M&M's
are chocolate candy coated pieces, produced by Mars, Incorporated. Several variations
of the candy exist, including milk chocolate, peanut, mint chocolate (available
primarily during the Christmas season), dulce de leche, toffee, crispy, almond,
peanut butter, white chocolate (with and without peanuts), and dark chocolate.
The candies were originally manufactured in six colors: red, orange, yellow,
green, brown, and violet. In 1949, the violet candies were replaced by tan colored
candies.
M&M's were first sold in the United States in 1941. By the time the U.S. entered
World War II, American soldiers were given the candy by the United States Army
because they were a convenient snack that traveled well in any climate; soon
after this it was marketed to the public. M&M's soon became a hit because, in
those times when air conditioning was not usually found in stores, homes, or
the automobile, melting chocolate candy bars were a problem; but with M&M's,
the candy coating kept the chocolate from getting messy.
The letter "m" on each candy is a vegetable dye printed using a process similar
to offset printing.
The M's in M&M's stand for Mars & Milton.
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