Sugar Savvy

Thank you, Joanna. I realized I have been unconsciously ignoring Skor all my life. You know how people have these incredibly unshakeable brand loyalties based on little or no foundation? That’s me and Heath. I used to eat them daily at the local swimming pool snack bar - straight outta the freezer. I guess a bite of frozen Heath conjures up the whole Proustian childhood memory thing and Skor does not, causing me to view it suspiciously. But no longer! I will embrace Skor and its saltiness with open arms, now that I am an adult and can make such decisions for myself.

Yeah, give the Skor a whirl. Not HUGE difference, really. But the no trans-fat issue pulls me over to the Skor side, if nothing else. Why eat fake fat when there are so many real ones to be had?

Cindy - that note avove was directed to your earlier comment, btw.

They aren’t actually identical. Skor has a slightly thicker chocolate coat on top and bits of visible almonds in the toffee.

From what I remember of Skor - maybe the formulation is changed, it is also a bit grittier or more sugared than Heath. Not quite as smooth.

This was absolutely great. My business partner is from entirely other end of North America and West in Canada and I’m on East coast of US.
We were having this conversation on MSN about score bars and I was like hmm that bar sounds just like heath. He was telling me about ice cream with score and I was like man Ben and Jerrys has the for heath. Anyways I google this and found they are close to same thing. Nice find and cool blog.

SKOR HANDS DOWN!!!! The Heath Bar is a lower quality product. It doesn’t have as much flavor, it’s not as smooth, the toffee is not as rich…gimme’ a Skor anyday. I’m with you Joanna!

Hershey’s has altered the original recipe of the Heath bar compared to the one they got with the Leaf acquisition. It may have been altered by Leaf as well, but I do not know about that. The changes Hershey made to Heath were, unfortunately, for the worse. Heath bars never had trans-fat in them before Hershey’s changes, and the toffee had a smoother, more buttery texture. It was better than Skor, even though they were very close. Everyone knows that the Skor was created as a Heath bar mimic to compete with the Heath in the candy store. That was the whole point of the Skor. Now that Hershey’s has the Heath as well, they can diminish it until Skor is perceived as the better iteration. Eventually, history will be revised completely and the Skor will be perceived as always having been better than the Heath. Victory for Hershey’s.

I actually just ate a Skor bar. Heath sticks to my teeth whereas the Skor bar didn’t. This attribute reminds me of peanut brittle. Very good (IMO) peanut brittle doesn’t stick to my teeth and has a deep, savory flavor mixed in with the sweetness. The same goes for Skor vs. Heath toffee. Honestly, Skor tastes better than any English toffees I’ve ever had. It’s like gourmet on-the-cheap.

Andrew: Skor really does win on the mainstream toffee candy bar circuit, but if you can ever get your hands on something like Enstrom’s Toffee, I think you’d have to agree that it’s in a completely separate class - insanely delicious and addictive. I received a box of it as a gift last year and had to store it in an out-of-reach location. I was seriously tempted to bathe in it… soooo good:
http://www.enstrom.com/category.aspx?cid=16&SC=GTOFF

My friend and I just purchased one heath and one skor bar for us to consume. We commented that we thought they were the same candy. However, after a taste test, we realized that there are some subtle nuances that IMO make the skor bar taste better. However, my friend decided Heath was better. We both thought that Heath was a softer taste in texture and flavor. Skor is more intense with salt and crunchier. The chocolate tasted richer too.

Brandy and Sam: Interesting that you each preferred a different one. I agree about the Skor being saltier and more intense, which is why I like it better.

I happen to have stayed up many wondrous nights deeply pondering this matter as well. The Heath bar is tremendously more sophisticated, and is often compared to sitting by a warm English fire with a pipe in a maroon coloured robe. Skor is often compared to a squirrel awakening from it’s deep winter hibernation and enjoying it’s first spring acorn. This may sound appealing, and quite frankely the first few bites are rather satisfactory, but after that, the childish saltiness overtakes your tastebuds, and compells the consumer not to finsh the product and place it into the garbage half eaten. Rarely will you find a half eaten Heath in the garbage. Also, This matter is not solely based on taste, it is also an issue on orinality, loyalty, and integrity. When did it become acceptable to treat the original with no respect? When did it become acceptable to abandon everyone you have ever been loyal to? When did it become acceptable to jeopordize everything you believe in and give up on what is right? The answer to all three of these thought provoking questions should be never, but the world is becomming so flummoxed that people just do not recognize what is important. Therefore, you will never catch a glimpse of me eating a Skor, because a Skor will never catch a glimpse of me eating it. Heath bars on the other hand, are always welcome in my presence. In fact, I am enjoying one right now.

