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Chocolate

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Queen Anne Orange

imageI have to call this one the deal of the month. I find a lot of great deals out there in candy world, but I had to mention this one because I gave the Queen Anne Milk Chocolate Covered Cherries a bad review last year.

So that makes it all the more wonderful that I took a chance on these.

I found them at the 99 Cent Only Store. In fact, I saw them for several weeks at several different stores, which usually means it’s a new item and probably more likely to be fresh. I’ve seen the Queen Anne line at Von’s for $2.99, so at 99 cents, it was quite a deal for 5 ounces of chocolate. They come in a rather elegant stand up cardboard box/bag with a sealed cellophane pouch inside.

I’m a huge fan of Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel and the fact that you can’t get such a thing at Trader Joe’s is rather disheartening (I got the “orange sticks” once thinking that’s what they were, but it was a jelly stick covered with chocolate).

These were fresh and glossy and had a wonderful scent of orange zest. The orange peel inside was firm and a little chewy but not overly sweetened. The dark chocolate though not the best in the world was a wonderful sweet complement to the zesty innards.

If I see these again, I’m definitely going to pick them up. I have quite figured out how to decipher the code on the back as to how old these are (164513 was all it said), so I consider them a limited opportunity good deal. At this price they’re an 8 out of 10, at regular price they’re a 6 out of 10 ... so I’m calling them in the middle for the review rating at 7 out of 10.

(Queen Anne Candy is made by the same company that makes those World’s Finest Chocolate bars that the band kids are always trying to sell you.)

Name: Dark Chocolate Covered Orange
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Queen Anne
Place Purchased: 99 Cent Only Store
Price: $.99
Size: 5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 128
Categories: Chocolate, United States, Queen Anne, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:06 am    

Trader Joe’s Figments

I know it’s Halloween, but I’ve decided to cover chocolate covered fruit today. I’ve just had a craving for it, maybe it’s because it’s fall or maybe it’s because I’m lacking some micronutrients or something. I’ve also discovered that chocolate covered fruit is great for snacking on while writing. Especially when mixed with a few nuts like plain raw almonds and pretzels.

image

Trader Joe’s and their wonderful panned candy supplier have done it again. I just spotted Figments a couple of weeks ago and picked them up immediately. They’re dried black mission fig pieces covered in dark chocolate.

The pieces are quite variable, some as large as the tip of my finger and others the size a sunflower seed. The big ones, of course, were the best because there was a high density of both chocolate and fig. The figness got lost in the smaller pieces.

Dried figs have a wonderful earthy flavor to them, less sweet and tart than raisins. There’s the added bonus of the texture of the seeds, which some people don’t care for, but I think of as tree caviar.

Sometimes the chocolate overpowered the figness and sometimes the figness just wasn’t very powerful. This is definitely an excellent treat to have by your side when writing a novel. (Which I plan to start tonight at midnight, but have sadly eaten all my Figments already.)

Name: Figments
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Trader Joe's
Place Purchased: Trader Joe's (Silverlake)
Price: $3.29
Size: 11 ounces
Calories per ounce: 131
Categories: Chocolate, United States, Trader Joe's

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:31 am    

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Great Pumpkin Roundup

There were people who wanted me to do this. There were readers commenting that I should be covering Halloween goodies. So here goes. I went to the drug stores over the weekend and found all the pumpkins, most of them marshmallowy.

imageI did a roundup earlier this year of Easter eggs from Russell Stover and I was pleasantly suprised by the taste and quality of them, so it wasn’t hard to purchase these (though they were only on sale for 50 cents each).

This one really appealed to me because it reminded me of one of my favorite candies ever, the See’s Scotchmallow (always best in the dark chocolate single pieces, not the milk chocolate “bar” thing). The pumpkin shape out of the package is actually pretty good. It has some shape and definition, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

It smelled sweet and not a bit like chocolate. The caramel is soft and flowing and the marshmallow firm and bouncy but very moist. The combination of all the textures is nice, but the caramel doesn’t quite have that toasted sugar taste and it’s not quite salty enough to balance out all the other sweetness.

imageI have to say, after staring at the packaging for Russell Stover for the past couple of days, I’ve decided I don’t really like it. It has a sort of faux Peanuts feel to it that I find a little sad. Maybe it’s that the colors are too much like Easter and I feel like Charlie Brown and this might be the equivalent of getting a rock in my Trick or Treat bag.

This was certainly the best looking pumpkin of the whole bunch. It was thick and had a well-defined and easily recognizable shape. The bite was nice, with the soft and fluffy marshmallow center, but it lacked a vanilla punch. It just lacked flavor. The chocolate couldn’t carry it, because it didn’t have much flavor of its own, though it’s not like it was bad, just sweet and without any sort of dairy component to even give it a little kick.

imageI love the purple package. I really do, but it kind of confused me. Hershey’s is positioning purple as their color for dark chocolate (they use it on the Dark Kisses and those dark jewel tones on the Special Dark packaging). But no, this is milk chocolate.

I figured if I was disappointed with the lack of flavor in the Russell Stover marshmallows, Hershey’s would pick up the slack. After all, Hershey’s is known for their distinctive milk chocolate. This one was packaged nicely, a much bigger package than the Russell Stover even though it was slightly lighter. The marshmallow is nice and lofty and has a more firm latexy quality to it. Dryer and with a distinctive fake vanilla flavor, the marshmallow certainly had some personality. The chocolate on here was not really up to the challenge though. Too grainy, too sweet and just not creamy enough for me. I kinda scraped it off with my teeth so I could have more uninterrupted marshmallow. (This pumpkin was made in Canada.)

imageEveryone’s well aware of my love of Reese’s but this has to be the ugly duckling of the pumpkin bunch. It barely even looks like a pumpkin, it was difficult to extract from the wrapper and has a plain old greasy appearance and feel.

Now, all that aside, it’s a Reese’s Egg ... and I love Reese’s Eggs. They’re different from Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, the ratios are different and though they tried to recapture this difference with the Reese’s Limited Edition Bars earlier this year, I think these unattractive lumps offer something compelling enough to warrant making them seasonally. The center is firm and a little crumbly, a mix of salty, grainy and sweet with a thin and sticky milk chocolate coating that adds a little more sweetness to the mix.

imageI’ve saved the best for last. Last spring I tried my first Snickers novelty item, it was a Snickers Easter Egg. I actually liked it quite a bit and found it different enough from a regular Snickers bar to put it in the same class as the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg (ratios and all that). For some reason the Snickers Pumpkin might have a slight edge on the Egg. It might have been because I couldn’t easily re-wrap the pumpkin in its foil wrapper, I had to eat it right away. Well, it might not technically have been eaten ... it might have been gobbled.

imageThere aren’t as many whole peanuts in the pumpkin, but there’s a definite nuttiness to it. The nougat seems moister and flavorful and the soft caramel is smooth and has a little toasted salty hit to it that helps out the whole thing. The chocolate is merely adequate, but smooth enough to support the whole (and of course give it the lovely pumpkin shell).

If you’d like more opinions on the other pumpkin shaped goodies, coincidence has it again that Rebecca has posted on the Hershey’s orange pumpkins and Joanna has both orange flavored ones that I couldn’t bring myself to purchase.

All of the pumpkins I listed were 50 cents each on sale. If you’re looking for stuff to throw into the Trick or Treat bags, stick with the tried and true candies, they’re less expensive (when on sale most fun sized bars can be 10 cents each). If you’re looking for a little treat for yourself, it’s not a bad gamble. Overall I’m giving them all a 4 out of 10. They’re benign ... they’re not the epitome of their genre, but they’re not embarrassments either.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:31 am     CandyReviewHalloweenHershey'sMarsRussell StoverCaramelChocolateMarshmallowNougatNutsPeanuts4-BenignCanadaUnited States

Friday, October 20, 2006

KitKat Cappuccino

Why is the American KitKat packaging so boring? I mean, look at this box that the Malaysian version of KitKat in the limited edition flavor of cappuccino came in. You may not be able to tell, but it’s actually embossed as well (click on the photo for a larger version).

image

I’m a fiend for coffee, but since I limit myself to two cups a day on weekday and one a day on weekends, I need to get my coffee fix in other ways too. There are very few coffee bars, so I’m always keen to try these limited edition ones. The American KitKat came out with a limited edition coffee flavor last year, which I rather liked.

