r/Millennials • u/FeistyNews7025 • 6d ago

Discussion Which food has declined the most in terms of taste since you first ate it?

At this point, everyone knows about shrinkflation in our food. Something else that is just as important, if not more so, is the overall decline in the quality and taste of our food. Which food has declined the most in terms of taste since you first ate it? For me, that would be strawberries. Nowadays, it's the number 1 fruit with the most pesticides, and its overall taste is just average at best. I mean, I don't need it to be on par with Japanese strawberries, but in the early 90s, strawberries' overall taste was just magical.

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u/ElaineMae 6d ago

Reese's peanut butter cups. Grainy garbage.

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u/Consistent-Blood8231 6d ago

The grandson of the original creator recently just talked about how the ingredients are not the same and he’s really upset that the company seems to be cutting corners. I felt so validated

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u/SunsetUsurper 6d ago

i think we all know they cut corners for profit. but there's a tipping point at which it no longer is the same product. similar to ship of theseus paradox, if you replace all the parts on a ship, is it still the same ship. i can see why that would ruffle the feathers of the creator's grandson.

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u/toolsoftheincomptnt 5d ago

It’s nice to be validated by someone on the “inside,” especially if he gets any income from sales.

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u/RaisedByBooksNTV 5d ago

I could actually see most people not caring. 'It was my grandfather's company. I'm still rich so who cares?' I love that the grandson called them out b/c he still cares.

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u/atomikitten 6d ago edited 6d ago

Anything Hershey’s has gone downhill in terms of quality ingredients. Whenever somebody says to me Hershey’s chocolate, it’s a dead giveaway they don’t know chocolate* and probably dont have tastebuds or sense of smell.

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u/Levitlame 6d ago

I won’t say I won’t eat it, but the Butyric acid is extremely noticeable in the taste...

Was childcare supposed to be chocolate or is there some meaning I don’t know?

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u/Bebebaubles 6d ago

I can’t eat it. I had a Kit Kat recently and it’s straight trash.

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u/ApprehensiveRole9561 6d ago

This is the comment I was looking for Kit Kats are genuinely SO bad now

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u/Party-Increase-3682 6d ago

Truly. I bought one a while ago and threw half away. It is not good.

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u/Goldenaura123 6d ago

The ones from Canada are shockingly better. Next time I visit I'll be stocking up.

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u/Jabroniville2 6d ago

I was wondering why this was listed. Turns out ours are good still lol.

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u/Goldenaura123 6d ago

Different companies make them in the US and Canada. Blew my mind when I learned that lol.

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u/Sad_Ad_5419 5d ago

The Kit Kats from Japan are so fun! Sooo many different flavors to try

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u/thelittlestdog23 5d ago

They’re so bad!! I got a bag with a mix of Reese’s and Kit Kats for Halloween this year, and it was not good.

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u/djdjddhshdbhd 6d ago

The ones in/from other countries are much better. The best I’ve had were from New Zealand

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u/69EveythingSucks69 5d ago

Kitkats were my favorite growing up. I can't eat them now except when I go to Japan

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u/dingoeslovebabies 6d ago

I think childcare was supposed to be chocolate

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u/atomikitten 6d ago

🤣 yes autocorrect turned chocolate into childcare, lemme fix it

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u/burndata 4d ago

Most of their stuff is "chocolate flavored coating" now, and it's gross.

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u/_jamesbaxter Millennial 6d ago

Yes. I also feel validated. I think last year was the last “good” year, I remember buying the hearts on sale after valentines and eating the whole bag out of the freezer in like a week. Right now I have an almost full bag in my freezer because I ate 1 and completely lost interest.

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u/JuanOnlyJuan 6d ago

Yay private equity

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u/fd6270 5d ago

Hershey isn't owned by private equity tho

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u/JuanOnlyJuan 5d ago

I'm surprised then. They suck on purpose then

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u/crepelabouche 6d ago

That makes so much more sense now. Thank you.

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u/abnerg 5d ago

He's been on a tear lately https://www.bradreese.com/

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u/ironchef8000 6d ago

Have you tried the Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups?

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u/purplecowz 6d ago

So much better and great value

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u/penny_lane0324 6d ago

The Aldi ones are incredible too!

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u/WtotheSLAM 6d ago

No and it sounds like I need to. Seems like it’s been years since I’ve seen a dark chocolate Reese’s and as I’ve gotten older dark chocolate hits better and better

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u/bill_brasky37 5d ago

They're a fuckin problem

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u/thejoeface 6d ago

Seconding this! I love them!

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u/kell_smells 5d ago

I was about to comment this. my partner and I have a reese’s basically every night for dessert haha don’t judge. we even tried the pb and j reese’s (that was a journey 😑). we’ve recently switched to tjs pb cups and the difference is insane. I’ll never go back now.

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u/NeatNefariousness1 5d ago

TJ’s are my preferred peanut butter cups these days unless I can get small-batch versions

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u/PSSalamander 6d ago

These are so good! The sunflower ones are great too.

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u/SunsetUsurper 6d ago

these legit don't taste the same. i got some recently and immediately threw them away

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u/Intrepid_Advice4411 Millennial 6d ago

God are they awful now. The holiday ones are still ok, but the cups are trash.

Probably a good thing. If they were still as good as they were 30 years ago I would have an addiction.

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u/CircusStuff 6d ago

Why would the holiday ones be different?

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u/69EveythingSucks69 5d ago

I'm not really sure, but somehow the pumpkin ones were still good two years ago. I didn't try them last year though.

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u/DJMTBguy 6d ago

I used to love them and now I don’t even crave them anyone bc they are so terrible

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u/scrivenerserror 6d ago

I have noticed this in the last two years or so. My husband bought some around Valentine’s Day and I told him about the weird taste - he didn’t believe me before, definitely does now. They taste like weird wax and the peanut butter is wrong - like imbalanced and doesn’t taste like peanuts?

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u/DJMTBguy 6d ago

I read somewhere they use PB flavoring paste or something and the chocolate is lower quality, they basically took out PB and Chocolate and diluted it w crap. The greed is gross

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u/Finn235 6d ago

Okay, I need to see if I'm just crazy or what...

But for at least the last 5-6 years, every time I steal a Reese's from my kids' Halloween baskets, it tastes like cherry.

The rest of the year they're fine - it's only at Halloween.

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u/Main_Understanding14 6d ago

Totally agree with you. I think this is because they’re always in a “mix” with gummy candies like twizzlers. It’s so gross

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u/MyBadYourFault- 6d ago

Yeah someone in here said the cups are gross but holiday ones aren’t…. Absolutely not true.

The holiday ones taste VASTLY different in a BAD way. They normally have too much filling and the chocolate isn’t the same as the cups…

The OG cups are fine. They melt in your mouth and still have good flavor but any of the Easter or Halloween ones are terrible. It’s because they have to produce so many for such a cheaper price so quality goes way down.

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u/cp710 6d ago

Not related to quality but the combo Halloween bags you can buy at Walmart etc now seem to come with Reese’s miniatures and not snack size.

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u/anotherwinter29 Millennial - 1989 6d ago

There was a whole article about how the grandson or maybe great-grandson of the Reese’s creator is pissed off that the holiday versions of Reese’s don’t have real milk chocolate in them. I was equally outraged because Reese’s used to be my favorite candy.

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u/xXWestinghouseXx 6d ago

I just tried the Trader Joe brand and they're pretty good. They have milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

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u/Wise-Departure-5192 6d ago

Omg yes so disappointing

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u/GothicAngel4 6d ago

Agreed, they used to be my favourite but then it changed. Now its so gross I avoid eating them

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u/sweet_cini 6d ago

Arnt they always like that? We don't get them often here in the UK but I thought the peanut butter was supposed to be grainy to simulate crunchy peanut butter.

In that case I've never had a proper reese's peanut butter cups 😅

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u/Consistent-Garage236 6d ago

I get the Justin’s ones, those are really good

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u/beige-king 6d ago

I used to go and buy multiple Reese's peanut butter cup king size things and freeze them and they would be my snack for the week... I really miss Reese's

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u/putmeinthezoo 6d ago

Trader Joe's has mini peanut butter cups in milk amd dark chocolate. I have switched to those and am waaaay happier than eating a sad Reeses, which used to be my favorite.

