The Not-So-Milky Way Essay, Research Paper

Few things bring more pleasure than a rich, delicious Milky Way candy bar. The soft nougat and chewy caramel lie within a blanket of smooth, silky chocolate, giving it a flavor that few can taste without longing for more. Even this wonderfully delectable candy bar has defects, however, as all good things are bound to have. But never fear, for these flaws can be corrected. I have eaten many Milky Way bars in my lifetime, and a while back I noticed that little pieces of the chocolate coating fell into my lap or onto the table after almost every bite. I was puzzled as to why I was making such a mess, since I was taking great care as to not waste any bit of the delicious treat. In order to pinpoint the cause of the dropping chocolate, I took several bites in front of a mirror. I stared in disbelief as the outer layer of chocolate shattered into dozens of pieces, which then fell to the floor. At that moment I knew what needed to be done to fix this problem. In order to keep the chocolate stuck together, a little glue must be added. The right amount of glue will give the chocolate the cohesiveness it needs to stick together when bitten. Some people may object to using glue in a food product, but I see no problem with it. I knew many kids in my kindergarten class who ate glue regularly and enjoyed it. Besides, once the glue is mixed with the chocolate, it will not even be tasted. The only thing anyone will notice is the lack of chocolate on his lap. Even though the glue-chocolate mixture dramatically reduces messes on the lap, the Milky Way bar can still make quite a mess of the face. Its stringy caramel tends to stick to the chin and lips. This takes the eater s focus off of the chocolatey goodness in his mouth and distracts him with the task of wiping his face, causing his enjoyment of the Milky Way bar to be diminished. In order to minimize distraction of the eater and to give maximum enjoyment to all Milky Way consumers, the caramel should be much less stringy.

The stringiness of the caramel itself cannot be changed without sacrificing taste, but the manner in which it is put into the candy bar can reduce stringing. I propose the caramel be threaded horizontally through the nougat in thin strands. This method will almost completely eliminate stringing of the caramel because the caramel will not be one large layer, but in small, separate columns throughout the candy bar. As the caramel is now, in a large layer, it stretches more and more with every bite. With my proposed horizontal caramel threads, the caramel will not stretch because the nougat surrounding each thread acts as a barrier and will not stretch with the caramel. The result of this innovation is a clean face and increased enjoyment of the Milky Way bar. With the glue-chocolate mixture for the coating and the caramel threads in the nougat, the Milky Way seems like the perfect candy bar. And it is, except for its name. When I hear the words Milky Way, I think of milk. There is no milk in a Milky Way, however, leaving some consumers bewildered as to the meaning of the name. It also leaves them with a craving for milk to wash down the candy bar. They hear the word milk and suddenly want some. I think that, in all fairness, the makers of the Milky Way should include a small package of milk with each candy bar. A packet of milk could be attached to the wrapper, giving each consumer what the candy bar s name seemingly promises. Of course, the Milky Way bar with its new dairy companion would be stored in the refrigerated section. The Milky Way candy bar is a great product. With the improvements I have mentioned it can become an even better product, so much better that it may even be perfect.