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February 2010

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ritter Sport Neapolitan Wafers

Ritter Sport Neapolitan WafersRitter Sport makes a bar for everyone. I don’t know how many different varieties they’ve actually make and I know I haven’t tried more than half of them. They have an awesome website that does everything I want a candy maker’s website to do: inform, entice and engage.

This new bar isn’t even listed on the website yet: Ritter Sport Neapolitan Wafers. The burnt orange wrapper stands out in the rainbow of bars, different enough from the saffron yellow Cornflakes bar (my favorite). I know, my photo makes it look orange-red, but it’s just one of those colors that computer monitors just don’t like to display without a lot of tinkering.

The package describes it as milk chocolate with chocolate cream filled wafers and praline. In Ritter-speak, praline is a hazelnut cream.

Ritter Sport Neapolitan Waffle

The bar is beautiful. All Ritter Sport bars are beautiful. A bulky square, four by four, with thick sections. In this case it’s thick enough to hold the layers inside so it’s more bitable. (Other solid varieties are a little harder to bite, there’s more gnawing involved or I suppose I just snap off the pieces.)

Ritter Sport Neapolitan Waffle

The bar is not quite what I expected. I thought the praline would be between the wafer layers.

Instead there are wafer layers, a kind of bland and crispy wafer like a rice cake, but between them is a thin bit of mild and sweet chocolate cream. So far so good. Then on top of that is a rather generous hazelnut paste. It’s sweet and nutty and a little rib-sticking thick. The crunch of the wafers gets a little lost, as there’s just not enough to offset the thick praline. I’m not saying it’s bad, I had no trouble finishing the bar, but I kind of wanted the ratios to be a little bit different.

As usual the Ritter Sport milk chocolate was excellent. Milky with little caramel and smoke notes, it’s a bit on the sweet side. Overall it was a little on the sweet side for me (a dark chocolate version, please!) and I’m wondering if the mini version might be a little better on the ratios of crunch to sticky thickness. The crunch sensation isn’t quite the same as a KitKat, if you were wondering. It’s simply not grainy enough and too nuanced. They also use hydrogenated palm kernel oil and palm kernel oil in the fillings, so it’s not all pure nutty, milky & cocoa ingredients in there.

Here’s a sampling of photos, many are the seasonal varieties that never show up in the US. Other reviews: Jim’s Chocolate Mission & The Candy Enthusiast.

Related Candies

  1. Walkers Nonsuch Roasted Hazelnut Toffee
  2. Ritter Sport Peppermint
  3. Short & Sweet: Hazelnut Bites
  4. Ritter Sport White Chocolate with Hazelnuts
  5. KitKat Temptations: Hazelnut & Coconut
  6. Ritter Darks
  7. Ritter Sport Assortment
Name: Neapolitan Wafers
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Ritter Sport
Place Purchased: samples from Fancy Food Show
Price: retail $1.99
Size: 3.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 157
Categories: Chocolate, Cookie, Nuts, Germany, Ritter Sport

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:16 pm    

Eat with your Eyes: Scotchmallow Heart

I will eat See’s Scotchmallow in any shape or size. Witness See’s Valentine’s version.

See's Valentine's Scotchmallow

The construction of the See’s Scotchmallow Heart is actually upside down from the piece (but consistent with the Egg): marshmallow then caramel then covered in chocolate. It’s tougher to eat in layers than the piece. I usually nibble the sides off of the piece, then pull the chocolate lid off, pull the marshmallow off of the caramel and eat it separately. Messy? Sure. Tasty? Definitely. In this version though it’s less about the dark chocolate and more about the chewy textures of marshmallow and caramel. I also think the marshmallow is less fluffy from being smashed down by the caramel.

I thought it was a pretty good deal at $1.40 for a one ounce heart but I still prefer the pieces.

UPDATE 9:20 AM: About 45 minutes after I posted this I got an email offering me $30 to post a version of some provided text with a link to See’s. (The text was generic, about how a Ses’s gift would be great for Valentine’s day.) Please note that I have never taken money for any of my posts and I actually bought all of the See’s candies I’ve posted about on Candy Blog (well, someone might have given me some of it as a gift and there are the free samples in the store). Please note that this is the second time that I have been offered this sum of money in exchange for posting a generic item about See’s with an SEO building link.

seesscreengrabThe first time was in November, before the new FTC full-disclosure rules for bloggers. The email came from a gmail address but after some prodding I found out that the woman who refused to actually name the company she worked for but some digging revealed that she worked for a company that does search engine optimization with social media. Today’s email was formatted similarly, came from a different person, but also via a generic gmail address. (I saw a half a dozen of these posts on other blogs, an example of one is posted here with identifying info blanked out.)

