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Topic: Bracha on Hershey's Cookie Mint chocolate bar

Brian Hyman from Jerusalem wrote:

We are somewhat perplexed here: What blessing is said before eating a Hershey's Cookie Mint chocolate bar? Is it a 'mezonot' (the blessing on food made from flour) or a 'shehakol' (the blessing on chocolate and various other food)? Are the cookie pieces there for taste or to give consistency?


Dear Brian Hyman,

In general, the majority of a food determines its blessing. For instance, if a chocolate bar has only a few peanuts in it, the chocolate determines the blessing, not the peanuts.

Flour - wheat, barley, oats, rye or spelt - is an exception. Even a little bit of flour, added in order to give flavor, determines a food's blessing.

However, this is true only if flour is added for flavor. But if the flour is added as a 'glue,' just to hold the food together, then it's not the determining factor.

So, Brian, I ask you: What does the Hershey's 'Cookie Mint' bar taste like? Does its taste bespeak a dash of 'cookie'? I assume so, because it seems quite obvious from the name "Cookie Mint" that the flour is added for taste. Therefore, the blessing is mezonot.

Do you remember the 'Marathon' candy bar? It was about a foot of chewy, chocolate-covered caramel, called 'Marathon' because it took two hours 27 minutes to eat one. I'll never forget the day my fourth grade Hebrew school teacher, Mrs. Goldberg, caught the kid next to me trying to sneak one during class. In order to avoid having it confiscated, Philip (that was his name) set a new world's record by stuffing an entire Marathon bar into his mouth all at once. That is something you should never do.

By the way always check for a reliable kashrut certification before eating anything.

Sources:

  • Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 208:2

 
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