Why Is American Chocolate So Bad? | QI

The QI Guarantee is to only ever use 100% genuine, freshly-caught laughter, so you might notice this clip is a little quieter than normal while our audience were away.
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This clip is from QI Series R, Episode 5, 'Rubbish' with Sandi Toksvig, Alan Davies, Bridget Christie, Johnny Vegas and Holly Walsh.

[@cheeseymattybob]

It took me a minute to realise that there was no audience, rather than the audience just being very unimpressed 😂

[@rooty]

I was thinking there is absolutely no energy here, these anecdotes are dying on their arses

[@Farweasel]

Seriously, 'til you said that I hadn't noticed Reckon I prefer that you can hear all that they're saying instead of a 'live laugh track' swamping it.

[@tahutoa]

That sounds mostly like Hershey to me. I think Dove chocolate might be American made, and that stuff is fabulous

[@mrquirky3626]

Yeah, Hershey has always tasted bitter to me. I much more prefer Nestle chocolate as it seems sweeter.

[@Zantonny]

@@mrquirky3626 Extra sugar is often used to mask other unpleasant tastes. So that's probably why it's sweeter.

[@thelostone6981]

Dove is much better than Hershey. You can get Cadbury in places here in Utah, but if you want the best chocolate in the US, I suggest you; get a plane ticket, fly to Norway, rent a car, drive to Sweden to buy Norwegian chocolate because it’s cheaper in Sweden (less tax), drive back to Norway, eat a pølse med lompe, and fly back home to the US. Easy peasy.

[@MatthewBrannigan]

Yes, Dove is perfectly decent chocolate, made by Mars, and known as Galaxy in other countries. It's slightly annoying that they say "American Chocolate" as if all chocolate over here tastes like Hershey. It doesn't, there's lots of great chocolate in the US, Hershey is indeed garbage, but it's the exception, not the rule, and heaven knows why it's so popular.

[@three-quartersbadger2929]

Brit here who had some Hershey bar recently. Tasted like hyper-sweet wax. Vile.

[@aaronward6466]

Its awful.... I moved to Texas at 13 y.o. went from the magic of Cadbury and Nestle Chocolate to Hershey... didn't eat chocolate for the 4 years we were there. Its nasty lol...

[@EdgyShooter]

I always thought the old ration pack yorkies tasted funny, just assumed they were out of date 😅

[@trdsf]

As far as I'm concerned, milk chocolate is there only for when dark and white are unavailable. I once had a friend visit from Europe, who brought a box of Neuhaus with him, and wouldn't give me a piece until I sat down because I was "about to experience a real chocolate for the first time and I don't want you falling over." He was right, I would have. WOW.

[@lunct5211]

Slightly unnerving to hear without the live studio audience laughing

[@jorenthar9186]

The covid years. God I hope they're behind us.

[@joshuagrebert1072]

Glad I'm not the only one... Does kinda of give the impression of people sitting around having a coffee

[@crazyrobots6565]

I didn't even notice it.

[@Karma-qt4ji]

I thought the audience just didn't find any of this funny 🤣🤣🤣

[@keithlim8775]

It's not so bad. It just felt more like one of those morning talk shows.

[@wbfaulk]

There is chocolate that's legally chocolate in the US that wouldn't legally be chocolate in the UK (not enough cocoa solids), but there's also chocolate that's legally chocolate in the UK that wouldn't legally be chocolate in the US (too much non-cocoa-butter fat).

[@fariesz6786]

meanwhile in Germany: «kakaohaltige Fettglasur»

[@MeppyMan]

@@fariesz6786 sich erbrechen

[@RubyDoobieScoo]

They use chocolate liqueur or something.

[@OnlyKaerius]

@@fariesz6786 cocoa-containing fat glaze? It's what I got out of that with by knowing Swedish and English.

[@derPetunientopf]

@@OnlyKaerius Correct. Its used on cheap chocolate cakes. Not really chocolate but its good enough.

[@BOABModels]

The American writer Bill Bryson wrote about the first time he tried Belgian chocolate - standing on a train platform, he loudly moaned in pleasure, never realising before that chocolate could taste so nice!

[@phillipecook3227]

Are you sure it was chocolate?

[@Maerahn]

Did any bystanders lean in and say "I'll have what he's having?" 😉

[@JorgenHartogs]

@@BrotherChad Indeed. but mostly because we all agree Belgian chocolate is better :)

[@zapkvr]

I agree 100%. Same for Belgian beer. Have you ever been stunned by beer?

