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Monday, November 29, 2010

Candy Cane Tootsie Pop Drops

Candy Cane Tootsie Pop DropsA couple of years ago Tootsie brought back their classic Tootsie Pop Drops. The package heralds them as Tootsie Pops without the stick! but they’re actually a mini version of a hard candy with a little filling of chewy, chocolatey Tootsie Rolls.

It only makes sense that they’d do seasonal versions, such as the Candy Cane Tootsie Pop in this smaller, sharable format. I believe these hit the shelves last year, but I didn’t find them until this year.

The 3.5 ounce box holds a thick foil/plastic pouch with the candies inside. I’m never keen on this “bag inside a box” package, but I do admit that all of the candies came out looking great, no chips or broken ones and it wasn’t just a bag of sugar dust.

DSC_9863rb

I loved the look of them when I dumped them out of the bag. They’re thick and feel heavy and solid, like pieces of glass. The color of the candy is a very light and milky pink with red stripes. They’re smaller than a Starlight Mint but I find the size and shape excellent in the mouth.

The hard candy is smooth and has very few voids. The dissolve is good with a good mint flavor that has a few pops and sparkles of extra flavor on occasion. At the center is a small piece of a Tootsie Roll. I found the ratio to be a bit off, I’d like more Tootsie Roll, but still the chew of it is good. The flavor of the Tootsie Roll itself is always a bit disappointing, mostly because the chocolate flavor is often a bit musty and watery instead of woodsy and cocoa-ish. In this case there’s a hint of rum and less of the cardboard taste, probably because of the essence of Peppermint at play here.

There’s only the one flavor in the package, just like the old days when I would buy a roll of just Orange or Grape Tootsie Pop Drops. It would be fun to see these wrapped individually in wax paper and sold in rolls at least for the nostalgia value at Christmas. But the addition of seasonal flavors is a great touch that I hope Tootsie continues.

The new packaging advises that the Tootsie facility that made these is peanut free, gluten free, egg free and tree nut free. (It does contain milk ingredients and soy.)

Related Candies

  1. Candy Cane Tootsie Pops
  2. Tootsie Pop Drops
  3. Tootsie Rolls & Fruit Rolls
  4. Chocolate Filled Candy Canes
  5. Hershey’s Chocolate Mint Candy Canes
  6. The Mint Kisses: Chocolate Mint & Candy Cane


Name: Candy Cane Tootsie Pop Drops
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Tootsie
Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Noe Valley - San Francisco)
Price: $1.50
Size: 3.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 100
Categories: Candy, Christmas, Tootsie, Chews, Hard Candy & Lollipops, Kosher, Mints, 7-Worth It, United States, Walgreen's

POSTED BY Cybele AT 4:26 pm     CandyChristmasTootsieChewsHard Candy & LollipopsKosherMints7-Worth ItUnited StatesWalgreen's

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Mentos Jam Filled

Mentos - Jam FilledMentos are the KitKat of chews. There are dozens of flavors worldwide, and of course most of the interesting flavors are found in Asia. This newest version is the oddest one I’ve had to date: Mentos Jam Filled - Strawberry Lemon.

They’re made in China and sold in Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. I got this package from Santos of Scent of Green Bananas after two failed efforts to buy them on eBay from a Thai seller.

They’re double packaged (like the Sour Mentos often are.) There’s a main package of stiff, thick foil backed paper which is then encased in a plastic sleeve.

Mentos - Jam Filled

Inside the inner package are 8 soft candies. The most noticeable difference is that they don’t have a crunchy shell. They’re a little glossy and might have a bit of wax but are basically shell-less. They’re soft enough that they don’t really have a native shape, they’re a little flat on the sides where they meet and sometimes stick together a bit.

Mentos - Jam Filled

They seem a bit bigger than a traditional Mentos. They’re also more fragrant, authentically strawberry scented.

