The next seasonal release of the classic Mars Bar will be out very shortly, in January 2013. The new flavour will be honeycomb.
To clarify, the nougat will be honeycomb-flavoured, and the bar will be topped with caramel and enrobed with milk chocolate as usual. According to my rep, it tastes similar to the Honeycomb Pods.
What do you think, readers? Are you mystified (as I am) by this flavour combination? Or does this sound strange and outlandish?
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Friday, 21 December 2012
Mars M&M's Orange
(Sorry folks, I promise I am still alive. Things just got a little hectic there for a while. And while I was gone, we managed to hit 50k hits. Wow! Thank you all so much! :D)
Mars' latest seasonal M&M's offering is Orange flavour. Although the package doesn't actually say it on the front (or anywhere but in the ingredients), these are milk chocolate M&Ms. The orange flavour isn't new to the range; a few years ago we saw it in dark chocolate M&Ms.
These M&M's are the first packet I've picked up in Mars' new gusseted bags. These bags have been introduced over the past few months, and will also be used with the Maltesers and Pods ranges. Despite what some customers seem to think, there has been no sizing change. Because the bag is shaped differently (wider, rather than narrow and tall), it feels like there is less product, but the product weight is the same.
The new bags also come with the ability to be 're-sealed' - although in this case it is with the roll-over-and-use-provided-sticker rather than with an included ziplock closure. The sticker may annoy some people as it's not very sticky, and I found that it would pop off the sealed bag at times if closed too tightly.
On the front we have Orange, the orange-coloured M&M, shown getting into (or coming out of) an orange fruit costume. At the bottom near his feet, there is a cute message indicating that 'no oranges were harmed in the making of this product'.
Inside we have orange and white-coloured M&M's. They look no different in size to regular milk M&Ms, and bear the classic m logo in some icky colour (mottled blue on orange, and green-brown on the white). The vast majority of mine were undamaged and rounded in shape, but I did have a couple of deformed ones, as you do.
They are very strongly scented. The scent is a lot like that of the Terry's Milk Chocolate Orange, but more fruity and essence-like (whereas the Terry's can be overwhelmingly strong and sweet). It's quite a nice scent, and the chocolate scent is discernable as well. They complement each other nicely.
On taste, these M&M's are quite mild compared to a Terry's Milk Chocolate Orange. Whereas the first bite of a Terry's can make your teeth hurt, these are nicely flavoured, not too strong or overpowering. That may be because of the candy shell, as it doesn't seem to be flavoured. The orange and chocolate tastes go together well, neither dominating the other. There is no citrus tang or sharpness; the orange flavour is a well-crafted fake but mild. There's no mention of zest, juice, essence or other genuine orange flavour in the ingredients list.
It's easy to take a handful and munch away, but I do find that these are not as encouraging of mindless eating as many other M&M types. Maybe it's because the orange taste lingers for a little while afterwards, delicately reminding me of what I just ate like a mild mint. It's not an unpleasant situation (and perhaps may complement a sip of hot chocolate), but it may not go so well with something else eaten immediately afterwards.
Mars M&M's Orange includes milk and wheat products, and traces of peanuts, treenuts and barley may be present.
Mars' latest seasonal M&M's offering is Orange flavour. Although the package doesn't actually say it on the front (or anywhere but in the ingredients), these are milk chocolate M&Ms. The orange flavour isn't new to the range; a few years ago we saw it in dark chocolate M&Ms.
These M&M's are the first packet I've picked up in Mars' new gusseted bags. These bags have been introduced over the past few months, and will also be used with the Maltesers and Pods ranges. Despite what some customers seem to think, there has been no sizing change. Because the bag is shaped differently (wider, rather than narrow and tall), it feels like there is less product, but the product weight is the same.
The new bags also come with the ability to be 're-sealed' - although in this case it is with the roll-over-and-use-provided-sticker rather than with an included ziplock closure. The sticker may annoy some people as it's not very sticky, and I found that it would pop off the sealed bag at times if closed too tightly.
On the front we have Orange, the orange-coloured M&M, shown getting into (or coming out of) an orange fruit costume. At the bottom near his feet, there is a cute message indicating that 'no oranges were harmed in the making of this product'.
Inside we have orange and white-coloured M&M's. They look no different in size to regular milk M&Ms, and bear the classic m logo in some icky colour (mottled blue on orange, and green-brown on the white). The vast majority of mine were undamaged and rounded in shape, but I did have a couple of deformed ones, as you do.
They are very strongly scented. The scent is a lot like that of the Terry's Milk Chocolate Orange, but more fruity and essence-like (whereas the Terry's can be overwhelmingly strong and sweet). It's quite a nice scent, and the chocolate scent is discernable as well. They complement each other nicely.
On taste, these M&M's are quite mild compared to a Terry's Milk Chocolate Orange. Whereas the first bite of a Terry's can make your teeth hurt, these are nicely flavoured, not too strong or overpowering. That may be because of the candy shell, as it doesn't seem to be flavoured. The orange and chocolate tastes go together well, neither dominating the other. There is no citrus tang or sharpness; the orange flavour is a well-crafted fake but mild. There's no mention of zest, juice, essence or other genuine orange flavour in the ingredients list.
It's easy to take a handful and munch away, but I do find that these are not as encouraging of mindless eating as many other M&M types. Maybe it's because the orange taste lingers for a little while afterwards, delicately reminding me of what I just ate like a mild mint. It's not an unpleasant situation (and perhaps may complement a sip of hot chocolate), but it may not go so well with something else eaten immediately afterwards.
Mars M&M's Orange includes milk and wheat products, and traces of peanuts, treenuts and barley may be present.
