Hello andrew-ga,
Yum...They are my favorite too, so I couldn't resist this question any
more than I could resist a Reese's!
Making their original debut as "peanut butter cups" in 1928, Reese's
Peanut Butter Cups were invented by Harry Burnett (H.B.) Reese, a
former dairy employee of Milton S. Hershey, founder of the Hershey
Chocolate Company.
http://www.hersheys.com/products/reese.shtml
A) How do they get the peanut butter in there?
Filled chocolate bars such as Reese's cups are manufactured following
a fairly standard process: "After the slightly deeper moulds have been
filled, they are immediately inverted 50 that some of the chocolate
paste flows out again. A thin coating remains on the walls of the
moulds and this is hardened in a cooling tunnel. The delicious
fillings are then poured into the again upright moulds. Following
renewed cooling, everything is covered with a layer of liquid
chocolate (which later forms the bottom of the bar) and following
final cooling, the bar is removed from the mould."
From The Manufacture of Chocolate Web site
http://www.chocolat.ch/chocosuiss_manufacture4.htm
B) Why isn't there a seam?
The warm chocolate which is poured over the peanut butter filling to
form the bottom of the cup softens the sides slightly, causing the
chocolate to reform as one smooth piece while still in the mold. Also,
because they use automated machinery to manufacture the cups, they are
able to achieve a high degree of accuracy and consistency.
C) How come the foil doesn't stick to the side?
Hershey actually uses a variety of wrappers for their peanut butter
cups, depending upon the size and packaging. Many of the large Reese's
aren't actually foil-wrapped. Instead they use a wax-covered paper
which helps to eliminate sticking. The smaller Reese's which are sold
with many in a bag do use foil wrappers, but both the chocolate and
the peanut butter have so much butter/oil that they won't stick to
much unless they get to warm and start to melt (if you hold a wrapped
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in your hand for a minute or two, I think
you'll find that it will then stick to the wrapper!).
D) Do they really put wax in their chocolate?
No, Hershey doesn't use paraffin wax to achieve the correct
consistency, unlike many home recipes. Instead, they use cocoa butter
to achieve the nice sheen and texture. According to the following page
from Cornell University, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not
approved the use of paraffin as a food additive:
http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/nutriquest/paraffin.html
E) How many can I eat without getting sick?
Only you can answer that question! It will depend upon your individual
constitution, how well your body tolerates sugar and fats, etc. Just
be sure not to feed it to your dog! Chocolate can actually cause
poisoning in dogs because it contains a compound called theobromine
which they cannot digest. Chocolate may also make some small children
sick for the same reason.
See "Why Dogs Can't Eat Chocolate":
http://www.canineplanet.co.uk/hart004.htm
A few more bits of trivia:
From "The Emperors of Chocolate" by Joël Glenn Brenner:
"Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are Hershey's biggest seller, but in the
1950s, the company tried a chocolate marshmallow cup that showed real
promise. Unfortunately, the product had to be discontinued -- the
marshmallow filling had a tendency to explode when shipped over the
high altitude of the Rocky Mountains."
http://www.joelglennbrenner.com/trivia.html
From "Fun Facts About Chocolate" at the CocoaJava Web Site:
"Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower
scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "Psycho" which actually took 7 days
to shoot."
If that's not enough, you can always try your hand at making your own
<grin>
http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/recipes/pbcups.htm
Trivia from Hershey's Web site on Reese's:
"Reese's makes enough Peanut Butter Cups in one year for each person
in the USA to eat at least 20"
"Reese's Peanut Butter Cups" is the #1 selling candy brand in the USA"
"Reese's makes enough peanut butter cups in one year to feed one cup
to every person in the USA, Japan, Europe, Australia, China, Africa,
and India"
http://www.reesespb.com/
Search Terms used:
"reeses peanut butter cups"
"reese's peanut butter"
"peanut butter cup" recipe
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OK Maybe I went a little overboard here, but I hope this helps to
satisfy your curiosity. Thank you for using Google Answers.
inquisitive-ga |
