Clark Bar facts for kids
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A Clark Bar, broken in half.
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| Type | Candy bar |
|---|---|
| Owner | Boyer |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1917 |
| Related brands | Zagnut |
| Markets | North America |
| Previous owners |
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The Clark Bar is a yummy candy bar that has a crispy center made of peanut butter and a spun taffy mix. This tasty core is covered in smooth milk chocolate. It was first made way back in 1917 by David L. Clark.
This candy bar became super popular during and after both World Wars. It was actually the first American "combination" candy bar to be a big hit all across the country! Other famous candy bars like the Butterfinger (made in 1923) and the 5th Avenue (made in 1936) were created after the Clark Bar.
The Clark Bar was first made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by the Clark family business until 1955. After that, different companies owned and made it. Today, the Clark Bar is made in western Pennsylvania by the Altoona-based Boyer Candy Company. They also make the Mallo Cup!
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The Story of the Clark Bar
The idea for the Clark Bar came from an Irish immigrant named David L. Clark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He found a new way to put a thin chocolate shell around a non-chocolate filling. For the Clark Bar, the inside was a crispy candy with ground peanuts, and it used to have a caramel center.
A New Kind of Candy Bar
The Clark Bar was the first really successful "combination" candy bar. This means it had different textures and flavors mixed together. It was designed to be sent to soldiers during World War I. Each bar was wrapped individually, making it easy to send to the troops.
After the war, the Clark Bar started being sold all over the country. Its success inspired many other candy makers to create their own combination bars.
Popular During Wartime
The Clark Bar was very popular during World War II too. The company sent 1.5 million bars every day to the armed forces! When there were problems making enough bars, the government even said that making Clark Bars was "essential" for the war effort.
Over the years, other Clark Bar treats were made. These included smaller Clark Bar Miniatures, Clark Bar Bites, and Clark Bar Juniors. There were also special Clark Bar Easter Eggs and a version with dark chocolate.
Changes to the Recipe
The first Clark Bar had a caramel "center of attraction." In 1965, the recipe changed to add more peanut butter for a better flavor. In the 1980s, the caramel center was removed. This helped the candy bar stay fresh for longer.
Who Owns the Clark Bar Now?
The Clark company started in 1911 and made the Clark Bar in a factory in Pittsburgh. The big, lit-up Clark Bar sign on the factory roof became a famous landmark in Pittsburgh. There's even a restaurant in the old building called the Clark Bar & Grill!
Many Owners Over the Years
The D. L. Clark Co. and its Clark Bar were bought by Beatrice Foods in 1955. Then, in 1983, it was sold to Leaf Candy Company. Leaf moved the production to a new place near Pittsburgh in 1986.
Later, Leaf decided to stop making the Clark Bar. But a businessman from Pittsburgh, Michael Carlow, bought the D. L. Clark Co. and its brands from Leaf. He kept making the Clark Bar in Pittsburgh.
However, after some time, the company had problems and stopped making the bars. Then, a new company called Clark Bar America started making them again for a short time.
Necco and Boyer Take Over
In 1999, the New England Confectionery Company (Necco) bought the recipe and equipment for the Clark Bar. They moved the production to their factory in Revere, Massachusetts.
Almost 20 years later, Necco also faced problems and closed down in 2018. The rights to the Clark Bar were then sold to the Boyer Candy Company. Boyer, based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, also makes the Mallo Cup. They had wanted to buy the Clark Bar back in the 1990s!
Boyer planned to start making the Clark Bar again in Pennsylvania. It took some time to get the machines right and make the bar just perfect. While they worked on it, Boyer even made a Clark Cup, which was a peanut butter cup that used pieces of misshapen Clark Bars in the filling.
Finally, the Clark Bar was available again in late 2019. It was first sold in stores in the Pittsburgh area in early 2020. Boyer plans to sell it nationwide in the future.
The Clark Bar is even the favorite snack of the main character in the TV show Reacher! This is partly because of its history with the military.
How Clark Bars Are Made
Making a Clark Bar takes about 90 minutes. First, the main ingredients are heated until they become like taffy. This mixture is then flattened into a thin sheet.
Next, a layer of peanut butter is put on top of the sheet, and it's rolled up. After that, the long roll is cut into bar-sized pieces. Each piece is then covered in liquid chocolate. The bars are cooled to make the chocolate and core hard, and then they are packaged.
You can even see how Clark Bars are made! The process was shown on an episode of the TV show How It's Made in 2016.
The ingredients in a Clark Bar are: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor, Milk Powder, Butter Oil, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract), Corn Syrup, Sugar, Peanuts, Molasses, Corn Flour, Invert Sugar, Salt, Coconut Oil, Vanilla Extract, and Soy Lecithin.
See also
