Catching up? Here is part one: Arrival in Harrisburg
Hershey: Day Two
The second day of my trip to Hershey with Hershey (yes, the town is named after the founder of The Hershey Company) began at 7:45 a.m. when our group of bloggers met in the lobby of the Hershey Lodge before heading over to the Hershey Technical Center to kick off the morning.
At the front desk of every Hershey building we visited and in all of the break areas, big bowls of free candy are filled daily for Hershey employees to enjoy.
File this under: Way too tempting!!
While we ate breakfast at the Technical Center, we listened to a short presentation from Allison Kleinfelter, Hershey’s bubbly senior manager of strategic communications, and provided feedback to the company about what food transparency means to us. Our feedback ranged from believing that food transparency is leaving everything out in the open for the public to read and understand to skeptic thoughts believing that “food transparency” is an overused PR term that leaves a lot to be desired. Allison took note of our feedback and encouraged an open and honest discussion before it was time to get dressed in some snazzy lab coats and hairnets and head off to learn about chocolate product development.
(Vanessa + Me — Loved meeting Vanessa and hanging out with her!)
The time we spent in product development was one of my favorite parts of the day since we were able to get a little creative and make our own chocolate!
Our inspiration was The Artisan Palette, an idea sent from the marketing team for a gourmet chocolate bar that highlights flavors that might otherwise be hidden by placing ingredients on the top of a chocolate bar.
We poured milk and/or dark chocolate into a mold and after placing the molds on a vibrating tray to release any air bubbles in the chocolate, we sprinkled toppings of our choice on top of our bars.
I used most of the toppings provided but gravitated toward nuts, sea salt and toasted coconut for most of my bars.
Before we left, we placed our bars in a large refrigerator to cool before we were able to take them home with us as a special treat. (I ate my toasted coconut, sea salt and macadamia nut bar on the plane and it was so good!)
And then we were off to Sweets and Refreshments Product Development where we learned about the process of cooking caramel and the reasoning behind some of the lesser-known ingredients in caramel. For example, lecithin is used to prevent separation in caramel and can impact viscosity, crystallization and sticking.
Once the caramel was done, we were able to each take some to pour into a small box and I added roasted almonds and sea salt to my batch.
Since the caramel was still too hot to try before we left, I grabbed a sample of the new LANCASTER Soft Crèmes to satisfy my sweet tooth. It melted in my mouth and tasted buttery and delicious.
The next stop on our tour took us on a behind-the-scenes look at the Hershey test kitchen… aka a food blogger’s dream!
When Hershey chefs create and test recipes, they must use ingredients readily available at most grocery stores.
We were able to sample a yet-to-be-released gluten-free HERSHEY’s famous Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake and give feedback using the same forms those selected to taste test recipes use.
It was delicious and all of my feedback was positive. It was slightly more dense than typical chocolate cake, but not in a bad way. And the icing was unreal! Let me know if you guys want the recipe and I’ll be sure to share it.
I ate nearly all of my cake (a pre-lunch snack?) before we had one more session to attend that focused on sensory science.
Through a small taste test, it became quite clear just how much smell and sight impact taste.
For the first test, we were asked to pinch our nose to block our sense of smell and take a bite of a sugary mixture. We all could taste sweetness, but when we released our nose, we were hit with the intense smell of cinnamon. Apparently cinnamon has no taste and it’s our sense of smell that gives cinnamon its flavor. This absolutely blew all of our minds and had I not tried this taste test first-hand, I wouldn’t believe it. Cinnamon must have a flavor, right!? Wrong. So crazy!
When it came time to try the colored gelatin, we had to guess the flavor in each cup. Unbeknownst to us, the flavors we normally associate with certain colors were all mixed up. Red was actually orange, green was actually lemon, etc. It was crazy how much the visual image of the color influenced our perception of the flavor we thought we were tasting. I asked if the test had ever been conducted blindfolded and we were told that when people cannot see the colors of the gelatin, they can correctly identify the flavors with greater accuracy.
For the final part of the sensory experience, we dabbed a bit of dark blue dye on the tip of our tongues to look for the number of fungiform papillae which apparently reveals whether or not you are a supertaster. Approximately 25 percent of the population are super tasters, meaning they experience taste with a greater level of intensity than the average person. To supertasters, certain foods such as broccoli, cabbage, spinach, grapefruit and coffee often taste very bitter and they can be rather picky eaters. I am not a supertaster which didn’t surprise me at all.
