Annie Walton Doyle
People have been left feeling grossed out after discovering the ‘secret’ ingredient used to make Creme Egg ‘yolks’.
It’s Easter weekend, and that means many of us are tucking into our favourite seasonal chocolate.
The Cadbury’s Creme Egg is a true Easter icon, with many of us waiting all year to get our hands on the sweet treat.
But now, people are discovering what actually makes up the yellow tone of the egg’s ‘yolk’ – and it’s leaving some people feeling disgusted!
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“What the hell is this doing in a Creme Egg?!” one X, formerly Twitter, user comments under a post about the topic.
Another user adds: “The mind boggles.”
Somebody else points out: “It’s for colouring – I suspect it’s used for the yolk.”
A fourth shares: “Yes, I can’t even look at them…”
So, what’s the bizarre ingredient in question?
Well, it’s none other than paprika extract.
The fondant centre of the Creme Egg is its unique selling point, but many fans may not realise that the ‘white’ and the ‘yolk’ contain almost exactly the same ingredients.
There’s no flavour difference between the two components, but there is an extra ingredient that alters the colour of the ‘yolk’ to achieve the treat’s distinctly eggy appearance.
Related Article: People Apparently Still Don’t Know What Paprika Is Made From
On a visit to Cadbury HQ in Bournville, a spokesperson for the company told Daily Star the yolk gets its colour from ‘paprika’.
A peek at the ingredients list reveals that the product contains: “Sugar, milk, glucose syrup, cocoa butter, invert sugar syrup, whey powder (from milk), cocoa mass, vegetable fats (palm, shea), emulsifier (E442), dried egg white, flavourings, colour (paprika extract).”
Of course, you shouldn’t be able to taste the savoury spice, and the paprika is just there in a minuscule quantity to alter the yolk’s colour.
The fact that paprika is at the very end of the ingredients list points to how little of it is actually in a Creme Egg.
But what’s even more surprising is that this paprika hack has made its way to the world of real eggs, too.
An investigation found that real-life eggs can sometimes experience the paprika treatment, as per The Telegraph.
And it’s for the exact same reason that Creme Eggs use the ingredient – for the colour!
The bright, orange-y tone of some pricier yolks, which some customers associate with higher-quality and tastier eggs, can actually be produced as a result of feeding paprika to the chickens!
Honestly, you learn something new every day.
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