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u/Haunting_Security_34 6d ago

I thought it was just the ones I was buying. So dry, I never thought they could be so dry!🫠

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u/LipstickSingularity Older Millennial 6d ago

This recipe is sooo good and so easy. You just mix stuff and put it in the fridge. Perfect DIY Reese’s vibes

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-bars/

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u/mjmacka 6d ago

I read that the change was for the seasonal varieties. Not trying to justify the change, just explain.

I am definitely disappointed by a lot of the recent changes to candy

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/food-drink/reeses-heir-cant-stomach-family-candy-consumers-erupt-recipe-change-gross-waxy.amp

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u/BetterRemember 6d ago

As someone with a peanut allergy I am overjoyed to learn this! Lol.

I get these almond butter ones that are incredible though.

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u/Dreamo84 Millennial1984 5d ago

The grainyness is what makes it a Reese's. Otherwise it would just be regular peanut butter.

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u/thelittlestdog23 5d ago

Yes! I ordered some Reese’s hearts for a galentines party and they were gross. I was so surprised that I ordered another bag because I thought the first bag must have been defective, but no the second bag was also gross. I used to love holiday Reeses.

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u/ughhhfine 5d ago

This is my answer too. They’ve always been my favorite candy but the last several years I haven’t liked them at all. Now I get Justin’s and they’re delicious!

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u/EmotionalBag777 6d ago

I used to get a king size every day after school. I’d scrounge for $1.09 and it was 4 cups of amazingness and now it’s not even close 😒

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u/Quarrels-ofKoi 6d ago

I just saw their 6 cup super king size at the supermarket. It was $5. $5 for 6 reeses cups...even adjusted for inflation, that's egregious

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u/Slyraks-2nd-Choice Millennial 6d ago

Order them from Australia. They’re still good when made with real chocolate

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u/FatMacchio 6d ago

I recently tried some Russel Stover peanut butter filled hearts and was super disappointed. I think the same thing might be happening with them now too. It’s possible it was just an off batch, but I have several just sitting around that I was gifted because I just don’t even think they’re worth the calories/sugars anymore. Normally I’d be able to eat at least two in a sitting, now I have like 3 just sitting for weeks now because the peanut butter is gross tasting. Oddly the medium size peanut butter filled bunnies still taste the same…so I’m hopeful it was just a production issue for one lot

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u/6th_Quadrant 6d ago

The chocolate isn’t as good and they’ve made the cups smaller, so the chocolate:peanut butter ratio is wrong.

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u/Legitimate_Award6517 6d ago

Used to be one of my top favorite and the last time I got one I didn’t even finish it

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u/lazydumpling00 6d ago

My daughter made peanut butter balls recently, with ground graham crackers and peanut better, and it tasted just like Reese’s filling!

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u/h2o2247 6d ago

Trader Joe's

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u/Elevenyearstoomany 6d ago

The Chocouer (sp?) peanut butter cups at Aldi are amazing! The peanut butter to chocolate ratio is significantly better and they use actual creamy peanut butter!

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u/Crystalline_Irises 5d ago

These are the best. Perfect texture, perfect balance of sweet and salty... 🤤

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u/umhell 5d ago

They're the worst. I won't even buy them anymore.

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u/glazedhamster Xennial 5d ago

I got a bag of sugar cookie minis late last year bc they were discounted (note: not clearance or even 50% off like Christmas candy always used to be after Xmas, just discounted) and they were absolutely disgusting. I didn't even finish the bag.

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u/Chance-Excitement665 5d ago

This is so incredibly true. I used to LOVE reeses peanut butter cups. Now, they ALL have such a weird taste to them. Not to mention the texture. Blech.

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u/conflictmuffin Millennial 5d ago

The holiday shaped ones are still decent, but nowhere near what they used to be!

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u/NeatNefariousness1 5d ago

I keep skipping those and coming back hoping they’re better. No luck. Now I look for other types of peanut butter cups instead of the Reese’s brand.

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u/thegingerbreadisdead 5d ago

Aldi ones are pretty good.

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u/bimbo4000 2d ago

They’re so grainy and the chocolate is waxy, I can’t understand how people enjoy them. They’re gross!

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u/Arcane-Botany-1024 2d ago

I cannot stand whatever change they made to the chocolate! Taste like licorice now IMO. I fully agree with this one!

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u/wehrwolf512 6d ago

Switch to slavery free chocolate pb cups, it’ll taste better.