Menz Caramel Honeycomb

It's not often I get to review a wholly Australian brand. Menz, short for Robern Menz, has manufactured confectionery in Australia since 1892 (though the brand produced other products from as early as 1850) - now that's a pretty impressive record! 

Menz actually has quite a wide variety of confectionery products, although their most well-known items would be those from the FruChocs range - little balls of fruit covered in milk or dark chocolate. They also do some very nice choc-covered honeycomb that comes in gigantic bags, even though it is compound and not real chocolate. The Caramel Honeycomb up for review today is rather similar to the choc honeycomb - though of course, with one major difference: the coating.

Right off the bat, the ingredients list is not shy about labelling the coating as an artificial product; it's called 'caramel compound', which is produced with sugar, palm oil (sustainable), milk solids, emulsifiers, and natural colours and flavours. Props to them for not hiding the make-up of the coating. Appearance-wise, the caramel coating is not the most appealing thing to look at. It's an unappealing creamy beige colour, a little lumpy, and dull in finish. It has a very sweet scent, like caramel topping. There's burnt sugar, for sure, but a lot of sugar poured into it as well, and some milky interest too, rather like a caramel milkshake. 

 

The coating is surprisingly mild in flavour, with just some sugar notes present. Now, the honeycomb is my favourite part: it's crisp with a pleasing almost chalky crunch to it. It's definitely more Violet Crumble- rather than Crunchie-style honeycomb. In terms of flavour it doesn't have a lot; there's sweetness with warmth from the brown sugar, and that's about all. Combined with the caramel coating, it's a mix I didn't expect to work at all, but given the coating doesn't have a whole lot of flavour on its own, it's a pleasant juxtaposition.

 

The pieces are huge, a good 5cm square and about 2 or 3cm tall, so a couple of pieces is enough to suffice most sugar cravings. It's a shame the bags don't come in small sizes, however, as even sealed in a zip-lock bag, the honeycomb degrades fairly quickly once opened (or maybe my bag just has a whole in it).

A surprising combination I didn't expect to work at all, but appearances could be better.

Score: 3 out of 5 jelly beans

Menz Caramel Honeycomb is made in Australia. It contains mild, soy, wheat and gelatine from beef. The product is processed and packed in a nut-free fctory, and is gluten free.