History Of Hershey
By: Lauren Thornton
The Man
According to “Milton Hershey’s Birthplace: The Homestead” a chapter written about Milton S. Hershey, an excellent Pennsylvania farmland that Milton’s grandparents built in 1826 was the birthplace for Milton himself on September 13, 1857 (1). As claimed by “The Man and His Legacy”, Milton S. Hershey was “Raised in rural central Pennsylvania, hampered by the lack of a formal education and nearly bankrupt by the time he was 30, Milton S. Hershey went on to become not only one of America’s wealthiest individuals, but also a successful entrepreneur whose products are known the world over, a visionary builder of the town that bears his name and a philanthropist whose open-hearted generosity continues to touch the lives of thousands.”(1) In short Milton was raised in a town where there was a lack of education and he didn't become a successful entrepreneur until he was in his late 30’s. As claimed by the chapter “It All Started With a decision”, The Hershey’s company decided that they would make a chocolate that was affordable for both the poor and the wealthy, and therefore it was said to be, “a palatable confection and a most nourishing food.” (1)
How It's Made
According to a Modern Marvels Film on how Hershey's Chocolate products are made the chocolate process starts with the cocoa beans which are harvested from cocoa plantations around the world. Once the plants are harvested they are left to ferment for 6 days. As the Cocoa beans ferment the yeast metabolizes the sugars in the pulp producing Ethanol as a byproduct.Bacteria consumes Ethanol and produces lactic and acetic acid. This reaction causes the flavor of the cocoa beans to come through which causes the bitterness to subside. After drying in the sun the beans are shipped to various chocolate producers like Hershey. Once the beans arrive at the factory they are cleaned, roasted, shelled, and ground into a chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is blended with milk solids and sweeteners and sent to refining. Milk chocolate contains an overall balance of at least 10% chocolate liquor and 12% milk solids. After the refining process the chocolate liquor becomes a chocolate crumb. The chocolate crumb enters a conch which is a giant mixing bowl. While inside the conch the chocolate crumb is mixed with soy acid and extra cocoa butter to make a chocolate paste. This chocolate paste is poured into molds and forms and then cooled to create Hershey Chocolate bars and kisses which are packaged and then sold at companies around the globe.(“Modern Marvels”)
Products Associated with Hershey
There is a vast amount of types of Hershey's Chocolate stretching from chocolate sauces to cakes and many different Candies. Some of the types or products listed on the Hershey company Brands website include Hershey's kisses, Hershey's Simple Pleasures, Hershey's Chocolate bars, Hershey's chocolate syrups and toppings, and Hershey's cocoa. According to the Hershey company Brands website Hershey is the co-owner of others company's such as Reeses, Twizzler, Ice Breaker, York, Kit-Kat, and Whatchamacallit. According to "A Family Friend Becomes a Family Member"article written about the effect Hershey had on other company's and their products, "In 1923, a former Hershey employee named H.B. Reese decided to start his own candy company out of the basement of his home. He made several different kinds of candy, but it wasn't until five years later that he hit upon his greatest idea: a confection of peanut butter covered by milk chocolate (purchased, incidentally, from the Hershey Chocolate Company). During World War II, he discontinued his other product lines and concentrated on producing only Reese's peanut butter cups.Despite its dependence on only a single product, Reese’s company prospered, and in 1963 the H.B. Reese Candy Company was purchased by the Hershey Chocolate Corporation. Since then, the Reese's product line has grown to include Reese's Pieces candies, the Nutrageous candy bar and Reesesticks."(1), in short the Reese's company was created because a Hershey Company worker had developed a passion for candy making and created a very successful business.
Citations
- "A Family Friend Becomes a Family Member." HERSHEY'S. The Hershey Company, 7 June 2010. Web. 31
- Oct. 2012. <http://www.thehersheycompany.com/about-hershey/our-story/hersheys-history.aspx>.
- "It All Started With a Decision." HERSHEY'S. The Hershey Company, 7 June 2010. Web. 19 Oct.
- "Milton Hershey's Birthplace: The Homestead." HERSHEY'S. The Hershey Company, 7 June
- "Modern Marvels." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- N.d. Photograph. The Hershey Company. Google Images. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- N.d. Photograph. Vintage Fine Art Prints. Google Images. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- "The Man and His Legacy." HERSHEY'S. The Hershey Company, 7 June 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- N.d. Photograph. Whozitsblog. Google Images. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. <http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1C1GPCK_enUS501&biw=800&bih=456&tbm=isch&tbnid=vwTo7XwxysHgGM:&imgrefurl=http://whozitsblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/everything-i-know-i-learned-from-milton.html&docid=a1xo07XHhtQxnM&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QWCYr5kC79E/TnNkxQIQFEI/AAAAAAAAADs/p3OCY6z_gSc/s1600/Hershey%2525252520Milton.jpg&w=390&h=429&ei=Dp-SULemBKPQ2AXrk4CwDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=519&vpy=22&dur=971&hovh=235&hovw=214&tx=112&ty=120&sig=112132661220214266917&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=116&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,i:146>.