When it comes to Butterfingers, there's a chance you fit into one of two candy camps: those with a Bart Simpson-level love for the classic candy bars, or those who will choose basically any other chocolate bar at the checkout counter instead. Either way, you've got to admit the signature crunchy orange interior is pretty perplexing, right? Well, thanks to a clip fromFood Network's Unwrapped,you can finally see how Butterfingers are made, and one of the ingredients is actually pretty surprising.
Like a lot of mass-produced candy, making the world's precious Butterfinger supply involves a sprawling assembly line of machinery, chocolate waterfalls, and a staggering amount of ingredients -- like peanuts. And while it probably takes you a minute or two to eat a Butterfinger, the entire process of producing them at Nestle's Franklin Park, IL, factory -- from mixing the ingredients to packaging the finished bars -- takes about an hour, according to the video. The plant puts out about 10 million Butterfinger bars a day.
But what the hell makes up the bright orange core of a Butterfinger? As the video explains, molasses, sugar, corn syrup, and water is cooked into a thick mixture that's spread to cool on conveyor belts, then it's combined with a separate mixture of creamy peanut butter and confectioners' corn flakesbefore it's sliced and coated with chocolate. That's right: part of the crunch comes from corn flakes. Bart Simpson probably could've told you that, though.
Of course, the strange ingredient is far from a secret and has been listed on the wrappers all this time, but the next time you, uh, lay a finger on a Butterfinger, you might just pause for a closer look at the inside.
h/t Foodbeast
Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.
Tony Merevickis Cities News Editor at Thrillist and he admits it's been a while since he's had a Butterfinger. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.
FAQs
That's right: part of the crunch comes from corn flakes.
Do Butterfingers have bioengineered ingredients? ›
When measured by revenues, Nestlé is by far the largest food company in the world. Butterfinger was withdrawn from the market in Germany in 1999, because of consumer rejection when it was one of the first products to be identified as containing genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) from corn.
What is an interesting fact about Butterfingers? ›
The popular candy was created in 1922 by Otto Schnering, who also developed the Baby Ruth. His Curtiss Candy Company, based in Chicago, ran a contest to name the bar. At the time sportscasters began using the term “butterfingers” to describe players who couldn't hold onto the ball.
Why were Butterfingers discontinued? ›
However, Butterfinger did directly address the topic on social media, explaining that the stoppage of BB's had to do with profits. In reply to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the candy manufacturer stated, "Sadly, Butterfinger BB's were discontinued due to low sales."
What are the ingredients in Butterfinger Crisp? ›
From the Package
CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, PEANUTS, VEGETABLE OIL (PALM KERNEL AND PALM OIL), PEANUT FLOUR, NONFAT MILK, LESS THAN 2% OF COCOA, MILK, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, ANNATTO COLOR.
Why are Butterfingers so flaky? ›
The filling layers will be composed of a peanut mixture and corn flakes in place of the butter used for laminated doughs. The thin, brittle layers of the resulting candy are tender to the bite without hurting your teeth, and the cornflakes help to amplify the crunch.
What candy is bioengineered? ›
The words, "Partially produced with genetic engineering," are printed on the back of M&M bags. You can also find GMO labels on Mars' 75th anniversary M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, Skittles, Lifesavers and Wrigley gum.
What is bioengineered in Oreos? ›
The high fructose corn syrup, beet sugar, and soy lecithin in Oreos all come from GE (genetically engineered) crops. This raises alarms for both health and environmental concerns, as GE crops allow more widespread use of toxic chemicals like glyphosate.
Do Butterfingers have artificial dyes? ›
The move entails changes to about 75 recipes, including the reformulation of the Butterfinger. Know that orange hue that colors the crunchy center of the bar? Currently, that color is made by combining the synthetic dye Red 40 with Yellow 5. But these dyes will be replaced with a natural coloring called annatto.
What is Butterfingers slang for? ›
A butterfingers is someone with a clumsy tendency to drop things they're holding. Being a butterfingers is considered a particularly bad trait in baseball, for obvious reasons. The common use of this term by sportscasters in the 1920s inspired the name for the newly-invented candy known as Butterfinger.
Fry & Sons and currently manufactured by Cadbury. Launched in 1866—nineteen years after Fry's created the first moulded, solid chocolate eating bar (in 1847)— Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand.
Why are Butterfingers so good? ›
We love Butterfingers for the “crispity, crunchity” centers that aerate the texture so the peanut flavor becomes more pronounced. And we were delighted to discover the secret ingredient in Butterfingers that gives them their unique texture is… corn flakes!
Why don't butterfingers taste the same? ›
Food - News
Ferrara was eager to revamp some of the newly acquired brands, starting with the classic Butterfinger. Ferrara aimed for a purer, more chocolatey flavor with bigger peanuts, and they removed some of the previous recipe's chemical preservatives.
Who buys Butterfingers? ›
NORTH AMERICA–The Ferrero Group has entered into an agreement to purchase Nestlé's U.S. confectionery business for $2.8 billion in cash.
What is the reason for butterfingers? ›
Butterfingers is caused by stress, stress produces adrenaline, adrenaline creates physical agitation, if the physical agitation isn't fully expressed, it causes the hands to shake or creates tension in hand tendons that cause the hands to clench.
What is the hard part of a Butterfinger? ›
Butterfinger candy bars has been around since the 1920's. These candy bars have a crispy, peanut butter layer that is covered in chocolate. What is this? The crunchy orange filling is made by combining a cooked hard candy with peanut butter.
What is the difference between Butterfinger and Crispy Crunch? ›
Both taste very similar but the Crispy Crunch has both sweet and salty notes in the peanut butter confection while the Butterfinger seemed all-around sweeter. The Crispy Crunch Candy Bar has been around since 1912, the Butterfinger Candy Bar came out in 1923.
What is a Butterfinger coated with? ›
The bar that started it all. Crispety, crunchety, peanut buttery bar covered in a rich, chocolatey coating made with cocoa.
What are Butterfinger bites made of? ›
Ingredients. Corn syrup, sugar, peanuts, vegetable oil (palm kernel and palm oil), peanut flour, nonfat milk, less than 2% of cocoa, milk, salt, soy lecithin, natural flavour, annatto colour.
