Milky Way Bar

'From a Milky Way Bar to your Dinner Plate: Understanding the Long Journey of a Creamy Chocolate Treat

Chocolate is a favorite treat that has been found in cultures around the world for centuries. While many people may simply consider it a guilty pleasure, the path that chocolate takes to end up on a dinner plate is actually more complex than you may think. Here, we explore the incredible journey that a Milky Way bar takes from its inception to its ultimate destination – your kitchen table!

The Milky Way bar is created from a variety of ingredients that combine together over the course of several stages. The first stage involves sourcing the raw materials like cocoa beans, milk powder, sugar, and corn syrup – all of which have a story of their own to tell. The finest cocoa beans are sourced sustainably from farms around the world, including The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana. Here, smallholder farmers use organic and sustainable farming techniques to ensure that the cocoa beans they produce are of the highest quality. The cocoa beans are then transported to the US where they are roasted, husked, and ground into a thick paste – the essential starting point of any chocolate recipe.

The paste is then combined with the other ingredients in a giant industrial mixer. Sugar, for example, is used to add sweetness that balances out the cocoa’s bitter flavor. Whole milk powder is also added for richness, while corn syrup helps to prevent the fat from separating from the other ingredients and adds a creamy texture.

Once all the ingredients are fully combined, the mixture is then melted and kneaded until the desired texture and flavor are achieved. Once the texture and flavor have been achieved, the mixture is cooled and hardened into slabs that are then cut into smaller pieces. These pieces are then cooled and cooled again to ensure that the right texture is achieved, as well as the right sweetness.

Next, it is time to form the bar. A machine called a “chocolatier” divides the slabs into individual bars that are then shaped. This shaping is done by a “bar maker” machine, which forms the almond and chocolate nougat mix into the familiar bar shape. The bars are then left to cool and set – a crucial part of the production process that takes around 24 hours.

So far, each bar has traveled a long journey. But that is only the beginning – the real journey of the Milky Way bar has yet to begin. The bars are then packed into storage piles, ready to be loaded into containers and shipped around the world. The containers are usually loaded onto trucks or cargo planes and transported to different countries, where they are stored in warehouses before being sent out to the stores that stock them.

Once the Milky Way bars have reached the stores and been purchased, it’s time for the final stage – their journey to your dinner plate. The bars have traveled thousands of miles and have experienced a variety of temperatures and conditions along the way, and yet they remain fresh and delicious. Once unwrapped, they are ready to be enjoyed – a journey that, while long and complex, is ultimately more than worth the wait!

From the cocoa beans used to make the bar’s chocolate base, to the trips to exotic destinations and the careful production process, each and every Milky Way bar has experienced an extraordinary journey. From the third world farms of Ghana to the shelves of supermarkets across the world, they are a celebration of the taste of adventure – a unique treat that brings joy to people from all walks of life. There can be no denying that this creamy and delicious chocolate creation is truly one of the world’s most remarkable treats.