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January 2006

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Elite Aerated & Lotte Airs

Before CandyBlog came into my life, I was completely unaware of the wonders of flaked and aerated chocolate. How can this be? I’m the kid who seemed to have as much fun blowing bubbles into my chocolate milk as I did drinking it.

It seems that the UK does not have the corner on the market when it comes to bubbly chocolates, I’ve now discovered these from Israel and Japan:

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Elite Aerated Bittersweet Chocolate: This is the first semi-sweet bar I’ve tried that’s bubbly. I’m not even sure if Nestle or Cadbury make one anymore. This bar is large, about the size of a 100 gram one, but weighs only 85 grams. The pieces are oddly light in the hand and melt quickly on the tongue. The bubbles are very consistent and I think a little smaller overall than the ones in the Aero bars. Very sweet at first and with a nice sweet smell but perhaps a little too much fake vanilla to it. It’s very buttery on the tongue, though with a little grain towards the end but a nice crisp finish. This bar is 48% cocoa solids.

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Lotte Airs: This isn’t a bar at all. Inside the box, after opening the plastic pouch you’ll find a tray with little pieces. (12 in all.) Kind of like the Dars I tried before. The Airs bar is milk chocolate but what’s really different about it is that there’s also hazelnut paste in there. It gives the bar a wonderful nutty aroma that mixes well with the dairy milk taste that might make it a little too sticky otherwise. The bubbles in them are very small, which gives it less of an airy feeling on the tongue, but it still has a good cool sensation. I love that it’s in pieces, which makes it easy to share. Also, the other aerated bars tend to be a little messy when you break off a piece. Lotte is so clever.

See these other reviews: Nestle Aero, Nestle Mint Aero and Cadbury Dairy Milk Bubbly.

Name: Elite Aerated Bittersweet Chocolate & Lotte Airs
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Elite & Lotte
Place Purchased: Elite = Gift / Lotte = Mitsuwa (Mar Vista)
Price: Gift / $1.49
Size: 85 grams / 1.58 ounces
Calories per ounce: 146 /158
Categories: Chocolate, Israel, Japan, Kosher, Lotte, Elite

POSTED BY Cybele AT 4:31 pm    

Zero Bar

It looks like a bar of the future. Something that robots would eat. Or maybe robots would bring them to us. They’d enter the room through the shooshing automatic door with a tray full of snacks that we munch on while watching TV beamed directly into our optic nerve.

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I don’t think I’ve ever had a Zero bar before, but I know I’ve seen them. They haven’t been a Hershey’s product for very long and if you go to the page on Hershey’s site you’ll see a long and detail history of who’s made the bar over the years.

It’s a fascinating bar, billed as “Caramel, Peanut and Almond Nougat covered with White Fudge.” But that really doesn’t describe it properly. The nougat is malted and there are peanuts and almonds and possibly soy nuts in there. But it was the malted part that surprised me. If you want me to buy this bar, you might want to mention that!

So, you’ve got this nougat that has an assortment of crunchy nuts in it with a dash of malt. On top of that is a caramel stripe and the whole bar is enrobed in “white fudge” which I’m guessing is like “white chocolate.”

It’s a very pretty bar.

And I was surprised to like it as much as I did. There must be a reason that it’s survived to this day and I’m guessing it’s partly its originality. I’m guessing the other reason might be its packaging and name. If you were to alphabetize your candy display, the Zero would be there with the Zagnut. The malt really stands out because there isn’t any chocolate to overpower it. I think I can taste the soy nuts in the nougat, which doesn’t upset me or anything, but it is a little odd for a “candy bar” (but expected in a nutrition bar).

If Hershey’s has a mind to improve the bar, I’d say a real “white chocolate” that has cocoa butter on it instead of the slightly chalky “white fudge” would make this one a real winner. (I just can’t get into all those hydrogenated oils.)

