Good morning!

As we dive into our chocolate reserves this Easter weekend, let’s look at this little known, but proudly Canadian chocolate bar.

It is the oldest individually wrapped chocolate bar in the world.

PAL-O-MINE quietly celebrates its 100th birthday this year!

The British Chocolate Cream bar created by Joseph Fry in 1866 is the oldest candy bar in the world, BUT the oldest WRAPPED INDIVIDUAL chocolate bar is Canada’s “Pal-O-Mine” created by James and Gilbert Ganong in 1873 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, where they are still made today.

The idea for individually wrapped chocolate bars came to Ganong when he went fishing, taking chocolate along in his pocket. He found that the chocolate would melt in their pockets so they wrapped bars of chocolate in cellophane. In 1898, wrapped chocolate bars came out, the 1st!

In 1910, Ganong added nuts to their chocolate bars, & they started using the name "Pal-o-Mine" in 1920. Ganong would give leftover chocolate to local children, & one girl would say "you’re a Pal of mine" every time she got hers. Pal-o-Mine became the name, 100 yrs old this year.

I found this highly historical Canadian chocolate bar quietly hiding on the shelf at Giant Tiger...

I highly recommend every Canadian celebrate (safely) this little-known & still independent 100yr old chocolate bar, the oldest individually wrapped chocolate bar in the world!