Sunday, 25 November 2012
M&M's Milk Chocolate Christmas Tube
The 2012 Christmas release from Mars features regular milk chocolate M&M's (anyone else wonder why there is an apostrophe in the brand name?) coloured red and green, and shipped in a lengthened plastic tube. The tube come sin two colours, red and lime green, and the outer packaging features snow flakes, and Red and Miss Green wearing Santa hats. Prety cute.
In the picture above you can see both the red and green tubes, and a tube of M&M's Minis. The Christmas version of the tube is a bit more than 1.5 times longer. It's long enough to hold odds and ends like pens, nail files and other things in your bag. At least, that's what I'll be using mine for. :)
It's important to note that the M&M's used in this package are of normal size, not minis. The tube holds 45g, which is four grams less than what you find in the normal bag. These retail for the same price as a medium bar, which I think is about $1.85 RRP.
These don't taste any different to me than normal M&M's - probably because they're not. But the red and green candy coating is a fun seasonal difference, not that chocolate lasts awfully well in these Australian summers, mind you. They would make a cute extra as part of a Secret Santa/Kris Kringle gift, too.
M&M's contain wheat and soy, and may contian traces of treenuts, peanuts and barley.
In the picture above you can see both the red and green tubes, and a tube of M&M's Minis. The Christmas version of the tube is a bit more than 1.5 times longer. It's long enough to hold odds and ends like pens, nail files and other things in your bag. At least, that's what I'll be using mine for. :)
It's important to note that the M&M's used in this package are of normal size, not minis. The tube holds 45g, which is four grams less than what you find in the normal bag. These retail for the same price as a medium bar, which I think is about $1.85 RRP.
These don't taste any different to me than normal M&M's - probably because they're not. But the red and green candy coating is a fun seasonal difference, not that chocolate lasts awfully well in these Australian summers, mind you. They would make a cute extra as part of a Secret Santa/Kris Kringle gift, too.
M&M's contain wheat and soy, and may contian traces of treenuts, peanuts and barley.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Au'Some Candy Apps
As soon as these came into my work I was both fascinated and amused by the clever packaging. Au'some (pronounced awesome) is a subsidiary of 'Candy Novelty Works Limited, which, from that name alone, should give you an idea of what sort of confectionery products they manufacture. Au'some itself was established in 1998, and produces some great 'interactive candy'. Their Head Office is in the US, but they have sales offices all over the world.
This particular product is basically a repackage of some of the many products that Au-some sells individually. The package itself is quite large, 17cm long x 10cm wide x 1.5cm deep. The front cover is created to replicate the face of an iPhone or similar product, with 'app' images representing the products inside. (Interesting to note: the top left app is a sticker for their Facebook page Underneath the app says 'Bobbys'.)
The rear of the package is a neat moulded tray which holds seven different products (eight items but one is duplicated). What I found especially fascinating was that the apps on the front cover actually line up with the products in the tray underneath, so there was no guessing as to what items were inside.
The first product is the 'Sour Candy Bone'. It's very large, a bit over 5.5cm long and 2cm wide, and is about 1cm thick. Mine was a very pale pink, and covered in gritty sour power, while the interior was chalky and stiff. I'm not a fan of sour products in general, but this one was very weak - even I could tolerate it! It has a faint artificial strawberry taste, and is actually somewhat refreshing. The snap is pretty stiff - I had to use my back teeth to bite off a piece - but as with compressed lollies the piece broke up easily.
The next product I tried was the '3-Dees Gummy'. Mine was yellow, and was moulded from two pieces so it had a 3D shape of a bunny. The sculpt is really cute - the bunny is about 3.5cm tall at the ears (including his base), and is lightly textured all over to represent hair. He didn't smell like much, and faintly tasted of a generic tropical flavour. He was made from a very stiff gummy (think Starburst babies, but firmer) and was very average in flavour.
My next piece was a 'Sour 3-Dees Gummy'. I studied the shape very hard but couldn't work out what he was supposed to be - a penguin? A person? The other non-sour 3-Dees piece in the package was the same mould, but even with another to look out, I have no clue what shape it's supposed to represent. (As an aside, I went hunting on the 3-Dees website and found the mould used with their Easter seasonal release, but I'm still no closer to deciphering his shape.)
Both of them had a very stiff chew - similar to the bunny, but different in that they felt more like plastic. They were both strawberry flavour, and again the sour piece was weak in its kick. I actually preferred the sour piece over the other one.
At the top of the package we have the 'Au'some Candy Roll', a basic compressed candy. Mine had 11 pieces all up, each tablet was less than 1cm wide and several milimetres thick. These These felt stale to me - they were very dry and had a sharp snap, with little to no flavour across the different colours.
The blue pieces are 'Blue raspberry flavoured Mega Bitz'. The little pieces were random in shape and quite small, about the size of a Tic Tac, but many were stuck together. I was surprised to discover these are actually gum, which a nice strong blue raspberry flavour (which is a manufactured flavour). They were tart and jammy too. At least, I think they were gum - it felt like it but after a few chews they started to disappear.
Next up was the 'Crunchy Candies'. (If that doesn't sound generic, then I don't know what does.) These are coated compressed candy about the size of a tablet, with little smiley faces painted on one side. Like most coated compressed candy, these had appeal, although I did note that the yellow pieces had a mild lemon taste, the pink was an awful berry flavour, blue was blue raspberry, and green was just bland.
Lastly we had the 'strawberry flavoured Au'some Nuggets'. I'm not sure how to describe these - they're like gummy but softer, and coated. Whatever they are, they are meant to be eaten by the handful to enjoy the jammy-but-artificial strawberry taste. I liked these the best, but not enough to actively seek them out.
For the price I paid (we sell these at $2.20), I was pretty disappointed. It's a cute way to sample different Au'Some products, but the flavour was sub-par on most products. Kids would probably enjoy the variety though.
There's no allergen statements on the back, but you would need to examine the (lengthy but detailed) ingredients list for additives.