Mentos - Jam Filled

The outer layer of chew is soft and has a good pliable taffy texture and tangy/sweet strawberry flavor. The inner jam is not very complex, more like a lemon flavored syrup, more like a reduction of lemon drink than lemon marmalade. It’s not as tart as I would have liked and lacked a lot of lemon essence. The texture is sticky but not at all grainy. It didn’t do much for me. The difference in the flavors wasn’t strong enough to be called complementary and wasn’t close enough to match.

I’m not sure why they did this. It’s a lot of packaging and not a lot of excitement inside.

I might have felt differently if it were a uniquely named and branded item, but coming to me with a Mentos logo on it, I expected more authentic flavors and for it to, well, be a fresh take on the goo filled candy field.

Related Candies

  1. Twizzlers Sweet & Sour Filled Twists
  2. Fresh Cola Mentos
  3. Barley Mint Mentos
  4. Three Pink Bubble Gums
  5. Banana n Cream & Red Orange Mentos
  6. Dalandan & Juicy Ponkan Mentos


Name: Mentos Jam Filled Strawberry-Lemon
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Perfetti Van Melle
Place Purchased: Gift from Santos
Price: unknown
Size: 1.18 ounces
Calories per ounce:
Categories: All Natural, Candy, Mentos, Perfetti van Melle, Chews, 6-Tempting, China, 7-11

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:06 pm     All NaturalCandyMentosPerfetti van MelleChews6-Tempting7-11

Friday, October 8, 2010

Mentos Mix Grape

Mentos Mix Grape

One of my favorite global candies are Mentos because they reflect local flavors so well. Sometimes it seems unfair that other locales get such great flavors and in the US we’re stuck with a more limited assortment.

This little plastic jar of Mentos Mix Grape was given to me by Santos of Scent of Green Bananas. They’re sold in the Philippines and other parts of the Pacific. They’re actually made in Vietnam but Perfetti van Melle and have Halal certification, but all of the other packaging is in English.

Instead of a mix of fruity flavors, this combo pack has a mix of different kinds of grapes - purple, white and red.

Muscat - a green grape. This version has a light peppery flavor at first followed by something that’s more like apple cider and then a grape skin note. It also reminded me of hibiscus iced tea. Tangy and fresh.

Standard Grape (magenta) is the most disappointing of the bunch. It does taste like real grapes, but like a far away version of the, like I’m tasting concord grapes from across the street or watching it on TV.

Red Wine Grape (light pink) has an amazing flavor profile. It’s like white grape juice but with more of the grape skins flavors, right down to an almost-dry finish.

I’ve found with the Asian Mentos that the quality isn’t always consistent. Some are soft and chewy, others are crunchy in the middle. These were close to their expiry, but I experience this on a consistent basis with all varieties not made in Holland.

I love how Mentos gets subtlety. While grape isn’t my favorite flavor, I like how distinctive these are yet how well the package holds together and a single candy. I can pop them mindlessly or I can pull out the flavor I feel like at the moment. I wish that the American ones were like this, but then maybe I wouldn’t appreciate them as much.

These are Halal but not marked Kosher. They no longer contain gelatin (they use gellan gum) which is vegetarian ... but they also use carmine color, so they’re not actually vegetarian.

Related Candies

  1. Grape Vines
  2. Barley Mint Mentos
  3. Banana n Cream & Red Orange Mentos
  4. Meiji Gummy Choco
  5. HiCHEW Assortment
  6. Dalandan & Juicy Ponkan Mentos

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:19 pm     CandyMentosPerfetti van MelleChews7-Worth It

Monday, October 4, 2010

Mary Jane & Mary Jane Wicked Mix

Necco Mary JanesI can’t think of another candy that embodies the description humble American treat better than Mary Jane. First there’s the fact that they originated in Paul Revere’s house in Boston by the Chas. N. Miller Company. Second, they’re made from molasses and peanut butter, two hearty American flavors. The wax paper packaging has remained largely unchanged (undated old wrapper & advertisement from 1927).

