Tweaks To Cadbury Creme Eggs Not Going Over Easy In The U.K.
Easter is still far away, but in the United Kingdom, the weeks after Christmas are when stores begin stocking Cadbury's iconic Creme Eggs — those foil-wrapped chocolates filled with gooey "whites" and "yolks" made of candy.
For many people there, the eggs aren't just sweets — they're "edible time capsules that take consumers back to their childhood with every mouthful," as the U.K.'s Telegraph put it.
Perhaps that explains why Cadbury's decision to tweak both the recipe and the packaging for the eggs is leading to outrage across Britain, leaving chocolate lovers, as one headline declared, in "shellshock!"
And what exactly did Cadbury do? For starters, the confectioner reduced the number of eggs in a pack from six to five. More importantly, it also changed the recipe of the chocolate shell.
Cadbury Creme Eggs on the production line at a Cadbury factory in Birmingham, U.K. For many, the eggs are filled not just with gooey candy "whites" and "yolks" but with childhood memories.
A spokesman for Cadbury told the British tabloid The Sun that the company's signature Dairy Milk, which has been used to create the chocolate shell for more than four decades, will be replaced with "standard cocoa mix chocolate." The British press describes consumers as "enraged," "furious" and "up in arms" over the news. (Editors' note: For the record, American Cadbury Creme Eggs are staying the same — the shell is made by Hershey's. We think the British version is tastier.)
What's the big deal? Our own Alison Richards, who edits science and food coverage at NPR and is British born and raised, broke it down for us.
"I think it's kind of a guilty pleasure that really does belong to childhood," Alison says.
"Christmas would be over, life would be a bit dreary and gray, and then the first Cadbury Creme Eggs would begin to show up in their glittery, colored paper," she says. "And this would be like a promise of things to come. Forget daffodils — it was the Cadbury Creme Eggs — all about the eggs. ... It was a treat."
A seasonal treat, that is — none of the stores near us in Washington, D.C., had them in stock yet. Alas, we haven't had the chance to taste-test the changes to the beloved egg.
And while Alison admits it is theoretically possible she could end up loving the new Cadbury eggs, that was certainly not the reaction chocolatier Paul A. Young had when he did a taste test for the BBC.
"It's a different texture," Young told the BBC. "It's very, very pasty. It's just — the chocolate is now as sweet as the filling. I don't think it's a massive, significant difference, but for me, it's not the same enjoyable experience as I was used to."
While nostalgia is largely driving the uproar, we wondered what today's British kids make of the changes. We caught up with some 7- and 8-year-olds walking out of a theater production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, of all things, in London. What's the verdict on the new recipe?
"They taste scrumptious!" one child opined.
Another declared the old recipe "a bit better."
A third piped up, "I like the new recipe."
So it would seem the jury is still out.
Regardless, Cadbury is unlikely to backtrack. It's now owned by Mondelez, a spinoff from Kraft. Mondelez's U.K. office didn't respond to our request for comment, but it has said that a "range of economic factors" influenced the decision to change Britain's beloved Easter treat.
9(MDE1MTIxMDg0MDE0MDQ3NTY3MzkzMzY1NA001))
Transcript
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Well, Renee, it's a little early for Easter, but Cadbury is already stocking stores in England with those iconic Creme Eggs.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Those chocolate eggs filled with gooey candy whites and yolk.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: I think Cadbury Eggs are amazing. I found some in my Christmas stocking. And I tried some, and it was really, really good.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: They are better than normal eggs.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #3: Yes. True.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #4: They taste scrumptious.
MONTAGNE: In London we caught up with some candy experts, 7- and 8-year-olds, including Will Langdale, Victoria Griffen, Kate Froottit, Emily Knight.
GREENE: Also Carla Skinner, George Mahon, and Max Vonderlinden. And they were - isn't this appropriate? - walking out of a kid's production of "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory."
MONTAGNE: But earlier this week, Cadbury did the unthinkable - daring to tweak its Creme Eggs in the U.K. First, Cadbury reduced the number in a pack from six to five, without dropping the price by an Egg.
GREENE: How dare they. And they have changed the chocolate shell. What's been Cadbury's dairy milk for over four decades is now, quote, "standard cocoa mix chocolate." Our candy experts were skeptical.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: What's the point of changing it anyway?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #5: Yeah what's the point?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #6: What was actually the point?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: There's no point in...
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #5: It's already delicious.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #7: I think of the old recipe was actually kind of better.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #4: I like the new recipe.
MONTAGNE: (Laughter). Seems the jury's still out for the younger set. Grown-ups, on the other hand, are furious. Words like outraged, shell-shocked, abomination are all over the British press and social media.
GREENE: Which makes us wonder, what is the big deal? Our food editor at NPR, Alison Richards, says, for Brits of a certain age, this is like messing with a perfect candy time capsule.
ALISON RICHARDS, BYLINE: You know, Christmas would be over, life would be a bit dreary and gray, and then, you know, the first Cadbury's Creme Eggs would start to show up in their glittery-colored paper. And this would be like, you know, a promise of things to come. Forget daffodils, it was the Cadbury's Creme Egg.
GREENE: All about the Eggs.
RICHARDS: All about the Eggs. It was a treat.
GREENE: A seasonal treat. We tried to find some near us in Washington, D.C., but no store had them in stock yet. So to be clear...
RICHARDS: I haven't tried one of these new versions.
GREENE: OK. Full disclosure. You might end up loving it. And...
RICHARDS: I might end up loving it.
MONTAGNE: I might.
GREENE: Chocolatier Paul A. Young...
(LAUGHTER)
GREENE: ...Did not end up loving these new Cadbury Eggs, Renee, when he did do a taste test for the BBC.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PAUL A. YOUNG: It's a different texture. It's very, very pasty. It's just - they're kind of - the chocolate is now as sweet as the filling.
MONTAGNE: Well, too late. Cadbury's unlikely to backtrack. It's now owned by Mondelez, a spinoff from Kraft.
GREENE: And their U.K. office did not respond to our official request for comment, but they are quoted as saying, quote, "a range of economic factors influenced the decision to change this beloved Easter treat."
(SOUNDBITE OF THE BEATLES SONG, "SAVOY TRUFFLE")
GREENE: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.
MONTAGNE: And I'm Renee Montagne.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SAVOY TRUFFLE")
THE BEATLES: (Singing) But you'll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad