h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Perhaps someone could tell me if this is true: I was once told that the reason orange smarties taste of orange when the other smarties are just chocolate flavoured is because the taste of the orange colouring is nasty and needs disguising.

I wouldn't be sure if this is true.

The orange Smarties taste of orange because of the chocolate (similar to Terry's Chocolate Orange or Orange KitKat) rather than the shell, but it's a good theory, perhaps it could be true...

I think they should flavour the green Smarties mint flavour. What do you think?

I'm not sure. I love mint chocolate but once I've eaten something mint flavoured it makes anything else eaten after taste funny. I suppose I could just save all the green ones til last. At the moment I save all the orange ones til last coz they're my favourite.

And did you ever try to lick off the paint and see if the orange tastes any different from the others? And do they make them differently in different countries or is it just my insensitive taste which never made me notice any difference from any other Smarties? I am not so sure if we even have orange Smarties in Germany though... I'll go buy some later.

Following this entry, international sales of smarties will increase tenfold. Keep me posted, I really want to know if Germany has orange smarties now and if they taste orange. I might even have to go out later and buy some just to lick the coatings and see if there's a difference.

Unfortunately, it's the chocolate that tastes of Orange, not the shell, so licking the orange ones wont be any different to the others.

We were wondering if licking the orange shells could shed some light on the suggestion that the orange colouring has an unpleasant taste that needs masking. Our new musing is whether German orange smarties taste of orange if indeed they have orange smarties at all.

Do I detect that you may be something of a smartie fan Frankie?

I fear Smarties are going extinct due to the brutal attack of M&M's here in Germany. None of the four small shops in which I asked for Smarties today, had any. One had Smartie-icecream, though. As I am sure Smarties still do exist in Supermarkets I will go and check there tomorrow. Still, the answer to the question of German orange Smarties will have to be delayed one day...

So I finally managed to buy some Smarties. There are orange ones, but neither their colour nor their fillings taste any different from Smarties of any other colour. And it says on the package, that the only flavouring used is vanillin.
But I will be in London next week and I will buy some british Smarties for comparison...

On the subject of M&M's, Orange ones taste of Orange just like Smarties! May well be true about Exxx (orange) tasting disgusting hence the need to make the chocolate taste nice.

Ironic isn't it. Orange colouring tastes disgusting and would therefore be the least liked Smartie. You flavour the chocolate and "hey-presto" it becomes the favourite ...

Me, a Smarties fan? never... I hadn't really noticed the orange flavouring before someone talked about it in the Peer Review thread (http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F66690?thread=111362). They assured me they had done blind tastings and do taste different. I did this too and it was right. I'm beginning to like M&Ms now. They melt less than Smarties (the peanut ones) and are so are better when it is sunny. I think they are too crunchy though. You can't suck them like Smarties

I can't eat M&Ms because I'm allergic to nuts and even the non-peanut ones have ground nuts in. I think Smarties "may contain nut traces" but it's difficult to buy anything now that doesn't so occassionally I risk it. I'm amazed that anyone could fail to notice that orange smarties taste of orange, they've always been my favourite.

but is it only UK-Smarties which taste of orange? Or is Germany the only country not getting any orange flavouring? And do you really find the colouring of orange Smarties tastes any different from any other colour? I'm intrigued...

It's true, I promise, it's true ... trust me, I'm a doctor.


[Disclaimer - The Claim made above as to the profession of the author is untrue. The author is not a doctor in any sense of the word, although he's very good at taking things to pieces and putting them back together again]

Yes, yes and yes - you are all right. I went to London personally and bought a package of Smarties to prove it. English orange Smarties taste of orange chocolate, there is no doubt about it. There are also considerably less of them in a package than there are in Germany, where, as I said before, orange smarties taste exactly the same as all the other colours. I could not find any difference in the taste of the coloring, though.

Well that's interesting. I wonder why the difference. I'll have to include this information when I update the entry sometime.