It is fact, not opinion, that Hershey's chocolate contains an olifactory compound found in vomit.
They said that the Hershey taste was based on milk that had spoiled by the need to transport without refrigeration. That on changing the flavor (sic) USA consumers had demanded a return to the former recipe.
We then got to taste the Hershey chocolate. The entire theatre erupted with [largely] mock retching and disdain calls of how vile the product was. Thankfully we had water and a pack of other chocolate treats to taste as part of the lecture.
Vomit was the overwhelming flavour agreed by all those around me.
But then I was listening to a radio programme about Ethopians eating goat intestines with bile sauce squeezed over the other day; apparently the chef was hugely excited to eat the dish, the Europeans present less so.
A chacun son gout.
I think a few people here in the UK are getting a little annoyed with Americans buying our chocolate companies and wrecking them. Could you stop, please?
p.s. British
It depends on what is most useful to the animal. The definition of gross varies between animals.
That Europeans aren't falling over themselves to condemn the revolting nature of Parmesan suggests to me their dislike of Hershey's is largely based on snobbery.
It just amuses me that people bring up the vomit thing (actually butyric acid) like it is some laughable feature of Hershey's and inherently horrifying.. but they never mention all the other foods that are high in butyric acid, and are in fact loved by foodies.
People can dislike hersheys, but going on about how it "is made to taste like vomit" like it is a shocking revelation, is a double standard.
Europeans have access to the real thing: Parmigiano Reggiano. Butyric fermentation is kept under control because it can ruin the cheese's taste and aspect in a very obvious way (by creating holes).
Parmigiano Reggiano's direct italian competitors - Grana Padano and Trentingrana - "cheat" by using lysozyme to inhibit the bacteria responsible for producing butyric acid.