York Peppermint Pattie: History, Flavors & Varieties

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

York Peppermint Pattie is a chocolate-enrobed peppermint candy. Enrobed is when a machine used in the confectionery industry coats a food item with a coating medium, typically chocolate. York Peppermint Pattie has a strong dark chocolate flavor combined with a powerful flavor of peppermint. Rather than being soft out the outside and gooey on the inside, York Peppermint Patties are fairly firm on the outside and more grainy and solid than most peppermint candies on the inside.

The candy is circular shaped, somewhat thin, and black/brown in color. York Peppermint Patties are considered by some to be an American classic candy, with a novel taste and experience. This candy is enjoyed for its cool peppermint flavor that combines with its chocolate coating for a sweet but refreshing candy experience.

History And Information

York Peppermint Pattie was invented in the year 1940. The candy was invented by Henry Kessler and was first produced in York, Pennsylvania at the York Cone Company that Henry Kessler owned. Henry Kessler started his York Cone Company in the year 1920 and primarily focused on making ice cream cones at first. The desire with York Peppermint Patties was to make a more firm and less gooey chocolate mint confection. The York Peppermint Pattie was expected to pass “The snap test”.

The idea was that the York Peppermint Pattie should snap cleanly down the middle, if it did not, then it was not sold. This helps maintain the idea that York Peppermint Pattie is fresh and refreshing, and sound design and feel are important in many candy products.

Pringles, for example, is said to have paid lots of attention to its snapping sounds during its product design. The clean snap that can be achieved with York Peppermint Pattie was a design decision that has seemed to do the product well, as York Peppermint Patties have been sold in large amounts since the peppermint candy’s inception. At some point in time, people would come by and take extra York Peppermint Patties that did not get sold

York Peppermint Patties are an enrobed peppermint candy. The Enrolment process coats a food item with a coating medium, typically chocolate. This allows the mint inside to be contained within the chocolate outer coating. The outer layer of the York Peppermint Pattie is made from dark chocolate that is brownish/black in color and covers a white granular peppermint substance inside.

The one 2 punch from the chocolate and peppermint provide a refreshing sensation to those who eat the candy. The wrapper is metallic silver-colored, keeping in style with the refreshing aspect of the product. Multiple types have been created, such as Chocolate Truffle Mint and a limited edition pink filling York Pattie. It has been alleged that the current version of York Peppermint Pattie is softer than past versions.

At first, the candy was sold in a small number of states, such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Florida. York Peppermint Pattie went national around 1975 after the York Cone Company was acquired by Peter Paul, and since then has become more popular all over America. the candy is now a commonly known candy confection in the country and many have seen its advertisements. Peter Paul launched a widely viewed advertising campaign for the candy with the tagline “Get the Sensation” which seems to have been well received by the population. It has been stated that Yorkie chocolate bars allegedly infringe on York peppermint patties.

Ownership of York Peppermint Patties passed to the Peter Paul candy company before Peter Paul merged with Cadbury In 1978. York Patties then passed to the Hershey Foods Corporation when it acquired the US operations of Cadbury Schweppes in 1988. In 2009, production of the York Peppermint Pattie moved from Reading, Pennsylvania, after 23 years to a new factory in Monterey, Mexico. The same plant that the production of York Patties moved to also makes 5th Avenue bar and Zagnut candy bars and Jolly Ranchers hard candies.

The Hershey Company’s 2019 proxy statement reads that the company has rights under license agreements with several companies to manufacture and/or sell and distribute certain products. It also states that those rights under these agreements are extendible on a long-term basis at their option. The proxy statement also reads that York is one of their most significant licensing agreements and lists the company that the rights to York come from as Kraft Foods Ireland Intellectual Property Limited/Cadbury UK Limited. Kraft Foods Ireland Intellectual Property Limited filed a trademark for York on 11/1/2014.

The Year York Peppermint Pattie Was Invented

York Peppermint Pattie was invented in the year 1940. This was 20 years after the company that first made it, the York Cone Company, began business.

