Today in apocalyptic omens: Kraft may take over Cadbury

Nooooooo!

In the name of all that is bittersweet, say it ain't so, Cadbury--say it ain't so. It's bad enough that Hershey bought out Scharffen Berger and proceeded to utterly ruin one of the best chocolate brands on the planet. Criminal, in fact.

Now it appears Kraft, makers of boxed macaroni and these little brown cubes of glue-like substance I'm told are caramels, is going after Cadbury. Cadbury, who in turn own the excellent brand Green & Black's, makers of the heavenly dark-chocolate-with-crystallized-ginger-pieces bar that has seen me through many a horrid plane trip, ear-splitting family argument, lonely night, lonelier weekend, depressing election, nasty marital spat, nastier still marital stressfest (complete with airborne crockery), and even the occasional marital Chernobyl incident.

Writing in the New York Times, fellow chocoholic Arthur Lubow is worried, too:

But I found it hard to care much whether Asian consumers will have an easier time procuring Planters peanut bars and Toblerone bars at their corner store. What frightened me about the proposed deal was the threat to the privileged autonomy of Green & Black’s.

Although Cadbury rejected the offer, Kraft has continued to push. Still, I began to think that maybe I was being too pessimistic. As Kraft shares dipped, its offer was diminishing in value. Cadbury might very well retain its independence.

And even if Kraft does buy Cadbury, I assured myself, the American giant will see the wisdom in maintaining the quality of Green & Black’s, a brand that has no reason to exist if it does not continue to satisfy connoisseurs who can tell that a Milk Dud is really a dud. Yes, Hershey had perversely seduced a high-quality brand and then stripped away its conquest’s quality. But perhaps Kraft would be better about honoring the artisanal excellence of my 85 percent bar than Hershey had been with the lamented 82.

Last week, it was reported that Hershey is considering its own offer for Cadbury. I have started the search for my next chocolate bar.

There is news, and then there is the kind of news that has a direct effect on one's own day-to-day existence. Sarah Palin being booed by hundreds of furious, rain-soaked fans after quitting in the middle of a book signing, hopping into her airbrushed portrait-bedecked bus, and leaving them cold, wet, and sans autograph would qualify as the first sort: it's news (of sorts)--perhaps it's even amusing news--but it has no measurable impact on my life. However, Kraft's escalating bids to take over Cadbury--and the ghastlier-still notion that it might all land in the chocolate-ruining hands of the Hershey corporation--qualify as the second kind of news. That's some serious day-darkening, mood-crushing, disgust-evoking, personally affecting news right there.

In fact, concerns about family abandonment repercussions aside, I feel moved to (once again) threaten to haul my elitist, socialist, book-reading, independent-movie-loving, health-care-having, EU-belonging ass back to England, where even the tiniest supermarkets carry Black Magic and Quality Street.

Please don't yawn.

Also at litbrit.

Comments

[kathy a.]

when i saw your headline, i thought immediately of scharffen berger and my former favorite before hershey obliterated it, josef schmidt truffles.

[minstrel hussain boy]

don't forget that it was americans who decided that they could solve the tricky tempering problems of fine chocolate by adding paraffin.

some genius said "i know, i can solve this problem by forcing people to eat candle wax."

ugh.

do not despair though. there are many little boutique makers still out there.

for my truffle making i have had great success with the trader joe's pound plus 74% cocoa mass bars.

dark, silky in the mouth chocolate that with the addition of a little extra cocoa butter can become something close to covetoure.

speaking of truffles.....christmas is coming. any flavor requests?

[big bad wolf]

that is frightening news.

"in the name of all that is bittersweet" is a wonderful opening

[litbrit]

any flavor requests?

OMG, yes. Yes, yes, yes, she said, yes I said, (etc. etc.)

First of all, ginger, please. As ass-kickingly spicy as possible.

And Sofía's Mexicali spice. So nutmeggy and gorgeous.

