Name: Nestle’s Original Swiss Chocolate
Brand: Cailler (Nestle)
Place Purchased: Target
Price: $4.99
Size: 7.05 oz
Calories per ounce: 158
Type: Chocolate

Nestle is known for their milk chocolate and for good reason, the original Swiss chocolate that made them famous is a great chocolate bar. It’s consistently good with a strong milky flavor, smooth and sweet. It’s not easy to find in the states, and if I’m feeling like a European-style milk chocolate bar I usually pick up a Cadbury.

I found this assortmet at Target. (I actually saw it a few months ago but waited until last weekend to pick it up.) The little box says that it’s the perfect gift to share a perfect expression of authentic Swiss chocolate taste. I’m prone to agree that this is a nice hostess gift for someone that likes milk chocolate. Easy to share, and a good assortment.

Inside are seven different varieties, with what seemed like a majority of them being lavender-wrapped lait-milch. There are also milk with almonds, milk with hazelnuts, extrafine dark chocolate and white chocolate. The other curiosities within were one called Dessert which was milk chocolate with hazelnut creme (kind of like a nutella bar if they made them). I really love the combo of hazelnuts and chocolate (Nestle also owns Baci/Perugina now). The nutty, roasted notes of hazenuts go so well with chocolate. If I had my druthers I’d put more of them in the package than the plain milk bars. The other bar that I loved was the one called Chocmel which had chopped almonds and honey. Well, I don’t think it was just honey, I think it was some sort of honey nougat chips. It was very similar to a Toblerone bar, but the honey notes in the nougat chips was much more pronounced. Very good, in fact much smoother and less waxy than a Toblerone. I might pick up a bigger bar if I see this sometime.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Related Candies

1. Nestle Crunch (Now Even Richer Milk Chocolate)
2. Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate Bars
3. What does that Nestle code mean?
4. Villars Swiss Milk Chocolate
5. Nestle Lion

Name: Wha Guru Chew
Brand: Golden Temple of Oregon, Inc.
Place Purchased: Whole Foods
Price: $.79
Size: 1.13 oz
Calories per ounce: 140
Type: Caramel (Nuts)

Reading over the ingredients list, I’m wondering what this has to do with the Yogi Bhajan. But I suppose even the most enlightened among us wants a sweet now and then. While there’s nothing bad about these caramel nut bars, they contain no trans fat and use brown rice syrup and evaporated cane juice instead of corn syrup, I’m struggling with the health food aspects of this. Aw hell, let’s just call it candy and be done with it.

These are fab. I can’t tell you how fab these are. The caramel is flavorful and soft, the nuts are fresh and crunchy and the smell is pure buttery sweetness. The only problem I have with them is that they’re very soft, so you taking them out of the package is nearly impossible and even getting the package open without scissors ended up too much of a challenge for me.

Cashew Vanilla - the right sweet notes of vanilla blended with buttery cashews. There are also sunflower seeds in here, which add an extra crunch and earthy taste to the bar to balance the sweetness of the caramel. A little touch of salt balances it all out.

Almond Ginger - it doesn’t smell quite as inviting as the cashew vanilla bar (I don’t think ginger smells that good inherently, as it has a rooty/earthy smell). But biting into this bar wipes away any hesitation that this bar will be as good as the former. The ginger pops out as a spicy base for the sugary caramel and the mild almonds. A slight trace of lemon zest links all the flavors together well.

Peanut Cashew - this one diverges from the recipe of the above two which are sweetened primarily with brown rice syrup and evaporated cane juice. This is sweetened with clover honey (and barley malt syrup). This honey base makes for a less viscous caramel but really amps up the flavor. The first tone you get upon biting into it is a strong orange essence. In addition to the peanuts and cashews are sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Of the three this was my least favorite, though still worthy of trying.

Rating:
Cashew Vanilla - 9 out of 10
Almond Ginger - 9 out of 10
Peanut Cashew - 8 out of 10

Name: Chimes Ginger Chews
Brand: Roxy Trading
Place Purchased: Cost Plus
Price: $1.99
Size: 2 oz
Calories per ounce: 112 (16 calories per chew)
Type: Taffy

How could you not love something that comes in this nifty tin? Chimes has three different kinds of ginger chews, Peppermint (this review), Peanut Butter Ginger (previous review) and Ginger. I believe that The Ginger People also have the same repetoire and that these are all probably made in the same factory somewhere in Indonesia.

