Kraft bought Cadbury – now everyone is telling me how shite American chocolate is…

Brilliant. And typical. I’m sure I’ll get lots of crap for this as well. Fortunately I was in meetings all afternoon… with a South African, and Aussie and an Italian. Not so much of the hate from any of them!

@NFAH – Hahahaha!!! Sounds like the beginning of a joke. “I was in a meeting with a South African an Aussia and an Italian…”

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They’d better not change any of the recipes – especially not for Cadbury’s Cream Eggs or Mini Eggs. Somehow the Kraft Easter Bunny just sounds wrong! And American chocolate (mostly) is (as people have been telling you) shite!

Better get used to it – the responsibility for your home nation never goes away, it merely diminishes. However to compensate you also take on responsibility for every action of your adopted country.

In the eyes of my family in America I seem to be regarded as being responsible for releasing al-Megrahi and I am sure that I will be asked about the deficiencies of American chocolate.

Still I wouldn’t go anything like as far as calling any of it “hate”

I totally sympathize with you. I lived in Manchester when Malcom Glaser took over Manchester United. I got the same thing constantly. I just used to say “Well I don’t like him either as I am an EAGLES fan but when he rings me to ask my opinion I’ll be sure tell him to leave United alone”

This has always been odd to me, the chocolate thing. Of course Hershey’s is terrible; it costs nothing and people buy it at drug stores. What on earth do you expect? There are plenty of excellent American chocolatiers (L.A. Burdick, Vosges, Kee’s, Green and Blacks…the list goes on) who produce outstanding chocolate. Just head to your local Whole Foods or (gasp!) chocolate shop. And frankly, we import such vast quantities of European chocolate that I never know what to make of expats who move here and say they’re “homesick for good chocolate.” Do they do all their shopping at CVS?

IMHO, the statement that “American chocolate isn’t good” only comes from cheap, ignorant tourists. And of course, people who have never visited at all.

Agreed! Marmite is most certainly NOT for everyone! yuck.

I LIKE Hershey’s, con sarnit! I was raised on it and I still flippin’ love the stuff…

When British people start going on about the quality of American chocolate I just try and tune them out. Now if a Belgian has something to say, that’s another story…

I love the way you explained the rational about why this is NOT an appropriate conversation starter. Its just plain rude, true or not. However, I must include the caveat that, technically speaking, Hershey’s is better quality. It contains a greater ratio of cocoa to other ingredients. Cadburies milk chocolate isn’t even classified as such by the EU because it does not contian enough cocoa solids…so anyone rude enough to introduce generic chocolate bashing into casual banter can put that in their pipe and smoke it (or chew on it). Those kind enough to leave their personal food preferences alone in polite conversation are to be commended, its such a rare quality!

I don’t mind Hersheys, hey it is chocolate after all. For those who complain about American chocolate all I can say is M&Ms Premiums (mint choc especially). I brought a box back from my recent holiday and everyone loved them. I even went as far as to email Mars and ask them if they were going to sell them here in the UK. They aren’t

Oh, I am missing out, Kneazle1, mint chocolate M&M’s sound scrumptious!

I don’t like to hear about Brits being rude to Americans, but…. chocolate is so dear to our hearts!

And I had my own share of expat-bashing this week-end, when a lady told me (and I quote) “The Brits look down on the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh, the French, the Germans, the Americans. Let’s face it. The Brits are snobs.” Didn’t really feel I could reply (I was in a formal situation where my role was to smile sweetly, and there was potentially a job offer at stake, so I really couldn’t do anything else). It was clear from the awkwardly long silence, that none of the other assembled Americans agreed with her, or knew quite what to say to redeem the situation. I wish I’d been able to say “we may be snobs, but that’s only because we have superior chocolate to everyone else”!

HAHAHAHAHA I get told all the time how crap American Chocolate is!!! I brought some Hershey’s to work one day and I swear most people made this big ordeal and spit it out in the trash can [or should I say bin since I get laughed at about that also...]. : )

I really hope they don’t change the recipes. That’s all I’m saying on t’ subject.
I always find that complete silence and a patronising smile are the best response to a rude and prejudiced comment. It usually makes the other person start stammering, and putting their foot in it even more, meanwhile you just convey your complete moral and intellectual superiority by “not engaging” in such a stupid discussion.

