More M&M gossip!
Around September/October this year, we'll see Mars' new seasonal release for 2012/13 come into shops. This year's new flavour will be milk chocolate orange - yum!
In the same time period Mars will be introducing new packaging for their 180-200g M&Ms bags. The bags will have a gusseted bottom and stand upright on their own, plus be resealable (a la Cadbury Crunchie Rocks and the like - fold-over resealable, not zip-lock). Interestingly, the pack sizes, barcodes and images are not changing, just the packaging shape. I don't have pictures just yet, but will share as soon as I do.
There is also whispers of a new Snickers variety, Three Nut, but I don't have any more info besides the name just yet.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Friday, 1 June 2012
Mars Galaxy Minstrels Milk Chocolate
Mars Galaxy Minstrels (previously known as just 'Minstrels') are a milk
chocolate bite-sized product, similar to Smarties or M&Ms, but
somewhat larger in size. They are a favourite product in the UK, but are
also available in Spain, France, Ireland, Malta, South Africa and
Cyprus. In May of this year, Mars decided to begin selling them to the
Australian market.
My exposure to Minstrels is quite limited; a relative bought me a bag when they went to the UK some years ago. I remember enjoying them, but not enough to seek them out at an importer. We'll see if they've changed.
The bag is 150g, a decent size for a munchable bite-size chocolate. It's neatly gusseted to stand upright (nothing worse than opening a bag and then having its contents spill everywhere). The slogan on the front encourages you to 'surrender to smooth and creamy Galaxy milk chocolate captured in crispy shells'. For the curious, Galaxy chocolate was known here in Australia for a while as Dove chocolate. Remember those silky-smooth bars? I miss them.
The bite-size pieces of chocolate are quite large, about 2cm wide, and 1cm thick at the centre. Each one is a small bite on its own. They are quite a dark brown in colour, almost black, and with a nice shine to the candy coating. Only the occasional Minstrel is scuffed - they are all in good condition, considering the bag has come all the way from Poland (!). They smell faintly of dark chocolate, but the scent isn't strong at all - I practically had to shove my nose in the pile before I could make a guess. A few were slightly deformed with a bent-in side.
Candy coatings on chocolate always give a great crunch to a bite, and the Minstrels are no exception. If you really enjoy the sound, for a chocolate with such a thin coating, it sure makes a lot of noise in your mouth! The bite is easy with only a little resistance to break through the candy coating, but the chocolate is easy to chew and not firm at all. The chocolate is very sweet, about on par with Cadbury Snack, and it's a good thing there's six servings (25g - about 8-9 pieces) in this bag, because I don't think I could eat more than that without a break.
The milk chocolate contains a minimum of 26% cocoa solids, and may contain traces of peanuts and treenuts.
Have you tried these? I'd love to know what you think!
My exposure to Minstrels is quite limited; a relative bought me a bag when they went to the UK some years ago. I remember enjoying them, but not enough to seek them out at an importer. We'll see if they've changed.
The bag is 150g, a decent size for a munchable bite-size chocolate. It's neatly gusseted to stand upright (nothing worse than opening a bag and then having its contents spill everywhere). The slogan on the front encourages you to 'surrender to smooth and creamy Galaxy milk chocolate captured in crispy shells'. For the curious, Galaxy chocolate was known here in Australia for a while as Dove chocolate. Remember those silky-smooth bars? I miss them.
The bite-size pieces of chocolate are quite large, about 2cm wide, and 1cm thick at the centre. Each one is a small bite on its own. They are quite a dark brown in colour, almost black, and with a nice shine to the candy coating. Only the occasional Minstrel is scuffed - they are all in good condition, considering the bag has come all the way from Poland (!). They smell faintly of dark chocolate, but the scent isn't strong at all - I practically had to shove my nose in the pile before I could make a guess. A few were slightly deformed with a bent-in side.
Candy coatings on chocolate always give a great crunch to a bite, and the Minstrels are no exception. If you really enjoy the sound, for a chocolate with such a thin coating, it sure makes a lot of noise in your mouth! The bite is easy with only a little resistance to break through the candy coating, but the chocolate is easy to chew and not firm at all. The chocolate is very sweet, about on par with Cadbury Snack, and it's a good thing there's six servings (25g - about 8-9 pieces) in this bag, because I don't think I could eat more than that without a break.