And maybe a firey pepper-infused dark-chocolate Ganache á la Maya?

Please advise as to order deadlines etc.

[litbrit]

Oh, and MB, parrafin is just...unspeakable. Don't even get me started on fucking high fructose corn syrup or I may need to be bribed with gingered chocolate just to get me down from the ceiling.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Oh, my, but we really have something to fight about now. I have no idea what 'true' Cadburys tastes like --- I recall having it many years ago and liking it somewhat. But the current Cadbury brand -- which is made in Canada -- is far too sweet and powdery, perhaps my least favorite type of 'main brand' chocolate. (There is, apparently, an American Cadbury Co -- technically "Cadbury Adams" since the main corporation purchased the Adams company from, of all people, Pfizer -- but they produce mostly gum -- almost every gum you can think of that doesn't come from Wrigley's -- Certs, and Hall's cough drops. And that might explain why Hall's has gone down as well.)

While I will defend Hershey's to my last breath -- I'm a 'tru Amerricun' when it comes to chocolate and baseball and as far as chocolate, much prefer a style which tastes like chocolate, instead of being so oversweet it tastes more like commercial chocolate milk -- I made an interesting discovery when I moved to Flatbush nineteen years ago.

Two groups that I had never thought of in connection with chocolate turn out to be fanatic consumers of the stuff, Russians and Jews, and there are many brands sold mostly in stores catering to them. I am unfamiliar with the Russian brands, but from my occasional samplings, they are probably closer to what you are looking for.

But for real chocolate lovers who find Hershey's too unsweet, try anything by Camille Bloch, particularly the range of "Torino" bars, tubes, etc. and their 'Cafe' which has ground coffee beans in it -- which had scared the hell out of me in thinking about it, but which turns out to be delightful. Their milk chocolate is also fine. And a 'second choice' is a company called Schmerling's, not as universally first-rate, but worth knowing and, iirc, better that even Camille Bloch on white chocolate.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Ironically, as I further research this, it turns out that any Cadbury's you get in the US -- because, unlike in England, America does not permit replacement of cocoa butter with vegetable fat (palm oil) -- is made by...

Hershey's.

(And, btw, the change to part palm oil was so unpopular even in England that they've gone back to the old -- and right -- way of using cocoa butter only, this year.)

And, as far as Kraft goes, they may make some crap, but they also -- in chocolate -- make Toblerone, so maybe they might even do a good job with Cadbury's.

[litbrit]

Prup, Canadian-made Cadbury is sold here. Neither I nor any self-respecting chocoholic will eat it (unless it's an emergency, in which case one does what one has to do). British-made Cadbury bars, available in the ethnic sections of some supermarkets and by mail-order (and, of course, everywhere in England) are an entirely different experience.

But that's not what this post is about--Cadbury owns, among other things, Green & Black's, a small, artisanal chocolate that Cadbury has been kind enough (and wise enough) to leave alone.

We're all worried that if Kraft--or, God forbid, Hershey--buys Cadbury, there goes our beloved Green & Black's.

[Joe]

Cadbury's best selling brand in Britain and Ireland used to be "Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate" then the EU got in on the act and interfered in their usual way, saying they were not allowed to call Chocolate if there is more dairy fat than cocoa butter. They renamed it "Cadburys Dairy Milk" and it's still on sale.

Can I reccommend you keep a look out for "Fair Trade" chocolate. There has been a lot of child labour on cocoa plantations and that is one way to make sure you do not contribute to it.
in the UK http://www.divinechocolate.com/default.aspx
In the USA http://www.transfairusa.org/content/WhereToBuy/results.php?storeName=&city=&state=0&zip=&cocoa=on&x=37&y=12

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

There's a store in Greenwich Village that specializes in English imports, particularly food. In the unlikely chance I actually make it across the bridge, I'll check to see if they have any, either Cadbury's or Green & Black's. But even a chocoholic would only go for American Cadbury's if the twenty better brands were all sold out.