There are about 14 of these individually wrapped chews stuffed into this tin. The lid slides back for dispensing, though they’re jammed in there pretty good and not that easy to just dump out. Further, when opening the little individual wrappers, the chews sometimes get stuck to the plastic.

Beyond that, once you’ve got on in your mouth, it’s instantly minty. The chew is soft and sticky with a distinct barley sugar note to it (I like that). As you chew, the spicy notes of the ginger come through and as you’re done with the chew, the burn of the ginger lasts for quite a while. They’re very satisfying but as snacks, I think the packaging is great because I don’t think you’d want more than two or three of these at any given time (the peanut butter ones, however, I think lend themselves to greater consumption).

On the whole, now that I’ve tried all three of these flavor combinations I think I prefer the plain ginger, then the peanut butter and then these. Not that these aren’t good, but I don’t really think that mint and ginger are the best of all possible flavor matches. The Ginger People also make an Apple Ginger chew that I think I’m going to have to seek out now.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Name: Renew
Brand: New Tree
Place Purchased: Portland, OR
Price: $4.95
Size: 2.82 oz
Calories per ounce: 142
Type: Chocolate

From the back of the package:

“Deliciously enhanced with blackcurrant and grape extract, Renew is an indulgent source of antioxidants which help fight external influences such as pollution, tobacco, stress and UV rays. Relish in a delightful, all natural Belgian chocolate treat (73% cocoa) that is a good source of minerals, Vitamin D, essential for a healthy, youthful body. “

This is fine Belgian dark chocolate (73% cocoa) infused with black currant and grape flavors. Instead of just candy or a sweet treat, New Tree seems to be pushing the health benefits of chocolate, because it contains more antioxidants than a glass of red wine and 10% of your daily vaulue of vitamin D and phosphorous, 6% of the RDA for zinc and E, 15% of your iron and 20% of your magnesium. In addition, there’s a whopping 5 grams of fiber - 22% of the daily requirement!

But health benefits and nutrition aside, unless you want to call these chewable vitamins and make them a chore (and expensive vitamins at that!), taste is what it’s all about…

The scent of black currant and grape is quite evident upon opening the inner mylar pouch. The chocolate was a dense, glossy black and heavy for its size. While the scent of the currants is there, the taste isn’t. The taste is all chocolate. A strong bitter start with a good melt on the tongue yields a slighly grainy feeling to the chocolate, but not an unpleasant one. Then the grape essence returns as the sweetness develops. It has a very dry finish, much like wine, but sometimes (not always) a bitter lingering note.

The snackability of such a rich combination of flavors isn’t really there. I can’t see myself munching on this bar, but definitely sampling it, probably in combination with some nuts or pretzels. It would probably go well with an after dinner plate of cheese and dried fruits as well (and wine or cognac).

The New Tree site heralds the other versions of their chocolate, all with enigmatic power names and functions. Pleasure is just pure chocolate. Vigor is chocolate with a boost of coffee and caffeine with guarana. Forgiveness is chocolate with lemon essence and added fiber and purports to halt absorption of fat. Tranquility is milk chocolate (more sugar than the other chocolates) with lime and lavender. Rejoice is milk chocolate flavored with orange and lime and crisped rice added.

They sell these in 2.8 oz bars or in little boxes with 3 x .9 oz bars of the same flavor. What I’d like to see is one box that has one of each for tasting. You can’t buy from their website and I haven’t seen them anywhere in the stores yet, but I’ll keep my eyes open. If you’re interested you can email them from the website about availability.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: BruCo Rum and Vanilla
Brand: BruCo
Place Purchased:
Price: $5.95 (yes, nearly 6 bucks for two ounces ... that’s $44.91 a pound)
Size: 2.12 oz
Calories per ounce: haven’t a clue, that info isn’t on the package
Type: Chocolate

This is some lovely packaging. The box is matte cardboard with gold embossed names and a beautiful artisan quality to it. Inside the box is a mylar package with the bar with scoring for four servings. There’s also a little booklet in there, one side in English, the other in Italian. The brochure details the mission of BruCo which is to mix the finest chocolate with the finiest spices and essences to produce innovative combinations.