This particular product is basically a repackage of some of the many products that Au-some sells individually. The package itself is quite large, 17cm long x 10cm wide x 1.5cm deep. The front cover is created to replicate the face of an iPhone or similar product, with 'app' images representing the products inside. (Interesting to note: the top left app is a sticker for their Facebook page Underneath the app says 'Bobbys'.)
The rear of the package is a neat moulded tray which holds seven different products (eight items but one is duplicated). What I found especially fascinating was that the apps on the front cover actually line up with the products in the tray underneath, so there was no guessing as to what items were inside.
The first product is the 'Sour Candy Bone'. It's very large, a bit over 5.5cm long and 2cm wide, and is about 1cm thick. Mine was a very pale pink, and covered in gritty sour power, while the interior was chalky and stiff. I'm not a fan of sour products in general, but this one was very weak - even I could tolerate it! It has a faint artificial strawberry taste, and is actually somewhat refreshing. The snap is pretty stiff - I had to use my back teeth to bite off a piece - but as with compressed lollies the piece broke up easily.
The next product I tried was the '3-Dees Gummy'. Mine was yellow, and was moulded from two pieces so it had a 3D shape of a bunny. The sculpt is really cute - the bunny is about 3.5cm tall at the ears (including his base), and is lightly textured all over to represent hair. He didn't smell like much, and faintly tasted of a generic tropical flavour. He was made from a very stiff gummy (think Starburst babies, but firmer) and was very average in flavour.
My next piece was a 'Sour 3-Dees Gummy'. I studied the shape very hard but couldn't work out what he was supposed to be - a penguin? A person? The other non-sour 3-Dees piece in the package was the same mould, but even with another to look out, I have no clue what shape it's supposed to represent. (As an aside, I went hunting on the 3-Dees website and found the mould used with their Easter seasonal release, but I'm still no closer to deciphering his shape.)
Both of them had a very stiff chew - similar to the bunny, but different in that they felt more like plastic. They were both strawberry flavour, and again the sour piece was weak in its kick. I actually preferred the sour piece over the other one.
At the top of the package we have the 'Au'some Candy Roll', a basic compressed candy. Mine had 11 pieces all up, each tablet was less than 1cm wide and several milimetres thick. These These felt stale to me - they were very dry and had a sharp snap, with little to no flavour across the different colours.
The blue pieces are 'Blue raspberry flavoured Mega Bitz'. The little pieces were random in shape and quite small, about the size of a Tic Tac, but many were stuck together. I was surprised to discover these are actually gum, which a nice strong blue raspberry flavour (which is a manufactured flavour). They were tart and jammy too. At least, I think they were gum - it felt like it but after a few chews they started to disappear.
Next up was the 'Crunchy Candies'. (If that doesn't sound generic, then I don't know what does.) These are coated compressed candy about the size of a tablet, with little smiley faces painted on one side. Like most coated compressed candy, these had appeal, although I did note that the yellow pieces had a mild lemon taste, the pink was an awful berry flavour, blue was blue raspberry, and green was just bland.
Lastly we had the 'strawberry flavoured Au'some Nuggets'. I'm not sure how to describe these - they're like gummy but softer, and coated. Whatever they are, they are meant to be eaten by the handful to enjoy the jammy-but-artificial strawberry taste. I liked these the best, but not enough to actively seek them out.
For the price I paid (we sell these at $2.20), I was pretty disappointed. It's a cute way to sample different Au'Some products, but the flavour was sub-par on most products. Kids would probably enjoy the variety though.
There's no allergen statements on the back, but you would need to examine the (lengthy but detailed) ingredients list for additives.
Monday, 29 October 2012
Lindt Extra Creamy Milk Milk Chocolate and Cookie Crunch
Lindt & Sprungli is one of those brands that is synonymous with quality. The brand is available worldwide and is just as widely known for their quality Swiss-made chocolate products.
Recently Lindt launched a campaign with their new 'Creamy Milk' range of 100g milk chocolate blocks. The campaign even included giving away free blocks through their Facebook page. I wasn't lucky enough to win one of the blocks, but that's how I found out about their new product.
The range comes in three flavours: Milk, Cookie Crunch, and Hazelnut. I have the first two flavours for review.
Since its launch, these blocks can often be found on special for about $1.99 (half price) at the two major Australian supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths. The packaging is surprisingly cheap for a Lindt product, just foil and a paper outer layer, but it still manages to look rather dignified with a raised gold logo and a brilliant royal blue background. The Cookie Crunch features a wide yellow swatch across the bottom to help distinguish it from the Milk Chocolate version.
The blocks are broken into small rectangles rather than squares, and each has the brand name impressed into the top.The block is slightly wider than Cadbury's 100g blocks, at a hair under 7.5cm wide and 16cm long, and 5mm thick. At first glance, there seems to be little difference between the Milk Chocolate and the Cookie Crunch, although on closer inspection the cookie version is a touch lighter in colouring. And of course there is the addition of cookie pieces: from the top they are mere specks below the surface, but flip the block over and the texture fro the tiny pieces is wonderful. The back shows the pieces are well distributed, and just about all are covered by chocolate. The reverse of the Milk Chocolate block is smooth and mostly unmarred, although not glossy like the Cookie Crunch.
There's a definitely a strong milky note to the scent of both blocks - it reminds me of the Lindt Easter Bunnies. :) It's strong and creamy, and without much of a cocoa scent to interrupt the sweetness.
The first block, the Creamy Milk, has a firm snap to it, indicating freshness. In the mouth it melts quickly and evenly, spreading the sweetness all around. It is perfectly tempered and smooth, but quite sweet.
Cookie Crunch had quite a different flavour to it. The malty cookie pieces stole the show from the first taste, standing right in front and dominating the chocolate flavours. The tiny pieces are evenly dispersed throughout the chocolate, adding great texture to the chew but also imparting a strong malt favour. I honestly could barely taste the chocolate beyond a passing background taste. It was like eating a chocolate-dipped biscuit - the biscuit is the star of the show and the chocolate is the chorus. I wasn't disappointed, but I was baffled at the amount of biscuit. Dropping the amount would allow the chocolate's taste time in the limelight.