The milk chocolate contains a minimum of 26% cocoa solids, and may contain traces of peanuts and treenuts.
Have you tried these? I'd love to know what you think!
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Crown Zappos Chews Pineapple
Crown Confectionery is a Korean company, established in 1947. As well as Zappos confectionery, they also produce biscuits, chocolates and other snacks and confectionery.
Zappos are an exceedingly popular sour product from Crown. The sour chews are the flagship product, but the brand also applies to lollipops, sour straps, bubble gum and other confectionery. The chews are available in many flavours: peach, grape, tutti fruitti, orange, strawberry, raspberry, and cola was a new addition last year. As of this month, the newest addition is Pineapple.
The 26g bar is paper-wrapped in the colours of the flavour. Pineapple comes wrapped in green and yellow, with a picture of a cartoon pineapple on the front. Inside, the seven pieces are wrapped in lime gren wax paper decorated with little pineapples, and what I assume are the Korean symbols for 'pineapple'.
The chew inside is a pale yellow but doesn't smell of much. There's a mild sweet note that smells like dried-up Passiona (which is a passionfruit-flavoured drink) but it doesn't go anywhere near the lip-curling tartness of what I'd expect from a pineapple-flavoured product.
Like most Zappos chews, the sour is relatively mild and tolerable. Thankfully the pineapple flavour makes a bold appearance at the start, crashing in as soon as the chew is in your mouth. It's lovely and tarty enough to make your mouth water, and even carries the mild underlying sweetness that is nice and refreshing. The chew doesn't carry much bounce - once bitten into the chew shrinks a bit in size as each bite milks it of flavour. After about 30 sections it becomes too soft to chew, so it's not a long-lasting chew.
Once the chew is finished the sour disappears fairly quickly, but leaves behind a refreshing sweet note for a few moments. It's an impressive approximation of a difficult flavour, and I will easily finish the pack and go back for more.
Zappo chews are a glucose product, and do not contain any fruit extract.
Have you tried these? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Ashmore's Froots Strawberry
Three Hats Imaginative Foods, an Australian company, was founded in 1998
by Joanne Kessell. It was developed as a response to what Ms Kessell
saw as a shortage of non-traditional, upmarket chocolates in Australia.
Their products are carried in the Australian market by stores such as
David Jones, Myer and Gloria Jean's, and are available in Malaysia,
Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, plus being available on some international
airlines.
Ashmore's is one of the brands carried by Three Hats, and it is a premium confectionery range, carrying 'naturally dried whole fruits smothered in rich chocolate'. The Froots range is available in many varieties: strawberry, cranberry, blueberry, cherry, kiwi fruit, raspberry and blackberry, and in milk, white or dark chocolate. All feature 'specially dried' 100% fruit pieces covered in chocolate. I have here the 30g counter box (which is available in three flavours: strawberry, blueberry and cranberry), but a range is also available in 120g hang bags at Coles (as seen a few weeks ago) in four flavours: strawberry, blueberry, cranberry and mixed fruit.
For a gourmet product, the product is packaged nicely in a neat but small glossy cardboard box with a little window at the front. The colours are vibrant but the use of lots of white means the product stands out on the shelf against other products that are more brightly-coloured. It features a large graphic of a strawberry across the bottom (other flavours have their respective fruits), and a chocolate-dipped strawberry photo above the window, giving the impression the flavour will be similar. The box is plastic wrapped, but not fully - the top and bottom are not covered, so the box is not airtight when plastic wrapped.
As per an item that features '100% real fruit', the chocolate pieces are misshapen and differ in size. The largest piece in my strawberry box is almost as big as a Malteser, while the smallest is barely 6mm wide. Most are about the size of a Crispy M&M, and rounded rather than squashed. All are are lovely shade of brown, not warm or milky but with a nice but thin gloss finish. They smell milky and sweet, with no trace of the fruit pieces inside.
It's clear that this is a product meant to be savoured - both the serving size and number of pieces indicate that these pieces aren't meant for mindless chomping (that's more my style, unfortunately).
I loved biting these open for photos. The innards are just so pretty to look at. The chocolate is quite thick, almost 3mm , which means there is a decent amount of chocolate in proportion to the fruit inside. That also means the fruit pieces are thoroughly covered and not exposed to the air. Inside, the strawberry pieces are still rich in colour and retain the colour gradient that leads to the centre of the fruit. In some pieces I could see the strawberry seeds present too. The fruit looks soft and a little chalky, but crumbles nicely.