[@JorgenHartogs]

@@zapkvr same thing we just do the best: beer and chocolate. Almost all other things we don't do so well. Apart from striking, we do that well too

[@BNL07604]

Audience or no audience, Holly is friggin funny.

[@danmar007]

I like Holly. She comes up with great lines.

[@mariannerognerud]

I ❤️Holly!

[@HarryRobins]

I think she's funnier when I watch her

[@BNL07604]

@@BrotherChad Lol, never noticed that, but she does come off as a bit of a troll, so I guess that's fitting!

[@mariannerognerud]

@@BrotherChad How relevant.

[@felinegroovy]

Possibly the best chocolate I've had was Finnish. Who would have thought it ? Fazer was the brand.

[@frosted_cupkate]

Yesssss, Fazer Blue is fantastic - my favorite chocolate of all time.

[@herrbonk3635]

The founder of Fazer, Karl Fazer, had a Swiss dad and a Swedish mother.

[@emrald2000]

i had Fazer Tyrkisk peber before, very nice. salty liquorice hard sweet with a chilli kick in the middle.

[@sbeve6559]

Alan: "That's not a euphemism" Everyone: "........" Sandi: "HAHAHHHHHhahhahahhh!!!!!"

[@helipeek2736]

If they can’t make chocolate properly, what is the point of the Colonies?

[@tomstamford6837]

I can't believe it's because milk supply is further away. Do the Amish deliver it by the churn in their horse buggies?

[@Xantosdude]

Rap mostly.

[@helipeek2736]

@@Xantosdude a possible spell check fail, one feels.

[@b_uppy]

Fair taxation. That's why they're no longer 'the Colonies' and broke away...

[@Xantosdude]

@@b_uppy What...? I'm pretty sure it's "No taxation without representation."

[@NC7491]

I was born in Europe and moved to the States in my twenties. I don't share the revulsion towards Hershey's that some other people in the comments have, but I never had a craving towards it and never got out of my way to get it even though I have a humongous sweet tooth. I guess that explains it. The funny thing is that I remember an old movie from my childhood called Empire of the Sun in which the young protagonist spends WW2 in a Japanese prison camp. When he's liberated by the Americans, he's given a Hershey's bar which is meant to symbolize both something very delectable and the end of his privations. At the time I couldn't have a Hershey's, so it always felt as if this chocolate was pretty special and that brand identity has really stuck with me throughout all these years. Alas, reality couldn't match the legend.

[@UstedTubo187]

The ignorance in the comment section here is so typical. Everyone thinks they know everything about a country's product offerings based on one shitty mass-produced brand. It happens all the time with cheese and now chocolate. It's like saying all food in England is shit because jellied eels are gross. There's a big huge world out there people, open your eyes.

[@Sabundy]

Fair point. You are right that people tend to fixate on what is THE mass produced product. And for me Hershey's is quite terrible. I love chocolate but honestly you could not pay me to eat that stuff. But Mars company chocolate is just fine. I have no issue eating some of their products. But I can't say I have ever heard of any outstanding brand of American chocolate.

[@UstedTubo187]

@@Sabundy Not knowing you personally, I couldn't verify what it would take for you to consider a brand of chocolate to be "outstanding," but there are plenty of American chocolate companies that are quite good. Google can list out a few companies that you might not be aware of.

[@HenrykIwan]

I'm sorry, but to me it's so much better without the audience. I've been watching (and loving) this show for years, but always had trouble with the laughter being mixed too loud (compared to the members' voices), making them often difficult to understand when they overlap. And even when they don't overlap, it's just plain annoying when the laughter constantly "jumps out" so much. So let me finally say what I wanted to say for a long time: please, kindly please, just make them quieter (or the mic'ed voices louder and a bit compressed). Thank you and best regards! :-)

[@arvindhmani06]

Good point!

[@gurrrn1102]

Don't apologise for what you said. Instead, apologise for transposing the last letter of your last name onto the end of your first name.

[@kjamison5951]

I just want to concur with Holly. I remember those CCF days, the 24 hour ration pack and the terrible chocolate. If you were lucky, and I use the word ‘lucky’ quite incorrectly, you got a tune of Rolos instead of the solid chocolate bar. They were speckled with the white milk fat solids that had risen to the surface during storage and the ingredients and incidental information appears in Arabic, not English. When you are a bit hungry on exercise, you will eat it. Generally everything caused your back end to close up until you got back to the barracks. Then you could enjoy a long trip to the loo. Favourite items were ‘biscuits, fruit.’ Or, as they were known in the biscuit industry, ‘Garibaldi’. There were also plain versions of the Garibaldi and some hard biscuits that you were encouraged to dip in your soup or beans. Halcyon days…

[@tomwithey711]

Yeah, I was an Air Cadet for 5 years, to be honest I actually thought the chocolate was the best thing in them. It tasted a bit weird but better than the boil in the bag gristle burgers they had 😅

[@janiyawest7023]

The US chocolate bar in the Emergency ration was commonly referred to as the John Wayne bar. Even the raccoons wouldn't eat it.

