Ever Wondered How Cadbury's makes thier Creme Eggs? Wired.co.uk shows us
May 4, 2014 8:11 AM   Subscribe

In a small gallery of six images wired.co.uk shows how the branded chocolate eggs are created. The pictures don't seem to show you *precisely* how they make get the fondant middle into the 'egg' but the six pictures do illustrate some of the chocolatey magic.

Six photographs in all, and each needs to be individually clicked to be viewed - as far as I can tell.

Interestingly, the shift manager interviewed doesn't seem to know why egg powder is used as an ingredient other than that it has always been traditionally used.
posted by Faintdreams (39 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Were the Oompa Loompas happy?
posted by oceanjesse at 8:22 AM on May 4, 2014


This feels like something that should never have been made public, just like how they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar.
posted by jeather at 8:30 AM on May 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


When a rooster loves a bunny very, very much...
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:33 AM on May 4, 2014 [11 favorites]


Er, neither roosters nor rabbits lay eggs.
posted by marienbad at 8:36 AM on May 4, 2014


>>>whoosh [the joke] >>>




marienbad
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:52 AM on May 4, 2014 [8 favorites]


Of course, then again it's entirely possible that these commercials were an American phenomenon, and never ran in the UK.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:54 AM on May 4, 2014


The damn things have tasted like chalky garbage ever since they moved the production and I hate them in equal proportion to how much I loved them before.
posted by The Whelk at 8:54 AM on May 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


(Or did marienbad make a joke, and I missed it myself? Who knows?)
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:55 AM on May 4, 2014


Is anyone else really surprised that the fondant actually contains egg? I'd heard that, but assumed it was an untrue factoid and never bothered to check. (Less surprised that three of the five named ingredients are sugars, of course)

Er, neither roosters nor rabbits lay eggs.
They do if they want to keep their jobs at Cadburys.
posted by metaBugs at 9:02 AM on May 4, 2014 [8 favorites]


I have loved EC eggs for years - but grew steadily disappointed in the flavour, the shrinking size, and the rising cost. I stopped buying them.

This year I finally found a recipe to make my own and did. It was a bit of work but it allowed me to flavour it the way I like (vanilla, orange, mint, whatever!), use chocolate that I like, and make them any size that I wanted (hint: smaller is better).

For anyone familiar with the Laura Secord eggs, the homemade creme eggs have a similar texture but a way better flavour.
posted by VioletU at 9:10 AM on May 4, 2014 [8 favorites]


I ate one when I was about eight, and still remember how sick I felt after. No way would I try one again. Still neat to see the production process, though.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:12 AM on May 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


Free range egg powder is a historical thing?
posted by Grumpy old geek at 9:12 AM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


'Chocolate crumb' sounds like it might be really good just on its own.
posted by Flashman at 9:19 AM on May 4, 2014


I'd always figured that they just had a big syringe full of, I dunno, whale semen or something similarly horrible that they inject into the eggs while cackling madly and stroking their moustaches.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:26 AM on May 4, 2014 [10 favorites]


The really fun process is how After Eight mints are made. The fondant is cast as hard slabs containing starch, then dipped in chocolate containing an enzyme. The enzyme slowly breaks down the starch, turning the centre to minty goo. So yeah, there's basically spit in the mints. (NB: for the benefit of any lawyers reading, there is not spit in the mints. Different enzyme, but same idea.)

Ah, the joys of having a brother in the confectionery industry.
posted by scruss at 9:32 AM on May 4, 2014 [27 favorites]


I lived half a mile from the Cadbury factory until recently. Snuck into the staff shop, where current and previous staff, and local pensioners, can buy stuff that comes out of the factory cheaply. Took some pictures in there - here's how much they pay per egg (note the weekly purchase limit; a Cadbury cardholder can use their card up to 20 times a week).
posted by Wordshore at 9:44 AM on May 4, 2014 [11 favorites]


Where is the step where they add the salmonella drips and not tell anyone about it until they are caught by epidemiologists?
posted by srboisvert at 9:45 AM on May 4, 2014


Here's another recipe for those of you playing along at home. (Note: haven't actually tried it, trying to cut back on the insane sugary baking experiments for now.)
posted by themadthinker at 9:48 AM on May 4, 2014


Faint of Butt, yeah, it was meant as a slightly sarcastic/pedantic joke. whosshes all round today.
posted by marienbad at 10:51 AM on May 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


This feels like something that should never have been made public, just like how they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar.

