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August 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Lindt Hello Minty Bites

DSC_9638rbLindt has expanded their friendly HELLO line of chocolates with a handful of panned products. The Lindt Hello Minty Bites come in a stand up bag that holds 5.3 ounces. They’re pretty much the most expensive chocolates you can buy at Target, but also a very reliably good brand of chocolate.

I picked up mine on sale for $4 a bag, though they’re usually about $4.50. The package does a good job of vaguely describing the product: Dark Chocolate Covered Mint Cubes (natural flavor). But the description on the front, the propaganda on the back, and the images do noting to show what the product actually is. I assumed they were a fondant center, like Junior Mints or York Peppermint Patties. Instead, they are unique, which is a good thing to set them apart from other offerings, but also took a bit to get used to.

DSC_9641rb

The dark chocolate coating is glossy and creamy and pretty thick. The chocolate is not very dark, there’s no percentage on the package and does have added milk fat and milk. The pieces are not completely spherical; they’re more oblate like M&Ms. The centers are like a jelly. They’re made from sugar, apple, pineapple fibers, sodium alginate, green tea extract, dicalcium phosphate, citric acid and natural mint. Can you imagine that? Yeah, it’s a little weird.

The center reminds me a little bit of the Brookside fruit pieces, but they’re a little grainy. The flavor is only lightly minty and rather authentically like mint leaves. But there’s a tangy component ... so the effect is like a mojito, a little citrusy and a little minty.

I don’t know what to think of them. I didn’t love the, but I had no trouble eating the package eventually. The chocolate is ridiculously smooth and creamy, but after eating Brach’s & M&Ms chocolates for so long, sometimes I forget that chocolate in these types of candies can actually be really good. Of the three varieties of Hello Bites, these are the only ones with a dark chocolate coating (the others are Toffee Bites and Pretzel Bites), which is what I usually prefer. If you’re the type of person who likes the Brookside Fruits or Trader Joe’s Powerberries, these might be something you’d like.

Lindt’s new Hello Bites line is made in the USA. Most other Lindt products (at least the ones that I’ve reviewed) are made in Germany. Though the front of the package says natural flavor, there are artificial flavors (vanillin) and other ingredients like sodium alginate and dicalcium phosphate - they’re not necessarily “artificial” but not necessarily ordinary.

Related Candies

  1. Glee Lemon-Lime and Spearmint
  2. Ovation Mint Filled & Pumpkin Spice Oranges
  3. Lindt Bars: Wafer, Cresta and Dark Hazelnut
  4. Lindt Hello Coffee Blast (Limited Edition)
  5. Cadbury Dairy Milk Golden Crisp and Mint Crisp
  6. Meiji Poifull Mint
  7. Skittles Fresh Mint


Name: HELLO Minty Bites
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Lindt
Place Purchased: Target (Eagle Rock)
Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Size: 5.3 ounces
Calories per ounce: 149
Categories: Candy, Morselization, Lindt, Chocolate, Jelly Candy, Mints, 7-Worth It, United States, Target

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:34 pm     CandyMorselizationReviewLindtChocolateJelly CandyMints7-Worth ItUnited StatesTarget

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Brach’s Peanut Butter Cup Candy Corn

DSC_9672rbBrach’s has introduced over a dozen flavors of Candy Corn in the past five years. There are the more traditional flavors like Harvest Corn and Pastel Corn, but also some more trendy flavors like Carrot Cake, Caramel Macchiato and Red Velvet.

Though I find myself a purist when it comes to certain candies, I think that the fondant candies are ripe for this sort of flavor exploration. I also think a lot more could be done with shape. I’m not sure why we’re hung up on the layered corn. Perhaps it’s just economical to use the same mold for all new variations and use color to distinguish them. So, I welcome these new Candy Corn shaped flavor experiences.

Last spring Ferrara Candy announced the new Brach’s Peanut Butter Cup Candy Corn and I was immediately intrigued. It’s a great idea, peanut butter cups are already layered and the flavors might translate well. Might.

DSC_9683rb

The pieces look like a lot of other Brach’s candy corn pieces. They’re large and narrow and have a little notch that goes across the bottom layer and the middle of the center layer. The layers appear to be distinctive flavors, the base is cocoa, the center beige is peanut and the top is “white.”

The candy corn has an odd but convincing peanut aroma. It smells more like boiled peanuts than roasted peanuts, there’s a thinness about the scent that becomes more obvious when I ate them.

The ingredients list no peanuts or peanut butter. The only thing close is some sesame oil. There is cocoa in the ingredients list, in fact it’s the third item after sugar and corn syrup. I guess the peanuts are all in the natural and artificial flavors. I actually assumed they used defatted peanut powder in this, but sadly no.

The peanut layer is bland and has an artificial butter note to it and a sort of diluted peanut flavor, kind of like a cheap frosting. The cocoa base is decent and at least isn’t as sweet as the other layers.

I didn’t despise the Peanut Butter Cup Candy Corn, but I didn’t find it as good as I thought it could be. It’s still munchable, just not terribly distinctive. Throw it in with some popcorn or nuts for a snack, and it becomes more than passable.

