Small chocolates coated in red candy with a single yellow candy
Food - Drink
There's A Strange Name For Individual M&M's
By CLARICE KNELLY
Three yellow candy-coated chocolates on a pink background
You may think that a single M&M would be referred to as “an M&M,” but M&M manufacturer Mars Inc. uses a more generic and more unconventional name to refer to these candies.
Several colorful chocolate sweets on wooden board together with broken pieces of dark chocolate and few chocolate biscuits.
According to a representative of Mars, “Individual M&M's are referred to either as lentils or candies.” It turns out that M&Ms are just a specific brand of a broader type of candy.
Many chocolate candies together
“Lentil” is a candy industry term that refers to small, usually round chocolates with a candy coating. Calling a single M&M a lentil is the most descriptive noun for the candy.
Red M&Ms on a white background
Lentil is also a useful term when you're trying an off-brand version of M&Ms. You can ask for or look for chocolate lentils and know that you'll be getting the same type of candy.