The Company That Makes York Peppermint Pattie

The company that now makes York Peppermint Pattie is The Hershey Company. The Hershey Company is an American company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. Its flagship product is the Hershey’s bar, and it also makes other products such as Almond Joy and Whoppers. The Hershey Company acquired the rights to York from the US operations of Cadbury Schweppes in 1988.

The Man Who Invented York Peppermint Pattie

York Peppermint Pattie was invented by a man named Henry Kessler in York, Pennsylvania by Henry Kessler at his York Cone Company in 1940. Henry Kessler started the York Cone Company in the year 1920 and the company specialized in making ice creams cones.

Slogans

The Slogan is “Get the sensation”. The slogan comes from the brand highlighting the chill that the peppermint gives when the 40s candy is eaten.

Varieties, Types, And Flavors

• Pumpkin York Peppermint Pattie – Orange Filling Holloween Edition. Shaped like a pumpkin
• Sugar Free Candy York Peppermint Pattie
• Heart Shaped York Peppermint Pattie
• Egg Shaped York Peppermint Pattie
• Pink York Peppermint Patties: Pink Filling Breast Cancer Awareness Edition
• Bat Shaped York Peppermint Patties – Holloween Themed

Spin-Off Products

• International Delight York Peppermint Creamer
• York Peppermint Pieces: Small, round, white and blue pieces of candy that are about the size and shape of an M&M. They have an outer candy shell and inside is mint flavor chocolate.
• Baskin Robbins’ YORK Peppermint Pattie Ice Cream
• Menchie’s Chocolate Mint froyo made with York Peppermint Patties
• York Peppermint Flavored Cappuccino Powder
• York Peppermint Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix
• York 100 Calorie Peppermint Wafer Bar: Mint cream-filled chocolate wafer candy bar advertised as only containing 100 calories
• Flavored Lip Balm (UNKNOWN IF EDIBLE!)

Sizes

Here is a list of the different sizes:

• Mini York Peppermint Patties – (Comes in various packaging sizes)
• Snack Sized York Peppermint Patties
• Half Pound Patties: 1 Pound Packages Of York Peppermint Pattie
• Regular

Review

York Peppermint Pattie is soft to bite into, somewhat surprising as at first glance in touch it seems to be fairly firm and solid. Eating York Peppermint Pattie is an easy experience, and the chocolate is surprisingly smooth and sweet for dark chocolate candy. The mint flavor is almost immediately apparent when biting into the pattie, and quickly overwhelms the experience. Soon after biting down into the pattie, the sweet smooth flavor of chocolate gives way to the powerful mint flavor, coming from the creamy and viscous center of the candy.

They are somewhat weighty in the hand, giving you the feeling that you actually have something of substance to snack on, as opposed to other candies that have a more “air light” feeling to them. The silver packaging hints at the York Peppermint Patties aim, to give you a cool sensation, and it does. This candy is refreshing and gives you a bit of a shock from the mint center when you eat it. You can taste the cooling sensation right away when you begin to bite down.

York Peppermint Patties are nicely sized chocolate mint candy, that delivers a sweet chocolate taste and gives you a powerful mint sensation. It is pleasant tasting but be prepared for a bit of a kick from, the mint. They don’t seem to melt as fast as something like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Hershey’s Bar, so you might be able to eat them in the hot summer without too much issue. Cooling them down in the fridge before eating them tends to give this candy an extra bit of chill, good for those who like their candy especially minty.

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Ingredients And Nutritional Value

• Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Chocolate
• Cocoa
• Invert Sugar
• Milk Fat
• Egg Whites
• Lecithin (Soy)
• Cocoa Butter
• Oil Of Peppermint
• PGPR
• Natural Flavor
• Milk

Nutrition

Serving Size:	39g	% Daily Value*
Calories per serving	150
Total Fat	2.5g	3%
Saturated Fat	1.5g	8%
Trans Fat	0g	0%
Cholesterol	0	0%
Sodium	10mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate	32g	12%
Dietary Fiber	<1g	3%
Sugars	26g
Protein	<1g
Vitamin D		0 %
Calcium		0%
Iron		6%
Potassium		0%

• % DV = Percent Daily Value. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

(This information comes from the back of a 1.4 OZ package and this info was created in 2019.)

Pictures

Commercials

Pictures Of York Peppermint Patties

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