Hershey Kisses are a classic chocolate candy made by The Hershey Company. They are small, tear-drop shaped chocolates wrapped in a thin strip of paper. The tips of Hershey Kisses form a distinctive point, which is part of their signature look.
The Shape of Hershey Kisses
Hershey Kisses get their teardrop shape from how they are made. The process involves:
- Pouring liquid chocolate into kiss-shaped molds
- Letting the chocolate solidify into the familiar Hershey Kiss shape
- Wrapping each kiss in foil or decorative paper
This gives every Hershey Kiss its iconic conical shape with a flat bottom and pointed tip. The tips are formed as the melted chocolate drops into the mold and tapers to a point at the bottom.
Expectations for the Pointed Tips
The tips are perhaps the most distinctive part of a Hershey Kiss. Here is what to expect:
- The tip should form a well-defined point. It should not be overly rounded or flat.
- The tip should be symmetrical, tapering evenly on all sides.
- The tip should stand upright, not bent over or curved to one side.
- The chocolate should completely fill the tip. There should be no air bubbles or holes.
While an ideal Hershey Kiss has a picture-perfect tip, there is some natural variability:
- The sharpness of the point can vary slightly.
- Small air bubbles can sometimes form inside the tip.
- The tip can occasionally get flattened or skewed during manufacturing or shipping.
Minor imperfections are understandable but the tips should still have an overall conical shape.
Common Issues With Hershey Kiss Tips
Here are some flaws that can occur with Hershey Kiss tips:
- Missing tip – The tip is broken off entirely leaving a flat top.
- Rounded tip – The tip is too gently tapered rather than coming to a point.
- Flat or collapsed tip – The tip is flattened on one or more sides.
- Bubbles in tip – There are air holes or gaps inside the tip.
- Irregular shape – The tip shape is lopsided or does not have a symmetrical cone shape.
- Bent over tip – The tip is bent sideways rather than pointing straight up.
While small imperfections are expected, Kisses with any of these issues would be considered defective.
Quality Control for Hershey Kiss Tips
Hershey has strict quality control standards for its Kisses. Some of the controls related to Kiss tips include:
- Inspecting kiss molds for damage and excess wear.
- Filtering and degassing chocolate to remove air bubbles.
- Precisely controlling temperatures and cooling rates when forming chocolates.
- Checking finished Kisses for tip defects and rejecting defective ones.
- Conducting random inspections of tipped Kisses to confirm quality.
Automated vision inspection systems are often used to check for issues like missing or malformed tips. By following rigorous quality control methods, Hershey is able to produce billions of Kisses each year with the iconic conical tips consumers expect.
Packaging Protection for Tips
To protect Kisses after production, the packaging is designed to shield the delicate tips:
- Foil or paper wraps help cushion the tips during shipping and storage.
- Kisses are packed upright in boxes to avoid the tips getting crushed.
- Special holiday foil is thicker to better protect seasonal Kisses.
However, despite these precautions, the tips can still get damaged. Checking for intact, well-formed tips when you open a package is recommended.
Appearance of Broken or Damaged Tips
If a Hershey Kiss tip breaks, here is how it typically looks:
- The top is flat instead of tapered. It will be blunt and broken off.
- The edges around the break are often ragged, uneven, or crunchy.
- The inner chocolate is exposed at the broken surface.
- The chocolate around the hole may be discolored or dried out.
- Pieces of the broken tip may remain loosely attached.
A missing or damaged tip does not make the Kiss unsafe to eat. However, it does detract from the iconic appearance that consumers expect.
Conclusion
With their distinctive shape and iconic packaging, Hershey Kisses are a classic American candy. Their conical, pointed tips are part of what makes them instantly recognizable. While not every Kiss is identical, Hershey tries to produce Kisses with picture-perfect tips through careful manufacturing and quality control. Checking for intact tips when you open a bag lets you enjoy these chocolates the way they were intended to look.