[@Fayelin449]

I’ve never known about the old chocolate turning white phenomenon. It never lasts long enough with me around.

[@sanderkvenild8947]

Poorly produced chocolate also does this. Most often it's because they used too high of a temperature.

[@GMSorceressRose]

Gas station and drug store chocolates are not representative of American chocolate. They are disgusting. Try Lake Champlain, Moonstruck, or Santa Fe's Kakawa. There is plenty if craft chocolate, in the USA. If you believe that Americans don't know good chocolate, you are quite ignorant.

[@Mithrasboy]

In the 90s a friend married an American who was stationed at RAF Lakenheath. I was invited on to the base and was pleased to discover a chocolate machine that sold Hersheys. I had heard of the stuff and was keen to try it. The bar the machine dispensed tasted of cardboard inpregnated with vomit. I assumed it had suffered from being in the vending machine for too long and later bought one from a store on the base. It tasted the same. American chocolate is just vile.

[@singing4fun]

As a Canadian, I concur. American chocolate is horrible. Fortunately, we get a good supply of chocolate from the UK.

[@coler.lcurnew9106]

The chocolate ration reminds me of gummies that Search and Rescue technicians in the air force use in their missions (4 gummies = 4000 calories). I was supervising a cadet trip to an air base (30 12 yo kids) and the SAR techs gave them packs of the gummies but didn't tell us the calorie count until after the kids were back on the bus: needless to say they were either jumping or puking the entire ride home.

[@CatherineCane]

how do they get that many calories in a gummy?

[@Tao_Tology]

1000? Each?

[@go56dofro]

1000 cal = 1 kcal, commonly known as a calorie... is that it?

[@Sabundy]

Aside from Swiss and Belgium chocolate, some of the best chocolate I have ever had is a Japanese brand called ROYCE. It's really good quality. Very smooth and chocolaty without being sweet. I highly recommend it to anyone if you get a chance to try it.

[@spluff5]

If you can get it, New Zealand chocolate is very nice

[@aneejit9079]

@@spluff5 Yep, Whittaker's is the ducks nuts of chocolate!!

[@BobTheTrueCactus]

Found it online. They have a special offer, where it only costs 131€ instead of 216€... holy shit.

[@MrStGeorgeIllawarra]

@@aneejit9079 Gone down hill recently.

[@rachelcookie321]

@@aneejit9079 don’t tell me dad you think that, he hates Whittaker’s chocolate. He thinks it tastes cheap. He much prefers Cadbury’s. Personally I like both but he always makes fun of me for liking Whittaker’s.

[@NewMessage]

Well, everything else they do is pretty terrible, so.. why buck a trend?

[@michaelpage7691]

I was given an American chocolate bar when I was younger and I thought it was a joke. It tasted absolutely awful. It left a real bitter taste in my mouth. I think from memory, I only had the one bite. 😜👍🏻🇦🇺

[@notme222]

If "bitter" was the defining quality it's possible you were just given dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and no one told you that was the difference.

[@avinotion]

I feel like I wrote this. Took the words right out of my mouth.

[@Plethorality]

we have been a bit spoilt in Australia : )

[@michaelpage7691]

@@notme222 It was a ( not sure of the spelling) Hersey bar.

[@avinotion]

@@michaelpage7691 Heresy bar. Hearsay bar? Hershey bar!

[@woodrobin]

Just to be clear: an unpleasant-tasting D-ration chocolate bar is not what the phrase "gagging for the D" refers to.

[@dielaughing73]

If this comment section were less decorous I'd say something like 'no it refers to your mother'

[@daddymuggle]

Not Sandi's specialist subject, old bean. We'll have to rely on the elves to get the details on that.

[@Tao_Tology]

* KLAXON * * KLAXON * Gagging

[@Henilegasp]

That explains it... I was wondering why American chocolate is so completely and utterly revolting. 🤮🤢🤧😮‍💨

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

On behalf of the people of Hershey I apologize.

[@Sabundy]

I can't eat that stuff. I'm sorry. But after growing up eating Swiss, Belgian and German chocolate Hershey's is just awful. Even Cadburys (while not being anything special) is better.

