The Mars Bar is the candy ship that launched an empire. Though not the first candy bar, it was the first of its kind in the U.K.. In 1932 Forrest Mars decided to introduce his own version of the popular American Milky Way bar to those east of the Atlantic.
It seems odd that the Brits needed a hand from Americans when it came to chocolate, but at the time of development, most chocolate in Britain only manifested itself in solid blocks while the Americans were playing around with fillings, including nougat and caramel, which are the two components that are embedded beneath the milk chocolate coat of the Mars Bar.
The bar is a bit firmer than the American Milky Way, but still easy to bite into. The chocolate coating, though not as thick as it used to be, is still denser than the American counterpart. Right away, the difference in corn syrup versus sugar is detected. The result? Well, the chocolate is not sweeter (as I think most people claim), but it tastes richer.
The caramel inside has a nice thin strip that isn’t too thick, but significant enough to be tasted and texturally noticed in the bite. As for the nougat, just like Milky Way, it’s chocolate nougat. Unlike the Milky Way, the nougat is very bold here, with deep cocoa tones pervading the piece instead of malt (yes, Milky Way is flavored with malt).
When all three components are combined, the bar definitely succeeds, more so than the Milky Way does. But be forewarned, this candy assuredly packs a punch when it comes to the sheer presence of it in the mouth due to its intensity. They are usually pretty difficult to find in the U.S., but pick one up if you see them. Until then, Milky Ways are still a respectable replacement.
Buy Mars Bar Online:
- at Candy Direct
- at Amazon.com
In fish and chip shops here is australia we can go one further and have a deepfried Mars bar. Battered and fried until crispy. Gooey and hot inside.
The other night i used mars bars to make pastries. I cut up two sheets of frozen puff pastry, put one slice of mars bar in and baked them. They were so yummy.
Mars is one of my favourites… Have you guys ever had cherry ripe?? Dark choc with a cherry coconut filling. I crave it.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:19 am