Because of the thick chocolate I was unable to try the strawberry just by itself, but by pressing a half on my tongue I could get a taste of the tarty strawberry inside. It's sharp and tangy and quite intense, an effect softened by the thick chocolate coating. The chocolate, on the other hand, is somewhat unremarkable alone, but when paired with the strawberry it provides a soft, sweet background that supports the strawberry flavour without overpowering. On the smaller pieces though, where there is very little strawberry present, the chocolate does override the fruit flavour.
The flavour does hang around for a while afterwards, and you might occasionally find strawberry pieces or seeds in your teeth. Considering there is barely a handful of confectionery, I was disappointed when I reached the bottom far too soon, but the product is far too expensive for me to purchase on my own. I paid $2.99 for the 30g box.
The chocolate is 24% minimum cocoa solids. The box says the product is 'made and packed in Australia and Hong Kong from imported ingredients'. They contain milk and soy, and may contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts.
Ashmore's is one of the brands carried by Three Hats, and it is a premium confectionery range, carrying 'naturally dried whole fruits smothered in rich chocolate'. The Froots range is available in many varieties: strawberry, cranberry, blueberry, cherry, kiwi fruit, raspberry and blackberry, and in milk, white or dark chocolate. All feature 'specially dried' 100% fruit pieces covered in chocolate. I have here the 30g counter box (which is available in three flavours: strawberry, blueberry and cranberry), but a range is also available in 120g hang bags at Coles (as seen a few weeks ago) in four flavours: strawberry, blueberry, cranberry and mixed fruit.
For a gourmet product, the product is packaged nicely in a neat but small glossy cardboard box with a little window at the front. The colours are vibrant but the use of lots of white means the product stands out on the shelf against other products that are more brightly-coloured. It features a large graphic of a strawberry across the bottom (other flavours have their respective fruits), and a chocolate-dipped strawberry photo above the window, giving the impression the flavour will be similar. The box is plastic wrapped, but not fully - the top and bottom are not covered, so the box is not airtight when plastic wrapped.
As per an item that features '100% real fruit', the chocolate pieces are misshapen and differ in size. The largest piece in my strawberry box is almost as big as a Malteser, while the smallest is barely 6mm wide. Most are about the size of a Crispy M&M, and rounded rather than squashed. All are are lovely shade of brown, not warm or milky but with a nice but thin gloss finish. They smell milky and sweet, with no trace of the fruit pieces inside.
It's clear that this is a product meant to be savoured - both the serving size and number of pieces indicate that these pieces aren't meant for mindless chomping (that's more my style, unfortunately).
I loved biting these open for photos. The innards are just so pretty to look at. The chocolate is quite thick, almost 3mm , which means there is a decent amount of chocolate in proportion to the fruit inside. That also means the fruit pieces are thoroughly covered and not exposed to the air. Inside, the strawberry pieces are still rich in colour and retain the colour gradient that leads to the centre of the fruit. In some pieces I could see the strawberry seeds present too. The fruit looks soft and a little chalky, but crumbles nicely.
Because of the thick chocolate I was unable to try the strawberry just by itself, but by pressing a half on my tongue I could get a taste of the tarty strawberry inside. It's sharp and tangy and quite intense, an effect softened by the thick chocolate coating. The chocolate, on the other hand, is somewhat unremarkable alone, but when paired with the strawberry it provides a soft, sweet background that supports the strawberry flavour without overpowering. On the smaller pieces though, where there is very little strawberry present, the chocolate does override the fruit flavour.
The flavour does hang around for a while afterwards, and you might occasionally find strawberry pieces or seeds in your teeth. Considering there is barely a handful of confectionery, I was disappointed when I reached the bottom far too soon, but the product is far too expensive for me to purchase on my own. I paid $2.99 for the 30g box.
The chocolate is 24% minimum cocoa solids. The box says the product is 'made and packed in Australia and Hong Kong from imported ingredients'. They contain milk and soy, and may contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Cadbury Marvellous Creations Jelly, Popping Candy & Beanies
Further to my comment on the Cadbury Marvellous Creations Peanut Toffee
Cookie review post, I've since found out that all three of the large
blocks are supermarket exclusive products. Only the smaller 50g bars
will be available in stores other than supermarkets.