Silver lining: Maybe they’ll bring over more Kraft products…then I can more easily indulge my unhealthy and juvenile addiction to Mac n’ Cheese and we can get Velveeta for easy chili con queso. My poor mother is growing tired of shipping processed orange goo over.

By the way, s’mores never taste good with anything but Hershey’s. Take that, Dairy Milk.

The delicious Green and Black is British, founded, if my memory serves me correctly, in Brighton.

Right, there was a little snow-balling-of-nasty-comments and it was getting pretty mean. Sorry to get Big Brother on you all, but we don’t allow abusive comments. By all means, speak your mind – but keep it civil or it will go into the great spam filter in the sky…

Message for Kristin – you can already get Kraft Mac n’ Cheese in the UK – Asda sell it (well out local 24 hour store does anyway. My (American) wife is far more interested in them having yet another go at getting Miracle whip on the shelves. Oh, and by the way she now dislikes Hersheys with a passion and is well into Cadbury’s (especially Roses).

Tut tut – why do people have to lower themselves to name-calling etc. Anyway, I forgot to say “well done” on using the word “shite”. Love it!

Ladies – we are doing a post on Sunday at Pond Parleys about feisty American women. We’d love your ten cents’ worth either in the post of as a comment. If you have time, e-mail me at expatchicago@gmail.com.
Ta.

Oh my goodness – I got soooooo much crap about this today! Blah blah blah….Kraft…you Americans are ruining our national emblem….blah blah blah.

I am a teacher, and to my surprise, while I was grading a student’s work she wrote that one of the bad things in the world was that Cadbury chocolate was going to be owned by Americans. I didn’t quite know what to make of that…

Not all American chocolate is crap. They have some organic fair trade chocolate in Whole Foods which, I swear, is the food of the Gods. And this is from a Swiss resident, uncurable chocoholic, and Lindt aficionada (me, in case that wasn’t clear.)

But I does suck that Kraft bought Cadbury, because they are not big on quality.

Sometimes an American girl just needs a good old fashioned bar of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate! This particular urge hit on on my last trip over, and my lovely Brit, bless his heart, offered me every imaginable Cadbury’s confection. The effort he put into trying to feed my craving made me love him all the more.

In echo of others, I do have to say there is some very good American chocolate. If anyone has the chance to try DeBrand chocolate — it’s my favorite. It is made right where I was born in Indiana and beats Godiva hands-down each time!

I wrote about this as well, not at all happy with this, lets hope they don’t change the Cadbury’s formula, as that will bot be a good thing, as American chocolate is icky!!

Gill in Canada

Arguing the merits of Hershey vs Cadbury is like arguing which is better, Country Kitchen or Golden Corral. It doesn’t matter, because they’re both terrible. People only prefer one or the other because they grew up with them. If anything they both have a lot to answer for since they’ve left at least three nations without the ability to distinguish what chocolate actually tastes like.

Aside form that, I very much wish the employees at Cadbury my best as this is the worst possible time for this to be happening to them.

It does depress when British people are rude to Americans when things like this happen… but then again such has happened to me when I’ve been in the USA– I was to blame for Tony Blair apparently [haha]– ironically I don’t vote his party!

As others have said, you become an ambassador for one’s country, when you’re abroad– whether you want to or not.

The anger of Cadbury’s is not just becauseof the chocolate, but also what Cadbury’s represented: Capitalism with a human face. The bosses of Cadbury’s built Bourneville for its workers, complete with parks and libararies for its workers for instance (confer Saltaire or Port Sunlight). Philanthropy missing from fat-cats of C21st [sigh].

