Sometimes, if I really concentrate, and the house is miraculously empty, I can hear the anger-fuelled tap-tap typing of bitter UK residents making their emotions known on the Chocolate Orange Facebook page. And who can blame them? If you're not particularly in the loop with this slightly winding introduction, Terry's - no, wait, Mondelez - made the decision to reduce the size of the iconic Orange from 175g recently to 157g. Doesn't sound like much, but if you look at the tone of the Facebook commenters, you'd think Mondelez themselves have personally skinned their children in front of their eyes.
This happens all the time. Product gets a bit crapper, people are enraged, people still buy product because it's still good. Rinse and repeat. The Chocolate Orange 'scandal' (and I use that word reluctantly), seemed to hit a nerve of the general public like no other recent product though, besides the Creme Egg, perhaps. So what makes this thing so adored by us? The time felt ripe amid all this brouhaha to investigate.
The box has stayed the same for a long, long time. Why change it, though? The near-cube shape of it has become pretty much a national icon, with the blue colours contrasting nicely against the imitation fruit orange wrapping. Open the box, get rid of the tacky plastic holding, and you're greeted by old familiar. Which, to this day, still includes a sticker saying "Made with REAL orange oil". Are they asking for a round of applause or something? I would've thought striking up an orange flavour with some E chemicals would be harder work than just using the authentic stuff.
Then, of course comes the most satisfying part. Think of the person you hate the most. That ex who's a full-on snake. What a bitch. If only there was something to release such anger upon... oh wait. We have a Chocolate Orange. BANG BANG BANG. Now this person has an imaginary concussion, and to top it all off, you now have a Chcocolate Orange fit for human consumption. Best day ever.
Now the Orange has been brutally murdered, you can suddenly see how Mondelez has managed to save their precious 18g per item. 175g Oranges were, I dunno, orange-shaped. 157g are shaped like oranges who have an anorexia issue. In fact, you know how lean people can suck their stomach in and it goes really weirdly far back beyond their ribs? The 157g Chocolate Orange, ladies and gents.
But if I'm being honest, I'd rather they screwed with the weight than the ingredients any day. Shedding the weight was a downer for the Orange, but it does at least retain its good taste. The chocolate is fairly smooth, but leaves that rough feeling at the back of the throat if you have a large serving. The Orange is very moreish, and one of the quickest ways to consume '5 servings' of chocolate. Unlike some orange-flavoured things, this is really tangy, and not unnaturally so. If you took the orange flavour away though, the chocolate would be so-so. It's just not quite up there to be its own standalone thing.
It's a bit steep in the pricing: £2 in most stores. And for that price I would say it's not worth it. Almost no chocolate is worth £2 for 157g, no matter how tangy and inviting the flavour. But the Orange is almost always on offer somewhere, usually for £1. I managed to pick mine up for 90p, and for that it's a million percent worth it. It's a staple Christmas treat, and a great way to completely mess up your fitness plans.
Buy It? When it's on offer
The box has stayed the same for a long, long time. Why change it, though? The near-cube shape of it has become pretty much a national icon, with the blue colours contrasting nicely against the imitation fruit orange wrapping. Open the box, get rid of the tacky plastic holding, and you're greeted by old familiar. Which, to this day, still includes a sticker saying "Made with REAL orange oil". Are they asking for a round of applause or something? I would've thought striking up an orange flavour with some E chemicals would be harder work than just using the authentic stuff.
Now the Orange has been brutally murdered, you can suddenly see how Mondelez has managed to save their precious 18g per item. 175g Oranges were, I dunno, orange-shaped. 157g are shaped like oranges who have an anorexia issue. In fact, you know how lean people can suck their stomach in and it goes really weirdly far back beyond their ribs? The 157g Chocolate Orange, ladies and gents.
It's a bit steep in the pricing: £2 in most stores. And for that price I would say it's not worth it. Almost no chocolate is worth £2 for 157g, no matter how tangy and inviting the flavour. But the Orange is almost always on offer somewhere, usually for £1. I managed to pick mine up for 90p, and for that it's a million percent worth it. It's a staple Christmas treat, and a great way to completely mess up your fitness plans.
Buy It? When it's on offer
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