Rotten in Denmark
How not all chocolate are alike
Recently, I learnt about a food additive. It is called butyric acid. It is naturally occurring. It is so natural that even your body produces it (We will come back to this important point later). One source of this chemical is in dairy products. Depending on how you prepare the dairy product, you can increase the concentration of this chemical.
Normally, I would not pay attention to this chemical except it is also rumored to be used in chocolate. Or more accurately milk chocolate from Hereshey’s. Now, I recalled a period of time in my life when certain generic branded chocolates tasted a little off. Butyric acid is also produced when food ferments. One common source of butyric acid is in your guts. It supposed to cause the sourish taste in puke.
The game is afoot
So now I have a theory why in days of old, milk chocolate could taste off. Except there is a problem. Today, generic chocolate taste like chocolate. Even chocolate without any cocoa beans. My sweet tooth could have damaged my taste buds.
I purchased all the different Hereshey’s chocolate as well as other American chocolate. They tasted palatable. Even those parallel imports tasted acceptable.
So now I am stuck? Has my tastebud changed? Or have the companies cleaned up their act? However, judging by the global food shortage of 2021, I guess that some interesting recipes might be making a comeback.
Halloween Surprise
No, I did not go out trick or treating. I was given a packet of knockoff M & M. I should have asked why my nephew was so generous. But I was not a person to look chocolate in the horse’s mouth.
I popped a few candy into my mouth and crunch them with my teeth. At that point, I was transported back to the past. It tasted exactly like I recalled. Not terribly off but enough for me to check the expiry date of the chocolate.
And incase anyone is curious, I did finish the entire packet of knockoff M & M. It took weeks. I was looking to see if there was any candy that tasted like M & M.