A childhood in chocolate

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Posted at 11:05AM, 28 May 2010 by Caroline Hire - Food editor, bbcgoodfood.com

Ahh, the chocolate button. It first hit the shelves in 1960 when microwaves hadn't even reached our kitchens and Tupperware was considered the height of sophistication. To this day, the humble little round of creamy indulgence remains a beacon of chocolatey perfection, so simple yet oh-so good. Give me a chocolate button any day over an exotic 70% cocoa bar laced with chilli, ginger or Earl Grey tea.

Give me a chocolate button any day over an exotic 70% cocoa bar laced with chilli, ginger or Earl Grey tea

This Friday The Chocolate Button Company is unleashing their Gigantic Chocolate Button on the British public. Four times larger than the Cadbury's Giant Buttons, this could mean chocolate heaven, magnified. But not having tried it, I can't say whether it'll measure up on taste. And let's face it, despite persecution from abroad, we Brits remain ever-loyal to our favourite bars. Some of our bestsellers have been with us since childhood, in fact some even from our parents' and grandparents' childhoods. The froggy-shaped Freddo launched back in 1973, just after selection-box staple Curly Wurly (1970). Crunchie has been with us since 1929; the Animal Bar, which always offered the added excitement of what animal you were going to get, started out in 1963 and Walnut Whip, well that's been around since 1910.

Coming close behind buttons as a favourite, the Creme Egg is a piece of chocolate paradise that brings back memories. At school, we thought it funny to stuff a whole one in our mouths, rendering us unable to speak for a good ten minutes before working our way through the chocolate and fondant and giggles sufficiently to swallow.

The accompanying adverts are still lodged indelibly in most of our minds too. Catchphrases like 'The Milky Bars are on me' and jingles such as 'A finger of Fudge is just enough to give your kids a treat' and 'Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, tastes like chocolate never tasted before' are hard to shake.

Do you have a chocolate treat that you still love from childhood? Or any adverts that you still think of every time you tuck into a bar?

Comments

prune boy

28 May 2010, 8:13PM
prune boy

I loved Lion Bars - do they still sell those? And what about Minstrels, 'the chocolate that melts in your mouth not in your hand!'?

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Christine

28 May 2010, 8:20PM
Christine

I liked to take a Penguin to school for break time, but I'm sure they were a lot bigger then. Perhaps it's just that I was smaller! Ditto Wagon Wheels. Smarties were another favourite and still are - especially the orange ones.

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poppysuze

29 May 2010, 7:02AM
poppysuze

Smarties were my favourite plus Caramac chocolate, can you still get this?

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shez

29 May 2010, 6:06PM
shez

Cabana was my fave which they stopped making about 20 years ago. Coconut with cherries and a bit of toffee covered in chocolate. Bought up what was left in my shop when I heard the sad news of their demise!

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Colette

31 May 2010, 9:34AM
Colette

Walnut whips were a treat my great aunt used to bring us when we were on holidays but they've changed the whipped centre from the original so that now it tastes kind of lemony and it just isn't the same. No need to mess with perfection I say.

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Girl Flower

1 June 2010, 9:37AM
Girl Flower

Yes they still make Lion bars! My neice loves them. I love Wagon Wheels - do they still make them? Didnt realise the Walnut Whip centre had changed, thats put me off buying one now! :o( I will always remember the "and all because the lady loves milk tray" adverts. MMM chocolate - I need to get myself a giant chocolate button! yum!

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CloClo

1 June 2010, 1:31PM
CloClo

I liked Cadbury's marble bars...they still sell them in other countries but not the UK. Miss them, they were the nicest chocolate bars ever. Smarties were also a favourite...but now they have taken the articical stuff out they make me hyper!

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squaccy

2 June 2010, 4:03PM
squaccy

Smarties used to be my favourite but I'm sure they have changed taste quite recently and I don't like them any more :( Oh do you remember the mini m&m's? they stopped selling those which was tragic! I loved the pots they came with!!! Nowadays I love creme eggs, LOVED the peanut butter kitKats WHY DID THEY TAKE THEM AWAY!!!!

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jan

3 June 2010, 9:03PM
jan

Does anyone remember Welcome bars, sort of fudge with nuts in (maybe and fruit), covered in chocolate. I also remember Aztec bars being revived and then disappearing again

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mike

4 June 2010, 1:55PM
mike

My favourite all time chocolate bar was TEXAN BAR but they stopped making them years ago.I heard they had a mini revival a few years back and brought them back for a limited time but i missed out

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lalybaba

6 June 2010, 1:09PM
lalybaba

I loved the "finger of fudge" advert loved the chocolate bar too, other favorites included double deckers (but I think they've got more sickly in recent years) and aero. I'll settle for a large bar of cadbury's fruit and nut these days though....just thinking about this is making me salivate and as I no longer live in the UK I can't get any of them! *sniff*

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Jane

9 June 2010, 4:44PM
Jane

Does anyone remember Spiral bars. Hollow twists of chocolate - yummy. Used to suck my tea up through them like a straw and they melted lovely. Yum Yum.

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nikki edwards

9 June 2010, 8:05PM
nikki edwards

Orange smarties! I used to save them and hide them to eat later but big sis usually found them! I now take them out of the box and eat before my 2yr old has them! How mean, well she doesn't know they taste different to the others yet! As for caramac, I had one last week, they are still amazing a bit waxy though. They used to do a caramac easter egg but not seen that for about 30 years. All the originals were the best, maybe because they weren't so readily available then and a special treat. Fry's tukish delight and drifters are now my favourites. Anyways "chocolate loving" to you all!!

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Italiana

16 June 2010, 11:57PM
Italiana

Does anyone remember Starburst....they were quiet sickly and very nice, however, I must say my fav has to be a picnic bar...may they rein forever!!

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Jo

17 June 2010, 12:13PM
Jo

Is it just me or do cadbury's buttons taste better than a bar of cadbury's dairy milk? It's the same choc but it tastes so much better in a button shape. I think so anyway!

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super beth

19 June 2010, 4:50PM
super beth

cadburys caramel is my favourite and their chocolate rasins!!!!

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Whisk Cooking

23 June 2010, 5:24PM
Whisk Cooking

I had to stop off the other night to pick up a Picnic bar on my way home after night out. The draw was too strong...

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SUE

30 June 2010, 11:29AM
SUE

squaccy;you could try CyberCandy for the Kit-Kats;they quite often have unusual flavours. Colette; M&S do their own Walnut Whips, which I think taste more like the original ones.

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my recipes

13 July 2010, 10:34AM
my recipes

Hi, does anyone remember Jelly Marlows. These had a layer of jelly, then a layer of marshmallow all covered in milk choocolate. Also does anyone remember Lux bars?

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halle butt

14 July 2010, 1:45PM
halle butt

Cadbury's 1767 was my childhood fav, since those twerps at Kraft took Cadbury's over you might as well eat a Hershy bar

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