Name: Zero
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Hershey's
Place Purchased: gift
Price: unknown
Size: 1.85 ounces
Calories per ounce: 130
Categories: Peanuts, Nuts, Malt, Caramel, Hershey's, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:15 am    

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Nestle UK to change calorie labels on sweets

Nestle Rowntree in the UK is planning to change their nutrition labeling.

I currently find their labels a little difficult to decipher as they contain info on 100 gram portions - which is about two and a half times a normal “portion” of candy (most UK candy bars are about 50 grams, most US are about 42 grams or 1.5 ounces).

The Daily Mail reports that Nestle is planning to give consumers more info for making smarter snacking decisions.

The new packets will have the number of calories per serving displayed on the front of packs instead of hidden away next the ingredients. A two finger Kit Kat, for example, will clearly display that it contains 106 calories.

And if you want some really sobering stuff to read, the New York Times did a huge article yesterday for the Health section about diabetes.

Snack responsibly folks.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 4:47 pm     NestleNews

Niederegger Capuccino Marzipan

I hardly thought it was possible, but I found a marzipan I actually like. (See, I didn’t give up.)

imageThis is a beautiful bar, it’s dark and glossy and has a wonderful rich aroma of smoky coffee and chocolate.

The chocolate is good quality, slightly bitter but smooth and the center is a different kind of marzipan. It’s not the ultrafine paste that you find in some of the sculpted varieties. Instead this one has palpable bits of almond in it and a darker color (because of the coffee flavoring). There’s also only the slightest hint of amaretto, which is the actual thing I don’t like about marzipan. I love almonds, I just don’t like the “flavor” of almonds.

The bar doesn’t really have much of a capuccino flavor, but a pleasing scent and creamy quality that I found really compelling.

I doubt these are widely available, but I noticed that Cost Plus had quite a variety of this brand (they were on sale for the After Christmas clearance) so I might give their actual plain marzipan a try in the future or perhaps the Orange I saw on this site.

Interesting fact: Niederegger was founded by Johann Georg Niederegger on March 1, 1806 ... that means they’re going to celebrate their bicentennial of marzipan in a few scant months. Happy Birthday Niederegger!

Related Candies

  1. Niederegger Marzipan Orange
  2. Soubeyran Array
  3. Queen Anne Orange
  4. Hachez Chocolates
  5. Orange KitKat
Name: Marzipan Cappuccino
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Niederegger
Place Purchased: Cost Plus World Market
Price: $1.89
Size: 3.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 143
Categories: Chocolate, Nuts, Coffee, Germany

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:02 pm    

Airheads Xtreme Sour Belts

I’m keen on sour things and I guess it’s pretty surprising that I’ve never had Airheads, let alone anything else in their line.

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I saw these at the 7-11 and thought they were so intensely pretty that I had to buy them.

imageIn fact, I thought they were so pretty when I was taking their picture, I made them into a woven piece. I know, I shouldn’t be playing with my food.

The colors are vibrant: red,  yellow, green, orange and aqua. The flavor, as far as I can tell, is strawberry or possibly green apple or maybe a cross between the two. I dissected a couple of the belts to figure out if there was a difference in flavor between the colors and I couldn’t tell. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t, I just couldn’t figure it out.

They’re sour, but not in a toxic way. They’ve got a dusting of sugar crystals to keep them from sticky, but they’re soft and chewy. The best thing about them is that the flavor lasts all the way through the chew. Some chews lose their initial flavor, like they’ve been dusted or something when you chew them. But these are tangy and sweet all the way to the end.

The only complain I have is that as an adult I find them a little hard to eat. The sugar gets on my hands and I don’t want to eat the whole thing at once, so I’m left holding it or pulling it apart. As a kid, I’d probably think they were the coolest thing in the world and wouldn’t mind the sticky fingers in the slightest.

Interesting note: AirHeads are made by the same company that makes Mentos - Perfetti van Melle. The company is Italian, but the Xtremes were made in Spain.

Name: Xtremes Sour Belts
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Airheads
Place Purchased: 7-11 (Hollywood)
Price: $.85
Size: 2 ounces
Calories per ounce: 98
Categories: Chew, Spain

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:13 am    

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