Why do few Americans have access to european chocolate? It's not like fresh fruits that go off easily/require climate controls, seems like it would be pretty easy to ship over the atlantic?
> Why do few Americans have access to european chocolate?
Americans both make good chocolate and have ready access to good foreign chocolate, which is in pretty much every grocery store. Many Americans are habituated to low-quality chocolate, or particular products where low-quality chocolate is a component but the quality of the chocolate doesn't particulary stand out because of nuts, salt, caramel, nougat, etc.
It's available in enormous quantities at every Walmart and Walgreens even in the most backwater towns in the country. The only place you would struggle to find one is at some gas stations, and even then lots of gas stations now have fancy stuff. Not to mention on Amazon, which also delivers to even the most out of the way places.
It actually does require some measure of climate control. It does melt in non climate controlled warehouses and trucks in the summer months. It's a pain to handle chocolate at the distribution level.
We also have access to genuinely good chocolate. European chocolates have the added markup up being imported, so they fill a small niche that you have to go out of your way to find.
Hersheys and other candy bars are like fast food- ubiquitous but far, far away from being our only or best options.
I'll confirm this. Basically all grocery stores, most drug stores, and a lot of convenience stores sell Ghirardelli in particular. The U.S. also has a large range of boutique chocolate companies that aren't hard to find and buy from if you care.
Why do Americans eat so much Hershey's? I have no idea. Why do they buy ice cream stripped of milk fat, filled with air, and thickened with gum? Most don't know what they're missing I guess.
> Why do Americans eat so much Hershey's? I have no idea. Why do they buy ice cream stripped of milk fat, filled with air, and thickened with gum? Most don't know what they're missing I guess.
I suspect because of a penchant to substitute quantity for quality. I make my own vanilla ice cream...with no sugar. Just pure cream, a little whole milk, egg yolks, and vanilla, cooked as a custard. Lots and lots of vanilla. It is extremely rich and decadent, I can't find a comparable ice cream anywhere else.
It is also obscenely expensive compared to any retail ice cream, though I can easily afford it; the vanilla (or its extract if I'm in a hurry) is the most expensive part per gram, but that cream gets spendy as well when compared to store bought brands. I only make it once a month because it is so flavorful that eating it more often turns it into a less pleasant experience, because it can get cloying when tasted too frequently. I can easily see why anyone who makes ice cream a frequent dessert or snack food will gravitate towards far cheaper and less flavor-packed alternatives.
