4 ms·

KitKat in the USA is run by Hershey. KitKat globally is run by Nestle. That's one reason why. The second is that in Japan Kit Kat sounds like "good luck" whi

by lbotos 3y ago

KitKat in the USA is run by Hershey. KitKat globally is run by Nestle. That's one reason why. The second is that in Japan Kit Kat sounds like "good luck" which is why they became popular, and two, why we see such regional variation. (I have 4 Japanese flavors in my NYC fridge right now -- Sweet Potato, Adult Sweetness, Wheat, and Caramel Pudding (which you bake!)

robotnikman 3y ago
I just ended up ordering some myself after finding out about these lol. Another perk I've found about treats from overseas is they use actual sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.
- SECProto 3y ago
  sugar instead of HFCS, cocoa butter instead of palm oil. There's definitely better quality in some markets and products than others
  - reactordev 3y ago
    except they use palm oil in the caramel pudding recipe. >"Ingredients: Chocolate (Sugar, Lactose, Vegetable Oil(palm)whole milk powder, cocoa butter), wheat flour, vegetable oil, lactose, sugar, caramel powder (skim milk, concentrated milk), yeast extract, cocoa powder, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier(lethal, sucrose fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester), sodium bicarbonate, flavor, yeast extract,(contains wheat, milk, soybeans)"
    - SECProto 3y ago
      Yes, I wasn't referring specifically to japanese kitkats - I don't know what's in them, been a couple years. But the use of palm oil has become pretty pervasive and (maybe it's placebo effect) the flavour has declined.
- reactordev 3y ago
  That's pretty much true of most overseas candies and chocolates. Some of the best chocolates from Europe use cocoa butter and real sugar. Not Processed Cocoa Powder, HFCS, additives, colorings, preservatives, and then tempered with plastic.
  - epcoa 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - Freedom2 3y ago
      Give me my real American corn syrup - other less-free countries can keep their 'real' sugar!!
    - codersfocus 3y ago
      Costco doesn’t sell caseloads of Cocacola shipped all the way from Mexico to the north east because it’s “hipster bullshit.” I’m in Europe right now and Coke tastes way better, and doesn’t leave a mild bad feeling after drinking it like it does in the US. There is a significant chemical difference between sugar and HFCS. For one, the molecules in sugar are disaccharides while in HFCS they are free. High Fructose CS also has more fructose, which is the worst type of sugar. There’s a Wikipedia page I’ve been trying to find again for years, but basically fructose is multiple times more reactive in your blood than glucose and creates nasties when it reacts with other things you eat, namely fats.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - bombcar 3y ago
        Costco selling caseloads is a pretty strong argument that it might be hipster bullshit given Costco’s market demographics. IIRC there have been a few studies on the Coca Cola and the biggest thing is being told it’s Mexican coke and having it be in a cold glass bottle - real sugar coke in a can or glass ranked lower than HFCS coke in a glass bottle and misidentified. Of course the cognoscenti know that the real deal is Coke in returnable bottles that are probably older than you are. No retornable is export shit.
- electriclove 3y ago
  Where did you order from?
  - robotnikman 3y ago
    Just search Japanese kitkat and you will find a bunch of online seller, and they are found on Amazon as well. I ordered from here: https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/WpsnCaNDwch3 https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/WpsnCaNDw...
- zerocrates 3y ago
  For chocolate bars and stuff like KitKats I can't think that I've hardly ever seen them use HFCS instead of sugar. Maybe in ones with a more liquid component. Like, I'm pretty sure even the lowly standard Hershey bar uses sugar.
karlshea 3y ago
> Caramel Pudding (which you bake!) Oh my god I have some of these I should have looked at the back of the package more closely!
- lbotos 3y ago
  I'm a cooking nerd so I have a torch which I find works better than the oven and toasting them does actually make them better!!
  - karlshea 3y ago
    I just tried it with my last four and I REALLY wish I had found out sooner.
lynguist 3y ago
I hadn’t heard about this origin story of Japanese KitKat before and looked it up. Kitto katsu! means "you will surely win" or "you will surely succeed". So it is given as tokens for success in exams and the like. Katsu for winning/succeeding also can be seen in Tonkatsu = pork cutlet (katsu is the Japanese "shortening" of cutlet), which is also offered as a success token.
mike_d 3y ago
> Adult Sweetness I'm sorry, what?
- YurgenJurgensen 3y ago
  It's the best one. Probably the best mass-market dark chocolate product out there.
- ThrowAwayChris 3y ago
  It's a reduced sugar bitter dark chocolate kitkat that they know kids won't like. Hence "Otona No Amasa" or "sweetness for adults" marketing. They have a bunch of flavors under that subbrand.
ajmurmann 3y ago
Getting KitKat away at all cost from the Hershy eatable plastic company would one of my first moves as Emperor of the US&A

by lbotos 3y ago

robotnikman 3y ago

I just ended up ordering some myself after finding out about these lol. Another perk I've found about treats from overseas is they use actual sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