The Chas. N. Miller Company was bought by Stark Candy in 1985, and Stark was bought up by Necco in 1990.

Necco has kept the traditional candy largely intact. When I was a kid Mary Jane were still a penny candy, sold out of tubs positioned near the cash register at convenience stores. These days they still go for pocket change, I’ve seen them for 10 cents each at retro candy shops.

Mary Janes

The candy is simple, a rich and stiff molasses taffy rectangle with a small reservoir of peanut butter in the center.

I stopped eating Mary Janes about 15 years ago when it seemed that every time I bought them they were hard and crackly. But I’ve had better luck around Halloween when they’re fresh and packaged directly by Necco (beware of other repackagers like the generic drug store brands).

The chew is a little tough at first but softens with a bit of work and warmth. The taffy isn’t too sweet and has a toasted, earthy flavor from the molasses (the fourth ingredient). The peanut butter strip in the middle is undependable at best. Some pieces have a generous filling that gives the candy a beautifully balance of roasted nuts and burnt sugar. The chew is smooth and has a consistent flavor from start to finish.

I find them irresistible. So much so that I’m on my third bag since September.

Mary Jane Wicked MixNecco has been on a kick to create alternate versions of their classic candies and Mary Jane wasn’t left behind. The Mary Jane Wicked Mix popped up a couple of years ago at Halloween.

The mix contains a four flavor variations: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Peanut Butter & Banana, Smores and Peanut Butter & Vanilla. What you might notice is missing from that list is the classic Molasses & Peanut Butter Mary Jane. Unlike the Clark Wicked Mix, which contains the classic milk chocolate Clark plus the Dark Clark and Coconut Clark, this mix doesn’t have the original. (Which is how I got into this messy Mary Jane addiction in the first place, I had to buy a bag to do this post ... and then I ate them so I had to buy another bag, and another.)

Mary Janes

The little wrappers are similar to the original. They’re a thick waxed paper that protects the candy well and releases except when they get too warm. My bag was a little bit oily, which I blame on the peanut butter. The candies were all soft and easy to chew, but the wrappers were sometimes just a little bit greasy to the touch.

The wrappers have the same bold black bookface font for the Mary Jane logo and have the little cartoon of the Mary Jane character. They’re color coded for the flavors (they don’t have the flavors named on them) but don’t have the red stripe.

Banana Mary Jane (Wicked Mix)

The version that immediately made the most sense to me is the Banana & Peanut Butter Mary Jane.

The yellow waxed paper looks brighter than the original because the taffy beneath is a pale yellow instead of a medium beige. It smells like fake banana and a little like peanut butter. The chew is soft and immediately reminiscent of Circus Peanut. The peanut butter, on the pieces that have a generous quantity, cuts the sweetness and artificiality to create a pretty good candy. It was definitely the one that I was reaching for in this mix.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Mary Jane

The raspberry red wrapper gave me a little bit of hope on the Peanut Butter & Jelly Mary Jane, which is good because the idea of a grape taffy filled with peanut butter was not appetizing.

The taffy was lightly tangy and tasted a little like grape Pixy Stix. The chew was softer, so much softer than the rest that it was a completely different texture of chew. The peanut butter did a good job of covering the disappointing grape jelly effect, but not good enough to make me want to keep eating these after the review was over. Thankfully there were only a half a dozen of these in my big bag of 85 pieces.

S'more Mary Jane

I wasn’t quite sure what a Smore Mary Jane was supposed to be. I liked the look of the dark brown wrapper and I thought maybe it’d be a cocoa flavored taffy.

Sadly the flavor note they were going for here was toasted marshmallow with peanut butter. That’s a great idea, but I needed more darkness to the whole thing and less fake vanilla sweetness. A little cocoa would have been nice, too.

Vanilla Mary Jane (Wicked Mix)

The Vanilla & Peanut Butter Mary Jane got me to thinking about another vanilla taffy filled with peanut butter, the Annabelle’s Abba-Zaba.

Mary Jane Vanilla & Abba-Zaba

RiteAid always has Abba-Zabas, so I went by and picked up a bar to compare. (While I was there I bought bag #2 of the classic Mary Janes.)

Mary Jane Vanilla & Abba-ZabaLet me start by saying that the Mary Jane is far easier to eat. Abba-Zaba are a smack & unwrap kind of taffy. It’s hard to portion and often messy.

The Abba-Zaba taffy is sweet but silky smooth in the chew, it’s almost warm and buttery. But it’s also sweet, a little sweeter than I’m keen on. The peanut butter is thick and has a strong flavor to it, the proportion or perhaps that there was so much of it in one place gave it a lot more prominence than in any of the Mary Janes.

The Vanilla Mary Jane is like a bleached out sea shell, missing all the beauty and character of the original. The fake vanilla taffy is okay and I admit that it does give the peanut butter more dominance. But the whole thing is just too sweet and bland. The Abba-Zaba wins based on its superior texture and better balance of peanut butter.

Overall, this experience has proved that the Mary Jane deserves to endure untouched for all these years (96 years!). I can see this variety being fun for kids who might be turned off by the smoky notes of the molasses original.

More on Mary Jane at the Bewildered Brit.

Related Candies

  1. Clark Bar Wicked Mix
  2. Molasses Pops
  3. Mary Jane’s Bread Pudding
  4. Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses
  5. Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews
  6. Abba Zaba


Name: Mary Jane
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Necco
Place Purchased: Rite Aid (Glendale)
Price: $.99
Size: 7 ounces
Calories per ounce: 113
Categories: Candy, Necco, Chews, Kosher, Peanuts, 10-Superb, United States, Rite Aid


Name: Mary Jane Wicked Mix
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Necco
Place Purchased: Rite Aid (Glendale)
Price: unknown
Size: 24 ounces
Calories per ounce: 113
Categories: Candy, Necco, Chews, Kosher, Peanuts, 4-Benign, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:35 pm     CandyReviewHalloweenNeccoChewsKosherPeanuts4-Benign10-SuperbUnited StatesRite Aid

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Natural Vines Strawberry

Natural Vines - StrawberryThe companion to last week’s Licorice Natural Vines are the new Strawberry Natural Vines.

I’m often hesitant to call them red licorice, but in this case the wheat based chew made by the American Licorice Company does have a small amount of licorice extract in it. As a natural product they’re made with wheat flour, cane syrup, sugar, brown rice syrup, palm oil, malic acid, natural strawberry flavor, beet juice (for color), glycerin and licorice extract.

The package is nicely designed, I had no trouble spotting it on the store shelf. It’s a soft but light plastic bag that looks kind of like kraft paper at first glance. It has a resealable zipper top, which is handy for a half pound bag.

Natural Vines - Strawberry

They’re not as sticky as the Black Licorice version, which was a bit of a relief. The Strawberry version are slightly translucent, which kind of got my mouth watering, like they might be some sort of wheat flour thickened Strawberry jelly.

The twists are pleasantly big with a good bite and chew. They’re soft but not mushy. They don’t smell like much, just a light fresh and slightly sweet scent that’s not even strawberry.

Natural Vines - Strawberry

They’re tangy. That’s the first thing I noticed, they’re not quite sour but definitely tart. The chew is smooth but eventually a little crumbly, so they don’t stick to my teeth like some soft licorice products can. They’re not doughy but still have a bit of a starchy film towards the end.

The strawberry flavor is a bit green, since it’s more on the tart side of things, it’s not the sweet, cotton candy floral note that some real strawberries exude. The only other all natural product that I’ve had that’s similar is the Panda Strawberry Bar, but that’s almost like a fruit leather texture to the chew and has a slightly more earthy and jam flavor because of the molasses in it.

I found them appealing to eat, but not exactly begging for me to have more. They seemed more like a snack than a candy since they’re not that sweet. But of course the “less sweet” part and wheat base may be appealing to some parents - there’s only a trace of fat (1 gram per 1.41 ounce portion) and slightly more than 100 calories for that serving. A serving is nine of these pieces, so a child or adult could be satiated by this. They’re expensive at regular price (2.99 for this half pound bag) but a bit cheaper than some “fruit snack” options - though these have no vitamin C fortification. These might be considered vegan (depending on your feelings about sugar).

Related Candies

  1. Natural Vines - Black Licorice
  2. Wonka Exceptionals Fruit Jellies: Grapefruit, Goji Berry & Red Apple
  3. Darrell Lea Licorice & Ginger
  4. Young & Smylie Traditional Licorice
  5. Red Vines
  6. Panda Bars

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:32 pm     All NaturalCandyReviewAmerican LicoriceChews5-PleasantUnited StatesVon's

Monday, September 13, 2010

Bonomo & Doscher Banana Taffy

When Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy was discontinued by Tootsie back in the late eighties, candy fans searched far and wide for an adequate simulation. For years candy stores suggested Doschers Famous French Chew Taffy. (I even tried it.) But earlier this year Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy returned. I tried the other flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate & Strawberry, but when I picked them up, I also decided to get a package of the Banana in both the Bonomo & Doscher’s brand to compare head-to-head.

Doscher French Chew & Bonomo Turkish Taffy - Banana

As far as the stats go, they’re a little different on a few fronts. I paid $1.99 for the Bonomo and only 99 cents for the Doscher’s. The Bonomo bar is slightly smaller at 1.5 ounces to the Doscher’s 1.62. The ingredients are similar, both are basically corn syrup, sugar and egg whites. The Bonomo uses mono- & di-glycerides while the Doscher’s uses hydrogenated soybean oil (only 1 gram of fat for the bar, so it’s not that much) and a dash of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).

Bonomo & Doscher Banana Taffy
Bonomo’s Banana is on the bottom left and the Doscher’s Banana is on the top right.

Both bars are artificially colored. The Doscher’s is a little more dusty yellow than the Bonomo. Doscher’s feels lighter and fluffier, in fact, when I bend it, it’s more pliable. It’s like it has a little air folded in, more like a nougat than a taffy.

The Bonomo is very smooth. It’s a bit stiff at first to chew, but the flavor is bold and consistent. The banana is a bit artificial, relying only on that circus peanut note instead of some other things like vanilla to round it out.

The Doscher’s tastes a little more starchy in comparison, like a Nilla Wafer with banana flavoring. The airy texture seems to make it dissolve quicker, so I actually went through the bars in about the same amount of time. The flavor wasn’t as intense but also seemed friendlier.

On the whole, they’re different but similar enough for me to lump them into a list of taffy products that are descent enough but just not my thing. If you’re a die hard fan of either, I can see why you can’t just swap one for the other.

Related Candies

  1. Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy - Chocolate, Vanilla & Strawberry
  2. Banana n Cream & Red Orange Mentos
  3. Bit-O-Honey
  4. Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter and Banana Cup
  5. Doscher’s French Chew Taffy
  6. Tootsie Roll Mini Chews


Name: Bonomo’s Banana Turkish Taffy
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Warrell Corp
Place Purchased: Albanese Candy Factory Outlet (Merrilville, IN)
Price: $1.99
Size: 1.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 106
Categories: Candy, Chews, Kosher, 6-Tempting, United States


Name: Banana French Chew
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Doscher
Place Purchased: Albanese Candy Factory Outlet (Merrilville, IN)
Price: $.99
Size: 1.62 ounces
Calories per ounce: 99
Categories: Candy, Chews, 6-Tempting, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:26 pm     CandyChews6-TemptingUnited States

Monday, August 30, 2010

Mentos Cinnamon

Mentos CinnamonFor something that’s described as “Chew Mints”, Mentos fail on diversity of mint flavors. In the United States there is exactly one mint flavor available: Mint. In other countries there are Spearmint, Xtra (double strong Peppermint or Spearmint), Lime Mint, Ice Mint, Cool Chews Orange Mint, Pomelo Mint, Strong Mint, Barley Mint and Lakritz Mint.

The only other flavor in the current American repertoire that I think features Freshmaking abilities is the Cinnamon Mentos. They’re not easy to find, I rarely see them in stores but grabbed this roll when I saw them at Walgreen’s last week. 

The package is hard to spot though, because it’s red and looks a lot like Strawberry at first glance.

Mentos Cinnamon

The pieces don’t smell cinnamon-like. It’s not like having a package of cinnamon gum and having the scent of it waft through your purse or desk drawer. These are quiet and self-contained.

They’re smooth and have a good crunch to the outside. The inside is like a candy version of Big Red gum. They’re woodsy and a little warm from the cinnamon flavoring, but not overly hot. The flavor last through the whole chew and is in general satisfying. There’s a little hint of mint to it, but that may just be me imagining it.

Some of the fruit flavors of Mentos can have a weird aftertaste, but the Cinnamon ones have a fresh note at the end. They cut mid-morning coffee mouth without making me feel like I’ve eaten a wad of toothpaste.

Related Candies

  1. See’s Cinnamon (Hearts & Lollypops)
  2. Fresh Cola Mentos
  3. Cinnamon Fire Twizzlers
  4. Mentos Xtrm: Mint & Spearmint
  5. Gimbal’s Lavaballs
  6. Licorice Mentos


Name: Cinnamon Mentos
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Perfetti Van Melle
Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Echo Park)
Price: $.89
Size: 1.32 ounces
Calories per ounce: 106
Categories: Candy, Mentos, Perfetti van Melle, Chews, Cinnamon, 7-Worth It, Netherlands, Walgreen's

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:00 pm     CandyMentosPerfetti van MelleChewsCinnamon7-Worth ItNetherlandsWalgreen's

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy - Chocolate, Vanilla & Strawberry

Chocolate Bonomo Turkish TaffyBonomo’s Turkish Taffy is a curious little confection. It’s curious in that it’s not really Turkish and it’s not really taffy. But it really was made by a guy named Victor Bonomo, whose father was from Turkey.

Turkish Taffy is made by boiling sugar, corn syrup and egg whites. But instead of being fluffed like a traditional nougat or pulled like taffy it was poured and baked in large sheets like candy bark. The resulting texture has an incredibly smooth and long chew with no hint of sugar crystals. It was originally sold in bulk and pieces could be purchased by weight at candy counters at department stores and five & dimes back in the 1940s. By the 1950s the company started selling bars where the customers were encouraged to whack them before opening to break into individual pieces.

When Victor Bonomo retired in the 1970s, the company was sold to Tootsie who made the candy from 1980 to 1989. Around 2003 there were tickles on the internet that the candy was going to return (including a few emails I got that never turned into anything), but it wasn’t until this year that it actually happened. Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy is now available in the classic bar format and little individually wrapped bites in the original four flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate and Banana.

Bonomo's Turkish Taffy - Chocolate

I’ll start by saying that most chocolate chews are a disappointment. They can never match the chocolate punch of actual chocolate. The only thing going for a chocolate chew is the chew part, so it’d better be good enough to transcend the watered down flavor.

The color of Bonomo Chocolate Turkish Taffy is like chocolate nonfat milk, a light creamy brown. A bit lighter even than a Tootsie Roll, which I’m guessing is the most widely consumed chocolate chew in the United States.

To eat I followed the directions to whack the package firmly before opening on the corner of a table. I did it several times until I felt that the bar had been cleaved into several pieces along its length.

The pieces are thick and firm, but with some gentle pressure they do bend. Bend quickly enough and you can actually break it or pull very slowly and it will stretch. It smells lightly sweet and a little like cocoa and sweet, powdery marshmallows.

The chew is hard at first but melts after some work and warmth. The flavor is thin and watery - a light cocoa note but very little more than that. It’s not terribly sweet, which is a relief. The texture however, is dreamy. It’s smooth and silky, a chew that has no middle or end, it’s completely the same all along. The only thing that’s different is that it gets smaller the more I chewed.

The cocoa was disappointing, but the fact that it wasn’t too sweet and provided a strong texture without anything left sticking in my teeth was a huge plus.

Vanilla Bonomo Turkish TaffyThe Bonomo Vanilla Turkish Taffy is simple. It’s uncolored, which gets high marks from me right away. It smells a little like marshmallows, but mostly like sugar.

The chew is firm and tough at first but softens. It’s exceptionally smooth and consistent, all the way to the end. The flavor is lightly creamy and has a good vanilla flavor that’s not too artificial though really not that deep either. It’s more robust than a Vanilla Tootsie but still not exceptionally interesting at a certain point.

Of the three classic Neapolitan flavors I tried, this was by far my favorite. The bar last a long time and since it’s a chew, it’s a lot lower in calories than a chocolate or nut product. So this 1.5 ounce bar has only 160 calories (the chocolate one has 150).

Strawberry Bonomo Turkish TaffyI avoid strawberry taffy for the most part. It lacks the things that I like about strawberries - like the texture of the seeds, the mixture of tartness, sweetness and floral aromas. Strawberries smell like cotton candy to me, or maybe cotton candy smells like strawberries - it’s like part of consuming it is the scent which carries its own portion of sugary calories.

The Bonomo’s Strawberry Turkish Taffy is bright, bismuth pink. It’s artificial looking, like a lump of plastic left over from an injection molding project for Barbie Corvettes. The scent is similarly off-putting. It says “strawberry with a hint of vinyl”. The texture is the same as the other varieties - smooth and a long, glossy chew. The flavor though was all sweet, a strange fake strawberry that was like a cheap body wash and a terrible bitter note from the food dye (it said Red #3 & Blue #3, which is not usually one I call out for bitter, metallic aftertastes).

While I thought it was ghastly, I can understand that some folks will love the stuff. I get it, I love things that I know are fake and weird, too - like American Cheese.

I know that Bonomo’s is a well-loved brand. I know that it’s also pretty intensive to create, so these packages were $1.99 each - twice the price of the Doscher’s French Chew, which is often sold as a replacement. Maybe with time and larger volume the price will drop back down, but I’d much rather have some real nougat. But at this price I expect artisan or all natural. They are Kosher but there’s no statement about gluten or nuts (they do say that they’re processed in a facility with milk products). Classic Caramel of Camp Hill, PA is making the taffy for the Bonomo Turkish Taffy company. Classic Caramel also makes SloPokes, Kits and BB Bats.

Other reviews: Sugar Pressure and Candy Favorites.

It also comes in Banana, I picked that up too, along with Doscher’s French Chew in Banana and will do a comparison soon.

Related Candies

  1. Melster Peanut Butter Kisses
  2. Now & Later
  3. Tootsie Rolls & Fruit Rolls
  4. Doscher’s French Chew Taffy
  5. Airheads
  6. Abba Zaba


Name: Bonomo’s Chocolate Turkish Taffy
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Warrell Corp
Place Purchased: Albanese Candy Factory Outlet (Merrilville, IN)
Price: $1.99
Size: 1.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 106
Categories: Candy, Chews, Kosher, 6-Tempting, United States


Name: Bonomo’s Vanilla Turkish Taffy
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Warrell Corp
Place Purchased: Albanese Candy Factory Outlet (Merrilville, IN)
Price: $1.99
Size: 1.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 106
Categories: Candy, Chews, Kosher, 6-Tempting, United States


Name: Bonomo’s StrawberryTurkish Taffy
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Warrell Corp
Place Purchased: Albanese Candy Factory Outlet (Merrilville, IN)
Price: $1.99
Size: 1.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 106
Categories: Candy, Chews, Kosher, 6-Tempting, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:55 pm     CandyChewsKosher6-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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