Both blocks contain a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 20% of milk solids. Both may contain traces of almonds and hazelnuts.
Recently Lindt launched a campaign with their new 'Creamy Milk' range of 100g milk chocolate blocks. The campaign even included giving away free blocks through their Facebook page. I wasn't lucky enough to win one of the blocks, but that's how I found out about their new product.
The range comes in three flavours: Milk, Cookie Crunch, and Hazelnut. I have the first two flavours for review.
Since its launch, these blocks can often be found on special for about $1.99 (half price) at the two major Australian supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths. The packaging is surprisingly cheap for a Lindt product, just foil and a paper outer layer, but it still manages to look rather dignified with a raised gold logo and a brilliant royal blue background. The Cookie Crunch features a wide yellow swatch across the bottom to help distinguish it from the Milk Chocolate version.
The blocks are broken into small rectangles rather than squares, and each has the brand name impressed into the top.The block is slightly wider than Cadbury's 100g blocks, at a hair under 7.5cm wide and 16cm long, and 5mm thick. At first glance, there seems to be little difference between the Milk Chocolate and the Cookie Crunch, although on closer inspection the cookie version is a touch lighter in colouring. And of course there is the addition of cookie pieces: from the top they are mere specks below the surface, but flip the block over and the texture fro the tiny pieces is wonderful. The back shows the pieces are well distributed, and just about all are covered by chocolate. The reverse of the Milk Chocolate block is smooth and mostly unmarred, although not glossy like the Cookie Crunch.
There's a definitely a strong milky note to the scent of both blocks - it reminds me of the Lindt Easter Bunnies. :) It's strong and creamy, and without much of a cocoa scent to interrupt the sweetness.
The first block, the Creamy Milk, has a firm snap to it, indicating freshness. In the mouth it melts quickly and evenly, spreading the sweetness all around. It is perfectly tempered and smooth, but quite sweet.
Cookie Crunch had quite a different flavour to it. The malty cookie pieces stole the show from the first taste, standing right in front and dominating the chocolate flavours. The tiny pieces are evenly dispersed throughout the chocolate, adding great texture to the chew but also imparting a strong malt favour. I honestly could barely taste the chocolate beyond a passing background taste. It was like eating a chocolate-dipped biscuit - the biscuit is the star of the show and the chocolate is the chorus. I wasn't disappointed, but I was baffled at the amount of biscuit. Dropping the amount would allow the chocolate's taste time in the limelight.
Both blocks contain a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 20% of milk solids. Both may contain traces of almonds and hazelnuts.
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Gossip: Mars Minstrels
I know some of my readers love the bags of Minstrels chocolates that Mars imported earlier in the year. I have some sad news for you guys.
The Minstrels were brought into Australia by Wolworths and Coles on what is called a 'job lot'. Basically it means a seller (in this case, Woolies and Coles) requested a product to be imported. The sad news about this is that the stock is limited and won't stay around forever. Once it's sold out, it is gone.
I've seen Minstrels on clearance for $1.99 at Woolworths a couple of weeks ago (stock was still good through 2013). If you're a fan of these, I suggest snapping them up now before they run out!
The Minstrels were brought into Australia by Wolworths and Coles on what is called a 'job lot'. Basically it means a seller (in this case, Woolies and Coles) requested a product to be imported. The sad news about this is that the stock is limited and won't stay around forever. Once it's sold out, it is gone.
I've seen Minstrels on clearance for $1.99 at Woolworths a couple of weeks ago (stock was still good through 2013). If you're a fan of these, I suggest snapping them up now before they run out!
Natural Confectionery Company Strawberries & Cream Bliss
One of the two new products The Natural Confectionery Company has put out this season is a new flavour in their soft-centre Bliss range. Previous releases include Tropical (now discontinued), the holiday release Merry Blissmas, and the currently-available sour Tangy Bliss and Berry Bliss. The newest flavour is Strawberries and Cream.
Obviously a play on the traditional strawberry and cream jelly lolly, the Strawberries & Cream Bliss lolly features a 'creamy vanilla base', on which is a 'soft fruity centre' housed inside a red jelly shell. Unlike the Berry Bliss release, this version uses the same mould for the jelly shell. I'm not entirely sure what it is supposed to represent, as it looks like a child's drawing of a fingerprint and only covers one side of the lolly. The jelly itself is 2cm tall, and about 1.8cm wide at the base. The creamy base itself is thick, around 4-5mm in height. It's a cute size, enough by itself but you could choose to have several at once if wanted.
The Natural Confectionery Co. does not use artificial colours or flavours, so it was no surprise to find the scent not overwhelming. Although not immediately recognisable as strawberry or even generic berry, the gentle and sweet scent is pleasing.
I hope I'm not alone when I admit that the best thing to do with soft-centre lollies is to squeeze them and make the innards ooze out. With the creamy base to act as a solid plug, the textured top of the jelly gave out first, letting the crystal-like centre ooze out the top like a shiny little gem. By itself, the centre is similar in colour to the outer shell - a dark rose pink - but is full of tiny air bubbles that give it a somewhat crystal appearance. It's actually rather pretty. Still, with a whole bag of these on my desk I sucked it up and finished it for the review.
Alone, the centre is firm but a little slippery, and lightly flavoured, like cordial made to the perfect strength. The centre is nice and slightly floral, but although there is a tiny kick to it, there's nothing of the tang of a real strawberry. When the jelly is eaten as a whole, I got a muted version of the centre's flavour. The creamy base plays a nice background note to offset the mild berry notes, but by itself is nondescript. The jelly as a whole is certainly a nice, and more realistic, play on the all-artificial traditional strawberries and cream lolly. It's less sweet and definitely moreish. Just don't expect an in-your-face strawberry taste.