SECProto 3y ago
sugar instead of HFCS, cocoa butter instead of palm oil. There's definitely better quality in some markets and products than others
- reactordev 3y ago
  except they use palm oil in the caramel pudding recipe. >"Ingredients: Chocolate (Sugar, Lactose, Vegetable Oil(palm)whole milk powder, cocoa butter), wheat flour, vegetable oil, lactose, sugar, caramel powder (skim milk, concentrated milk), yeast extract, cocoa powder, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier(lethal, sucrose fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester), sodium bicarbonate, flavor, yeast extract,(contains wheat, milk, soybeans)"
  - SECProto 3y ago
    Yes, I wasn't referring specifically to japanese kitkats - I don't know what's in them, been a couple years. But the use of palm oil has become pretty pervasive and (maybe it's placebo effect) the flavour has declined.
reactordev 3y ago
That's pretty much true of most overseas candies and chocolates. Some of the best chocolates from Europe use cocoa butter and real sugar. Not Processed Cocoa Powder, HFCS, additives, colorings, preservatives, and then tempered with plastic.
- epcoa 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - Freedom2 3y ago
    Give me my real American corn syrup - other less-free countries can keep their 'real' sugar!!
  - codersfocus 3y ago
    Costco doesn’t sell caseloads of Cocacola shipped all the way from Mexico to the north east because it’s “hipster bullshit.” I’m in Europe right now and Coke tastes way better, and doesn’t leave a mild bad feeling after drinking it like it does in the US. There is a significant chemical difference between sugar and HFCS. For one, the molecules in sugar are disaccharides while in HFCS they are free. High Fructose CS also has more fructose, which is the worst type of sugar. There’s a Wikipedia page I’ve been trying to find again for years, but basically fructose is multiple times more reactive in your blood than glucose and creates nasties when it reacts with other things you eat, namely fats.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Costco selling caseloads is a pretty strong argument that it might be hipster bullshit given Costco’s market demographics. IIRC there have been a few studies on the Coca Cola and the biggest thing is being told it’s Mexican coke and having it be in a cold glass bottle - real sugar coke in a can or glass ranked lower than HFCS coke in a glass bottle and misidentified. Of course the cognoscenti know that the real deal is Coke in returnable bottles that are probably older than you are. No retornable is export shit.
electriclove 3y ago
Where did you order from?
- robotnikman 3y ago
  Just search Japanese kitkat and you will find a bunch of online seller, and they are found on Amazon as well. I ordered from here: https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/WpsnCaNDwch3 https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/WpsnCaNDw...
zerocrates 3y ago
For chocolate bars and stuff like KitKats I can't think that I've hardly ever seen them use HFCS instead of sugar. Maybe in ones with a more liquid component. Like, I'm pretty sure even the lowly standard Hershey bar uses sugar.

karlshea 3y ago

> Caramel Pudding (which you bake!) Oh my god I have some of these I should have looked at the back of the package more closely!

lbotos 3y ago
I'm a cooking nerd so I have a torch which I find works better than the oven and toasting them does actually make them better!!
- karlshea 3y ago
  I just tried it with my last four and I REALLY wish I had found out sooner.

lynguist 3y ago

I hadn’t heard about this origin story of Japanese KitKat before and looked it up. Kitto katsu! means "you will surely win" or "you will surely succeed". So it is given as tokens for success in exams and the like. Katsu for winning/succeeding also can be seen in Tonkatsu = pork cutlet (katsu is the Japanese "shortening" of cutlet), which is also offered as a success token.

mike_d 3y ago

> Adult Sweetness I'm sorry, what?

YurgenJurgensen 3y ago
It's the best one. Probably the best mass-market dark chocolate product out there.
ThrowAwayChris 3y ago
It's a reduced sugar bitter dark chocolate kitkat that they know kids won't like. Hence "Otona No Amasa" or "sweetness for adults" marketing. They have a bunch of flavors under that subbrand.

ajmurmann 3y ago

Getting KitKat away at all cost from the Hershy eatable plastic company would one of my first moves as Emperor of the US&A