Heath Vs Skor

If you’re a fan of toffee and chocolate then you’ve likely tried a Skor bar or a Heath bar. Perhaps you’ve tried both or maybe you’ve always stuck with one brand because you aren’t sure what the difference is or whether the alternative will be as good as your trusty favorite. 

Or perhaps you’re trying to make a recipe and it calls for a Heath bar, but all you have are Skor bars or vice versa. Can you use them interchangeably? How are they made?

So, what’s the difference between a Heath and a Skor bar? They are both chocolate bars made from toffee covered in milk chocolate. Though Heath claims to be made from English toffee, it is closer to a butter crunch, which is what is found in a Skor bar. 

While there are a couple minor differences in ingredients, such as condensed milk in a Skor bar vs. cocoa butter in a Heath bar, overall, they have similar textures and flavors. If you’re looking for a toffee and chocolate fix, you can’t go wrong with either option. 

Read on to discover more differences between Heath and Skor bars, what they’re made of, how they taste different, and more.

What Is A Heath Bar? 

A Heath bar is a delicious treat produced by The Hershey Company. They claim that it is made from crunchy English toffee covered in milk chocolate. However, when you look at the actual ingredients, you’ll see that it’s closer to a butter crunch toffee.

In fact, English toffee is typically made of brown sugar or molasses as the base, unlike other varieties of toffee which use white sugar. It also isn’t supposed to contain any nuts, but if you look at the label of a Heath bar, you’ll see that it has almonds. 

So, despite what Hershey’s claims, a Heath bar is actually made from butter crunch toffee covered in milk chocolate. Despite the misnomer, it is still crunchy, sweet, and delicious with undertones of butter and caramel. 

The Heath bar has been on the market since 1928 when it was sold by the Heath Brothers Confectionery. However, it was purchased by Hershey and has been sold by them since 1996. 

What Is A Skor Bar? 

Skor bars are another delicious treat created and sold by The Hershey Company. They’ve been on the market since 1981 and are made of a thin slab of crunchy butter toffee covered in milk chocolate. 

Skor bars are a Canadian favorite, but you may be able to find them south of the border in the United States. If not, you can always pick up a Heath bar instead, since, as we will see, they are super close in terms of flavor and texture. 

These chocolate bars are a staple, whether enjoyed on their own or crushed up and added to cookies, cakes, and other baked treats. The delicious buttery caramel flavor combined with the crunch of the toffee and sweetness of the milk chocolate creates an addictive mouthful.

What’s The Difference?

If you’re a fan of toffee and chocolate, you can’t go wrong by adding either a Skor or a Heath bar to your shopping cart. But if you’re still stuck on which one to choose, we’ve got you covered with the differences below.

Heath Bar Ingredients

Although Hershey’s claims that Heath bars are made with English toffee, the ingredient list tells a different story.

Since English toffee is made with brown sugar or molasses and doesn’t contain any nuts, it’s pretty easy to look at this list of ingredients and determine that does not fit the criteria. 

The ingredient listing is closer to something called butter crunch. This toffee relative is made from white granulated sugar and often contains other ingredients, such as nuts. As you can see below, Heath bars are made with sugar and almonds. 

Those ingredients move them closer to the definition of butter crunch as opposed to English toffee. Whatever you call it, these bars are still delicious and have the addictive flavor of buttery toffee-like crunchy candy covered in milk chocolate. 

Ingredients

• Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, salt, lecithin, vanillin)
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil (palm oil, sunflower oil)
• Almonds (cocoa butter)
• Dairy butter
• Almonds
• Cocoa butter
• Salt
• Artificial flavor
• Lecithin
  

Skor Bar Ingredients

Ingredients

• Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, milk fat, lactose, salt, lecithin, natural flavor)
• Sugar
• Dairy butter
• Almonds
• Sweetened condensed milk (milk, sugar)
• Salt
• Sunflower oil

Skor Vs. Heath Bar – Ingredients

As you can see above, there is a lot of crossover between the Skor bar and the Heath bar. Both bars contain: 

• Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, milk fat, lactose, salt, lecithin, natural flavor)
• Sugar
• Dairy butter
• Almonds
• Salt
• Vegetable oil: sunflower or palm oil

However, there is also some variation in the ingredients, which could impact taste. Skor bars contain:

• Condensed milk

And Heath bars contain:

• Vanillin 
• Extra cocoa butter instead of condensed milk
• More artificial flavors
• More lecithin (an emulsifier that helps give chocolate it’s texture)

While these differences in ingredients are pretty subtle, they can have a minor impact on flavor.

Condensed milk is a lot sweeter and richer than cocoa butter, which means that a Skor bar could have a creamier, sweeter flavor than a Heath bar. 

Skor bars also don’t contain vanillin, which is an artificial vanilla flavoring. That might be why some folks think that Skor bars have a stronger chocolate flavor than Heath bars. 

With that being said, these variations in ingredients are pretty minor and we think most people’s taste buds likely won’t be able to tell much of a difference. At the end of the day, they’re both toffee bars covered in milk chocolate, so there’s not too much difference between them. 

Texture

When comparing a Heath bar to a Skor bar, you are likely wondering whether there is much of a difference in the texture. To be honest, there isn’t really a noticeable difference. Since many of the base ingredients in these bars are the same, the texture of both turns out to be almost identical. 