[@r0bw00d]

As an American, I loved our chocolate as a kid and tolerated it as an adult. Then I took a trip to Iraq one year and bought a chocolate bar from a duty free shop. I've never eaten my country's chocolate ever again.

[@NSResponder]

There is excellent chocolate available from the USA. Try Ghirardelli or See's. Hershey's is crap.

[@billyeveryteen7328]

We're capable of making good chocolate in America, in the same way we're capable of making amazing beer, yet overseas, all they know is Budweiser. The thing is, European chocolate is so much better than North American chocolate, there's really no reason to import ours when they can far more easily buy Swiss, Belgian, or German. Semi-related, maybe it's largely nostalgia talking, but as a Mexican expat/immigrant, I do prefer Mexican-style hot chocolate to European-style hot chocolate or American hot cocoa.

[@angrytedtalks]

Hershey's is disgusting. Gritty and way too sweet. Give me dairy milk or Galaxy any day. Can you imagine how fat Americans would be if they had access to _tasty_ chocolate?

[@EebstertheGreat]

They sell both of those in the supermarket by my apartment.

[@angrytedtalks]

@@EebstertheGreat They sell Hershey's in our supermarket, we have an American section to please our US guests. Things like Twinkies, Captain Crunch and Dino's hot dogs are a novelty, but not a popular choice with Brits. I believe the recipe for Cadbury chocolate in the US is actually different, same with Nestlé products (formally Rowntree Macintosh in UK) like KitKat.

[@EebstertheGreat]

@@angrytedtalks ​I haven't heard of Dino's hot dogs, but yeah, I know there tend to be American food aisles in some other countries. I've heard they hold a rather unusual assortment, but maybe that's just in continental Europe. To get British chocolate here, you usually have to go to a foreign market, e.g. you can find them at Indian and Pakistani markets, with continental European-style labels. I'm not sure if the Cadbury ones are technically legal to sell, but they exist anyway. They do taste good but aren't my favorite, I guess. Probably better than Hershey's.

[@DoveJS]

@@angrytedtalks I've never heard of Dino's hot dogs in my life, so I went to google. First time I've ever seen hot dogs stored in a jar before! It's a UK brand that says it's American inspired; not an import.

[@henryharesdene4164]

One of the most amusing - and informative QI clips that I have seen - brings reality to matters that otherwise appear wuite 'potty'

[@lvbfan]

I dislike Hershey's myself, and have long thought it tasted like vomit. However, "the milk had to travel farther" mentioned in the clip isn't the reason Hershey's chocolate tastes like that. In American culture, Milton Hershey is famous for two things. One, like Henry Ford, he didn't invent the chocolate bar, he invented the *affordable* chocolate bar. Or the American version, at least. Two, to make affordable chocolate happen, he purposely built his factory in the middle of Pennsylvania dairy country. The entire town of Hershey, PA - the rail lines, the schools, the clinics, the houses, the factory - was built where it was SO THE MILK WAS AVAILABLE LOCALLY. Random fact: the housing Hershey built for his workers all featured electric lights, running water and a furnace - one of the first times ordinary American workers would have all three at the same time.

[@herrbonk3635]

Why does it have to be so large scale? An just a single huge manufacturer... feels a bit like feodalism or socialism to me. (European countries still has lots of small local makers of chocolades, konfektyr, etc.)

[@peterdisabella2156]

@@herrbonk3635 There are smaller chocolate makers but they are more expensive because the larger scale allows companies like hershey to cut costs in the logistics. Hershey, PA is a famous example of a company town which were surprisingly popular in the US up until WW2. They fell out of fashion as worker standard of living improved and government protections increased. You find these kind of towns in countries with high manufacturing but low labor wages (Foxconn is a decent modern day example).

[@papanurgle7724]

For a moment I thought I had something wrong with my earphones as the audio sounded weird but then it hit me. The sound of the audience, their laughter, hecking and responses to the jokes fired by the host and her guests were gone. The entire video sounds like it was stripped of it. What a strange thing.

[@PKDoesStuff]

This was a lockdown filming episode, for which they didn't have a live audience. They were very weird to watch at first, but once the panel settled in it had more of a cosy conversation vibe, since they weren't interrupted by applause as much

[@richardlove4287]

I didn’t realise this before, but the audience is the catalyst for fun on QI….. without them this was just a chat in the pub.

[@steveb1972]

US chocolate is vile! As a kid I ate the chocolate from a First World War Christmas Tin and it was nicer!

[@attackpatterndelta8949]

American chocolate tastes horrible because their food standards are so low. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that Hersheys chocolate is made out of gravel and pensioners nail clippings.