In fact, Cadbury is so determined that the 300g blocks remain supermarket exclusive that their reps are being instructed to report any stores that are found to be selling the blocks back to Cadbury, and they may even suffer fines. Wow! I haven't heard any solid facts as to why Cadbury is being quite vigilant with this particular product, but I'm sure we'll hear something sooner or later. Or, I'll twist the arm of my Cadbury rep when I see him next. ;)
Last up in the block range for review is the 'Jelly Popping Candy & Beanies' variety. I'm going to take a stretch and assume the jelly pieces will be the same as found in the 'Jelly Crunchie Bits' variety, and the Beanies will be the same as found in the Cadbury Mini Drops, a bite-size piece of Cadbury chocolate covered in candy, (which is also in my review basket).
This isn't Cadbury's first foray into combining popping candy (also known as Pop Rocks) with their Dairy Milk chocolate. In the past they have had a 'mini blocks' range, which included Dream with Sprinkles, Dairy Milk with Popping Candy, and Dairy Milk with Clinkers. I believe these have been discontinued in Australia, but even while they were available here, they were very difficult to find, most likely due to their high price point (around $3 for an 85g block).
I've chosen a 50g bar to review instead of the 300g block. The moulded shape is similar to that of the block, like cobblestones and with varying textures moulded into the top.Interestingly, there is a little pattern - the two outermost pieces have a wave pattern, while the two in from that are pebbled, and the middle piece carries the Cadbury logo. The bar is lovely and thick, perhaps a touch thinner than the larger block, but it still has a satisfying crack to it when snapped. Unlike the block, the bar breaks neatly along the moulded lines, but watch out for flying beanie pieces! There are five pieces moulded into the bar, and each one is a perfect little mouthful.
On the back the bar is relatively smooth, marred only by little flecks of leftover chocolate from the moulding process. (Those will go flying too if you're not careful!) Inside we have what looks like a fairly even distribution of beanies, but I don't seem to be seeing many jelly pieces. I was wrong about the Beanie pieces being the same as the Mini Drops, though - these beanies are definitely, er, 'inspired' by Nestle Smarties. They are the same oval shape, and look to be the same dimensions too. At this point the popping candy isn't really visible, though when spread throughout a chocolate product, it is often hidden.
The popping candy really kicks in after the first couple of chews. There's quite a large amount, but it doesn't overpower the other texture war going on in your mouth. There is a lot going on, though - the smooth, creamy chocolate, the crunch from the candy coating on the beanies, the soft gummy of the jelly pieces, plus the popping candy going on in the background. It's pretty strange!
Usually when you eat Pop Rocks by themselves, you will have the crunch of the pop rocks contributing to the popping effect. In this product through, the popping effect is muted due to the creamy chocolate smothering everything else. It's still there, but for me it takes a bit of a back seat. It adds a little crunch, but nothing remarkable. The chocolate is definitely the dominating flavour here, despite the texture party.
I was quite surprised to discover the jelly pieces had a flavour in this bar. Despite everything else, I was able to get a few rose notes out of the jelly pieces when I encountered them (and I encountered about one in each piece). By themselves they are quite floral, like a firmer Turkish delight, which is an unexpected addition to the bar. It feels out of place. Like in the Jelly Pieces block, the jelly sticks to your teeth and remains even after the rest of the bar has been finished. It's an odd sensation and I don't think it adds anything to the bar.
Last up in the review basket for the Marvellous Creations line is the Mini Drops, which will be reviewed shortly.
The bar contains milk, wheat and soy, and may contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts and egg.
In fact, Cadbury is so determined that the 300g blocks remain supermarket exclusive that their reps are being instructed to report any stores that are found to be selling the blocks back to Cadbury, and they may even suffer fines. Wow! I haven't heard any solid facts as to why Cadbury is being quite vigilant with this particular product, but I'm sure we'll hear something sooner or later. Or, I'll twist the arm of my Cadbury rep when I see him next. ;)
Last up in the block range for review is the 'Jelly Popping Candy & Beanies' variety. I'm going to take a stretch and assume the jelly pieces will be the same as found in the 'Jelly Crunchie Bits' variety, and the Beanies will be the same as found in the Cadbury Mini Drops, a bite-size piece of Cadbury chocolate covered in candy, (which is also in my review basket).