Strawberries and Cream Bliss are a glucose product, and they contain wheat. A serving size is 25g (approximately four pieces).
Obviously a play on the traditional strawberry and cream jelly lolly, the Strawberries & Cream Bliss lolly features a 'creamy vanilla base', on which is a 'soft fruity centre' housed inside a red jelly shell. Unlike the Berry Bliss release, this version uses the same mould for the jelly shell. I'm not entirely sure what it is supposed to represent, as it looks like a child's drawing of a fingerprint and only covers one side of the lolly. The jelly itself is 2cm tall, and about 1.8cm wide at the base. The creamy base itself is thick, around 4-5mm in height. It's a cute size, enough by itself but you could choose to have several at once if wanted.
The Natural Confectionery Co. does not use artificial colours or flavours, so it was no surprise to find the scent not overwhelming. Although not immediately recognisable as strawberry or even generic berry, the gentle and sweet scent is pleasing.
I hope I'm not alone when I admit that the best thing to do with soft-centre lollies is to squeeze them and make the innards ooze out. With the creamy base to act as a solid plug, the textured top of the jelly gave out first, letting the crystal-like centre ooze out the top like a shiny little gem. By itself, the centre is similar in colour to the outer shell - a dark rose pink - but is full of tiny air bubbles that give it a somewhat crystal appearance. It's actually rather pretty. Still, with a whole bag of these on my desk I sucked it up and finished it for the review.
Alone, the centre is firm but a little slippery, and lightly flavoured, like cordial made to the perfect strength. The centre is nice and slightly floral, but although there is a tiny kick to it, there's nothing of the tang of a real strawberry. When the jelly is eaten as a whole, I got a muted version of the centre's flavour. The creamy base plays a nice background note to offset the mild berry notes, but by itself is nondescript. The jelly as a whole is certainly a nice, and more realistic, play on the all-artificial traditional strawberries and cream lolly. It's less sweet and definitely moreish. Just don't expect an in-your-face strawberry taste.
Strawberries and Cream Bliss are a glucose product, and they contain wheat. A serving size is 25g (approximately four pieces).
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Cadbury Little Wishes
Cadbury has teamed up for the first time with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity that grants wishes to children with serious and life-threatening illnesses. The range is to coincide with Christmas, and includes advent calendars, stockings and gift boxes, as well as the Little Wishes chocolate star.
I'm always happy to see brands team up with good charities, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation is an especially good one. A small amount of sales from each of the MAW-branded products will go to the Foundation; five cents from the sale of the Little Wishes star will be donated. I paid about $1.12 for this at Big W a few weeks ago.
Despite the name being plural, the Little Wishes product is one big 31g milk chocolate star. It feels a lot heavier than it actually weighs, but it is quite big, measuring 6.5cm across the widest point, and about 2cm thick. That said, to an adult it's probably only three or four bites. Although it looks like it would be the classic Dairy Milk milk chocolate, a review of the ingredients list shows that the milk chocolate used here is only 20% cocoa solids (Dairy Milk is 26%). Its scent is fairly mild, a little like milky hot chocolate.
The star is double-sided. On one side it has the Cadbury logo, while the other carries a message. According to the Cadbury site (linked above), some of the messages are:"A Special Wish Will Come True Because of You" and "Make a Wish for Someone Special". Mine says, "Believe in a world where wishes come true" which I think is sweet and whimsical.
Inside, the star is a combination of aerated chocolate (think Aero or Bubbly) and truffle. I didn't realise there was also a truffle centre when I cut the star open for pictures, so I was disappointed to find one half was dense (with big voids around the edges) while the other contained aerated chocolate. Yay for keeping wrappers!
The chocolate itself is unfortunately pretty average. It tastes cheap and boring, like discount chocolate from a substandard brand. It doesn't quite reach the depths of mockolate but it's disappointingly close. If the wrapper didn't say Cadbury, I would not have picked it at all. I was very glad this was only a small bar that I finished while reviewing it as I don't think I could have finished anything larger.
Save your money and make a direct donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation if you were buying this for the charity aspect.
The Cadbury Little Wishes star contains milk and soy, and may contain traces of tree nuts. Interestingly, this bar has been made in the United Kingdom. Do I have any UK readers who can confirm the cocoa solid percentage of your Dairy Milk? If this is what you guys have then I feel sorry for you.
I'm always happy to see brands team up with good charities, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation is an especially good one. A small amount of sales from each of the MAW-branded products will go to the Foundation; five cents from the sale of the Little Wishes star will be donated. I paid about $1.12 for this at Big W a few weeks ago.
Despite the name being plural, the Little Wishes product is one big 31g milk chocolate star. It feels a lot heavier than it actually weighs, but it is quite big, measuring 6.5cm across the widest point, and about 2cm thick. That said, to an adult it's probably only three or four bites. Although it looks like it would be the classic Dairy Milk milk chocolate, a review of the ingredients list shows that the milk chocolate used here is only 20% cocoa solids (Dairy Milk is 26%). Its scent is fairly mild, a little like milky hot chocolate.
The star is double-sided. On one side it has the Cadbury logo, while the other carries a message. According to the Cadbury site (linked above), some of the messages are:"A Special Wish Will Come True Because of You" and "Make a Wish for Someone Special". Mine says, "Believe in a world where wishes come true" which I think is sweet and whimsical.
Inside, the star is a combination of aerated chocolate (think Aero or Bubbly) and truffle. I didn't realise there was also a truffle centre when I cut the star open for pictures, so I was disappointed to find one half was dense (with big voids around the edges) while the other contained aerated chocolate. Yay for keeping wrappers!