Both bars are covered in soft milk chocolate (you know, the kind that melts if you hold it too long in your hand) and made from a thin slab of either butter crunch of butter toffee. The combination creates the perfect bar with a soft outside and crunchy, buttery center. 

If you laid a Skor bar and Heath bar out on the counter, unwrapped, it is very unlikely anyone would be able to tell the difference between the two since they look almost identical. Once you cut them open, you can see that the toffee inside the Skor bar is slightly darke than that in the Heath bar. 

While the Skor bar contains condensed milk instead of cocoa butter, it doesn’t really impact the texture of the final product much at all. In fact, when put to a blind taste test, most people can’t really tell the difference between the bars. 

Some folks think that the Skor bar is less buttery and more chocolatey than a Heath bar, but ultimately it all comes down to preference. Both bars are great if you love crunchy toffee and chocolate with some almonds sprinkled in for good measure. 

Taste

While there isn’t a huge difference in taste between Heath bars and Skor bars, some folks will have a preference for one over the other. However, that is often more to do with nostalgia or childhood experiences with one bar or the other as opposed to any actual difference between the two.

In blind taste tests the results tend to vary, as you would expect since folks tend to have different palates. However, it’s not uncommon for some people to be unable to tell the difference between a Heath or a Skor bar. This makes sense since both are milk chocolate covered crunchy toffee bars. 

With that said, there are enough differences between recipe ingredients that some folks can taste a subtle difference. Typically, Skor bars are found to taste more strongly of chocolate, while Heath bars are described as more buttery or caramel flavored. 

While in no way scientific, some folks claim online that in blind taste tests, Heath bars are generally considered to taste better than Skor bars due to a slightly richer flavor overall. Again, personal preference is the determining factor. Which do you prefer? Let us know below! 

How To Make Your Own Toffee

After reading all about the differences between Heath bars and Skor bars, you might be inspired to try making your own version right at home. Before you get started, make sure you have a candy thermometer on hand since getting the temperature correct is crucial to the crunchy toffee texture.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of almonds
• 1 pound of butter, salted or unsalted
• 2 & 2/3 cups of granulated sugar 
• 1/3 cup of water 
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup or light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt (you may want to use 1/4 teaspoon if you use salted butter)
• 1 bag of milk, semi sweet, or bittersweet chocolate chips, depending on preference

Directions

1. Place a frying pan over medium heat and add the almonds. Toast your almonds for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until browned. Remove from the heat and let them cool in a bowl. Make sure you take them out of the frying pan so they don’t burn.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
3. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, water, syrup, and sea salt. 
4. Turn the stove to medium heat and stir constantly to melt the sugar into the butter mixture. 
5. Insert your candy thermometer and bring your toffee mixture to a boil. You will want to gently scrape down the sides with a silicon pastry brush to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. 
6. Continue cooking the toffee another 20 to 30 minutes, until it reaches 300°F. Make sure you stir the mixture frequently. If the butter starts to separate from the mixture, give it a vigorous whisk until it comes back together. 
7. Keeping a close eye on your candy, remove it from the heat as soon as it reaches 300°F. If you leave it longer it can scorch and taste burnt and gross.
8. Pour the candy over your parchment lined baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it evenly. 
9. After is has cooled slightly (when you press it with a tooth pick the indent stays), spray a knife with cooking spray and gently score the toffee into even squares. Doing this will help you break it into pieces once it is fully set. 
10. As the toffee sets, grind or chop your almonds into a coarse texture. Set aside. 
11. Next, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. 
12. Once the chocolate is melted, pour it over the toffee and then sprinkle with your almonds. You may also want to sprinkle some extra salt on top if you’re a fan of salty sweet combinations.
13. Let it cool completely and then break the pieces apart along the scored lines. They likely will break into shards instead of squares. That’s ok.
14. Store in an airtight container and enjoy! 

Final Thoughts

The differences between Heath and Skor bars are pretty minimal, probably because Skor bars were intitially created to compete with Heath bars for market share before Hershey’s purchased the company that sells Heath bars in 1996. 

Bth bars are made of thin layers of butter toffee, contain almonds, and are coated in creamy milk chocolate. While Skor toffee is a little darker, the flavor of a Heath bar has been described as stronger in caramel/toffee/butter taste. 

Related Questions

Are Skor Bars Canadian? 

Skor bars are found more often in Canada, though you will likely be able to find them in the United States. Heath bars, however, can not typically be found in Canada. In fact, Hershey’s first started producing Skor bars as a competitor to Heath bars. 

However, in 1996 they acquired the company that manufacters Heath bars. They continuted to make and sell the Skor bars though since they had such a solid fan base and immense popularity. 

Are Skor Bars And Heath Bars Gluten Free?

For folks living with Celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, it can be hard to find chocolate and candy bars that are delicious and gluten free. Luckily for those of us with these issues, both Heath bars and Skor bars are certified gluten free. 

That means they are the perfect candy to use for all your gluten free baking and treat making needs. 

Are Skor Bars And Heath Bars Kosher?

First off, the Hebrew word “kosher” means fit or proper as it relates to Jewish dietary law.

Kosher foods are permitted to be eaten, and can be used as ingredients in the production of additional food items.

Many Jewish people adhere to kosher diets so it’s always helpful to find snacks and treats that meet their standards. Luckily for toffee loving folks, both Heath bars and Skor bars are certified Kosher, so you can enjoy them as part of your diet. 

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