This isn't Cadbury's first foray into combining popping candy (also known as Pop Rocks) with their Dairy Milk chocolate. In the past they have had a 'mini blocks' range, which included Dream with Sprinkles, Dairy Milk with Popping Candy, and Dairy Milk with Clinkers. I believe these have been discontinued in Australia, but even while they were available here, they were very difficult to find, most likely due to their high price point (around $3 for an 85g block).
I've chosen a 50g bar to review instead of the 300g block. The moulded shape is similar to that of the block, like cobblestones and with varying textures moulded into the top.Interestingly, there is a little pattern - the two outermost pieces have a wave pattern, while the two in from that are pebbled, and the middle piece carries the Cadbury logo. The bar is lovely and thick, perhaps a touch thinner than the larger block, but it still has a satisfying crack to it when snapped. Unlike the block, the bar breaks neatly along the moulded lines, but watch out for flying beanie pieces! There are five pieces moulded into the bar, and each one is a perfect little mouthful.
On the back the bar is relatively smooth, marred only by little flecks of leftover chocolate from the moulding process. (Those will go flying too if you're not careful!) Inside we have what looks like a fairly even distribution of beanies, but I don't seem to be seeing many jelly pieces. I was wrong about the Beanie pieces being the same as the Mini Drops, though - these beanies are definitely, er, 'inspired' by Nestle Smarties. They are the same oval shape, and look to be the same dimensions too. At this point the popping candy isn't really visible, though when spread throughout a chocolate product, it is often hidden.
The popping candy really kicks in after the first couple of chews. There's quite a large amount, but it doesn't overpower the other texture war going on in your mouth. There is a lot going on, though - the smooth, creamy chocolate, the crunch from the candy coating on the beanies, the soft gummy of the jelly pieces, plus the popping candy going on in the background. It's pretty strange!
Usually when you eat Pop Rocks by themselves, you will have the crunch of the pop rocks contributing to the popping effect. In this product through, the popping effect is muted due to the creamy chocolate smothering everything else. It's still there, but for me it takes a bit of a back seat. It adds a little crunch, but nothing remarkable. The chocolate is definitely the dominating flavour here, despite the texture party.
I was quite surprised to discover the jelly pieces had a flavour in this bar. Despite everything else, I was able to get a few rose notes out of the jelly pieces when I encountered them (and I encountered about one in each piece). By themselves they are quite floral, like a firmer Turkish delight, which is an unexpected addition to the bar. It feels out of place. Like in the Jelly Pieces block, the jelly sticks to your teeth and remains even after the rest of the bar has been finished. It's an odd sensation and I don't think it adds anything to the bar.
Last up in the review basket for the Marvellous Creations line is the Mini Drops, which will be reviewed shortly.
The bar contains milk, wheat and soy, and may contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts and egg.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Gossip: Minstrels are coming!
British chocolate lovers rejoice! I've just had word from my rep that
Mars is importing the British chocolate product Minstrels to Australia
shores. They should actually be available right now from Coles in a
150-ish gram bag, and priced around $3-$4.
Rest assured they will be in my review basket as soon as I spot them!
Rest assured they will be in my review basket as soon as I spot them!
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Allen's Caramel Chicos
It's no secret that Chicos are one of my favourite lollies. The
chocolate-flavoured gummies are consistently soft, chewy and pretty darn
cute to look at. When I heard that Allen's was releasing Chicos in a
caramel flavour, I just about jumped for joy.
The original chocolate Chicos are scented, but they don't really smell of chocolate in the true sense of the word. They're warm with a little kick that heads in the direction of cocoa, but doesn't quite get there. The scent reflects the taste; it's tasty, but lacks the creamy mouthfeel (obviously) and depth of what you would expect from a chocolate-flavoured product. They are pretty one-dimensional, not very sweet, and excellent for mindless eating at the movies.
On the other hand, the new caramel Chicos have a very definite scent. It's sort of fudgey, inspired a little by caramel milkshakes or a caramel latte (don't worry, there's no coffee), but with more sweetness than the chocolate version, and a little like burnt toffee. The smell was quite strong when I opened the bag, but dissipated quickly.
In terms of taste, the Chicos are not as strong in flavour compared to the chocolate version. It's quite a soft flavour mostly only released when chewed; it's gentle on the palate, and very fudgey in taste. The little bit of milkiness I identified in the scent isn't present, thankfully; any other flavours would wash out the already-mild caramel.
