Why does Halloween candy taste so much better?

It does taste better and I know why.

The only time of the year where all the popular candies are at their absolute best is during the Halloween season - which in modern times now starts in August.

Examples of popular candies are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's Miniatures variety bags that include small versions of the milk chocolate bar, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, etc. There's also other popular candies like Kit Kat, M&M's, Life Savers, Skittles, Starburst, and so on, and so on.

But why? Why do these taste better during Halloween season?

Answer: Freshest candy you can buy, and the formula is different.

I best describe Halloween edition popular candies as having more punch to them regardless of what it is. The chocolate has more smoothness, the peanut butter has more presence, the caramel has a real nice texture to it, and the fruit flavored candies really have a good pop to them. Even the candies with nuts in them are ones where the taste is just better overall.

I'm totally convinced the formula used for Halloween edition candies is different from the regular run - especially if the size and/or shape is different.

An example of this is Reese's Bats. Obviously not the shape of the regular Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. This means they have to be made differently. The chocolate, peanut butter, sugar and salt content all have to be adjusted so the shape holds its form. This does affect the flavor.

Using the same candy, Reese's Miniatures. Those ABSOLUTELY taste different than the full size cups. The chocolate to peanut butter ratio is drastically different just so the mini-sized cup can hold its shape. However, they don't taste as good as Halloween edition Reese's with the custom shapes. Oh yeah, they still taste great, but custom shapes like the Bats really bring the punch.

With both Hershey's Miniatures and Nestle's Minis (mini Crunch bars, specifically), those absolutely taste better than the full size bars. When in compact form, again, you really get that punch out of them and they bring the flavor.

If you really want a popular candy at its absolute best, specifically seek out a Halloween version, even if the only thing different is the Halloween packaging.

Second and third best, in this order, are Easter edition and Christmas edition candies. But for the best of the best flavor, Halloween candies are always on top and most likely always will be. That actually does make sense to me. I totally expect candy companies to be at the top of their game for Halloween, and they always deliver.

Published 2023 Sep 29