The chocolate itself is unfortunately pretty average. It tastes cheap and boring, like discount chocolate from a substandard brand. It doesn't quite reach the depths of mockolate but it's disappointingly close. If the wrapper didn't say Cadbury, I would not have picked it at all. I was very glad this was only a small bar that I finished while reviewing it as I don't think I could have finished anything larger.
Save your money and make a direct donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation if you were buying this for the charity aspect.
The Cadbury Little Wishes star contains milk and soy, and may contain traces of tree nuts. Interestingly, this bar has been made in the United Kingdom. Do I have any UK readers who can confirm the cocoa solid percentage of your Dairy Milk? If this is what you guys have then I feel sorry for you.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Power Poppers Fairy Floss Popping Candy
Fairy floss (cotton candy in North America, and candy floss elsewhere) in and of itself is a pretty simple confectionery. Colourings and flavours are added to spun sugar, resulting in a large, air-filled fluffball on a stick. It's also very light, with servings on a stick often weighing 30g or less. It's a product that is best fresh, but recently mass-produced fairy floss has become available. Here in Australia, we rarely see flavours outside strawberry, although you can occasionally find other flavours here and there.
AIT (Australian International Traders), a distributor, have recently introduced a fairy floss product made in China to the Australian lolly market under the name 'Power Poppers'. Two varieties are available: Fairy Floss Bubblegum' and 'Fairy Floss Popping Candy'. I'll be reviewing the Bubblegum version later this week.
Mass-manufactured fairy floss just doesn't compare to the fresh stuff, in my opinion. When stuffed into packaging, it loses a lot of its volume (which is where a lot of the appeal is for me), and if not carefully packaged, can harden and turn a bit icky. I've also never seen fairy floss (fresh or otherwise) with a product added to it. Wikipedia doesn't mention this either, so this might just be a whole new ball game.
Inside the foil packaging, we have a small, firmish handful of bright pink, strongly-scented fairy floss. The scent is truly ridiculous - I can smell it from outside the package. It's definitely strawberry, and will clear your sinuses if you're not careful! It's a brighter shade of pink than in the picture, similar to the pink on the wrapper. It's a small amount of fairy floss, about the size of a child's clenched fist.
At first I was disappointed with the amount of popping candy that I found in the bottom of the package. There was barely a teaspoonful worth, just kicking around at the bottom. It wasn't until I gently tore apart the bundle of fairy floss for photos that I discovered a small void inside, that held more popping candy. The popping candy is in honking big pieces too, as you can see in the photo.
The strawberry flavour is quite evident, in both the floss and the popping candy. It's sweet but pleasant, a bit like the cheap hard lollies you can find in the $2 shop. There's no tang or kick to it, but then again the package isn't exactly making any claims as to the quality of their flavouring.
On finishing the fairy floss, I still had a large amount of popping candy at the bottom, so it was fun to tip all of that into my mouth at once. Good popping!
AIT (Australian International Traders), a distributor, have recently introduced a fairy floss product made in China to the Australian lolly market under the name 'Power Poppers'. Two varieties are available: Fairy Floss Bubblegum' and 'Fairy Floss Popping Candy'. I'll be reviewing the Bubblegum version later this week.
Mass-manufactured fairy floss just doesn't compare to the fresh stuff, in my opinion. When stuffed into packaging, it loses a lot of its volume (which is where a lot of the appeal is for me), and if not carefully packaged, can harden and turn a bit icky. I've also never seen fairy floss (fresh or otherwise) with a product added to it. Wikipedia doesn't mention this either, so this might just be a whole new ball game.
Inside the foil packaging, we have a small, firmish handful of bright pink, strongly-scented fairy floss. The scent is truly ridiculous - I can smell it from outside the package. It's definitely strawberry, and will clear your sinuses if you're not careful! It's a brighter shade of pink than in the picture, similar to the pink on the wrapper. It's a small amount of fairy floss, about the size of a child's clenched fist.
At first I was disappointed with the amount of popping candy that I found in the bottom of the package. There was barely a teaspoonful worth, just kicking around at the bottom. It wasn't until I gently tore apart the bundle of fairy floss for photos that I discovered a small void inside, that held more popping candy. The popping candy is in honking big pieces too, as you can see in the photo.
The strawberry flavour is quite evident, in both the floss and the popping candy. It's sweet but pleasant, a bit like the cheap hard lollies you can find in the $2 shop. There's no tang or kick to it, but then again the package isn't exactly making any claims as to the quality of their flavouring.
On finishing the fairy floss, I still had a large amount of popping candy at the bottom, so it was fun to tip all of that into my mouth at once. Good popping!
Monday, 15 October 2012
Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition White
In one of the more curious limited edition releases this year, Nestle has released a White variety of their classic Kit Kat bar. Interestingly, the LE flavour seems to be only available in king size.
The first thing I noticed is that the description on the side of the package describes the bar as "Crisp Wafer Fingers Covered With Smooth White Choc" [horrendous overuse of capital letters courtesy of Nestle]. The red flag is the word 'choc', which indicates that the outer layer on the bar is not real chocolate but instead some delicious mockolate. Awesome. Just to confirm my thoughts, on the ingredients list, cocoa (not even cocoa butter, just 'cocoa') is way down in seventh place, behind delicacies such as vegetable fat and yeast. Cocoa butter is ninth out of fourteen total ingredients. Oh, and 70% of this bar is this delicious 'white confectionery'.
To give Nestle credit, the bar's outer layer does smell a little like white chocolate. There's that buttery, creamy tang that reminds me of Cadbury's Dream white chocolate (in which cocoa butter is the third ingredient) but there's a note of something there that I can't identify. It's a little bit chemical in nature. The colour is spot-on, although the shape of the finger and its sharp edges, combined with the bars faint gloss coating, all makes me feel like it resembles a Lego brick.
