As I handed my son a two-for – one coupon on his way to the grocery store to pick up a few items, he used it to the maximum. My children and grandchildren know I am a chocoholic. I should not have been surprised when I pulled two 2 lb., 6 oz. containers of M&Ms out of the bags he piled on the kitchen island. Those should satisfy my chocolate cravings for a while!

Several years ago, I confessed that I often hid my favorite chocolate snacks when any of the family showed up for a visit. Sometimes one of them chides me a little about it. They just do not understand I was protecting myself from candy raids that might leave me out of chocolates. I try never to be without chocolate.

Although I am fond of M&Ms, I like other Mars chocolates, too. When I stepped off the school bus every afternoon and dashed into the store my mother managed, I had a choice. It was hard to choose between several candy bars with an ice-cold soft drink from the bottom of the market case, or a double scoop of ice cream. Sometimes, going for a candy bar, I reached for Milky-Way, a Mars delicacy. Confectioner Frank C. Mars developed it in 1923.

You would surmise he chose the name, Milky Way, because of his name, Mars, relating to the astronomical. Not so. He designed it to capture the tastes of malted milk shakes popular in that day. Have you ever wondered about the ingredients as you enjoyed a Milky Way? I found it is a mixture of milk chocolate, corn syrup, sugar, milk, hydrogenated vegetable oil, cocoa, butter, salt, malt, egg whites, and etc., which was not revealed. I could have chosen other Mars products, including Mars Bars, Snickers, or 3Musketeers. I had no complaints about any of them.

Mars confections have some stiff competition. Curtis Candy Company introduced Butterfinger, a chocolate-covered peanut butter confection, and the Baby Ruth Bar .Otto Schnering, the company founder, went to extremes to promote both of them. He chartered a plane to parachute the candy bars over cities in 40 states. Can’t you imagine people scrambling to get their samples of candy falling from overhead?

Then, there are the Hershey Candy products. Hershey candies go way back to the early 1900s. I know if I ate as many Hershey Kisses as I want, a call to 911 would be inevitable. No matter how hard I convince myself I will ignore candy aisles, I cannot resist reaching for at least one package. Since I tend to buy more kisses does not mean I am fonder of them than the bars, with or without almonds. My mother sometimes rationed my Hershey Bar snacks by breaking them into the convenient little blocks. I savored each block. Mr. Goodbar sometimes gets my attention, too. They are just as irresistible.

Sorry, fellow chocoholics, if the mention of these delicacies make your mouth water.

 

Nina Keenam is retired from the newspaper business. Her column appears on Saturdays.