Related Candies

  1. Brach’s Candy Cane Candy Corn
  2. Candyology 101 - Episode 2 - Peanut Butter
  3. Sweet’s Naturally Flavored Candy Corn
  4. Brach’s Apple Pie Candy Corn
  5. Brach’s S’mores Candy Corn
  6. Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn
  7. Brach’s Chocolate Candy Corn & Halloween Mix


Name: Peanut Butter Cup Candy Corn
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Brach’s
Place Purchased: Rite Aid (Miracle Mile)
Price: $1.79
Size: 9 ounces
Calories per ounce: 101
Categories: Candy, Halloween, Brach's, Ferrara Pan, Fondant, 5-Pleasant, Mexico, Rite Aid

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:19 pm     CandyReviewHalloweenBrach'sFerrara PanFondant5-PleasantMexicoRite Aid

Monday, August 24, 2015

Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Caramels

DSC_9517rbThe new Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Caramels were introduced this summer with a large advertising push. I’ve seen commercials and large displays at convenience stores.

The Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Caramels (and their Milk Chocolate siblings) are a rather pedestrian extension of the Hershey’s brand. They’re sold in either a pair of caramels in a single package or a stand up bag of something less than a half a pound. The price point makes you think that this is a premium product, I paid $4.29 for 7.2 ounces.

The packaging looks nice and does a good job of protecting the freshness and attractiveness of the product, but it’s maddeningly hard to open. Each caramel is individually wrapped and of the 13 or so pieces in the bag, I was able to open two without the aid of scissors. I can only assume that this is to either help with portion control or help the consumer work off some extra calories wandering around the house trying to figure out where the good scissors went.

DSC_9536rb

My frustrations with the wrappers were ameliorated by the fact that every single caramel was gorgeous. They’re lovely rounded squares with a lightly domed top of thick dark chocolate. (Well, I don’t know how dark it actually is, the ingredients only call it semi-sweet and it contains milk fat.)

They smell nice, a mixture of brownies and hot chocolate. The bite is easy and soft, but not a runny caramel like the Cadbury Caramello bar. The caramel has an excellent smooth texture and good stringy pull, but it’s not quite stiff enough to satisfy me. The chocolate is passable, smooth and not chalky, and not too sweet.

The whole experience is lacking something, perhaps I’m spoiled by my comparably priced Trader Joe’s Butterscotch which strike me as a far better deal both because the price is better, the ingredients are a bit clearer and of course they taste fantastic or the far easier to find Storck Chocolate Riesen. I don’t see Hershey’s new product line surviving in the long run, they’re just not distinctive enough.

These caramels are made in Mexico and are made on equipment that also processes macadamia nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts. Contains soy and milk. There’s no mention of gluten.

Related Candies

  1. Droga Money on Honey Caramels
  2. Russell Stover Big Bite Caramel Apple
  3. Hershey’s Air Delight Aerated Milk Chocolate
  4. See’s Double Caramel
  5. Milky Way Simply Caramel
  6. Reese’s Select Cremes
  7. Hershey’s Cacao Reserve


Name: Dark Chocolate Caramels
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Hershey’s
Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Glendale)
Price: $4.29
Size: 7.2 ounces
Calories per ounce: 127
Categories: Candy, Hershey's, Caramel, Chocolate, Kosher, 7-Worth It, Mexico, Walgreen's

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:41 pm     CandyReviewHershey'sCaramelChocolateKosher7-Worth ItMexicoWalgreen's

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Candyology 101 - Podcast Episode 21 - Red Licorice

Maria and I discuss that fruity stuff that some people call Red Licorice or Twizzlers or Red Vines. It’s actually extruded starch gel, but probably needs a better name than that.

download the MP3 and read through our Show Notes.

 

 

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:33 pm     CandyHighlightRadio Interviews

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Mega Smarties ‘n Creme

DSC_9592rbA couple of months ago on Candyology 101 we were talking about a new product called Mega Smarties ‘n Creme. It’s a layered Smartie candy with a creamy

The roll is substantial, both in the packaging and the contents. I was initially shocked at the price of $2.49 for a roll, but it is 2.25 ounces. The wrapper is a paper/foil style that is easy to open and actually re-closes pretty well, too.

The pieces are 1 inch in diameter. I pulled out some Giant Smarties I had sitting around as a comparison in the photo. There’s a vanilla note to the pieces once they’re unwrapped, but only from afar.

DSC_9602rb

The candies come in five colors/flavors. In a little diversion from the standard Smarties, there are blue ones in there. The disks remind me a lot of game pieces or poker chips. One side is lightly colored and flavored, the other side is white. I can’t tell if it’s a distinct flavor of its own.

Purple is Grape and largely floral in flavor. It’s lightly tangy, but no actual grape flavor is in there. The floral notes are on the violet side of things.

Orange was disappointingly bland.

Yellow is Peach and by far the most tart of the array but not terribly peachy.

Blue is Blueberry, another floral flavor, but there is a light tart and jammy note in there. It actually ended up being my favorite flavor of the group.

Pink is Strawberry which is rather mild, which I think most people would be disappointed by.

Though I found them pleasant enough, there was a weird “B vitamin” note that I had trouble getting around. Though they’re certainly better tasting that Flintstone’s Chewables, at least then I’d be getting my RDAs.

Related Candies

  1. Candyology 101 - Podcast Episode 16 - Treat or Trick Revisited
  2. Candyology 101 - Podcast Episode 12 - The Sweet and the Tart
  3. SweetWorks Celebration Candies - Bears
  4. Yum Junkie Pufflettes
  5. Mystery Smarties
  6. M&Ms Premiums
  7. Starburst Berries & Creme and Fruit & Creme


Name: Mega Smarties ‘n Creme
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Ce De Candies
Place Purchased: Dylan's Candy Bar (Farmers Market)
Price: $2.49
Size: 2.25 ounces
Calories per ounce: 100
Categories: Candy, Ce De Candies, Compressed Dextrose, 6-Tempting, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:14 pm     CandyReviewCe De CandiesCompressed Dextrose6-TemptingUnited States

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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.

 

 

 

 

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