The Zero Bar is far from a Zero!

The Zero Bar is not your average candy bar as it is a candy with a history spanning over 70 years!

It was first introduced in the 1920’s by the now defunct Hollywood Brands Candy Company and is now owned by Hershey Foods although this transition took place over many years and included many owners in between.

 The candy bar is unique in that it consists of a delicious amalgamation of almonds, peanuts and caramel nougat covered, or shall we say , drenched, with delicious white fudge. This was even more controversial upon its release as most candy bars then, as now, are coated in milk chocolate.

As per the name, this has been the subject of candy lore as it was not touted as a reduced calorie candy bar – hence the name Zero – but rather because the white coating was supposed to give the impression of snow and, metaphorically speaking, “cool as zero degrees”

The original wrapper had a Polar Bear on it and upon it’s initial release,  was called Double Zero. It wasn’t until 1934 that it formally became known as the Zero Bar

The original Zero Bars were distributed in the summer as fudge has a much higher melting point than milk chocolate and, as there wasn’t air conditioning readily available when the bar was first released; retailers stored this in their refrigerators.

Yes, this candy bar like others will melt if exposed to high temperatures but there is something intriguing about this bar that makes it endure as a classic if only because it is delicious and holds true to it’s original formula and because it is over 70 years old!

PS: The vintage Zero Bar wrapper pictured above is VERY rare as it shows the Polar Bear!  This is circa early 1930’s