see it in grocery stores now (ditto on Terry's oranges at Xmas)... like it used to be a secret that now everyone knows.
Your ranking is identical to mine, LoriFLA. BUt I'm not crazy about Lindt. A Lindt factory is here in my town, and we drown in Lindt a few times a year because they make donations to local non-profits -- they just drop off cases and cases of various types of chocolate. I still have a couple 12-boxes of their baking bars in my closet. Those are all right, but their other bars and candies I don't like much. There is a fatty butteriness to Lindt chocolate that I don't like - not enough balance of cocoa flavor, too much butterfat. IMO.
When you want a fine ale, you go get it. But sometimes you want a cold 40.
I hear you, and I like a cold 40, but for me a Hershey bar is more like a Mike's Hard Lemonade at this point. Nothing wrong with liking it if you do, but yech.
Maybe just worn out on the same type all the time.
I think Dove Dark is pretty good - I like the very firm texture of it. A great dessert for me while training is 4 pcs Dove Dark with a bunch of strawberries or rasperries.
I've become more snobby about chocolate as I've gotten older but the original four:
Krackel
Mr. Goodbar
Milk Chocolate
Special Dark
I like Heath/Skor, York, Reeses PB cups (pieces not so much), Kit Kat, Rollo, Almond Joy/Mounds....I like to try most of the limited editions of things as they come out.
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