As with the chocolate Chicos, the caramel ones have a nice, firm chew, are soft and pliable to the touch, and bounce nicely when chewed. Allen's are very good at making sure their gummies are fresh.
The caramel Chicos would be good for you if you find the chocolate ones too strong.
Caramel Chicos contain wheat, starch and soy.
The original chocolate Chicos are scented, but they don't really smell of chocolate in the true sense of the word. They're warm with a little kick that heads in the direction of cocoa, but doesn't quite get there. The scent reflects the taste; it's tasty, but lacks the creamy mouthfeel (obviously) and depth of what you would expect from a chocolate-flavoured product. They are pretty one-dimensional, not very sweet, and excellent for mindless eating at the movies.
On the other hand, the new caramel Chicos have a very definite scent. It's sort of fudgey, inspired a little by caramel milkshakes or a caramel latte (don't worry, there's no coffee), but with more sweetness than the chocolate version, and a little like burnt toffee. The smell was quite strong when I opened the bag, but dissipated quickly.
In terms of taste, the Chicos are not as strong in flavour compared to the chocolate version. It's quite a soft flavour mostly only released when chewed; it's gentle on the palate, and very fudgey in taste. The little bit of milkiness I identified in the scent isn't present, thankfully; any other flavours would wash out the already-mild caramel.
As with the chocolate Chicos, the caramel ones have a nice, firm chew, are soft and pliable to the touch, and bounce nicely when chewed. Allen's are very good at making sure their gummies are fresh.
The caramel Chicos would be good for you if you find the chocolate ones too strong.
Caramel Chicos contain wheat, starch and soy.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Cadbury Marvellous Creations Peanut Toffee Cookie
The forums are in a bit of atwitter over this flavour, and there are lots of questions as to why it's not available in the 50g bar size, while the other flavours, Jelly Popping Candy and Jelly Crunchie Bits, are. I do have the answer! Accordingly to my rep, the Peanut Toffee Cookie flavour is a supermarket-exclusive variety. That means you won't find it in your corner shop or independent supermarkets (unless they are purchasing it from the majors).
Onto the chocolate. This flavour, Peanut Toffee Cookie (damn, Cadbury, it's biscuit! We're not America yet) is described on the packet as 'peanut, toffee and cookie pieces covered in delicious Dairy Milk milk chocolate. Imagery on the front leads you to believe the block will be filled with the peanut and biscuit pieces. Of course, upon opening the block and flipping it over, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Nine biscuit pieces. Count them! As you can tell from my block that has been snapped into many pieces, I struggled to find a good cross-section that showed the delights inside. I feel kind of insulted, really.
Luckily, aside from the peanut and biscuit cookie pieces, there are also flecks of toffee distributed more evenly throughout the chocolate. They are small and nondescript, and don't really show in the photos, but you'll feel the crunch every time you take a bite.
Now, I'm not a big fan of nuts in chocolate, but if you're a fan of honey-roasted peanuts, then this block is for you. The toffee-infused chocolate is incredible when paired with the peanut pieces (if you can find one). It's quite a strong flavour, almost overriding the standard super-sweet Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate. I am pleased there is a lot of toffee flavour, as it adds another dimension to the block. The peanut and toffee combination is quite successful.
Unfortunately I can't say the same for the inclusion of the cookie pieces. The pieces themselves are round, like the centre of a Malteser, but are disappointingly bland. Though they add a little texture to the mouth feel, the block doesn't really benefit from their inclusion, and would be much better without them.
The Cadbury Marvellous Creations Peanut Toffee Cookie block contains milk, wheat, peanut and soy, and may contain traces of tree nuts and egg.
(Oh, and that's the other thing. These super blocks apparently contain 12 servings.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Allen's Milk Bottle Mania
The second new release from Nestle's Allen's brand is bag of flavoured milk bottles, aptly named 'Milk Bottle Mania'. Milk bottles are far and away known for being a milky white in colour, and flavoured with vanilla. They are a bit like vanilla ice cream - always there but nothing to write home about.
Allen's has decided to turn this idea on its head, and has released five new flavours, plus original vanilla, in its new bag. The new milkshake flavours are banana (yellow), lime (green), caramel (pale brown), strawberry (pink) and chocolate (dark brown).
Unfortunately most of the lollies all smell like each other. It's only when I pull off the lid (stretch it out) that I can reach the untainted inner product.