The finger has a solid snap to it, indicating freshness (probably due to the foil packaging Nestle introduced a few years ago). If there's supposed to be identifiable white confection between the wafer layers, I can't see it. It's the same colour as the wafers so even if I wanted to try and dig a bit out for a tasting, I couldn't.
As a whole bite, the bar isn't terrible. There is a fair bit of sweetness, but it's not throat-searing like some poorly manufactured white chocolates can be. It is a little bit bland and uninteresting though. The almost-savoury wafer does a good job of balancing things out, and adding a great crunch texture to the chew. Unsurprisingly, the white confection doesn't melt or become a delicious creamy mess in your mouth. It just hangs around until you've finished, like an unwanted visitor.
The Nestle Kity Kat Limited Edition White bar contains milk, wheat and soy, and is mad eon equipment that processes products containing peanuts and tree nuts.
The first thing I noticed is that the description on the side of the package describes the bar as "Crisp Wafer Fingers Covered With Smooth White Choc" [horrendous overuse of capital letters courtesy of Nestle]. The red flag is the word 'choc', which indicates that the outer layer on the bar is not real chocolate but instead some delicious mockolate. Awesome. Just to confirm my thoughts, on the ingredients list, cocoa (not even cocoa butter, just 'cocoa') is way down in seventh place, behind delicacies such as vegetable fat and yeast. Cocoa butter is ninth out of fourteen total ingredients. Oh, and 70% of this bar is this delicious 'white confectionery'.
To give Nestle credit, the bar's outer layer does smell a little like white chocolate. There's that buttery, creamy tang that reminds me of Cadbury's Dream white chocolate (in which cocoa butter is the third ingredient) but there's a note of something there that I can't identify. It's a little bit chemical in nature. The colour is spot-on, although the shape of the finger and its sharp edges, combined with the bars faint gloss coating, all makes me feel like it resembles a Lego brick.
The finger has a solid snap to it, indicating freshness (probably due to the foil packaging Nestle introduced a few years ago). If there's supposed to be identifiable white confection between the wafer layers, I can't see it. It's the same colour as the wafers so even if I wanted to try and dig a bit out for a tasting, I couldn't.
As a whole bite, the bar isn't terrible. There is a fair bit of sweetness, but it's not throat-searing like some poorly manufactured white chocolates can be. It is a little bit bland and uninteresting though. The almost-savoury wafer does a good job of balancing things out, and adding a great crunch texture to the chew. Unsurprisingly, the white confection doesn't melt or become a delicious creamy mess in your mouth. It just hangs around until you've finished, like an unwanted visitor.
The Nestle Kity Kat Limited Edition White bar contains milk, wheat and soy, and is mad eon equipment that processes products containing peanuts and tree nuts.
Friday, 12 October 2012
Gossip: Mentos Mystery and Strawberry, and $25k Promotion
The current Mentos release, Mystery, is now in limited-edition status, with all replenishment stocks sold out. My Stuart Alexander rep has also revealed the flavour of the Mystery roll (not the gum): it's not lemonade as many of us thought, but grapefruit! Geniuses amongst us might have had the bright idea to check out the ingredients list, where grapefruit is listed third. Oh well!
I've also heard that the next Mentos flavour to be released is Strawberry. Strawberry is one of the flavours available in the Rainbow and Fruit rolls, so if you've ever wanted a roll of just strawberry, then your wish has come true! The roll is set to be released early next year.
The last of my gossip on the Mentos products is linked to the $25,000 prize promotion Stuart Alexander is currently running. The promoter is aware that some stores still have stock on hand from last year, which is branded with last year's $25k promotion. If you have purchased a promotional Mentos roll and have found you've picked up older stock (last year's promotional stock has a best before date of 2013), you can still use the roll to enter this year's competition. Just visit the promo website, or call the number on the roll and attempt to enter, and you will automatically be sent a roll branded with this year's promotion, which you can then use to enter the competition. So pretty much a free roll of Mentos - sweet! Let me know if you attempt this - I've love to know how you go.
I've also heard that the next Mentos flavour to be released is Strawberry. Strawberry is one of the flavours available in the Rainbow and Fruit rolls, so if you've ever wanted a roll of just strawberry, then your wish has come true! The roll is set to be released early next year.
The last of my gossip on the Mentos products is linked to the $25,000 prize promotion Stuart Alexander is currently running. The promoter is aware that some stores still have stock on hand from last year, which is branded with last year's $25k promotion. If you have purchased a promotional Mentos roll and have found you've picked up older stock (last year's promotional stock has a best before date of 2013), you can still use the roll to enter this year's competition. Just visit the promo website, or call the number on the roll and attempt to enter, and you will automatically be sent a roll branded with this year's promotion, which you can then use to enter the competition. So pretty much a free roll of Mentos - sweet! Let me know if you attempt this - I've love to know how you go.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Ring Pop Spinners
Everyone remember Ring Pops? The gigantic lollypop on an uncomfortable plastic ring? Yep, they've reinvented the wheel and pushed out a new version - Ring Pop Spinners.
Available in four flavours, the Ring Pop Spinner is your average Ring Pop, with the addition of a patterned cardboard circle that slips onto the plastic base, and you can then use the base as a spinning top. There are nine cardboard patterns to collect, as illustrated on the back of the packet. The four flavours available are blackcurrant, orange, cola and strawberry. I picked up the orange for review.
Ring Pops are still as huge as I remember. The actual gem lollypop part measures a bit over 2.5cm tall, and is the same at the widest point (the base, by comparison, is just 1.5cm). It's a pretty decent-sized mouthful, whether you're a kid or an adult. I can't tell from photos online if the base has been modified to allow it to spin or not.