My husband sent me the link the day it was announced, and then the notes from the English side of the family started pouring in. as if it’s my fault!? Just a note of interest, green and blacks is a cadbury product. Not to mention that cadbury chocolate products produced in America are already produced by hersheys. The difference is slight, but it’s there. We still try to hoard loads of uk chocolate after each trip. Sadly, it never lasts that long once we’re back in America….

oha nd Steve – the Kraft Mac n chees e(in the red box ) in england is different than the us one. There are no E numbers in it! Kraft makes an effort (due to public outrage) in England that it does not make in the us. yuck.

Erm….. Christiana,

The Kraft Mac n Cheese at our local Asda is in the US blue box and is the US made version (with the std US food & nutrition details box on it) and is entirely correct in taste according to my wife – I wouldn’t know, I don’t eat it.

Hi Steve-o

I’m gonna have to side with Christiana on this one. I’ve had the one that looks like American mac n cheese, but it’s still not quite right… if I was I’d be about a stone heavier

Okaaaaay I believe you guys honest! but on the other hand the “boss” tells me it is the right stuff and in the interests of a quiet life for me I of course agree….

This link will show you the box sold at Asda….

http://weepingcherries.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/kraft.jpg

As my husband, Steve says….the Kraft Mac & Cheese we have at the local ASDA is produced in Northfield, IL. It also taste like it always did…..I remember it well as it was a favourite with my kids. It was so easy to mix stuff with it (tuna and peas or beef mince or vegetables) and make a hearty dish for very active kids! If you have had the blue box one over here and think it taste different, it could be that your tastes have altered, depending on how long you have been here. I know when I go back to Michigan and eat some stuff I use to like, it tastes different than what I remembered. I used to order all kinds of stuff from Skyco that I thought I was missing out on. Now I have only 3 or 4 things that I still order. I like British food and find that I can adapt my American recipes for the most part!

Yes, Hersheys has a higher cocoa content than Cadburys in many of its’ basic bars. Nestles has a higher cocoa content than Hersheys. That has a lot to do with what is allowed by law to be called milk chocolate, semisweet, etc…in each country. I’ve lived in Europe and like the percentage method. I loved Valor chocolate when I lived in Spain. Preference for a certain type of chocolate has a lot to do with what you are used to or grew up with and the manufacturers cater to this.

In the US Hersheys manufactures Cadburys – I have a friend who’s a Hersheys rep and loves working for them. She no longer eats Hersheys chocolate, however, and restricts herself to luxury brands. You know, living over the candy store…. It is a very good company to work for and they are doing very well right now. I think people eat more chocolate in an economic downturn; it’s a small affordable treat.

I wonder how Kraft buying Cadbury will affect the Hersheys-Cadbury relationship? I would guess that Kraft is way too smart to mess with basic formulations which already sell well.

All I know is my English relations have discovered Reeses bars, that so very American combination of peanut butter and chocolate. My nephew returned to London with several pounds (kilos) of assorted Reeses bars after his last stateside visit. Conversely, my kids adore Cadbury creme eggs, which are readily available in the US at Eastertime. They are way too sweet for me. My husband (British) always returns from London with a Toblerone bar, which are hard to find in the US, even though Toblerone(Swiss) is owned by Kraft foods.

Lindt chocolate (Swiss) is manufactured in New Hampshire for the American market and is excellent. My point is it’s a global world now, whether you’re American or British. Personally I wish there was a Mexican chocolate company to take them over. After all, chocolate started out in Mexico.

I got sick of being roped into discussion of US foreign policy when I lived in Spain. It’s not a common topic of conversation outside the beltway in the US. I would much sooner discuss chocolate. Next time somebody snips about Kraft foods and crappy American chocolate, just tell them you are so grateful to be discussing chocolate rather than guns or foreign policy. That’ll disarm them.

I will be checking into your blog regularly now that I have found it.

My father in law is a supervisor at the Cadbury’s Factory in Bristol and the loss of their jobs is not solely Krafts fault. Cadbury workers were notified back on end of ’07 early ’08 that they would be closing the site. All along, Cadbury’s intended to close the site and the fact that they spent nearly £100million on the new factory in another country proves it was gonna happen.

As far as which chocolate is better – honestly, isn’t that to down to personal preference?… lol… I live in Bristol and am an American, and it’s just so silly to argue about which chocolate tastes better.