Milk Duds are a brand of chocolate-coated caramel candies produced by
The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
. The candy is a caramel ball covered with a
confectionery chocolate coating made from
cocoa and
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
. Milk Duds are sold in a yellowish-orange box.
According to the manufacturer, the word "Milk" in the candy's name refers to the large amount of milk in the product; the use of "dud" came about because the original aim of having a spherical shape wasn't achievable. Milk Duds were first created in 1928.
History
In 1928, Hoffman and Company of Chicago tried to manufacture a spherical, chocolate-covered caramel candy. Because they were unsuccessful in achieving the spherical shape, the candies were called "
duds
A dud is an ammunition round or explosive that fails to fire or detonate, respectively, on time or on command. Poorly designed devices (for example, improvised explosive devices (IEDs)), and small devices, have higher chances of being duds.
Du ...
". This inspired the candy's name, "Milk Duds". In the same year, Holloway took over Hoffman and Company and the production of Milk Duds.
In 1960 Holloway sold Hoffman and Co. to
Beatrice Foods
Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...
.
In 1986,
Leaf
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
purchased the Milk Duds business. In 1992, production of Milk Duds candy was moved to Leaf Candy Company's Robinson, Illinois plant.
In 1996, Leaf's North American confectionery operation was acquired by
Hershey Foods Corporation
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
of Hershey, Pennsylvania.
In 2022, Milk Duds launched a web-based marketing campaign where the official website became a small overlay to view different social media sites in the main area, including its official
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account @MilkDudsUS.
Changes to ingredients
In 2008, the Hershey Company changed the ingredients of some of its products to replace the relatively expensive
cocoa butter
Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Its mel ...
used with cheaper oil substitutes. This was done to retain a current product price, rather than having to raise prices in the marketplace for products containing cocoa butter.
Hershey's changed the description of the product and altered the packaging slightly, along with the ingredients. According to United States
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
food labeling laws, these modified recipes that do not contain cocoa butter can not be legally described as candy-coated in
milk chocolate and are instead described as "chocolate candy" or as having "chocolate coating."
See also
*
List of chocolate-covered foods
This is a list of chocolate-covered foods. Chocolate is a typically sweet, usually brown, food preparation of ''Theobroma cacao'' seeds, roasted and ground, often flavored, as with vanilla. It is made in the form of a liquid, paste or in a block ...
*
References
External links
*
{{Hershey
The Hershey Company brands
Products introduced in 1928
Chocolate-covered foods
Brand name confectionery