The lollypop is quite transparent but not quite clear, adding to its gem-like appearance, with a few tiny bubbles scattered throughout. There are no voids or large bubbles, which should mean it will be a smooth melt. The edges of the mould are already slightly smoothed-off, helping to avoid those nasty mouth cuts I'm sure many of us remember from childhood. Disappointingly, there's no scent, and the flavour is mild, like watered-down cordial. There's no zing or kick, although that's to be expected when the only flavouring is from sugar and ambiguous 'flavouring'.
I finished it quickly in about 20 minutes. For what it's worth, the spinning was interesting (my pattern was half black, and the other half had four sections of lines in a jagged fashion) but not a motivating factor in purchasing this again. I played with it for thirty seconds and then binned it.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Cadbury Mousse Raspberry Chocolate
Last year Cadbury released their 'Mousse' blocks in three flavours: Caramel, Hazelnut and Chocolate. For something a bit different, the pieces were large triangles, each one roughly the width of the block. The interior was filled with fluffy chocolate mousse (flavoured as needed). Although they were delicious, they were very sweet, a factor not helped by the large pieces.
To coincide with the two new flavours released recently (Raspberry Chocolate and Double Chocolate), Cadbury has changed the shape to 'pillow-shaped bites', large rectangles that are roughly the size of two square puffs (the shape that contains flavours like Caramello or Turkish Delight) smushed together. The result is not a block contains 12 pieces (compared to about eight pieces in the prior format). The top of each bite is emblazened with the curly C of the Cadbury logo (rather than the entire word).
There's also slightly new packaging. Instead of being a top-opening box, the new Mousse blocks now open like an envelope on the long side, and it allows more elegantly tuck away the flap between samples. Even the foil has changed, moving to a floral design on the matte outer.
As with all Dairy Milk products, the chocolate is a warm milky brown, glossy and pristine. I have the Raspberry Chocolate version here for review, and the raspberry scent is very strong on these.Even before I tore open the pretty (but feminine) foil I could smell it. I bet this is the type of product to give your storage spot a new scent if you're not careful. At least it's an attractive scent - like a more flavourful berry jelly with hints of cocoa.
The layer of raspberry coulis (thick sauce) is quick thick. I don't know if you can see it well in the photos but there isn't a whole lot of mousse going on here. I'm not all that disappointed though. The coulis is fantastic. By itself, it tastes sweet but tart like a real raspberry (and - woohoo!) it does contain real raspberry puree) and is delightfully refreshing. It's smooth and melts well. The mousse, when I could get to it, is firm, but not as stiff as a truffle, and tastes like a mild, softer version of Dairy Milk.
Add the typically-sweet Dairy Milk chocolate outer layer, and ooh baby we're onto a winner. What looks like a lot of coulis is actually a perfect amount to offset the sweetness of the chocolate. It's still a very sweet bite and you probably won't want more than a few pieces at a time, but the tart raspberry is a perfect accompaniment.
If I gave stars on this blog you can get that this would be a five-star review.
(I just want to note that while Cadbury generally do a good job of sealing the pieces so that the filling doesn't escape, I did have a couple of instances where the coulis tried to make a run for it. I would recommend wrapping this in a ziplock bag or something else airtight if you have a problem with ants.)
Now, can someone get the coulis recipe from Cadbury so we can add some booze to it? This would be incredible over vanilla bean ice cream.
---
A serving size is 25g, or two pieces. The Cadbury Mousse Raspberry Chocolate contains milk and milk solids, wheat, soy, glucose syrup and hazelnut. It may contain traces of peanuts, other tree nuts, egg and wheat.
To coincide with the two new flavours released recently (Raspberry Chocolate and Double Chocolate), Cadbury has changed the shape to 'pillow-shaped bites', large rectangles that are roughly the size of two square puffs (the shape that contains flavours like Caramello or Turkish Delight) smushed together. The result is not a block contains 12 pieces (compared to about eight pieces in the prior format). The top of each bite is emblazened with the curly C of the Cadbury logo (rather than the entire word).
There's also slightly new packaging. Instead of being a top-opening box, the new Mousse blocks now open like an envelope on the long side, and it allows more elegantly tuck away the flap between samples. Even the foil has changed, moving to a floral design on the matte outer.
As with all Dairy Milk products, the chocolate is a warm milky brown, glossy and pristine. I have the Raspberry Chocolate version here for review, and the raspberry scent is very strong on these.Even before I tore open the pretty (but feminine) foil I could smell it. I bet this is the type of product to give your storage spot a new scent if you're not careful. At least it's an attractive scent - like a more flavourful berry jelly with hints of cocoa.
The layer of raspberry coulis (thick sauce) is quick thick. I don't know if you can see it well in the photos but there isn't a whole lot of mousse going on here. I'm not all that disappointed though. The coulis is fantastic. By itself, it tastes sweet but tart like a real raspberry (and - woohoo!) it does contain real raspberry puree) and is delightfully refreshing. It's smooth and melts well. The mousse, when I could get to it, is firm, but not as stiff as a truffle, and tastes like a mild, softer version of Dairy Milk.
Add the typically-sweet Dairy Milk chocolate outer layer, and ooh baby we're onto a winner. What looks like a lot of coulis is actually a perfect amount to offset the sweetness of the chocolate. It's still a very sweet bite and you probably won't want more than a few pieces at a time, but the tart raspberry is a perfect accompaniment.
If I gave stars on this blog you can get that this would be a five-star review.
(I just want to note that while Cadbury generally do a good job of sealing the pieces so that the filling doesn't escape, I did have a couple of instances where the coulis tried to make a run for it. I would recommend wrapping this in a ziplock bag or something else airtight if you have a problem with ants.)
Now, can someone get the coulis recipe from Cadbury so we can add some booze to it? This would be incredible over vanilla bean ice cream.
---
A serving size is 25g, or two pieces. The Cadbury Mousse Raspberry Chocolate contains milk and milk solids, wheat, soy, glucose syrup and hazelnut. It may contain traces of peanuts, other tree nuts, egg and wheat.
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