[@slyhatjones]

The absolute cheapest american chocolate is, yes, bad. I hate that it's just "american chocolate is bad," though, because that does a huge disservice to a whole lot of excellent american chocolate. It's not all made the same way, nor does it all have that acid ingredient added. It's not a dissimilar situation to americans condemning all british cuisine as "just boiled meat".

[@Tismitch]

English food is stereotypically bland, I agree with that as an Aussie born to English immigrants. We also have examples of American chocolate on our shelves such as Hersheys (which is often raved about for being good quality) which tastes awful when compared to the normal brands we have. Annoyingly, because hersheys is imported, it also costs like 4x the amount it should while other imports are cheaper and much better quality such as lindt. Generalisations often suck but stereotypes like these don't come from nowhere even if there are many examples contrary to the stereotype.

[@mrsilence666]

If the Brits acknowledged this, then how will they make up for the new smarm deficit that would result?

[@agin1519]

There’s also boiled veges!

[@peterbreis5407]

Exactly. That was my experience when I was in America. The good stuff is always "over there"... ...somewhere else.

[@lemonz1769]

Those people are making European style chocolate. American style chocolate (ie Hershey’s) tastes like vomit.

[@zapkvr]

Swiss chocolate isn't that great. Australian chocolate is pretty much rubbish. Too much sugar. Too much fat.

[@thomasshepherd2341]

My Dad came back (to Britain) from a work trip to the USA when we were younger, and brought several different flavoured bars of Hershey. Not sure he realised how unimpressed we’d be with them when he bought them!! Dairy Milk til I die.

[@synthonaplinth5980]

Did you know that Hershey's owns the US branch of Cadbury and took all of the milk out of Cadbury Creme Eggs? Nasty....

[@Psychlist1972]

Why I prefer European chocolate, I guess.

[@samdumaquis2033]

Yuck, that's capitalisme

[@geraldmorgan2539]

And they the US of A took over Cadbury and it's not as good anymore one of the Cadbury sons went to Harvard the rest is history, Bournville chocolate

[@kiwinzdebz]

In New Zealand we have Whittaker's chocolate and it's not "boutique" or pricey (it's sold in most supermarkets here), but it's far superior to any chocolate produced in the USA or UK. Warning though - once you've tasted it, it completely ruins every other brand of chocolate forever. It's that good.

[@stijnhandgraaf3914]

Can confirm! Got a bar from a NZ friend in The Netherlands and it was amazing!

[@sheerluckholmes5468]

Agree that Whittaker's is great chocolate and also I find that Aldi chocolate is quite palatable.

[@Plethorality]

i send my love to New Zealand and to their idea of proper chocolate : ) Whittickers is very good. your dairy products are excellent quality. may you always have happy cows !

[@kiwinzdebz]

@@Plethorality Thank you, I hope so too! My favourite Whittaker's is the Creamy Milk Chocolate, but many of their chocolate bars are dairy-free (especially the ones with high cocoa percentage). It's good for the lactose-intolerant people to know that they can enjoy good chocolate too. 🙂

[@Tao_Tology]

Don't fall for it, folks! She's just trying to lure you over to New Zealand. It's a trap!

[@flyawaytodie]

I have eaten a D-ration made using the original recipe. It is...horrible beyond compare. It will put you off just about all chocolate. You will wonder what in the actual hell it is.

[@likmijnreet4542]

American chocolate bitter? I've had American M&M's they tasted of nothing but sugar and fat.

[@Nilguiri]

Can the septics do anything except go to the moon properly? What a country.

[@PesterHarrington]

Because America's "standards" for food are abysmal.

[@ArtemKonstantinovich]

Hershey’s is such garbage. But Americans love it

[@Sweetlyfe]

Now I know why American chocolate tastes so bad. I’m a chocoholic and I never got into it the US when visiting, liked other sweets though.

[@Sabundy]

It's Hershey's that is absolutely terrible imho. I'm definitely a lover of chocolate, and the one and only time I ate Hershey's I found it so insipidly sweet that it literally gave me a headache. I could not believe how good awful it was. I'm sorry.....but Hershey's is total rubbish.. Mars chocolate by comparison is much better. I don't at all mind some of their products. So it's not all American chocolate for sure. But Hershey's...? You could not pay me to eat that rubbish.

[@jsquire5pa]

The mars company that makes chocolate is british

[@seankayll9017]

I tried a lump of Hershey's once. It tasted like the smell of baby vomit. Never again.

