I got to try the Dark Chocolate Raisinets at the All Candy Expo a couple of months ago and I was pretty underwhelmed. They handed them out in little sample cups, so there was no packaging to look at and after eating two sample cups I asked if they were the new dark ones, because they honestly didn’t taste that way. But these were on sale so I decided to give the retail product another try.

The new Dark Raisinets herald their healthiness on the package as a “natural source of antioxidants from fruit & dark chocolate” as well as “30% less fat than the leading chocolate brands.” I’ve got no complaints with either claim, although comparing Raisinets to a Snickers or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups seems rather like apples to chocolate covered oranges.

My other complaint is that they say it’s Dark Chocolate when really it’s just darker milk chocolate. The ingredients for the coating go like this: Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Nonfat Milk, Lactose, Vanillin, Natural Flavor.

But really, who cares? The big questions are, do they taste any different than the regular Raisinets and do they taste good?

They’re actually rather nice. The raisins are plump and often big. The chocolate coating is a little grainy and very sweet but provides a nice counterpoint to the tart chewiness of the raisins. I’ve been spoiled by Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins for a long time which are wonderfully rich and complex and these are far from rivaling those. However, as a single serving pack that’s easy to find anywhere, I’d pick these up as a healthier alternative to a full on candy bar. There’s still 22% of your daily saturated fat intake in here including 5 mg of cholesterol (really, why’d they have to go and do that?), but also 2 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein. And all those antioxidants, whatever they are.

A little history about Raisinets, Goobers and SnoCaps. All three were originally made by the Blumenthal Chocolate Company. Goobers were introduced first, then Raisins and finally SnoCaps. All were popular movie candy and for a long time the only place I could find them was at the concession counter. Nestle bought Blumenthal in 1984 and the candies gained wider distribution in a variety of packages with some slight changes in their recipes. Raisinets are a Kosher (OU D) product.

Related Candies

1. Nestle Cherry Raisinets
2. Sno-Caps, Goobers & Raisinets

I actually went out and bought these. I saw that they were being introduced at the All Candy Expo and I kept meaning to go over to their booth and pick them up, but I just kept missing them.

I’m not a huge gum fan so I’m not sure what attracted me to these, but there you have it, I bought them when I was them at Powell’s late last month.

They’re just bubble gum, but they’re in such cute teddy bear shapes! The pieces are ample and there are four different flavors in each package. Each piece boasts “hand decorated” elements (the eyes, nose and bow tie). I was concerned that they would be hard crunchy bits that wouldn’t go well with the gum.

Each piece is isolated in a little blister pack dome. The package is nice, you can see each of the little guys in their own window and the fruity shapes and colors make them look very appealing and not too child-oriented.

Grape - tart and fragrant with a strong fake grape flavor. The chew was soft and bouncy and it kept some of its flavor even after the sugar was gone, but got a rather odd chemical/menthol flavor. Sure enough, the ingredients lists menthol. The bubbles were ultrasmooth.

Tutti Fruitti - tangy but with a much stronger menthol element. There was little fruitiness to it, just a tart, sweet bite. I was hoping for a more mellow sweet flavor like a JuicyFruit. Yeah, his little eyeballs were kinda cockeyed, and one fell off before I chewed it.

Strawberry - very little trace of the menthol, sweet and flowery with a little pop of sour that fills out the flavor. The menthol flavor appears towards the end of the chew, just when the bubbles are getting good.

Melon - wonderfully delicate and fragrant but it turns dark with the menthol long before the flavor runs out. The little sugar frosting bits were also kind of nice. They were cool and smooth and didn’t distract from the gum at all, integrating well.

On the whole I think the whole gag is a little precious. You don’t get a lot for your money (however, the Mineco website says that they should retail for less than half what I paid for them) and of course with the flavor assortment they’re not really good for combining into super-pieces. The menthol flavor was a real turn off for me and I can’t imagine it being very compelling for children.

There are many wonderful people who write into Candy Blog (either via email or comments) to keep me abreast of what’s going on out there in the sweet real world. As I’m mostly a hermit, these tips are invaluable and here are my follow-ups on the most recent tips:

Assorted Fruit Headline

A couple of weeks ago Lesley popped me a comment to say that my dreams of there being a mixed bag of Fruit Heads (Lemonheads, Orangeheads, Grapeheads, Cherryheads & Appleheads) have come true.

I rushed off to the 99 Cent Only Store to find it’s true! I haven’t opened the bag yet, but I thought I’d share my delight with everyone else. I have no idea when Ferrara Pan decided to make this mixed bag or even if it’s because of that review. Yes, you can buy them separately in little boxes, but this is a much better deal.

Also, the bag is plastic, which means that the Fruit Heads are protected from the enemy of sugar candies ... humidity. (Many of you know the disappointment of a box of Lemonheads where the poor spheres are welded to the box and each other.) I should really follow up on my request for Grapefruitheads.