This limited edition flavor is made by Nestle and comes in two individually wrapped two finger bars. Upon opening the wrapper it smells not like coffee but more like maple and yogurt. These are not bad smells, kind of tangy ... very sweet and with a woodsy essence. But still, the espresso scent of a cappuccino was missing. It tasted sweet, a little grainy but the crunch of the wafers was nice. The tang was a little odd, but not unpleasant. Overall, I’d say this tasted more like a Spanish flan than cappuccino. This is not a bad thing ... I love flan.

If I were presented with this bar again, I don’t think I’d buy it. It misses the chocolate note that I buy chocolate bars for but still a good thing to have at least once.

Note from the package: this candy is certified Halal.

Name: KitKat Limited Edition XI - Cappuccino Flavour
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Nestle
Place Purchased: gift from Santos (thanks!)
Price: 24.75 Philippine peso (about 50 cents)
Size: 1.2 ounces
Calories per ounce: 144
Categories: Chocolate, Cookie, Coffee, Malaysia, Nestle, Limited Edition

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:55 am    

Friday, October 13, 2006

Hershey’s Cacao Reserve

Hershey is hopping into the upscale chocolate venue with their new Cacao Reserve line.

imageMilk Chocolate with Hazelnuts (35% cacao chocolate) - the description from their website says, “Premium-grade roasted hazelnuts in smooth, rich milk chocolate for an indulgent taste and texture.”

Much creamier and less grainy than regular Hershey’s chocolate. They’re not kidding about the premium hazelnuts, they are fresh and crunchy with a wonderful malty/nutty flavor. It’s sweet but dense and satisfying. A 1.3 ounce portion is rather puny considering my desire to eat more.

imageExtra Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs (65% cacao dark chocolate) - the description from the website says, “Deep, rich chocolate profile with cacao nibs ‘the heart of the cacao bean,’ for a lively textural crunch.”

The bar has a deep smoky scent with berries and cherries as added notes. A little bitter on the tongue at first, it has a nice melt (65% is a nice compromise) with some strong charcoal and woodsy elements dominating. The nibs have an excellent crunch without the fibery chew that they sometimes add. This may be the first “consumer” nibby bar, and it’s pretty good at that.

The ingredients are a little odd for a “reserve” dark chocolate bar: Semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate, sugar, cocoa, milk fat, cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin, vanilla beans), cacao nibs, milk.  What’s with putting the dairy in there?

Overall, Hershey has created a high quality product. I prefer these to the Extra Dark line. The portion size is smaller than a normal candy bar, and of course the price is a little high, but the quality of the bar is evident. There other two bars in the introductory line are plain milk chocolate and dark chocolate, which I wasn’t as interested in as these two, so I was glad these were the two that the 7-11 had in stock. I would definitely pick both of these up again as a quick, upscale treat, especially for traveling or to put in a lunch.

Name: Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts & Extra Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Cacao Reserve (Hershey's)
Place Purchased: 7-11 (Hollywood)
Price: $1.29 each
Size: 1.3 ounces
Calories per ounce: 162 & 146
Categories: Chocolate, Nibs, Nuts, United States, Hershey's, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:36 am    

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Thompson All Natural Milk Chocolate Crisp

I’m still on my quest for a Green Halloween and wanted to revisit Thompson Chocolate because they make organic chocolate which is pretty tasty and not that expensive. Though not Fair Trade certified, organic has a lot of benefits to the community (primarily that the forest where the cocoa is grown isn’t being polluted with pesticides and of course it means that you and your kids aren’t eating those residues either).

image

On the Thompson site they show that they have organic foil wrapped chocolates for Halloween and I did see them at Whole Foods, but only in single serve mesh bags.

I also got a hold of these Jack-O-Lantern Milk Chocolate with Crisp disks. They’re not organic, but all natural. Which is also a good thing when giving kids rather unwholesome things. What’s especially nice is that they walk the line of being both cute and compelling as well as the all-natural thing.