Strawberry is as a sweet, strong scent. It's very strawberry ice cream orientated flavour, and that's exactly what it tastes like.
Chocolate smells like a dusty version of Chicos. There's a mild cocoa scent, and the milk bottle tastes like a watered-down chocolate milkshake. Nice, but too bland.
Bright yellow banana is very much a chalky lolly banana made into a foam lolly. It's that artificial, tastes-nothing-like-real-bananas taste that affirms the association. There's even that chalky aftertaste.
Caramel smells promising. The scent is warm and toasty, a little bit like caramel popcorn. The flavour is much the same, warm and a little buttery and familiar. If they made a whole bag of these I would devour them.
I was hoping the green milk bottle would be mint, but no, someone decided lime milkshake would be more popular. Surprisingly, the flavour is tart and sharp, more than I expected for a milkshake flavour. The milky aftertaste is a letdown.
Vanilla is just as I remember; bland and uninteresting. There are vague warm-milk flavours, but nothing that strikes me as vanilla inspired.
Allen's has decided to turn this idea on its head, and has released five new flavours, plus original vanilla, in its new bag. The new milkshake flavours are banana (yellow), lime (green), caramel (pale brown), strawberry (pink) and chocolate (dark brown).
Unfortunately most of the lollies all smell like each other. It's only when I pull off the lid (stretch it out) that I can reach the untainted inner product.
Strawberry is as a sweet, strong scent. It's very strawberry ice cream orientated flavour, and that's exactly what it tastes like.
Chocolate smells like a dusty version of Chicos. There's a mild cocoa scent, and the milk bottle tastes like a watered-down chocolate milkshake. Nice, but too bland.
Bright yellow banana is very much a chalky lolly banana made into a foam lolly. It's that artificial, tastes-nothing-like-real-bananas taste that affirms the association. There's even that chalky aftertaste.
Caramel smells promising. The scent is warm and toasty, a little bit like caramel popcorn. The flavour is much the same, warm and a little buttery and familiar. If they made a whole bag of these I would devour them.
I was hoping the green milk bottle would be mint, but no, someone decided lime milkshake would be more popular. Surprisingly, the flavour is tart and sharp, more than I expected for a milkshake flavour. The milky aftertaste is a letdown.
Vanilla is just as I remember; bland and uninteresting. There are vague warm-milk flavours, but nothing that strikes me as vanilla inspired.
Monday, 7 May 2012
Cadbury Marvellous Creations Jelly Crunchie Bits
Cadbury's major 2012 release is of the Marvellous Creations range, a series of blocks and bars featuring Dairy Milk milk chocolate and assorted add-ins. The range coincides with the introduction of 'Joyville', a fictional Willy Wonka-like factory, complete with munchkin lookalikes, where the Marvellous Creations chocolates are made. As expected, there's a Facebook page and a website.
You can read more on the TV commercial and marketing info here if that's your thing, but let's get onto the chocolate!
The range comes in three flavours: 'Jelly Crunchie Bits', 'Jelly Popping Candy and Beanies', and 'Peanut Toffee Cookie', all of which are blocks or bars featuring Dairy Milk chocolate, plus 'Mini Drops', a bag of bitesize candy-covered pieces of chocolate. All feature a bright, carnival-esque striped wrapper and matching text.
The chocolate blocks are most interesting. Unlike the last ~new~ blocks Cadbury launched (Bar of Plenty in 2010), the MC blocks are larger than the normal 200g blocks. In fact, these planks are positively huge. Though the mere 100g difference doesn't like much on paper, in hand the blocks are noticeably bigger, thicker and just all around hefty. And in case you didn't get the memo, there's a not-so-subtle hint on the back that these blocks are made for sharing. The MC range also comes in 50g bars, though the Peanut Toffee Cookie variety doesn't seem to be available in this size.
Here for review we have the Jelly Crunchie Bits variety. Going by the neat picture on the front, we should expect to find glossy red jelly pieces (anyone else thinking they will be the same as the pieces in the Black Forest block?) and what looks like golden honeycomb pieces. (The wrapper doesn't actually call it honeycomb, just by the way. Even in the ingredients it's listed as 'Crunchie pieces'.) The back of the pack notes that this is made in Australia (woo! No crappy imported UK versions!) from local and imported products.