Hi Matt:
Wow, this is an issue to which you have clearly given much thought, which I indeed appreciate. You might, however, also think about this: Although the Heath Bar has been around since the 1920’s, it was purchased in 1996 by Hershey’s, who is the current manufacturer of the bar. Hershey’s also produces the Skor, which they originally launched in 1981. So, as far as Hershey’s involvement is concerned, you could say that Skor, not Heath, is the original.

Heath’s ingredients include partially hydrogenated soybean oil, something that I can guarantee you was NOT present in the original version. Skor, incidentally, contains no such trans fats. Further betraying its roots, the Heath no longer is produced as a handy and shareable split-bar, but rather in one, solid bar. And regarding the “childish saltiness” of a Skor, a Heath contains 140mg of salt, while the Skor weighs in with only 120mg. Interesting and surprising, as I had perceived the Skor to be saltier – a positive attribute in my book.

“When did it become acceptable to treat the original with no respect?” I’d say it was around the same time that the original failed to honor its own integrity by tainting their once-pure ingredients with synthetic chemicals, changing the sizing, and selling out to the Hershey empire.

Does that answer your question?

Thanks so much for reading - I honestly appreciate and admire the seriousness and depth with which you have treated this grave matter.

What, by the way, do you think of awesome homemade-type toffee, like Enstrom’s? Is this apples and oranges?

Joanna, you bring up some fine points about Heath actually containing more salt then skor, and the both of them being in the “Hershy’s family,” which are fine points indeed, However; my new question is concerning the “family.” Is the “family” a happy one? The answer is no. Think of the Heath bar as a harworking young man who happens to be phoenominal at checkers, and on his 14th birthday he receives a present, and not just any old ordinary present, he receives a puppy(the skor bar), a new addition to the family(I know that the heath bar enetered the Hershey’s family after the skor, but bare with me on this one, I am making a reference to the Heath bar existing first and the skor being the copy cat, or copy “puppy” in this circumstance). So imagine one day the young man is practicing his stategic moves for the big upcomming checkers tournament, and the puppy jumps on the board, scattering all the pieces around, ruining his practice session, and everyone watching laughs. Soon this becomes a habbit. The puppy is always ruining the young mans practice routine, and everyone thinks it’s adorable. Soon enough, almost everyone forgets about the young mans remarkable ability except for a few loyal supporters (myself). At this point everyone enjoys watching the adorable pup frolic around the board and make a mockery of the game. The young man feels hurt and discouraged, but it is not his personality to try and bring another living thing down, but in his heart he knows that he is the real deal, that he is the original, and not just some gimmick put on for a few more laughs(a few more dollars). But eventually, as all puppies do, it grew up into a dog, and the same checkers abomination continued, but it grew old. It was not the least bit amusing to see an old dog flopping around on the checkers board. Everyone tries to get it to stop but there is no stopping it. It’s game has grown old with his age and nobody wants to see it. Meanwhile, the young man sits back and laughs at the whole situation, saying to himself, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” and i guess you can’t teach on old dog(skor) respect for the original(Heath) either. Hopefully my symbolism in that short story worked for everyone, I tried to make my points as clear as possible, but the bottom line is nothing tops the original because everything else is just a copy or a spoof. Some may be thinking at this point “who cares what is original and what is not?, It’s just two candy bars with the slightest bit of difference.” But once again, i have to take it deeper than just the candy, because that person may be right that one candy bar copying another is not a big deal because it is “just” a candy bar today, but tomorow it may be you. Anyway, thank you Joanna for writing this fantastic article, “Heath vs. Skor,” and although I disagree with your opinion, I admit that I have learned a lot from your insight. The final message I am putting out is for everyone to just be themselves, do your own thing, and don’t just be the next person to jump on the bandwagon, or the next puppy to jump on the checkers board…king me.

I feel that the Skor is a harder crunch than the Heath, maybe it is just this bar (I got both to compare just yesterday) - but it is so hard I find it almost painful

Heath is the best candy bar ever. It’s 2008 there is no trans fat anymore. Enjoy!