Following the sensory session, we ate a quick lunch before it was time to watch two videos, provide additional feedback and participate in a Q&A session with Hershey employees where we learned more about sustainability initiatives, cacao beans, quality control, innovation and manufacturing.
Here are some facts I jotted down during the session that I found particularly interesting:
- Three things determine the flavor of cacao beans: Genetics, fermentation (harvest) and the growing environment
- Different countries produce different flavors of cacao beans and chocolate (Example: Trinidad often produces cacao beans with a wine or fruit flavor while Madagascar cacao beans often have notes of citrus)
- Hershey put a business training program into place in Ghana and Nigeria for local farmers to learn how to grow cacao beans
- The milk used in HERSHEY’s Milk Chocolate bars at the Hershey factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania comes from local cows within 100 miles of the factory
- HERSHEY and CADBURY are the only chocolate brands that use fluid milk rather than dry milk in their milk chocolate in the United States
- 85 percent of the world’s almonds are grown in California
- Hershey contributes to Project Peanut Butter, a program founded by Dr. Mark Manary to treat severely malnourished children all over the world
- The REESE’S plant roasts and grinds their own peanuts for the peanut butter cups and has a zero waste to landfill commitment
- Four million people per year visit HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD
- Before his passing, Milton Hershey established a trust that, to this day, completely funds the Milton Hershey School, a cost-free, private, coeducational home and school for children from families of low income
Following the roundtable discussion, our group kicked the energy up a notch and had the chance to spend about 45 minutes inside of HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD!
We used our free time to shop, eat chocolate (obviously) and ride the Great American Chocolate Tour ride which was perfectly cheesy.
Big thanks to Hershey for a fun and delicious time in Hershey, Pennsylvania! I had a blast!
Disclaimer: This blog post and my trip to Hershey, PA were sponsored by The Hershey Company as part of my participation in their Food Ambassador program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Wow!!! I’d gain like 5lbs there but I’d love every minute of it. I wonder if there is a Dove Chocolate facility somewhere…mmmmmmm
If there were a Dove Chocolate place anywhere I would be in trouble!! I used to collect the wrappers in college because I loved the sayings on them haha, I’m sure I had an excessive number of wrappers!
This looks like an incredible trip. My daughter would love it….she wishes the world was made of chocolate so she could eat it all 😉 Me on the other hand would take the Reese Pieces and live joyfully, they are my favorite and I could eat them by the gallons!!
It sounds like it was such a fun and interesting trip! I’d definitely like to take a trip with my kids to Hershey one day. The artisan chocolate bars look so delicious…mmmm! Also, I would love the gluten free chocolate cake recipe! I am sensitive to gluten so I am always on the lookout for yummy treats! Was anyone in your group a “super taster”?
I think Kath from Kath eats real food was the only one!
Wow you’ve learned so much. That’s amazing! Do you know if there is an at-home test for figuring out if you’re a supertaster?
Wow! You got to visit a real live chocolate factory. How cool is that? The one time I got a free sample from the Hershey shop in niagra, it was BURSTING with flavour for just one small centimeter cube of chocolate. Super impressed with them 🙂
I definitely want the recipe for that gf cake! It looks beyond amazing. I would not survive working at Hersheys – my sweet tooth would go crazy! Looks like a great trip.
Such a fun trip! Your bars look incredible!!!!
I am so glad you mentioned the Milton Hershey school! What an incredible place! As a PA school counselor their admissions counselors visit us once a year and I am always is awe of the amazing work they do at the school. Milton and his wife were not able to have children of their own so they took care of Pennsylvania children in need. He was a leader in philanthropy and an inspiration, 100% of the profits go to the school.
I loved learning about the school. I had no idea it existed and was so impressed!
My dad works for the chocolate company that supplies to almost all other chocolate companies including Hershey and Cadbury so I found this super interesting! I’ve never been to the Hershey’s factory but I’ve been to a lot of other chocolate factories, it’s so much fun!! I have to say as a british girl raised on Cadburys, I don’t really like Hershey’s aha but those chocolate bars that you made do look really good!
Looks like an absolute blast! And super delicious 🙂
When I was little we went out to Hershey and got the whole tour and went to the Hershey amusement park. It was great to try endless candy bars! Are the street lights still Hershey kisses?!?!
Ali – I just took my kids to Hershey Park the other week and, yes, the street lights in the town are still Hershey kisses! 🙂
Wow, that cinnamon tests blows my mind! I kind of what to try it tonight now! I wonder if the employees eat chocolate since they’re around it all the time?
