9 Things You Should Know Before You Eat Robin Eggs
It's finally Easter, which means it's Robin Eggs season. If you're a fan of the candy-coated malt chocolates and you've been dying to make some Robin Egg treats (like our Robin Egg malted milk fudge or Robin Egg no bake cheesecake), make sure you've got all your facts straight before you run out and buy every bag on the shelf.
1. Before Tiny Eggs, There Were Giants.
Before the world was blessed with the little pastel-colored Robin Eggs, there were Whoppers. And before Whoppers, there were Giants. Giants, the first malted milk balls, came out in 1939, but it wasn't until 10 years later that Giants changed their name, becoming the Whoppers we know and love today.
2. The Eggs Have Been Around For A While.
Like any great legend, Robin Eggs are shrouded in mystery — no one knows exactly what year they came out. According to the Hershey Archives, the egg-shaped candy made its debut somewhere between 1949 and 1952. The original eggs, however, were not covered in a bright sugar coating and were slightly bigger. It wasn't until three years after the introduction of the egg shape (somewhere between 1952 and 1955) that the small and festive Robin Eggs came out.
3. They Used To Be Super Cheap.
Back in the day, Whoppers were sold unwrapped at the super-low price of two for just one penny. Then, the introduction of cellophane wrapping machines allowed them to be sold at five (called Fivesomes) for a penny. There's no hard documentation of the original price of Robin Eggs, but it's likely that — like regular Whoppers — they cost mere pennies.
4. They're Available For A Really Short Time.
The Robin Eggs have become an Easter staple (think Cadbury-egg status), and as such they are only available during Easter season. You can find them in stores starting four weeks before Easter, at which point we suggest you hoard as many as possible, because once Easter Sunday and 1/2-price Candy Monday pass, you won't see them again until next year.
5. It Takes A Lot Longer To Prepare The Supply.
Though the eggs are only available for a limited time each year, it takes a lot longer than four weeks to prepare all of the eggs necessary for our annual Easter candy binge. According to Robbie Nethery, Business Unit Leader at the Hershey's Robins Plant, it takes about five months to make each year's batch of treats.
6. The Factory Makes A Ton Of Eggs.
The Robin Eggs plant is definitely hustling during that five-month period. According to Nethery, the plant produces a whopping 11 million pounds of eggs per season. To get to this huge number, workers produce 2 million eggs per hour.
7. Every Egg Is One Of A Kind.
If you're into exclusive/limited edition/unique things, you'll be happy to know that the cute speckles on the eggs that make the candies look a little closer to real Robin's eggs are actually all handcrafted, so that no two eggs look alike. That means that egg you're about to pop in your mouth is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece — so treat it accordingly.
8. The Way They Get Their Shape Is Really Bizarre.
If you've ever tried to think of how Robin Eggs are made, you've probably pictured something along the lines of egg-shaped molds that malt/chocolate is poured into, right? That's what we thought. But apparently, the egg-shaping process actually skips the mold and uses a vacuum instead. The exact way this is done is "top secret," but we imagine it looks something like a vacuum sucking on a malt ball to create an oblong egg-shape. Or maybe it's just magic.
9. They Can Make You Look Like A Smurf.
Though the eggs come in 4 different Easter colors — blue, white, yellow, and pink — the speckles on all of the eggs are mostly blue. That means that if you're not careful, downing a whole bag of Robin Eggs will likely give you a case of Smurf mouth. You've been warned.
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