I think it may all come down to a case of I say po-TAY-to, and you say po-TAH-to.

I like the Heath bar better, because the toffee is softer, and doesn’t tend to stick to my teeth. My 31-year-old daughter, however, likes Skor better, declaring that it has a richer, more buttery taste. And so goes the battle . . .

Wow, i was at the convenience store the other day and was wondering about this, so i googled it. i totally can’t believe heath has trans fat in it. nevertheless, i’d still choose heath over skor because i like the taste better….maybe this is because it contains trans fat. When i wanted some toffee, i couldn’t find heath, so i got a skor instead and was very disappointed since i rarely eat them that it didn’t taste as delicious as i expected–not nearly as delicious as a heath bar would have!
Heath all the way baby!

Obama vs McCain? Step aside guys. It’s Skor vs Heath. My friend Neil and I bought one of each at Walgreen’s last night and conducted a blind taste test. Skor won every category. Heath is very respectable but Skor takes the cake here….er bar! I must admit I grew up eating Heath. I think I also thought of Skor as kinda the Shasta to Heath’s Coca Cola. And the dark color of the Skor wrapper kinda turned me off. Boy was I wrong. Nearly 30 years later, I finally see the light. Skor settles the score!

I had never tasted a Skor bar in my entire existence on this planet. I waited until an owner of a Skor had gone on vacation and decided consume the Skor bar to determine what all the hype was all about. I sat down and was able to consume the bar in a matter of seconds. The only thing I have to say is, “I will stick to chocolate covered peanut butter.”

I love Skor. I’ve always preferred it. It seems crunchier and nuttier than Heath. As for the chocolate, the richer and thicker, the better. That’s also a reason why Skor takes the cake.

Loved the insight in this article. If you are ever in Europe, try the Daim Bar or Daim Candy (small bites). It beats Heath or Skor hands down!

Wow… you know, until last week I had no idea they were both almost identical bars made by Hershey’s. I googled to find out the difference and came across your article… thanks! To be honest I’d have to have a Heath in one hand and a Skor in the other to attempt to taste the difference, but so far I like them both equally. I now know the difference, however, and that trans-fat thing definitely pushes me toward Skor (I just ate one a few moments ago, in fact).

Bek: I love the idea of a double-fisted taste test, one bar in each hand. I think you should try it - go forth with your simultaneous sampling.

Well I realize that over a year has passed since Joanna’s statements concerning trans fat and 140 mg salt in the Heath bar, but I have a Heath wrapper in my hand and it clearly states 0 trans fat and 135 mg salt.

So, has Hershey tweaked the venerable Heath formula again?

I’m on the Heath side of the debate. I’m 58 yrs old and have been eating Heath bars since the 1950’s. To me, Skor is a Johnny-come-lately blatant rip-off of the Heath bar and I just don’t buy them.

I have tasted Skor bars and I didn’t really notice much of anything different about them except the darker chocolate.

Go Heath!

I happened on this post by accident looking up ingredients after doing the exact same double-fisted taste test. (In my case spurred by the fact that the restaurant supply store has giant bags of both Skor and Heath pieces; I wanted to see if there was a substantial difference before buying several pounds of the stuff.)

So, having purchased one of each and eaten both at the same time I can say that to my not-wildly-trained tastebuds they are indistinguishable. It’s possible that were I being really, really careful and rinsing my mouth between bites I may have been able to detect a subtle difference, but they’re functionally identical.

Didn’t note where mine were manufactured (I’m on the west coast), but presumably in the same factory–I don’t think Hershey has west-coast manufacturing.

A group of us from Memphis, on a trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, were staying overnight in Augusta, Mt. Lacking a great deal of entertainment, we decided to do a double-blind taste trial of Skor and Heath. Heath won by one vote out of 15. Conclusion: very little difference.

I have just had a Heath bar for the first time ever, thanks Halloween. And I tasted it was instantly of lesser quality than Skor, almost tasteless, but with a wierd aftertaste as well. I am a life long Skor fan. Even without having tried many other toffee-based treats, I knew Skor was rich, sugary and very crisp. An ideal value for the money. Now having something to compare it to, I am sure that I have been very spoiled by Skor.

Great entry!