[@connorfrey8597]

Oh yeah cold boiled potato. with salad cream

[@gwynt909]

I used to work for Cadbury's when they made proper chocolate with COCOA FAT and not the revolting palm fat oil replacement. Cadbury's was the best chocolate of the cheaper brands. Even Rowntrees was a nice chocolate but since Nestle bought them I find all their chocolate plain horrible. Since Cadbury's was bought by Mondelez I have found a distinct deterioration in taste and quality. To me Hershey's is just plain dreadful..

[@Sabundy]

I agree. Hershey's is absolutely God awful. I cannot believe anyone thinks that chocolate 🤮

[@Sabundy]

I have noticed that in recent years Cadburys chocolate has definitely gone down in quality.

[@jaymercer4692]

I always heard American chocolate was shit and something about it literally tasting like sick but I thought that was just exaggeration and people joking.

[@ATinyWaffle]

It is an exaggeration. It's just slightly more bitter than the uber sweet UK chocolate. If, say, UK dark chocolate is 100% more bitter than UK milk chocolate, then American milk chocolate is about 20-40% more bitter than UK milk chocolate.

[@K1lostream]

I hadn't noticed the pukey taste thing, but American chocolate just tastes like sugary gunge because the thing that makes chocolate is cocoa, and it's quite expensive so Americans hardly put any in. Cadbury got bought by Americans and they immediately started making creme eggs out of shit chocolate. I got tricked once, haven't eaten one since.

[@EebstertheGreat]

@@K1lostream You can buy bars with up to 95% cacao in the U.S. Milk chocolate however is much lower. If you don't like milk chocolate, you should just buy dark chocolate. It will taste more bitter, much more chocolatey, much less sweet, and less sour.

[@K1lostream]

@@EebstertheGreat It’s the same here but I wasn’t comparing US milk chocolate with UK dark chocolate. If you get the chance try UK Dairy Milk - I don’t know if you would prefer it or not, but you’ll be able to tell the difference. I’m not even saying I think UK chocolate is the best - Belgium and Switzerland both make chocolate that’s superb, for example.

[@Dynasty1818]

It really is shocking in comparison

[@naryanr]

i swear this doesn't come from a place of patriotism but i tried Hershey's once and I didn't spit it out or anything, but all I could think about the rest of the day was how uniquely terrible it tasted.

[@Sabundy]

Same here.

[@hiltonian_1260]

Have to admit I’ve become a chocolate snob. Regular American chocolate tastes like brown crayon. It almost is; sugar, carnuba wax, brown coloring, waved in the vicinity of some real cocoa. Chocolate doesn’t taste right to me unless it’s 60% cocoa or higher.

[@r0bw00d]

Wow, this clip sounds so much better than the rest! I love it!

[@blackdragoncyrus]

Yeah, it's really bad.

[@rogergreen9861]

America can't remake ANYTHING well.

[@NPCarlsson]

Except 'The Office'.

[@marisae907]

Hersheys chocolate bars kind of burn my throat so I could totally see why people would say it tastes like vomit but I still like it 😂

[@magnificentfailure2390]

I get Belgian chocolate for a buck at the 99 store. No pukey taste.

[@billyeveryteen7328]

Yes, American chocolate tastes like sick, and yes it's weird that some of us prefer it that way, to the point where some chocolatiers intentionally add butyric acid to otherwise good chocolate, but in our defense, like Sandi pointed out, our chocolate is gross out of necessity. The United States is larger, area-wise, than all of the UK and mainland Europe combined. And a large part of our country is unsuitable for dairy farming. California alone is almost twice the size of Great Britain. So in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before the advent of refrigeration, our options were to make slightly gross chocolate to transport across the country, or just have roughly half our population never experience chocolate. By the time you get refrigeration and better methods of production and transport, Americans are now used to our chocolate tasting slightly off.

[@EebstertheGreat]

That is categorically untrue, as demonstrated by the fact that most chocolatiers _don't_ add butyric acid. The ones who add it do so because they think it makes their chocolate taste better. There is no necessity involved.

[@Tismitch]

@@EebstertheGreat haha you really are commenting on everything trying to defend American chocolate! This OP is stating facts yet you are calling them untrue because better quality chocolate exists now? OP is talking about history and how it influences things today. Calm down

[@arcadianico]

My main question is why Hershey’s resorted to a technique which introduced butyric acid when pasteurisation also extends the shelf life of milk and doesn’t add a bizarre taste. Was it simply cheaper or?

[@Tismitch]

@@arcadianico because of the taste. People who grew up eating chocolate with butyric acid through necessity (not added but as a unavoidable by-product) now associate butyric acid taste with normal chocolate. For many of them, chocolate just doesn't taste right without it.