Inside the foil packaging, we have a huge plank that looks like a cobblestone street-wannabe. As well as the Cadbury branding, the top of the block also features wavy lines, and a textured surface that's pebbled like the skin of an orange. Of course, the downside of the cobblestones is that the block doesn't break into neat rows for sharing, so when you try and break a piece off, expect to be rained in crumbs.
The block itself is 1.5cm thick, 13cm wide and 16cm tall. It's got that rich, supersweet Cadbury smell, evident from the first opening. Peeking through the gaily-patterned cobblestones are glimpses of the jelly and Crunchie pieces, giving the block an interesting speckled appearance. While the top of the block shows off mostly the jelly pieces, it's on the underside we see lots of rough, pointy pieces of Crunchie. Snapping open the block shows a fairly even distribution of Crunchie and jelly pieces.
As for the taste? Well, it's about what you'd expect. There's lots and lots of texture play - smooth, milky chocolate; sharp, crunchy, er, Crunchie, and bouncy jelly pieces. There's a lot of chocolate, so much that it can overwhelm the mouthful and you might end up losing track of the other pieces. It's also incredibly, tooth-searingly sweet, so make sure you have a drink close by. It's an interesting combination, for sure, and I bet it will be popular with kids.
I should mention the price, too. The RRP is $5.49 (regular blocks are $4.59). I bought this on special at $4.49 - still expensive in my books. The 50g bars are the same price range as other Cadbury medium bars, around $2.00 RRP.
You can read more on the TV commercial and marketing info here if that's your thing, but let's get onto the chocolate!
The range comes in three flavours: 'Jelly Crunchie Bits', 'Jelly Popping Candy and Beanies', and 'Peanut Toffee Cookie', all of which are blocks or bars featuring Dairy Milk chocolate, plus 'Mini Drops', a bag of bitesize candy-covered pieces of chocolate. All feature a bright, carnival-esque striped wrapper and matching text.
The chocolate blocks are most interesting. Unlike the last ~new~ blocks Cadbury launched (Bar of Plenty in 2010), the MC blocks are larger than the normal 200g blocks. In fact, these planks are positively huge. Though the mere 100g difference doesn't like much on paper, in hand the blocks are noticeably bigger, thicker and just all around hefty. And in case you didn't get the memo, there's a not-so-subtle hint on the back that these blocks are made for sharing. The MC range also comes in 50g bars, though the Peanut Toffee Cookie variety doesn't seem to be available in this size.
Here for review we have the Jelly Crunchie Bits variety. Going by the neat picture on the front, we should expect to find glossy red jelly pieces (anyone else thinking they will be the same as the pieces in the Black Forest block?) and what looks like golden honeycomb pieces. (The wrapper doesn't actually call it honeycomb, just by the way. Even in the ingredients it's listed as 'Crunchie pieces'.) The back of the pack notes that this is made in Australia (woo! No crappy imported UK versions!) from local and imported products.
Inside the foil packaging, we have a huge plank that looks like a cobblestone street-wannabe. As well as the Cadbury branding, the top of the block also features wavy lines, and a textured surface that's pebbled like the skin of an orange. Of course, the downside of the cobblestones is that the block doesn't break into neat rows for sharing, so when you try and break a piece off, expect to be rained in crumbs.
The block itself is 1.5cm thick, 13cm wide and 16cm tall. It's got that rich, supersweet Cadbury smell, evident from the first opening. Peeking through the gaily-patterned cobblestones are glimpses of the jelly and Crunchie pieces, giving the block an interesting speckled appearance. While the top of the block shows off mostly the jelly pieces, it's on the underside we see lots of rough, pointy pieces of Crunchie. Snapping open the block shows a fairly even distribution of Crunchie and jelly pieces.
As for the taste? Well, it's about what you'd expect. There's lots and lots of texture play - smooth, milky chocolate; sharp, crunchy, er, Crunchie, and bouncy jelly pieces. There's a lot of chocolate, so much that it can overwhelm the mouthful and you might end up losing track of the other pieces. It's also incredibly, tooth-searingly sweet, so make sure you have a drink close by. It's an interesting combination, for sure, and I bet it will be popular with kids.
I should mention the price, too. The RRP is $5.49 (regular blocks are $4.59). I bought this on special at $4.49 - still expensive in my books. The 50g bars are the same price range as other Cadbury medium bars, around $2.00 RRP.
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