So if you see some rather generic looking posts about See’s in the next few days (the deadline to post for this premium of a whopping $30 is Friday, February 12, 2010) you might want to ask the blogger. The offer specifically admonishes do not disclose this is a paid post. Again, this is now against the FTC rules governing paid posts by bloggers which says that bloggers must disclose.

But also note that these emails did not come directly from See’s nor did any of them say that they were employed to do this by See’s.

The sad thing is that See’s does not need to do this to buoy their reputation. A better option would be to offer samples to bloggers and allow them to voice their own opinions and disclose how they came about the candy. Right now I just don’t know what to do. I love their candy, but I detest this road they’re going down.

UPDATE 2/11/2010: After posting this I wrote to the one contact I had at See’s and explained the situation, naming names as I knew them. Last night I heard from one of the principals of the agency where the offer originated. He disavowed any knowledge of the campaign and apologized. He was very sincere and fully recognized that this rogue activity was not within any guidelines or boundaries of acceptability (or probably even effectiveness). At this time I consider the matter closed. I still have a bad taste in my mouth about See’s PR practices, but it hasn’t influenced my feelings about the products.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:11 am     CandyFeatured NewsFun StuffPhotography

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Gimbal’s Cherry Lovers

Gimbal's Cherry LoversI’m the wrong person to review the new Gimbal’s Cherry Lovers but I’ll do my best.

I’m not generally keen on cherry flavors, but I do love real cherries and I’m generally a fan of Gimbal’s products. This bag of little heart shaped jelly bean type objects boast nine different cherry flavors plus vitamin C and real cherry juice. Gimbal’s makes their candies in the USA in a factory that’s Kosher, peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, gluten free, gelatin free and soy free. So for allergic folks these are pretty special. (Sorry vegans, though the colors are artificial they do use beeswax and confectioners glaze.)

Gimbal's Cherry Lovers

They’re drop dead gorgeous. A riot of reds, pinks and purples they seem to go beyond the frilly satin hearts of the season. They’re a little rustic because each heart is unique and not quite perfect.

Wild Cherry - plain red - you know, cherry. Tart, sweet, floral and deep woodsy notes. But not quite that good. The medicine flavors are kept pretty faint here.

Cherry Vanilla - white with red speckles - like a cherry marshmallow, mostly a soft flavor with a strong fake vanilla flavor to it. Pretty much pleasant.

Black Cherry - deep red - tastes mostly like red. The cherry flavor is pretty intense as far as these hearts go, more on the woodsy side compared to the Bing Cherry.

Chocolate Cherry - brown - oh, this is quite a tragic flavor, not quite cherry and mostly empty cocoa flavors. It’s like a very bad Cherry Tootsie Pop.

Cherry Cheesecake - pink with red speckles - a tangier version of the Cherry Vanilla, this one had a yogurty twang to it and but still a marshmallowy flavor.

Cherry Daiquiri - deep pink with red speckles - this one was rather fun, kind of a lime and vanilla with a hint of cherry cough syrup. A little bit like aftershave though.

Bing Cherry - lighter red -  Tangy and sweet, a well rounded cherry flavor. A little chemical aftertaste from the food colorings, but about as good as the Jelly Belly I usually avoid.

Cherry Cola - dark red - at first I liked the cherry cola, because it tasted like cola, even had a weird effervescent quality to it (maybe that was just the tangy part playing with my mind) but then the cherry kicked in and ruined it for me. But that’s just me.

Kiwi Cherry - pink with green speckles - this was just terrible. Maybe it’s because I had a recent run in with fresh Durian, but I just couldn’t get that out of my head when it came to this one. The kiwi flavors were more like melon and onions than kiwi, though the cherry seemed about average.

The didn’t do a thing for me. The colors were pretty, the shapes and distinctiveness of the flavors was actually pretty good. But I wouldn’t consider these a breakthrough candy so I found it odd that the National Confectionery Sales Association awarded Cherry Lovers best new Premium/Gourmet product:

In six categories, the winners were: Chocolate, The Hershey Co.‘s Reese’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups; Licensed/Limited, New England Confectionery Co.‘s Twilight Series; Non-Chocolate, Ferrara Pan Candy Co.‘s Chewy Lemonhead & Friends; Premium/Gourmet, Gimbal’s Fine Candies’ Cherry Lovers; Snacks, Snyder’s of Hanover, Inc.‘s Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches; and Seasonal, Maxim Manufacturing & Marketing’s Easter Gummies.

Robby at Candy Addict had a better opinion of these. I’ll just consider them very pretty Valentine’s decorations in a bowl.

