Everyone knows of a drink or food that only comes out at certain times of the year. Yellow Peeps at Easter, Cranberry Flavored Drinks and Eggnog around Christmas to name a few. One that I’ve always loved was Hershey’s Ets.
But, they look like M&Ms! Yes, it’s Hershey’s answer to the M&Ms, but there is one big difference…they are much BETTER! Well, to me they are. First introduced in 1954, they are a small bit of chocolate covered in a candy shell. Ets have a sweeter taste to them and I know few who’ve tried them that didn’t like them better than M&Ms. Now, I’m not saying M&Ms aren’t good, to the contrary, I LOVE M&Ms, it’s just that Ets are better. Maybe it’s because they were rarer, and that made the special. One big problem with Ets? Hershey only put them out around Christmas. Never really saw them in bags like M&Ms, but always in those plastic Candy Canes.
When I was younger, and someone gave my sisters and me one of those canes, I’d wait until my sisters ate theirs and then as they mope around with their empty plastic cane, I’d triumphantly walk out with my full one, and eat it in front of them. Yes, very mean, but when you are 8, it’s very satisfying!
I wonder if they ever had them in their own bags like M&Ms do? Maybe before my time they had them out year round, but for some reason they changed that. In the late 90’s, early 2000s, Hershey created a mail order company, Hershey Gift Catalog, and in the second or third year of that, they started having a pail of Ets, see first picture, that they sold year round. This use to be a BIG Seller for Hershey. How do I know? I use to work the phones for them and when they were around for Christmas, they’d be sold out by the second week of December, and people would wait and wait, calling every other day to see when they were back, even AFTER Christmas was over. One Valentines, they make them in Red Colors and they were just as hot then too.
In November of 2005, they stopped making Ets. Why? Who knows. But they make something new. Hershey’s Kissables!
They are the same thing as the Ets, just in the shape of mini kisses! Oh what a happy day for Ets Lovers. AND they sold them in small bags, just like M&Ms! So now, when I’m in the mood for some Ets/Kissables, I just go to the grocery store and pick up a small, or large bag!
Some complain that the shell is thicker, but for the glorious taste that was the Hershey Ets, it’s not a major flub in my book. If you’ve never tried them, go, pick up a bag. They really are a wonderful treat!
