So what's everyone's favorite Halloween candy?

[Stormwatcher]

I prefer something chocolatey- Snickers, Milky Way, Musketeers, M&Ms, mini PB Cups- but I've never said no to a roll of Smarties.  I used to be very fond of Milk Duds; I'm not sure where my caramel appreciation went or when it disappeared.  Maybe the braces had something to do with it.

...And is it just me, or has Hershey's really lightened up on the cacao and doubled down the sugar?  Last Hershey kisses I had were a big disappointment, more 'sugary' than 'chocolatey'.  

[Scott]

I've heard about that with Hersheys. From cracked.com:

...But it's not America's fault. Like a manipulative, pre-diabetic boyfriend, their main chocolatiers have put in effort only to lower expectations. Go outside of the US and Hershey's is regarded as subpar chocolate -- or not chocolate at all. That's because, due to lax FDA regulations, American chocolate makers only have to have 10% of cacao solids in their products to qualify, well under the minimum of more Wonka-approved countries.

That same stinginess goes for its milk. Hershey's managed to get American regulators to okay making their chocolate last longer through a trade secret experts believe to be partially lipolyzed milk. That process also creates butyric acid, also present in parmesan cheese and breast milk. That's what gives Hershey's its very distinct tangy sour/umami flavor, something other US chocolate companies have just blindly copied, thereby creating entire generations of Americans almost genetically partial to chocolate that tastes like they stole it straight out of a baby's mouth.

And while the US chocolate market is getting more diverse, Hershey's also does it best to eliminate the competition fairly or otherwise. Take Cadbury chocolate, which most agree is better than Hershey's in the same way that eating mediocre chocolate is better than receiving dental surgery. Instead of allowing some free market competition, Hershey's bought the exclusive rights to manufacture Cadbury chocolate in the US, only to then muddle the taste to conform more with their cheesy chocolate. But Americans and expats who've tasted the real deal can't go back, which has created Cadbury smuggling rings that Hershey's has unsuccessfully tried to suppress...

I go for Snickers. There was a time when I'd eat Three Muskateers and Milky Way, but I don't really go for those anymore. Maybe Nestle Crunch.

Here's a tip----if you drop an M&M into warm water, the M will come off. It's a little decal.

[JD]

Whatchamacalits, for candy bars, or maybe Butterfingers, and that autumn mix stuff for candy-dish candy.  

[Stormwatcher]

>Go outside of the US and Hershey's is regarded as subpar chocolate -- or not chocolate at all.

Yes, my mother in law (English) says this... and yes, she's rather addicted to real chocolate like Cadburys and Toblerone. Over here, she agrees Lindt/Lindor, Dove, and of course Godiva are much better than average.

And then there's Palmer's, which is actually worse than Hershey's. Because they use cocoa powder instead of cacao. I suspect they use candle wax, too, but I can't prove that. : p

...Whatchamacalit, I haven't thought about those for a long time. And I never knew what was in a Butterfinger till just now: hard maple candy (and-or honey) mixed with peanut butter. I'm guessing you like PB, JD?

All this is reminding me I haven't had any orange chocolate for a while. :saunters off to Wahl's website:

[JD]

Oooh, orange chocolate!  If you don't get it online , the only time you can find it is at Christmas, in the regular grocery stores!  And it's yummy, but not, I think, as good as the ones that came out in the 70s, which is when I first encountered the chocolate oranges the "tap and unwrap" ones...which required "tapping" with a hammer, essentially!  But they were amazingly good. 

[Stormwatcher]

I couldn't get it in the grocery store last year! Or anywhere else! I know what you mean, the round ones wrapped up like oranges and you 'tap' (read, wallop them repeatedly on the countertop) and they fall into 'slices'. They were in milk and dark chocolate variety- I wanted one of each- and I couldn't find ANY!

So I went to Wahl's website. They're based out of Buffalo NY, where my dad's side of the family came from, and my great-uncle, who still lived there, used to send everyone a half-pound box at Christmas and Easter. So. Good. Best orange chocolate I've ever had, still; they haven't changed much in 35 years. They're still shipping, but they have a warning up about long delivery times and they remind people that they don't use dry ice, so don't blame them if it gets there in rather melty shape.

[JD]

How did my last reply end up in italics?  Hmmm.

Terry's Chocolate Oranges are available on Amazon right now, but I'll bet they'll be out by mid-November!  

[Stormwatcher]

Blame the comma. Not only is it the start of the italics, it's sitting all by itself in the middle of the sentence. Attention-seeking punctuation.

Hmmmm! So they are! And in a four-pack or a two-pack! Yes, limited supplies... Oo, and Valencia orange chocolate ice cream... all kinds of orange-and-chocolate goodies. The chocolate-covered orange peels are going a bit far, though, I think.

[mamabear]

Chocolate, of course. M&Ms specifically, but for chocolate bars I'm more a fan of the "real" chocolates like Dove, Lindor, Lindt, Godiva, etc. Hersheys will do in a pinch but not my favorite.