Related Candies

  1. See’s Cinnamon (Hearts & Lollypops)
  2. Mike and Ike Alex’s Lemonade Stand
  3. Gimbal’s Gourmet Jelly Beans
  4. 3 Musketeers Cherry & Raspberry
  5. Gimbal’s Lavaballs
  6. Pop Rocks Cherry Cola
Name: Cherry Lovers
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Gimbal's Candy
Place Purchased: sample from All Candy Expo
Price: unknown
Size: 11.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 99
Categories: Chocolate, United States, Gimbal's Candy, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:15 pm    

Eat with Your Eyes: Ogontoh

While I might complain of some candies being too sweet, I love candies made from straight boiled sugar. The Japanese traditional candies of Juntsuyu and this Ogontoh are gorgeous examples.

Ogontoh

These little pieces are like gems or beads. They taste like toasted sugar. They dissolve slowly and have an exceptionally smooth texture with no voids or bubbles at all. The yellow color is all natural, simply the result of the sugar boiling to the not-quite-caramelized state.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:09 am     CandyFeatured NewsFun StuffPhotography

Monday, February 8, 2010

Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans

Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans with Chewy BlackLicorice CentersMost candy coated licorice is the same. They’re little snips of licorice laces covered in a hard candy shell. The exception might be Good & Plenty, which uses a thicker and softer licorice nib for coating. Now there’s a new version on the marketing called Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans with Chewy Black Licorice Centers.

Wiley Wallaby is the Australian Style licorice brand from American maker Kenny’s Candy. They’re known for making licorice twists in a rainbow of flavors, from Root Beer to Spearmint to Pina Colada.

I picked these up at the Fancy Food Show and was told they should be hitting the stores via wholesalers sometime later this month. This format is a generous 13 ounce tub, which makes it easy to serve right from the package then seal it back up.

Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans with Chewy Black Licorice Centers

The short little rods are about one half to three quarters of an inch long. They’re matte and bright - a mix of purple, hot pink and a slightly lavender white. The shell is not quite crispy and becomes grainy and cool when chewed. It has a light anise flavor to it, but the real licorice impact comes with the black licorice center. It’s a soft and chewy mix of molasses woodsy notes and clean and sweet licorice. (There’s real licorice extract in there plus anise oil.)

My only hesitation with these is that the pink ones use Red 40, and I just couldn’t stand the bitter aftertaste. (There was a hint of it in the purple ones, but not enough to dissuade me from eating them after I’d gone through the white ones.)

The consistently soft chew and well rounded flavor put these right up there with Good & Plenty. Even after keeping the tub around for several weeks with the seal broken, they were still fresh (try that with a theater box of Good & Plenty). The good news for vegans is that it’s all artificial colors and no glazes in there (and mostly natural every thing else).

Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans with Chewy Red Licorice CentersThe most exciting part of this new product line (and perhaps I’ve buried my lead) is the closest thing I’ve found to the classic Good & Fruity.

Since Hershey’s created their new version of Good & Fruity, which is no more than a crazy neon jelly bean, I’ve mentioned to more than one candy maker that there are still plenty of candy fans who long for a candy coated red licorice.

The Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans with Chewy Red Licorice Centers may fit that hole in the confectionery pantheon quite well.

Wiley Wallaby Outback Beans with Chewy Red Licorice Centers

The short little pieces come in three colors, a festive mix of orange, green and yellow. At the center of each grainy and not quite crunchy candy coating is a piece or red licorice.

I don’t know what flavor this red center is. At times I think it’s strawberry, but other times it’s a mild cherry. Whatever it is, it has a nice soft chew, a pleasant smoothness and a light tangy note of berries. The candy shell is very much like that on Good & Plenty. It’s smooth on the outside but not quite a hard crunchy shell, instead it becomes grainy and sweet. They’re quite satisfying and addictive to keep popping.

I expect these to be well-priced, as the Wiley Wallaby brand is usually less expensive than the true Australian imports. I also expect these to show up in bulk bins and probably stores that already carry the Wiley Wallaby line.

Related Candies

  1. Walgreen’s Australian Licorice (Chocolate Covered)
  2. Spearmint Licorice
  3. Young & Smylie Traditional Licorice
  4. Black Licorice Twists & Snaps
  5. Good and Fruity
  6. Kenny’s Licorice Pastels & Root Beer Twists
  7. Good & Plenty (Fresh from the Factory)
Name: Outback Beans
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Wiley Wallaby (Kenny's Candy)
Place Purchased: samples from Fancy Food Show
Price: unknown
Size: 13 ounces
Calories per ounce: 99
Categories: Licorice, Chew, United States, Kenny's Candy

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:29 am    

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