The Man brought this back from Portland, Ore as a gift. He picked it up in a gourmet deli (more review to come of the other gifts this week). This bar has a wonderful rich, roasted and sweet aroma upon opening the mylar. It’s followed by a lingering rum essence that compliments the alcoholic finish of chocolate. The bar is very dark, nearly black. The chocolate is a little sweet, but yields quickly in the mouth, melting easily. It has a slight fluffy grain to it (hard for me to describe) - the bar feels light on the tongue, where some feel heavier than they look. This chocolate has a cooling effect in the mouth and the rum flavor is very pronounced. However, I could not get beyond the taste of egg nog as the most overpowering element. It’s odd because nutmeg is a spice that I associate most with egg nog and this is purported to be vanilla flavored.

Overall, the bar is nice and I found myself gravitating towards it all weekend (it’s gone now). I don’t know if I would buy it again, with the price being the prohibitive part of this. However, if offered to me, I would certainly eat it again. I’ll have a review of their Arancio Cannella one later this week, which might prompt me to seek out this manufacturer again.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Dovetailing with my earlier post about revisiting classics with new interpretations, Hershey’s recently launched “Candy to Go!” It’s just smaller packaging of their previously introduced Bites, but what I found interesting is that I thought most candy was packaged for going ...

These are perfect little bites of candy bars. I picked up three at the store on the lot today. Kit Kat Bites, Reese’s Peanut Butter Bites and York Bites. Each is about the size of a small marble, more or less. The York bites are exactly what you’d expect, dark chocolate covering a mint cream center. The Reese’s bites are covering a peanut butter cup filling (not that waxy Reese’s pieces stuff) and the Kit Kat bites are like little Kit Kat cubes.

Here’s my thing: I like appropriate ratios. In the case of the Reese’s bites and the York bites, the ratio of chocolate to filling is appropriate. Though the chocolate in these little poppers is slightly different - because it’s in a spherical shape, I think they toss a little resinous glaze on it. This makes for a slight waxy coating, which in one respect is good, because you can actually hold them in your hand for a moment without getting melty all over you, but it also means that you’re eating this resin and that you need to kind of get past that when you put it in your mouth.

In the Kit Kat bites, it feels like too much chocolate (Kit) and not enough crisp wafers (Kat).

The other odd thing about these are the portion size: 2.75 oz and that’s a full serving. Most candy bars are about 1.5 oz and have about 200 calories. The Reese’s bites have 410 calories! If you can control yourself and not eat them all at once, you’ll make it to fifty without a coronary. Me? I ate the whole York Bites and then moved on to the Reese’s and of course had to open the Kit Kat for a taste. Sadly, all that’s left now are some of the Kit Kats.

Name: York Bites
Brand: Hershey’s
Price: $.99
Size: 2.75 oz
Calories per ounce: 116
Type: Mint/Chocolate Candy

Good chocolate, nice mint, pretty much a tiny spherical peppermint patty. The only problem I had with these was the variation in quality. Some were soft and fresh, but others were rather hard. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they’re spoiled, maybe the chocolate didn’t seal in the filling completely and they dried out.

Name: Reese’s Peanut Butter Bites
Brand: Hershey’s
Price: $.99
Size: 2.75 oz
Calories per ounce: 149
Type: Chocolate/Nuts

Okay, of the three, these smelled absolutely divine when I opened the package. A wonderful roasted peanut scent with the sweet overtone of chocolate. Really, these smelled awesome. They taste good, and I think I’d buy them again, especially as something to eat when at the movies, but I still prefer the miniatures for the ratio of chocolate to peanut butter.

Name: Kit Kat Bites
Brand: Hershey’s
Price: $.99
Size: 2.75 oz
Calories per ounce: 145
Type: Chocolate

My least favorite of the three, but I’ve always been fond of Kit Kats and buy them often. But my favorite thing about Kit Kats is deconstructing them while I eat, which means prying off each layer with my teeth. That’s not really feasible with this iteration, so I’d just have to eat them and where’s the fun in that?

I’m not always fond of miniatures or giganto bars, but I think that Hershey’s really did a nice job of inventing these as candy that stands alone without the other versions. As always, freshness helps, if these were old and had bloomed or something, I’d find them absolutely unappealing. But I find these to be the perfect movie food or good to tuck in your bag to share with others.

Ratings:
Kit Kat Bites - 5 out of 10
York Bites - 6 out of 10
Reese’s Bites - 8 out of 10

UPDATE: It looks like these didn’t go over very well and have been discontinued. The remaining inventory can still be found at discount stores like 99 Cent Only. (But be sure to look at the expiration date before you take a chance.)

Name: Bali’s Best Coffee Candy
Brand: Fusion Gourmet, Inc.
Place Purchased: 99 cent Store
Price: $.99
Size: 7.05 oz
Calories per ounce: 125
Type: Hard Candy

Name: United Coffee Candy
Brand: United Foods Public Company Ltd.
Place Purchased: gift from Mom
Price: $1.75
Size: 7.05 oz
Calories per ounce: 125
Type: Hard Candy

Two different kinds of coffee hard candy. United Coffee Candy is from Thailand and the candies are little, flat rectangles and the Bali’s Best are from Indonesia (Bali) and are circular. Both have similar ingredients - leading with Sugar, then Glucose Syrup with Bali’s Best adding a little dried milk and then both round it out with coffee powder and oil. Pretty simple, and both get it absolutey right.

Each of them are crisp and densely rich. Sweet but with a robust and full sweet coffee flavor. Bali’s is just a little creamier because of the milk powder, but it also has a little more of a bitter twang to it.

Though the shapes are different, each are individually wrapped in sealed pouches.

Both are definitely keepers, something I’ll keep in the car or my purse or even the desk drawer. Easy to share and since I’m the type who likes to crunch her hard candies, these are very satisfying with a toffee consistency.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Related Candies

1. Werther’s Caramel Coffee Hard Candies
2. KitKat Mocha
3. Hachez Chocolates
4. Coffee Crisp

Name: Turkish Delight (Hazelnut)
Brand: Sultan
Place Purchased: gift
Price: $4.69
Type: Turkish Delight

I’ve gotten the impression that some of those who come to the Candy Blog are curious about Turkish Delight. I’ve already detailed my impressions of The Ginger People’s Ginger Delight. Today’s review is of a more traditional Turkish Delight.

But first a little background from the back of the package:

An old Turkish aphorism tells one to “eat sweetly and speak sweetly”. Sweets have always been an important component of Turkish cuisine. The origin of Lokum - Turkish Delight - dates back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. A part of Turkish culture for centuries, the recipe has remained virtually unchanged from its inception.

A whimsical tale tells of the creation of Turkish Delight: In an attempt to appease his many wives, a famous Sultan ordered his confectioner to create a unique sweet. Eager to please his Sultan, the confectioner blended a concoction of sugar syrup, various flavorings, nuts and dried fruits then bound them together with mastic (gum arabic). After many attempts, the delicately scented and sugary sweet Lokum - better known in the West as Turkish Delight - was created. The Sultan was so taken by this elegant new creation that he appointed the sweet maker the court’s Chief Confectioner. Thereafter a plate of Lokum was served at daily feast in the Ottoman Court.

Lokum was unveiled to the west in the 19th century. During his travels to Istanbul, an unknown British traveler became very fond of the Turkish delicacies, purchased cases of Lokum and he shipped them to Britain under the name Turkish Delight. Today, Turkish Delight remains the sweet of choice in many Turkish homes. Enjoyed world wide, the subtle flavours of Turkish Delight finely compliment coffee and sweeten the breath at the end of a meal. Traditionally offered at Christmas in the West, Turkish Delight is becoming increasingly popular as a confection to be enjoyed year-round.

Most Turkish Delight I’ve had in the past was coated in a mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar, which makes it rather messy and though it’s a pretty bland coating, it does make for a sweet coating. Turkish Delight is generally flavored with scents - light and aromatic scents. In the past I’ve had Orange Blossom, Rosewater and Lemon.

This traditional Hazelnut Turkish Delight from Sultan is coated in coconut, which keeps the cubes from sticking together or to your fingers but also adds a wonderful nutty/chewy texture to the delicate sugar paste and hazelnuts (filberts).

Turkish Delight is probably not a treat for everyone. It’s not really a “snackable” treat where you can take it to a movie and pop them in your mouth. It’s more like something you’d put out with some nice cookies on a plate with some delicate tea.

Rating: 8 out of 10.