But try the Camille Bloch if you get a chance. If there are any kosher supermarkets in your area, you'll find it there.

And, Joe, while they kept the name, Cadbury's (England) went back to its original formulation because the palm oil version was so hated. This is one -- of many -- cases where I applaud the EU's ruling.

[kathy a.]

my beloved used to work in quality control for ghirardelli chocolate. there is nothing like a 5 lb. bar to keep the office happy. my sisters nearly cried when he quit.

[litbrit]

@Joe--Thrillingly, there is a nice selection of fair-trade chocolate, as well as ten different kinds of Green & Black's bars (!), in our health-food store here in St. Pete. It's a bit out-of-the loop but I go there anyway for vitamins and soap, as well as cat food made with US-raised ingredients (long story). Also, they are the only place that carries non-high fructose corn syrup chocolate syrup, and as most parents would agree, chocolate syrup is kind of a non-negotiable pantry item. I would imagine if our little city has such things, so would many other places around the country.

@kathy--lucky you! The next time I make it out to the Other Bay Area, I want to tour the Ghirardelli factory. I am told it smells so good, you want to wear chocolate perfume for weeks in order to relive the experience. (I do actually have a chocolate-based perfume, L'amour de Cacao, that's pretty damned fine but not quite the same as being in a kitchen where someone is making things with melted chocolate.)

[kathy a.]

the "other" bay area?? deborah, dahlin', there is only one. ;)

it's over 25 years since my beloved quit. my sisters still kinda hold it against him. i don't think the chocolate has changed much [lindt now owns it -- better than hershey], but they didn't used to have factory tours, and i haven't been on one. the actual factory is in an industrial part of san leandro, off the beaten path for S.F. visitors. maybe i should take my sisters... oh, and husband, he can tell them what they are doing right and wrong.

[kathy a.]

i'm kinda kidding about my beloved, who isn't a crank. he might tell a couple tales of batches gone bad in the old days [quality control - those were thrown out], but the message of quality might be totally lost on a tour guide who has only memorized which pieces of equipment do what.

[Sir Charles]

I had a comment disappear into the ether. I was saddened to hear about the Scharffenberger deal. My family took a tour of their Berkeley factory several years ago -- it must have been shortly before the takeover by Hershey. It was a great little side trip from San Francisco and the chocolate was superb.

I've been eating a lot of Dagoba chocolate lately -- it's very good and comes in smaller bars and I need to save my excess calories for alcohol.

[kathy a.]

the schmidt chocolates were so gorgeous that it seemed kind of sinful to eat them, just on aesthetic grounds. but, mmm. my sister who shops gave me some tiny ones as the ship burned. i still have a few for emergencies.

[minstrel hussain boy]

ghiradelli is fine stuff. their queen (semi-sweet) and their high cocoa mass bittersweet are both fine products.

10lb bars are what i use when i go with ghiradelli.

i parlayed a bulk buying trip (1,500lbs) into a three week gig at ghiradelli square.

good place. tampa does have a bay, and it is its own area, but, my dear, there is only one true bay area.

i'll be getting busy with making the ginger up sometime after t-giving. it's a must make.

the sofia's mexicali spice is also in the cards for certain.

you, my dear, have no deadlines. i'll give you ample notice when i go into production, it's looking like i'll be doing four or five runs of 16doz.

you're not alone in loving the spice truffles. there's a wine broker in san diego who tells me that a sofia and a young beaujalais, or a cheeky barbara is about as good a combo as you can ask for.

my memories of combining chocolate and wine revolve around a fine champagne and a raspberry truffle. the technique was to take a bit of the truffle, a sip of the champagne while the chocolate was still in the mouth. lean back, savor the play of the textures and flavors and the lively fizz...then cap it off by wondering aloud i wonder what the poor people are doing tonight...

[kathy a.]

i say we bring champagne to MHB so he will give us chocolate.