[@arcadianico]

@@Tismitch No, I get that. I meant in the beginning, when the original choice was made, not nowadays

[@canningmatthew]

Puts a different slant on the movies where they give their chocolate away now... rather than being a kind act...

[@juliansmith4295]

Hershey was quite successful making horribly-tasting chocolate. Distance is no excuse. Dairies in Canada and Australia are much further from chocolate factories than ones in the US, and their chocolate doesn't taste like puke.

[@jmurray1110]

It was due to a lack of refrigeration at the time leading to them to making them dump more than they wanted as you could only have it for 3 days so they added a preservative to extend it while keeping it liquid that would react in production to create the acid and since it was still in use by WW1 when Hersey because a war ration suppler since it didn’t melt in the trucks the soldiers gained a taste for that acidity that forced other brands to add it and now all American chocolate is shit

[@decodolly1535]

When I was a child there were "Doggie Chox" - like chocolate buttons but specifically for dogs. Being children we tried them, they were disgusting. A few years ago, a friend got me a Hershey bar from the states - I'd rather have a Doggie Chox!

[@guitarmatricide4834]

When you can hear the crew laughing around 3 minutes in, it sounds like there’s only about 4 people in the audience…

[@midnattbeats]

covid innit

[@leegibbs5317]

Can confirm there were six of us there, not including the panelists.

[@guitarmatricide4834]

Yeah, I figured as much. I’m American; and, just as I was noticing the restrictions in our shows, I definitely noticed it in your “Would I Lie to You?”. They compartmentalized the set like it was a tech support office. Also, I don’t think I’m eating domestic chocolate anymore…

[@jmalmsten]

I'm a bit confused. If she didn't say Odeon... What did she say?

[@orchedt]

Odiham. It's a RAF base

[@jmalmsten]

@@orchedt Oh... Never even heard of Odiham.

[@rachelcookie321]

I’ve never felt like American chocolate tastes like sick but I do find that it tastes like cheap easter chocolate. Well, Hershey’s does. That’s the only one I’ve tried. It just tastes low quality to me.

[@sr.chiqitibum8607]

People are aware that chocolate tastes different in most countries, right? It’s like Coca-Cola: there are different formulas for the tastes of different areas. There is no such thing as bad or good chocolate. It’s all people’s tastes.

[@greenhotel7445]

I want to buy a American chocolate bar and see if I notice the vomit taste. Three days before trying the chocolate I will vomit in a small container and then save it. First I will taste the chocolate and then after the chocolate I will try a taste of vomit that I saved days ago. I hope the vomit keeps other wise I will be tasting old stale vomit and that would be Disgusting .

[@EdgyShooter]

I remember the old ration packs, had to be redeveloped for the middle East as mysteriously pate wasn't exactly suited for the desert

[@just-tess]

huh didn't miss the audience at all myself, didn't even notice - also less cocoa solids = less slavery so there!

[@cern1999sb]

It's so eerily quiet

[@duncanbrown7082]

Yep! American chocolate is utter crap!

[@rafdahouk9341]

Belgian and swiss chocolate Is the best hands down

[@timcollins3484]

But you can't tell a Yank their choccy is effing awful! They right uppity!

[@almostfm]

Depending on your age, "maneuvers at the Odeon" might have a decidedly non-military meaning.

[@gurrrn1102]

it definitely does if you're David Jason

[@Farweasel]

BUT RAF Odium IS an Army Base. Meh - Its true, go figure.

[@vidfreak56]

Yeah i agree that american chocolate is trash.

[@oigleoystereater2003]

Because it is American and they have never got anything right or made anything of quality.

[@88marome]

Damn how long it too me to find odeum and Odiham. Did everyone else really hear what they said?!

[@sstills951]

I don’t know guys, I’m American and I guess I can’t taste the bad flavor. It seems fine to me. But just fine. Chocolate seems to be getting less ‘chocolatey’ and just more sweet nowadays. We have real chocolate bars over here with a high cacao content. Those are good but expensive. My grandmother visited England in the 90’s and brought me back an English bar of chocolate with a beefeater on the label. I’m not sure where she got it from but possibly a gift shop near Buckingham palace? I never ate it though.

[@osirisrexx2336]

I grew up in Germany, perfectly sandwiched between Swiss and Belgian chocolate. Having tried plenty of British chocolate, it's easily the worst in Europe. It's the chocolate melting pot calling the cocoa kettle black.

[@EebstertheGreat]

Chocolate is the only product I was able to find that costs more in the U.S. than in Switzerland. Though to be fair, it's really not _that_ expensive. You can get good chocolate for $2/bar if you know where to look.

[@Tismitch]

@1993DJC same here. I was expecting something amazing considering the hype hersheys has in media yet it just tasted off compared to the generic Cadbury that we grew up eating instead

[@TotallyNotBrad123]

@@osirisrexx2336 I've travelled all over Europe and I've got to say that I think you're far off from the truth- Swiss chocolate I think is obviously superior, and Belgian artisanal stuff can be nice, buy I think Britain's chocolate slides in at a comfortable second (or third I'd you allow for the artisan's stuff in Belgium).

[@mattdavis9601]

I am an American and Hershey's chocolate tastes notably "tangy" to me, but Mars (Mars Bars, M&Ms, Snickers, etc) are fine. Kroger store brand chocolates also seem to lack that chemical additive too.

[@Wyld1one]

Sooo... I challenge thee to step up to the plate and export better chocolate to US. 😁

[@elliotlambert3817]

American chocolate is made for profit the taste is coincidental

[@boybawang1981]

What is...because they have dental insurance!?!?

[@robertgraffham6440]

Everything American is SO BAD!

[@davesimms8825]

Canadian Hershey tastes different American Hershey.

[@cheryla7480]

Canadian Hershey is made from a different recipe. Canadian standards for chocolate is 30% cocoa and chocolate solids. The US standard is only 10%. Also there is no butyric acid in the Canadian bar. The US uses butyric acid ( vomit taste ). Butyric acid occurs naturally in Parmesan Cheese, Vomit especially high concentration in baby vomit, and in dogs anal glands.

[@urmaisgay6495]

i did that stuff at odiham too 🤣

[@ukdnbmarsh]

american fake chocolate with sick, nasty.

[@TK_Brainslug]

Bridget can be sometimes really annoying

[@fearlessfred67]

I was in the CCF at school too! (RAF of course) I remember those 24hr "Rat Packs" as well.

[@nexussever]

This explains why I have always disliked Hershey's chocolate. Imagine my delight when I discovered decent chocolate that did not taste like puke. LOL

[@herrbonk3635]

This makes me so curious... But I think we have a small "Amercian food" shop in town. I'll have to go there after work today, and ask för a "hörschejs" :D

[@FenceThis]

well chocolate - schmockolate, both American and British chocolate is pretty subpar compared to most continental European chocolate

[@hayax]

The US and UK are the kings of cheap chocolate that tastes good. I do agree with more expensive chocolate though

[@b_uppy]

Would be great if they had made mention of 'slave chocolate'...

[@paulcollyer801]

Ahhhh, the memories of ration packs. The old chocolate wasn’t Bad per se, but it wasn’t great. LOVED the biscuits brown.

[@Ffinity]

Biscuits brown with cheese spread, great memories.

[@paulcollyer801]

@@Ffinity, good combo, but nice enough on their own.

[@jackmehoffe9372]

Getting down with biscuits brown

[@DefenderOfHumanity]

As an American, I have strong feelings about this. Our chocolate is indeed nasty crap. However, it is also an indispensable component of the delightful experience that is a s'more. Don't try to use anything but Hershey's in a s'more. It just won't work. I don't know why, but that's the way it is. So I can't completely hate our chocolate, for that reason! ^^

[@ricahrdb]

I have never tasted American chocolate but despite all the negative stories I am getting very curious about it. It can't be that bad can it?

[@Henilegasp]

Buy one of those Hershey bars... you will soon find out! Someone bought me one on their holiday to the US. It tasted so bad, it made me wonder about our friendship! We are no longer friends...

[@iunnox666]

Hershey's doesn't really taste like chocolate imo. A ton of sugar in it too.

[@csp.9203]

You haven't tasted any Hershey's brands like Reese's peanut butter cups or Kit Kat wafer bars? I would have thought that Hershey would have been able to get their fingers into every chocolate market in the world. Hershey's chocolate sucks. Everyone knows and no one anywhere will defend it because the quality is beside the point for a bunch of people. It's just cheap candy. If it was better, people would complain.

[@BaldricksTurnip1]

American chocolate is Vile

[@johnnybacklund153]

2:27 why is there a Skåne County flag (Swedish County) behind Sandi? Correct me if I'm wrong

[@t.c.thompson2359]

As an American I get to like both American chocolate and it's European superior, so it can stay the same or change and I'll be fine, most Americans probably agree with me, except for the idiots that started calling french fries "freedom fries" after Iraq.