... or do Snickers not taste as good as they used to?
Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe it's my palette changing; but to me, snickers definitely taste less rich, and less savory than they used to.
And I'm not talking better than 20 years ago, I'm talking better than 2 or 3 years ago.
I've heard that some major candymakers have stopped putting cocoa butter in their chocolate and are now using hydrogenated palm oil and soy lecithin... at which point you shouldn't even call it chocolate; but I don't think that would account for it all by itself.
To me, the chocolate has a milder, less intense flavor, and a poorer "lower quality" mouth feel. The caramel seems chewier but less sticky, and less salty... in fact it has no savoriness at all, and very little buttery flavor; and the peanuts definitely seem less salty to me.
Snickers used to be my favorite candy bar (though my favorite mass market chocolate candy has always been, and still is, Reeses peanut butter cups); now I really don't care for them.
I think I've noticed the same lack of savoriness and poorer mouthfeel in M&Ms as well; and I'm SURE that neither the chocolate nor the peanut butter in peanut butter cups are as good as they used to be (though I still like them).