The milk chocolate is sweet and smells a little malty, a little milky. It’s smooth and very sweet but the crisped rice gives it a good crunch. The flavor of the chocolate is mellow and has a slight cool effect on the tongue that had me unwrapping one after another.  So, if you have the means and the opportunity to go Green this Halloween, try out their organic foil wrapped treats. You can order via their toll free number on their website.

Name: Milk Chocolate with Crisp (Pumpkin Foil!)
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Thompson All Natural
Place Purchased: samples from Thompson
Price: retail ~$1.00 mesh bag
Size: 1.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, Cookie, United States, Thompson, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:56 am    

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Trader Joe’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Every great candy has variations in size. Of course shrinking or enlarging a candy doesn’t necessarily make it better, in fact, it usually makes it different. Same components, just different ratios.

imageTrader Joe’s has gone and mucked around with their Peanut Butter Cups. These are made by the same manufacturer but are wee-tiny. Seriously, you can hardly call them cups. They look like knobs. Little peanut butter and milk chocolate knobs.

The little knobs don’t have flat tops, so they don’t sit quite right, they roll over easily. The easiset way to line them up is to have the top of the cup facing down ... which makes them more knob-like.

image

The ratio on these definitely leans towards chocolate over peanut butter. The chocolate is cool and sweet and slightly grainy, but matched well with the dash salty peanut butter.

It’s quite easy to just grab a handful of these out of the tub. And of course being chocolate they start to melt in your hand and you have to pop them in your mouth ... then you’ve got an empty hand and need to repeat. So the tub can go quickly. I know it’s tempting to want peanut butter cups with out the little fluted paper cup so that you can shovel them into your maw faster, but really no one needs anything to improve the efficiency of gobbling Trader Joe’s candy.

In the end I kept eating them because I wanted more peanut butter. I think I’ll stick to my Reese’s miniatures.

Note: Yes, I’ve been eating a lot of peanut-heavy candies lately, I credit it to the change in the weather. Some people think fall is all about spice, I think it’s all about nuts.

Related Candies

  1. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels
  2. Daffin’s Candies Factory & World’s Largest Candy Store
  3. Trader Joe’s Espresso Chocolate
  4. Disneyland for Candy Bloggers
  5. Maud Borup Potato Chips
  6. Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Banana Chips
Name: Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Trader Joe's
Place Purchased: Trader Joe's (Silverlake)
Price: $2.99
Size: 12 ounces
Calories per ounce: 158
Categories: Chocolate, Peanuts, United States, Trader Joe's, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:10 am    

Friday, October 6, 2006

Endangered Species: Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter

Around this time last year I barely knew what Fair Trade was and there really weren’t that many chocolate products out there that were Fair Trade Certified. Now you can not only get cocoa and plain dark chocolate, but also some pretty cool flavored chocolate bars. Endangered Species seems to be leading the way with the Fair Trade “candy” bars in their new Premium Organic line.

image

Each bar is a single serving and easy to pick up at the checkout of your favorite “wholesome” market like Whole Foods, Wild Oats or Zoo gift shop.

Along with the Fair Trade and organic certifications, this bar boasts high cocoa content of 52% (high for a milk chocolate). This wrapper has a giraffe on the label and everyone knows that the pattern on giraffes is known as the peanut shell. (Okay, I made that part up.)

The chocolate is buttery smooth and very sweet on the tongue. It has very strong smoky qualities with a slight bitterness at the start but a good nutty flavor. Once I start eating the bar, the unpleasant burnt quality goes away, but each time I stop and start I have to go through the process all over again. I’m afraid I can’t give it the highest marks because of that. Now, I’m one of those “supertaster” people, so I tend to be more sensitive to bitter, so your mileage may vary.

Interesting fact about giraffes from the wrapper: A giraffe’s neck contains seven vertebrae, just like ours.

Name: Smooth Organic Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Endangered Species
Place Purchased: samples from Endangered Species
Price: retail ~$1.49
Size: 1.4 ounces
Calories per ounce: 157
Categories: Chocolate, Peanuts, United States, Endangered Species, Kosher, Organic, Fair Trade

POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:21 am    

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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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