Today’s Spotlight is on the Milky Way Bar.

The Milky Way bar is a chocolate bar made of nougat, caramel, and milk chocolate. The name and taste come from a popular malted milk drink (milkshake) at the time. The Milky Way bar is lighter and cheaper to produce than solid chocolates. The global version of the Milky Way bar is made with a nougat center coated in milk chocolate. The U.S. version is made with nougat and caramel, coated with milk chocolate.

The Milky Way bar has an almost identical brother in the USA called the Musketeer.

 

History

The Milky Way bar was the first filled candy bar.  It was a cost-effective way to sell candy because the malted milk filling was cheaper than solid chocolate. Frank C. Mars created the Milky Way bar in 1923 and it was originally manufactured in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The first year, it was sold locally and went into full production in 1924.

The Milky Way bar was named after a popular malted milk drink of the time, not the astronomical galaxy.  The first advertising slogan was, “A Chocolate Malted Milk in a Candy Bar”. The Milky Way bar was originally produced in chocolate and vanilla. The vanilla bar was called the Forever Yours bar. The Forever Yours bar was discontinued in 1979 but returned in 1989 under the alias Milky Way Dark bar, and in 2000 was renamed again to the Milky Way Midnight bar.

The Milky Way bar is the fourth-most popular candy in the more than 3.5 oz category, and the fifth-most popular among snack size chocolate candies.

 

Here are some more fun facts about Milky Way candy bars:

• The first bars were huge.
• Hershey’s supplied the chocolate.
• Milky Way Midnight was originally called “Forever Yours”.
• Buster Keaton appeared in a television ad.
• It’s a lot different outside the U.S.
• Milky Way is the fourth-most popular candy in the more than 3.5 oz category, and the fifth-most popular among snack size chocolate candies.
• The candy bar’s sales were out of this world, making $800,000 in its first year, which would be about $11 million today.
• Contains milk, egg, and soy.

 

Here is a recipe for a homemade Milky Way Bar for you to try:

Ingredients:

• 11-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ⅔ cup evaporated milk divided
• 7-ounce container or marshmallow fluff
• 11-ounce bag of soft chewy caramels unwrapped
• 10-ounce bag of Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

Instructions:

1. Prepare an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper. See notes for tips.
2. In a large saucepan, combine chocolate chips and half of the evaporated milk on low-medium heat. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently using a rubber spatula. Cook until silky smooth.
3. Add mallow fluff and continue to stir until fully combined.
4. Pour chocolate mixture into the bottom of the 8×8 pan, this should self-level well. Place inside the refrigerator to set while preparing the next step.
5. Clean the saucepan (or grab another) and repeat this process with the caramels. Be sure to stir frequently until silky smooth.
6. Pour caramel layer overtop chocolate layer, allowing it to self-level. Return to the fridge and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
7. When the chill time is complete, lift the mixture up by pulling on the parchment paper. Cut the milky way center into 16 pieces, making one cut in the middle from top to bottom and 7 even cuts on both halves, side to side.
8. Prepare a 9×13 baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
9. Add melting wafers to a large microwave safe bowl and microwave on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir afterwards and add the vegetable oil. Return to the microwave and continue to microwave (on 50% power) in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until the chocolate is silky smooth.
10. Using two forks or dipping tools, dip each candy into the melted chocolate covering it completely.
11. Place each milky way bar on the parchment paper and repeat this process, working one bar at a time.
12. When done, place the baking sheet inside the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
13. Enjoy!

 

Consumption

The Milky Way bar is the fourth-most popular candy in the more than 3.5 oz category, and the fifth-most popular among snack size chocolate candies. It was the most popular candy bar in the United States by 1929. The Milky Way bar has over $100 million in yearly sales. It has over 80 million bars sold.

The Milky Way bar is the 71st most popular food & snack brand and the 152nd most popular brand.

 

Celebrating Milky Way bars

There are multiple Milky Way holidays, including:

• National Milky Way Day: March 12th
• Milky Holiday: A song by Chief Wakil
• Milky Way Holiday Minis Chocolate Candy: A 11.5 oz bag of candy bars
• Milky Way Holiday Villas: A hotel on Lord Howe Island
• Milky Way Holiday Shop: A holiday shop at Target
• Holiday Masterclass – The Milky Way: An online masterclass

Let us know in the comments if you are interested in celebrating the Milky Way bar.