I recently taught a chocolate and wine tasting seminar.  We tasted delicious, hand-made chocolates from local chocolate shops.  Afterward, one of the attendees took me aside and made a confession... 

She said I did a great job pointing out the reasons to fall in love with gourmet chocolate, but that sometimes she just wants a big handful of M&Ms.  She wondered if something was wrong with her.

Perhaps there are many things wrong with her, but I don’t think craving M&M’s is one of them!  🙂  A large part of enjoying chocolate involves memories of our early chocolate experiences.  Children as young as age 9-11 start to prefer chocolate over other candy.

(Some of my early chocolate memories don’t involve Hershey bars or M&M’s so maybe that is why I don’t reach for them when I have a chocolate craving.  My Dad introduced me to Marshall Field’s Frango™ Mints and Dark Chocolate Covered Orange Peel at an early age.  Thank you, Dad!)

If you crave mass-produced candy bars you are not alone.  The top ten most popular chocolate bars in the U.S. (based on sales in US Dollars) are:

1. Snickers
2. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
3. Kit Kat
4. Butterfinger
5. Milky Way
6. 3 Musketeers
7. Baby Ruth
8. M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies
9. Oh Henry
10. Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar

Snickers tops the list with over 2 BILLION dollars in global annual sales!

Sometimes our past favorites are not made anymore.  Do you remember any of these candy bars?

1. Bar None
2. Caravelle Bar
3. Chocolate Babies
4. Chocolate Cow
5. Chocolite
6. Forever Yours
7. Rally Bar
8. Marathon
9. Mars Bar
10. Milkshake Candy Bar
11. Nestle Alpine White Bar
12. PBMax Candy Bar
13. Peanut Butter No Jelly Bar
14. Seven-Up Bar
15. Willie Wonka Oompas

I will always recommend you choose fine premium chocolate over the vending machine candy bar.  But, if you need a trip down memory lane, I say go for it.  And after you have satisfied that urge, promise me you’ll take a moment and enjoy a fresh chocolate truffle or a rich butter cream.

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Bryn Kirk

Course Facilitator at Chocolate University Online

Bryn worked for nearly 10 years in a research and product development for Ambrosia Chocolate Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Now she develops all of the CUO lessons and coaches the members of the Primal Chocolate Club.

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