I give these a 9 out of 10! (Yummy)

Pop’ables Chocolate Crisps

Sandy wrote to me earlier this week to tell me that there was a malted milk ball at the Dollar Tree. Well, I don’t have a Dollar Tree nearby, but as I was already at the 99 Cent Only Store searching for the Fruit Headline, I caught a huge display of these in the peg bag section: Limited Edition Pop’ables Chocolate Crisps. 

I’m not sure why they call them “chocolate crisps” because they’re malted milk balls and they’re a pretty well known segment of the American candy pantheon.  These were ridiculously good and again upset me to an insane degree because they’re limited edition. The chocolate is sweet and smooth with a slight coconutty note to it. The crisp center is light and malty with only a hint of sweetness. The packaging is completely uninspired, but I suppose it doesn’t matter as it is not only a limited edition item, but Mars has hinted that they’re discontinuing the Pop’ables line anyway. These were made in Australia. Super-addictive ... I ate the whole bag at work yesterday.

I give these a 9 out of 10! (Yummy)

Lindt Baking 70% Cocoa Bitter-Sweet Chocolate

While I was poking around in the candy aisle at the 99 Cent Only Store, I also found this little gem: Lindt Baking 70% Cocoa Bitter-Sweet Chocolate.

I’ve become a recent convert to Lindt via their impulsive truffles and couldn’t resist giving this “baking” bar a try to see if it rivaled their regular Lindt Excellence 70% bar that I see for three times the price at Cost Plus. At 3.5 ounces for 99 cents, it’s a fabulous deal for high-quality chocolate. They also had a semi-sweet bar that didn’t list the cocoa content (but sugar was the first ingredient on the list instead of chocolate).

I was worried that the bar would be past its prime, but it’s glossy and dark and with a good snap. Perfectly fresh. Lindt still isn’t my favorite chocolate, but at this price, it’s hard to buy a Hershey bar. This bar was made in France.

I give this a 7 out of 10! (Worth It)

I’m a complete dufus sometimes. I bought these thinking that they were chocolate/cocoa almonds. I don’t know what led me to believe that, seeing how they’re kinda small but perhaps it’s that I wanted some chocolate/cocoa almonds.

I got them at the 99 Cent Only Store, and though the package says that they’re 99 cents, they were only 50 cents.

Think of them as Peanut M&Ms without the crunchy candy shell.

They have a nice texture, the peanuts were good quality, although a little uneven in size. When you pop them in your mouth, they’re a little bland. The cocoa is only slightly bitter, but keeps the chocolate from melting. The chocolate was sweet but balanced well by the cocoa coating. The nuts inside tasted like dry roasted and salted peanuts, which is a completely different experience from Peanut M&Ms. The hit of salt really balances the chocolate and coconut and of course goes really well with the peanut itself.

They’re not as neat and clean to eat as M&Ms and other “glazed” chocolate nuts. Leaving these sit on a piece of paper on my desk means a bit of cocoa and sometimes a little greasy spot.

As a treat, I think I’d be most likely to eat this at a movie or while watching a video. It’s a large but controlled portion and the balance of salt and sweet would be pretty satisfying and of course little individual pieces makes for easy sharing.

The bag is a generous 2.5 ounces, so if you find these on sale, it’s a good deal. At 99 cents it’s still not bad either.

Here’s a candy that never entered into my field of candy vision: the Mint Julep. In fact, until about a year ago, I’m not sure I knew these existed. It’s not like I’m mint-blind. I guess what brought these into my realm was a new push by Necco to introduce them to new generations. That and there was a huge barrel of them at the All Candy Expo’s freebie room.

Frankly, I was afraid they were going to be like Mary Janes and pull out my teeth or something. Or maybe they were going to be like mint-flavored Starbursts.

But here’s what they are: they’re spearmint taffy.

They were nice. Not super strong tasting, very soft and chewy and pleasant. They didn’t rock my world, but I think they have a solid place in it now. They’re a really satisfying little candy - larger than a Starburst and in a flavor you’re not going to get anywhere else in this format. I can’t see myself buying a tub of these online or anything, but I would pick up one or two after brunch or something at the local diner to clear my palate.

Mint Juleps are also known as Southies and were made by the Squirrel company that also makes Nut Zippers. They are most often sold in little tubs by the register at convenience stores and diners. (This type of retailing is called “changemakers” as people will often spend the change from their bill on little items. The tubs are placed in places where it makes sense for such an impulse buy.) They were introduced in the 30s and then disappeared back in the nineties as the company was bought out and went through some changes. Necco brought them back about a year ago.

In case you were wondering what’s in the drink also called a Mint Julep, it’s simple syrup with some muddled spearmint sprigs in it, then combined with Bourbon and served over ice with more mint.

Mint Juleps are gluten free according to the Necco website (and the drink probably is too!).