That taste test info is SO interesting! I wonder if I’m a super taster!
Which sounds like a really awesome super power.
LOL!
The cinnamon thing blew my mind! Hah!
So crazy, right!? Had I not tried it myself, I know I would not believe it!
this looks like a dream!!! SO much fun. your chocolate bars look amazing.
I learned my something new today: Cinnamon !!!
Crazy, right!?
Sounds like it was an incredible experience! It’s cool to learn the different facts about what goes into the products. I went to Chocolate World last year and had a blast! In the chocolate tasting we did there, I learned that I actually do enjoy dark chocolate.
So cool! Have you been to chocomize.com? My fiance gets me a gift card every year for that site for my birthday, i love customizing chocolate bars! Yours look amazing!
I want to be a Hershey Ambassador
Cinnamon has no taste?! Well that is a crazy bit of new information for my day!! I add cinnamon to everything I make, literally everything ha. I always add in extra to recipes too- that’s so interesting. Looks like a fun trip though!!
I don’t know about everyone else but I would LOVE that chocolate cake recipe!
Please share the gluten free chocolate cake recipe! I’ve Ben gluten free for a couple of years and am always looking for good dessert recipes!
This is so cool that you got to go visit and learn so much at Hershey! I got my degree in food science and nutrition and we learned about a lot of that kind of stuff so reading this post was super interesting! Thanks for sharing so much about your short trip!
Julie, I am over the TOP obsessed with your gorgeous waves in your hair! I’m sure you’ve been asked this 1000 times, so I hate to ask again BUT – Do you have a post about your hair routine?! Thanks so much!
Erica @ WhimsicalSeptember.com
I live less than two hours from there! Glad you had a great time!!
Holly yum! Hershey really sounds like a great company.
The sensory tasting sounds a lot like a science experiment that I did a few years ago, “Do You Tste What You See?”. How cool!
*Taste
how crazy about cinnamon! please post the cake recipe!! It looks divine!
Yes please please share the gf cake recipe!! Looks so fun!
Do you know of there is any way to find out if you are a “super taster” at home? I can almost guarantee I am and would love to prove it! People usually look at me like I’m crazy when I say I can’t stand broccoli or coffee because they are way too bitter (regardless of how much sugar and flavor is added)
I love this post…and all things Chocolate!!! 🙂 I have been to Hershey many times but never quite had that experience and its one that I think I would truly enjoy! I would love that recipe as I have had to be gluten free and haven’t had cake in a year!
Looks like such a fun time! My family and I visited Hershey when I was younger, and I think even the town smells of chocolate! Coming from a small town in Atlantic Canada, the trip was wellll worth it! We went back last year, and it was just as delicious as I remembered!
What a great trip! I made my own Hershey bar in chocolate world after running the half marathon. It was so much fun and I will admit it was too pretty to eat!
I vote that salt on chocolate might be the best pairing there ever was!!
What a fun experience! I love getting “behind the scenes” looks at different processes, so I’m sure it was a very interesting and informative trip! Not to mention all the free chocolate offered!
What a super fun trip!
Oh and the cinnamon thing? Mind = blown.
So crazy!!
I love Chocolate World! My boyfriend and I took a road trip to NYC a couple of Christmases ago (we live in New Orleans, so it was quite the drive). On our way back, we saw the exit for Hershey and took a spur of the moment trip to Chocolate World. We made our own bars, shopped, and rode that incredibly silly ride. It was an absolute blast, and it was BEAUTIFUL laden in snow. Definitely a treat! So happy you got to experience it! 🙂
Could you please share the recipe for the gluten free cake. It looks delicious.
I would have loved to do the taste test sans smell because I always feel like I don’t have a great sense of smell regardless. I would love to see if I could taste things better than the average fellow … perhaps my taste buds work harder … lol! How fun!
Thanks for sharing your Hershey’s visit. Fun fact: my Aunt (through marriage) is the granddaughter of H.B. Reese, the inventor of Reese’s peanut butter cups. He used to work for Hershey’s which is how he got his start.
How cool!!!
Hi Julie! I love your blog, and I would LOVE to have the recipe for the gf cake. I just recently found out I am allergic to wheat, and the Hershey’s chocolate cake was always my favorite. It makes me excited to think I might be able to keep enjoying it! Thanks so much!
Aren’t the cows on the Hershey ride adorable? Ah I love it there!
this is a chocoholic’s dream! so jealous that you got to go!! i will def have to make a trip to the hershey city someday!