A Century of Kisses

I'm a Kiss fan from way back.  No, not Gene Simmons' Kiss ... altho they're ok too.  I'm talking about Hershey's chocolate kisses, of course.

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Hershey's Kisses, and in honor of the event, The U.S. Postal Service has released a With Love and Kisses stamp.  So now you really can send off your letters with a kiss.  The post office is also running a sweepstakes.  All you have to do is guess how many Hershey®’s Kisses® Brand Chocolates will fit inside a U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail® flat-rate box.  Submit your guess online at  www.guessandwinsweeps.com before Feb. 15, and you could win $10,000 for a romantic getaway of your choice.

Hershey's Kisses have been around since 1907, when they were hand-wrapped.  Can you imagine, wrapping all those little chocolates one at a time by hand?  They finally got the whole thing automated in 1921, and with the exception of a brief period from 1942 to 1949 when silver foil was rationed during the war, we've been enjoying milk chocolate Kisses in pretty much the same shape and appearance for a whole century.

We can now enjoy Hershey's kisses in a variety of holiday wrapping.  Kisses chocolates wrapped in red and silver foil were introduced in 1986 in honor of Valentine’s Day.  At Christmas I always have red, green and gold kisses in a bowl, and added as filler to my gift baskets.  And they come in a huge variety of fillings now - caramel, almond, macadamia nut, peanut butter, and even a limited edition cherry cordial.  Check here for a full list from Hershey.

I enjoy the chocolate mint kisses, and I occasionally will go for a nut filled.  But honestly, my all-time favorite is the plain old milk chocolate.  I guess it reminds me of my gramma, who had a secret jar full of kisses on a shelf in the kitchen.  When mom wasn't looking, she'd sneak that jar down and let us kids grab a handful and dash out the door.  We felt like we were really getting away with something grand.  The joy of stolen chocolate can't be beat.

Comments

[vicki]

I bought the Dark Chocolate Truffle and it's a bit salty, but love the Cherry Cordial. My hillbilly store didn't have the macadamia nut, so I'll look when I'm in "town."

http://www.dianasdesserts.com
neat find on the Internet.

[William]

I can imagine the carpal tunnel that people wrapping the original kisses must have had. That had to be some brutally repetitive work.

And I think it's a rule that grandparents have to sneak you chocolate. My grandma used to sneak me York Peppermint Patties and I always relished that secret chocolate.