Cadbury Crème Egg Foreign Exchange

Easter may be long gone, but the resurrections continue with the triumphant return of the original Cadbury Crème Egg.  (Cue cheering/gagging.)

Two lovely Canadians agreed to the crème egg exchange: longtime reader Sheila, as well as Gillian over at Hit Pay Dirt.  Sheila sent me five crème eggs to my two (score!).  And while my ambassadors traveled to Canada via coach in a ripped-up egg crate with an American flag plastered on it, Gillian sent her crème eggs First Class like this:

Is it any wonder why people hate Americans?

I had high hopes for showing my Canadian crème eggs the sights about town (complete with blog-worthy pictorial) before tearing into them, but no such luck.  The lure of sweet nostalgia was too much to bear.

First off, the Canadian eggs are clearly bigger.

I thought B.J. Novak was trying to pull a fast one, but the camera doesn’t lie and I’m no magician.  Cadbury has since admitted that Hershey chose to make them smaller for the American market.  I say chalk one up for shrewd American businessmen because I’ll pay whatever it costs for a crème egg, no matter what the size. 

We all know that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, but in this case it quite possibly is better because there may be a correlation between size and the delectability of the filling.  As if the bigger Canadian ones have the original Cadbury recipe and the smaller American ones have some kind of inferior Hershey-ized recipe.  So, is there a difference?

I broke the first rule of scientific analysis by coming into these trials clearly biased.  I knew the Canadian crème eggs would be better, I just knew it.  So I ate one.  And it was awesome.  Then I ate an American one.  And, wouldn’t you know it, it was less awesome.  The Canadian ones had a thicker filling, better mouthfeel, and seemed slightly less sweet (though still able to shatter your teeth in a single bite).  The American ones were a bit runnier and slightly more cloying.  But the differences were subtle.

Once I had cemented my bias, I set up a blind taste-test.  It’s hard to do this by yourself, mind you.  I couldn’t enlist my Husband to help because: a) he can’t stand the sight of crème eggs; and b) he likes to trick me, whenever possible, and I don’t have a sense of humor when it comes to crème eggs.  Anyone else was a security risk.  I wasn’t sharing them with the kids, no way no how, and even my close friends, god bless them, can only take so much of me.

So, it was just me (eyes shut) and the eggs.  The problem (besides the goo spilling out all over the place during my blindness) was that I could tell which one was bigger in my hand, and I knew that the bigger one was supposed to be better and I’m sure my taste buds were paying close attention.  I tried to confuse myself by rearranging them with my eyes closed, but I seem to have a freaky ability to detect miniscule weight differences.  Or maybe it was the difference in texture.  Anyway, I could tell.  Even so, I’ll admit I waffled a bit on which one I liked better.  Until I decided that the Canadian one was better.  Whichever one that was.

The verdict: I don’t have any fucking idea.  All I know is that they’re gone, I want more, and I don’t care where they come from. 

Canadians?

P.S. Be sure to check out Gillian’s post on the subject, which puts mine to shame with regards to photography, scientific method, and overall professionalism. 

Comments

[Gillian]

Tammy - you're an absolute blast! I'll defend Americans in your honour ANYTIME. Thanks so much for the awesome comments.

yours in chocolate,

g

[Mary]

I think the Canadian one sounds cooler too. Oeuf Fondant sounds way better than Creme Egg. I wonder if they sell the big ones or the small ones in Windsor. It's not too far from here.

[CaroB]

LOL and all that from the eggs we buy with petrol to keep kids quiet in the back of a car. I always get into trouble when I say that American chocolate tastes like candlewax to me and so I should because I've never actually eaten a candle and I might be doing beeswax an injustice. Go to http://www.hotelchocolat.com and click on the link to Easter eggs... now that's what they *should* be like!

[Kathy]

Am I the only one on the planet that does not love the creme egg? If you ever have a mini egg showdown, please let me know. I am sure I could be talked into be a judge.

[Non-Bacon Tammy]

Oh... I am SO jealous! I am all out of my CCE stash already. I went to CVS to try to find more, but no luck. I need my fix soon!!!

[Tammy]

Non-Bacon Tammy: Good luck finding any now. I went to no less than five stores the very day after Easter, and they were ripping down the Easter stuff like their lives depended on it. At my last stop, I went up to the stock boy at the Pleasant St. Stop & Shop in Watertown, grabbed him by the shirt, and shrieked, "Creme. Eggs." He calmly pointed to the end of the aisle. Without loosening my grip, I clarified, "Not. The. Orange. Ones." Again, he calmly pointed and there they were. He must see this all the time.

Kathy: I'm penciling it into next year's editorial calendar!

CaroB: Beeswax is officially pissed. It's way better than American chocolate. P.S. Those Hotel Chocolat eggs look pretty fancy, but why do I have a feeling there's no eggy goo inside.

Mary: Oh. I thought Canadians just didn't know how to spell.

Gillian: You'll be sorry next year when I demand that you send me 200.

[Deanna]

Why must there be delectable chocolate posts on days that the PMS monster demands cocoa-satisfaction?

God hates me and doesn't want me to be happy. Clearly this is the reason.

Either way: Mmmmm Chocolate....

[sunny12]

actually I can't stand the creme eggs either (even though I happily chomped down the two American ones sent my way). However I did just enjoy a peanut butter filled egg. Yum!

[Adele]

Scientific method... meh.

I admire your dedication.

[Sally]

Which makes me wonder - just what do they DO with all that left-over Easter candy that they couldn't sell? Is it shoved back on a shelf somewhere to be drug out next year? *shudder*

[Lily VS]

Um, so yeah, I guess size does matter huh.

I think that the reason American one taste so crap is because of the type of corn syrup they use. It's probably high fructose instead of plain old.

When I used to live in Ireland I lived on tea and Creme Eggs, oh and boxes of Black Magic.

[Sandicita]

I too tried to get some creme eggs the day after easter and could not get any. Did not think to manhandle a clerk. May try that next year.

[kay*]

hahaha this is hilarious! i have a sweet spot for creme eggs too - hope you don't mind that i linked to this post

[Anthony]

Great post!

I just had some creme eggs (Canadian of course) sent to me by surprise in Korea. I have missed them soooo...