I figured that out when I was eight. Filling chocolates is an incredibly simple process that dates back at least a century and a half.

Filling the eggs with fondant is a virtually identical process.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:07 AM on May 4, 2014


As a kid, Cadbury's world is the greatest theme park ever. You go into this place, your parents pay, and then YOU get handed chocolate at every opportunity.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 11:11 AM on May 4, 2014


Yes, of course it's obvious how they fill the Caramilk bar. But I saw those commercials all my childhood and I know it is hidden knowledge that is not meant ever to be public.
posted by jeather at 11:13 AM on May 4, 2014


Yes I remember the commercials too. Even as a kid I didn't like them, they were insulting the intelligence of everyone who saw them. YMMV.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:15 AM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


The hacker one, from 1988, I can still recite word for word. I'm sure even Terry O'Riley would agree that that was a great campaign.
posted by Flashman at 11:38 AM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


As a kid, Cadbury's world is the greatest theme park ever.

I've been on that factory tour and the best thing is the smell. I imagine someone will tell me it's fake and wafted in artificially now, but the whole place from the car park onwards really does smell of chocolate. Which is more evocative of kid-dream fantasy than anything...
posted by colie at 12:15 PM on May 4, 2014


Here's how.

Makes sense once you see it. Just do it fast enough and neither side will have time to run out.

I also love how when they are extracting from the molds, they twist them like giant ice cube trays.
posted by RobotHero at 12:30 PM on May 4, 2014


the best thing is the smell

I currently live on Bournville Lane in Birmingham. When the wind is in the right direction, you can smell Cadbury's chocolate in my back garden.
posted by howfar at 12:50 PM on May 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


Ever wondered how come Cadbury's makes their creme eggs?
posted by hypersloth at 12:51 PM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


And for anyone wanting to go truly overboard in their home-made attempt, the Creme de la Creme Egg. Not suitable for diabetics, those on calorie controlled diets, or anyone else, really.

I still really want to try it, though.
posted by PeteTheHair at 12:51 PM on May 4, 2014 [4 favorites]


I love Cadbury Creme Eggs. I miss them terribly. There was a recipe on how to make vegan ones floating on the Internet a couple of years ago, but I never tried it.
posted by Kitteh at 1:25 PM on May 4, 2014


They're laid by Creme Chickens of course.
posted by jonmc at 1:40 PM on May 4, 2014


the best thing is the smell

You guys are lucky. For a few years I lived downwind of a natural gas mercaptan injection plant.
posted by ceribus peribus at 1:56 PM on May 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


Powdered egg would be both a thickener and an emulsifier. Seems like pretty basic candy-making knowledge.
posted by GuyZero at 2:57 PM on May 4, 2014


Free range egg powder is a historical thing?

You've never heard of the dust bowl? You don't want to give that powder too much free range; just ask the poor Yolkies.
posted by yoink at 3:01 PM on May 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


I found what looks like the video the images were taken from here.
posted by fizban at 3:18 PM on May 4, 2014


The tale of Creme Eggs in New Zealand is a tragic one, they used to be manufactured locally (until 2009) and had a delicious runny centre.

Now we import stiff, chalky abominations from the UK.
posted by Catch at 3:23 PM on May 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


They also make Cadbury Scream eggs for Halloween now. They have a green yolk. I bought some last year.
posted by SuzySmith at 8:06 PM on May 4, 2014


Urg those things are so gross, even my chocolate obsessed kid won't eat them. No flavour - just the harsh burn of sugar.
posted by meringue at 1:18 AM on May 5, 2014


To be fair to Cadbury, what flavour is a scream supposed to be?
posted by colie at 2:42 AM on May 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


« Older Ewok Anthropology   |   the contest could turn ugly, expensive, and... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments