A popular chocolate cup packed by delicious peanut butter. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were invented by a man known as Harry Burnett (H.B.) Reese.
Reese was born on May 24 1879, in Pennsylvania to a family of farmers. He got married in 1900 and had 16 children. (Yes, 16!) In 1903, no surprise it was difficult for him to feed his growing family, so he took many jobs, from factories to butchers.
It was 1917 when Reese discovered an advert for a job on the dairy farm of Milton S. Hershey, owner of the Hershey Chocolate Company located situated in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Although he wasn’t aware in the moment, he was aware that taking the job would define Reese’s life for the next few years. He was on the farm for a few years before he began working at the chocolate factory of the company and was influenced by Hershey and decided to create himself chocolates.
At first, Reese considered his chocolate business as a way to earn a bit of cash in order to support his household. He began making sweets at home in the basement of his house, calling candies and bars in honor of his numerous children. He made use of fresh ingredients to create his candy creations, with lots Chocolate from Hershey’s.
The 1920s saw Reese’s basement business was growing much faster than expected, with candy securing a good deal on markets in his area. He decided to make his business more seriously and established the H.B. Reese Candy Company.
The year was 1928. Reese was also able to sell peanut butter and chocolate confections He simply called the peanut butter cups, or “penny cups” since they cost one cent each in 1928. They were so popular that Reese was successful in selling five-pound containers from the cup to nearby shops to display in their display of candy.
Reese was shortly able to quit his position as a worker at the Hershey factory to focus on his own venture. He also built an 100,000 square-foot manufacturing facility located on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey, Pennsylvania producing a vast variety of chocolates, like raisin clusters, chocolate-covered dates.
However in World War II, Reese was forced to stop working on his other projects due the scarcity of materials and economic difficulties. He decided to concentrate on peanut butter cupcakes, which became his most loved product and his investment was rewarded.
Unfortunately, at a time when his cups were increasing with respect to popularity Reese passed away unexpectedly from heart attacks in 1956, a couple of days before his birthday, which was on the 77th day of his life. Seven years later, six of his sons made the decision to sell the business that was run by his family.
The Hershey’s Chocolate Company, that was the inspiration behind Reese to purchase the H.B. Reese Candy Company for $23.5 million in 1963, with H.B. Reese’s kids receiving roughly 5 percent of the Hershey Company (which is today worth around $20 billion, with 5percent of which is about $1B).
Reese’s Cups continued to prosper under Hershey’s. There are a myriad of variants on the sweet, such as “big cup,” miniatures, minis along with white chocolate, dark caramel, chocolate hazelnut cream, and caramel flavors. There are other variations, including Reese’s Cookies, Reese’s Pieces, and Reese’s Puffs Cereal (of the “It’s Reese’s for breakfast!” fame, promoting “healthy” breakfast choices for kids everywhere).
The candy is now sold throughout the globe, and is loved by millions of consumers every year. Beginning with it’s humble origins, in the cellar of an ambitious businessman seeking a way to help his huge family It’s now a loved candy, and is listed as one of the top ten most-loved chocolates across the U.S. For Reese’s chocolate UK make sure you visit American Bites and Scents.
Bonus Facts:
Contrary to popular belief George Washington Carver did not create peanut butter. The first people known to make an ingredient from peanuts are those of the Ancient Incas around 1000 BC.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the most loved in America. In Australia they can only be found in stores selling other American sweets. In recent times, Hershey’s candy was sold in Tesco stores throughout the UK.
The cups have become a recent trend in Japan in a country where they were prior to that only sold on U.S. Army bases. Hershey started the sale of its goods in Seiyu the Japanese department of WalMart in Japan, where the Reese’s Cups are now extremely loved. The cups are the highest selling chocolate item in Seiyu with sales of 1.7 time more than second-placed (KitKat miniatures).
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold internationally have one distinct different from the ones that are sold within the U.S.- they don’t contain a preservative known as tertiarybutylhydroquinone or TBHQ. This preservative isn’t even affixed to be used in Japan. The debate surrounding the ingredient is that at doses higher than .02 percent (the FDA allowed concentration in food products) it has been proven to harm DNA and lead to the development of precursors to stomach tumors, in addition to other problems. But, studies appear to suggest that at the permissible concentrations found in various food items, including Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, there should not be any adverse side effects.
Milton Hershey was said to keep a supply of Peanut Butter Cups on his desk. He thought of Reese as a client instead of a rival since Reese made use of Hershey’s chocolate to make the peanut butter cup he was using. Reese is interred at the Hershey Cemetery just a few feet from Milton Hershey’s tomb.
Reese’s creates numerous peanut butter cups every year that they could serve one cup to everyone across the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan, China, Africa and India by their annual output.
May 18 is officially “I love Reese’s” Day. The day was first announced after 40000 fans joined a page on Facebook to ask their favorite candy to be given an official day of its own.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of the most sought-after candy items that are sold during Halloween and are ranked behind the candy corn as well as Snickers. (KitKats and M&Ms make up the top five).
The cups come in various shapes throughout the occasions, like hearts to celebrate Valentine’s Day and pumpkins for Halloween. To celebrate the debut of The Dark Knight in 2008 Reese’s launched a special version cup with the form of Batman. Batman logo.
Although it’s definitely a delight, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups contain some positive health benefits that go alongside the negatives depending on their size, they have approximately five grams of protein. They include iron and calcium.