{"id":2002,"date":"2025-02-22T07:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T07:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/22\/do-european-mms-actually-taste-better-than-american-mms\/"},"modified":"2025-02-22T07:00:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T07:00:54","slug":"do-european-mms-actually-taste-better-than-american-mms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailitics.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/22\/do-european-mms-actually-taste-better-than-american-mms\/","title":{"rendered":"Do European M&Ms Actually Taste Better than American M&Ms?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Do European M&Ms Actually Taste Better than American M&Ms?<\/div>\n

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(Oh, I am the only one who\u2019s been asking this question\u2026? Hm. Well, if you have a minute, please enjoy this exploratory Data Analysis<\/a> \u2014 featuring experimental design, statistics, and interactive visualization \u2014 applied a bit too earnestly to resolve an international debate.)<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Introduction<\/h2>\n

1.1 Background and motivation<\/h3>\n

Chocolate is enjoyed around the world. From ancient practices harvesting organic cacao in the Amazon basin, to chocolatiers sculpting edible art in the mountains of Switzerland, and enormous factories in Hershey, Pennsylvania churning out 70 million kisses per day, the nuanced forms and flavors of chocolate have been integrated into many cultures and their customs. While quality can greatly vary across chocolate products, a well-known, shelf-stable, easily shareable form of chocolate are M&Ms. Readily found by convenience store check-out counters and in hotel vending machines, the brightly colored pellets are a popular treat whose packaging is re-branded to fit nearly any commercializable American holiday.<\/p>\n

While living in Denmark in 2022, I heard a concerning claim: M&Ms manufactured in Europe taste different, and arguably \u201cbetter,\u201d than M&Ms produced in the United States. While I recognized that fancy European chocolate is indeed quite tasty and often superior to American chocolate, it was unclear to me if the same claim should hold for M&Ms. I learned that many Europeans perceive an \u201cunpleasant\u201d or \u201ctangy\u201d taste in American chocolate, which is largely attributed to\u00a0butyric acid<\/a>, a compound resulting from differences in how milk is treated before incorporation into milk chocolate.<\/p>\n

But honestly, how much of a difference could this make for M&Ms?\u00a0M&Ms!<\/em>? I imagined M&Ms would retain a relatively processed\/mass-produced\/cheap candy flavor wherever they were manufactured. As the lone American visiting a diverse lab of international scientists pursuing cutting-edge research in biosustainability, I was inspired to break out my data science toolbox and investigate this M&M flavor phenomenon.<\/p>\n

1.2 Previous work<\/h3>\n

To quote a European woman, who shall remain anonymous, after she tasted an American M&M while traveling in New York:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey taste so gross. Like vomit. I don\u2019t understand how people can eat this. I threw the rest of the bag away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Vomit? Really? In my experience, children raised in the United States had no qualms about eating M&Ms. Growing up, I was accustomed to bowls of M&Ms strategically placed in high traffic areas around my house to provide readily available sugar. Clearly American M&Ms are edible. But are they significantly different and\/or inferior to their European equivalent?<\/p>\n

In response to the anonymous European woman\u2019s scathing report, myself and two other Americans visiting Denmark sampled M&Ms purchased locally in the Lyngby Storcenter F\u00f8tex. We hoped to experience the incredible improvement in M&M flavor that was apparently hidden from us throughout our youths. But curiously, we detected no obvious flavor improvements.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, neither preliminary study was able to conduct a side-by-side taste test with proper controls and randomized M&M sampling. Thus, we turn to science.<\/p>\n

1.3 Study Goals<\/h3>\n

This study seeks to remedy the previous lack of thoroughness and investigate the following questions:<\/p>\n

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  1. Is there a\u00a0global consensus<\/strong>\u00a0that European M&Ms are in fact better than American M&Ms?<\/li>\n
  2. \nCan Europeans actually detect a difference\u00a0<\/strong>between M&Ms purchased in the US vs in Europe when they don\u2019t know which one they are eating? Or is this a\u00a0grand, coordinated lie<\/strong>\u00a0amongst Europeans to make Americans feel embarrassed?<\/li>\n
  3. \nAre Americans actually taste-blind\u00a0<\/strong>to American vs European M&Ms? Or can they taste a difference but simply don\u2019t describe this difference as \u201can improvement\u201d in flavor?<\/li>\n
  4. Can these alleged taste differences be\u00a0perceived by citizens of other continents<\/strong>? If so, do they find one flavor obviously superior?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    2. Methods<\/h2>\n

    2.1 Experimental design and data collection<\/h3>\n

    Participants were recruited by luring \u2014 er,\u00a0inviting<\/em>\u00a0them to a social gathering (with the promise of free food) that was conveniently co-located with the testing site. Once a participant agreed to pause socializing and join the study, they were positioned at a testing station with a trained experimenter who guided them through the following steps:<\/p>\n