We’re thinking of moving to Pittsburgh in the next 1-5 years.

[felser]

There is some beautiful (and incredibly fertile) farm country outside of Lancaster, but you become very aware of the cultural dissonance very quickly when you are an adult.  And the city itself has been fighting a notable opioid crisis for a while.  Also, Pennsylvania in general takes on a very different political character when you get away from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  The old joke is that a map of Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh on the left and Philadelphia on the right with Mississippi in the middle.

[JSngry]

What is this "cultural dissonance"? The Amish and such, Mennonites? Or the Klan?

The latter, I got a sideways glimpse at while playing a bar gig in Uniontown.

 

[felser]

1 minute ago, JSngry said:

What is this "cultural dissonance"? The Amish and such, Mennonites? Or the Klan?

The latter, I got a sideways glimpse at while playing a bar gig in Uniontown.

 

Mainly Amish.  Some Mennonites have adapted modern cultural norms much more than others.  Amish don't even use powered lights on their horse-drawn buggies (black or grey, lantern lit with oil powered flame wicks), which makes night driving in that area pretty hazardous. Lots of other examples. Many Mennonites are still horse-and-buggy, but with powered lights    Other Mennonites are totally modern in culture.  Huge spread.  Not a case of right-vs-wrong, but definitely differences which are jarring.  I have not seen a lot of Klan presence when there (also definitely not looking for it), though I've seen some,but my understanding from others is that it's there and active.   

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Hershey used to make everything in Hershey, PA. These days, not so much. All of their "minis" are made in Mexico, including the mini Reese's peanut butter cups. Many of their novelty bars, like the jumbo Reese's PB cups, are also made in Mexico. All York Peppermint Paddies are made in Mexico. For a long time, all Hershey kisses were made in PA but there seems to be some variation to that.

BTW - we will never know where much of their chocolates are made because the US has never required any food product to be labeled with a country of origin. It's even worse with M&M/Mars products as they hide where all of their products are made. At least Hershey labels some of their products for us.

[JSngry]

Mexican chocolate, like Mexican vanilla, is a thing unto itself. There is a devout following for both. How that pertains to Hershey products, probably not much, if at all. It's labor, not creative.

31 minutes ago, felser said:

Mainly Amish.  Some Mennonites have adapted modern cultural norms much more than others.  Amish don't even use powered lights on their horse-drawn buggies (black or grey, lantern lit with oil powered flame wicks), which makes night driving in that area pretty hazardous. Lots of other examples. Many Mennonites are still horse-and-buggy, but with powered lights    Other Mennonites are totally modern in culture.  Huge spread.  Not a case of right-vs-wrong, but definitely differences which are jarring.  I have not seen a lot of Klan presence when there (also definitely not looking for it), though I've seen some,but my understanding from others is that it's there and active.   

Ah, ok.

I actually dig the Amish in theory. Work hard, work honestly, take care of your own, do no harm, and fuck all attempts to control you by changing you into being their commodity bitch.

That much is ok by me. I'm sure the interior dynamics and realities aren't that simple (or always that pure), they almost never are. But I do remember that ice cream being really REALLY good

[felser]

23 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I do remember that ice cream being really REALLY good

It is.  Amish reality is much more complicated if you're a community member who wants out, or at least some freedom of expression.

[jazzbo]

I assure you that here in this area of Ohio most Amish buggies have battery powered lights in use when they travel at night. Was just behind several on Thursday night. And these would not refer to themselves as Mennonites.

Edited 10 hours ago by jazzbo

[Kevin Bresnahan]

36 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Mexican chocolate, like Mexican vanilla, is a thing unto itself. There is a devout following for both. How that pertains to Hershey products, probably not much, if at all. It's labor, not creative.

The chocolate on the mini Reese's PB cups is not the same as the chocolate on the full sized cups. It's harder and has a waxy consistency. I am not a fan. I stopped eating the mini PB cups years ago for this reason.

[JSngry]

12 minutes ago, felser said:

It is.  Amish reality is much more complicated if you're a community member who wants out, or at least some freedom of expression.

No doubt.

But that's true of any culture built on sustainability/survival through conformity, not just the Amish.

4 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

The chocolate on the mini Reese's PB cups is not the same as the chocolate on the full sized cups. It's harder and has a waxy consistency. I am not a fan. I stopped eating the mini PB cups years ago for this reason.

How much of that difference do you think might be engineering, making the smaller product harder so it stays intact better?

[rostasi]

In the Wiki article above:
"The presence of butyric acid in Hershey's chocolate, due to the use of controlled lipolysis in the production process, results in a flavor unfamiliar to those accustomed to chocolate from other parts of the world. In the UK, this has often been compared to the smell and taste of vomit."

[Michael]

Not to veer the thread from chocolate chemistry but if you would like to PM me, we can exchange numbers and, as a 69 year resident of the area, I would be happy to provide information about various neighborhoods/parts of the city and suburbs...