ABOUT

FEEDS

CONTACT

  • .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
  • Here are some frequently asked questions emailed to me you might want to read first.

EMAIL DIGEST

    For a daily update of Candy Blog reviews, enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

CANDY RATINGS

TYPE

BRAND

COUNTRY

ARCHIVES

Friday, September 21, 2007

Mentos Sour (China)

imageSince I’m traveling right now, I thought I’d just leave you this weekend with a little tasty nugget. Last year I tried the Mentos Sour and thought they were pretty good, not the best Mentos I’d ever had, but a nice change of pace from the regular rather under-flavored fruity Mentos available here in the States.

It’s hard to believe that two packages that look so similar have such different contents. While at the All Candy Expo I cornered one of the Mentos people at the Perfetti Ven Melle booth and chatted with her about Mentos. (Okay, chatted is hardly the word, I think I overwhelmed her with questions and comments.) There are several things I wanted to know about, the major one is about the differences in flavors between the United States and everywhere else in the world (why do the Australians get the Citrus Mix? Why do the Japanese get Pineapple?). The other thing is whether or not their switch from gelatin (an animal derived product) to gellan gum (safe for vegans).

The Sour Mix Mentos from China (but available all over Asia) are a pretty good representation of all of the questions I have about the global brand.

image

Santos brought me some more Mentos a month or so ago and I was puzzled at first by the Mentos Sour Mix, but she quickly pointed to the reason she included it ... pineapple. The other two flavors in the roll are grape and green apple. In fact, green apple is the only flavor that’s in the American mix (which also has watermelon and lemon).
Let me just say that sour pineapple Mentos rawk. They’re tangy, they’re tingly and a little waxy but completely tasty. The grape is interesting, it’s that Asian grape that has more notes of the concord grape skin than the typical American grape flavor, but is definitely sour ... like, well, sour grapes. The green apple didn’t really thrill me. I was hoping it’d be like a super-tart Fuji Apple, but with the standouts of pineapple and grape, I was really hoping for too much. It was the typical green apple chemical taste ... not bad.

I liked the pineapple so much that I decided to order the “Pine Fresh” Mentos from JList in Japan. I’m hoping they’ll be at the house when I get home. Hopefully I’ll get some answers on the above questions soon too!

Related Candies

  1. Mentos Plus Citrus Mix
  2. Mentos Fuji Apple
  3. Mini Mentos
  4. Pink Grapefruit Mentos
Name: Small World Chocolates: Select Origin
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Mentos (Perfetti Van Melle)
Place Purchased: samples from Perfetti Van Melle
Price: unknown
Size: 1.32 ounces per roll
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chew, China, Perfetti Van Melle, Sour

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:14 am    

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Ferrara Nougats

Ferrara Nougat packageI’ve been on quite a nougat roll this summer, mostly because it’s a very satisfying candy that does well in the heat. The funny thing is, before this year I don’t think I considered nougat a summer candy, I’ve always associated nougat with Christmas.

My husband picked up these two nougat bars at a deli in Santa Monica. (He’s always so considerate that way!) It’s always a good sign when the ingredients list for a nougat starts with nuts. In this case it’s pistachios. They were nicely sized and spread out in the bar and provided the chewy crunch that sets off the sweet nougat so well.

This pistachio bar was also flavored with pistachio, so it had that perfumed taste rather like green tea ice cream and violets along with the grassy notes of the nuts. The honey didn’t stand out much, as I often prefer in my nougat.

DSC02709rThe flatness of this bar made it particularly easy to eat. The nougat was also pretty soft. The only weird thing about it was because there was a wafer on each side, biting it was sometimes a little difficult (maybe I need my teeth sharpened) and the nougat wanted to spread out the sides of the wafers. Also, because there was more wafer by proportion, there was more of a “cereal” taste to it.

Overall, it wasn’t my favorite nougat of all time, but certainly portable and a nice after dinner snack.

Ferrara Nougat packageI haven’t had many chocolate nougats, but this one certainly smelled chocolatey.

There was a slight grainy note to the nougat, like little sugar crystals. The chocolate flavor was more like cocoa than chocolate but exceptionally nutty - the ingredients list both toasted almonds and hazelnut paste. Think of a very high end Tootsie Roll with nuts, I know it sounds weird, but it was still very satisfying.

DSC02713rThe nuts were just as abundant in this nougat as the Pistachio. I wanted a stronger honey note to it, but it wasn’t too sweet and had a light texture that was definitely just the kick I needed during the summer heat.

Nougat also travels particularly well, so keep that in mind when putting together your air travel survival kit.

Ferrara NougatsWhile at the All Candy Expo I made a point to stop by the booth of the American importer of Ferrara products. The company also makes the La Florentine line of torrones, you know, the ones in the little boxes that come in orange, lemon and vanilla and have stately portraits of royalty on them. That was the brand I used to get those in my stocking at Christmas, so they’re one of the first nougats I’ve ever had and quite special to me.

The bars above, of course, are more meaty portions (and more economical packaging). I grabbed a traditional Ferrara nougat bar which I’m excited to try after the Pistachio as well as their chocolate covered plain nougat (it comes in a large box and they’re not individually wrapped). I think nougat is a wonderful hostess gift, though some might disagree. (But if I’m the hostess and you’re coming to my house, I’ll think you’re pretty special and invite you back often.)

Name: Ferrara Nougats: Pistachio and Chocolate
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Ferrara
Place Purchased: gift
Price: unknown
Size: unknown
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, Nougat, Nuts, Italy

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:15 am    

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

All Candy Expo - Wednesday Noon Update

My hit list is history. I plowed through the show floor today with my list of missions. Sadly there are many items that are not checked off, but a good number of them I can take care of through email or perhaps at the Fancy Food Show in January.

DSC00112Jelly Belly has a couple of new products. The fun new one that you’ll seen in stores starting in the new year is called Bean Boozled. Lots of folks have been playing a game called Jelly Bean Roulette where you mix regular Jelly Belly and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans (you know, those Harry Potter themed beans that come in disgusting and uncommon flavors like sausage, pickle and earwax). The game is to eat a bean without looking at which one you take with the chance, eat it and not spit it out. This new twist in Bean Boozled is that the beans are in pairs that look exactly the same. You might pick a black one, it could be licorice but it could taste like skunk. Some of the pairs are less risky ... you might get berry blue but it might be toothpaste. Others are downright evil like the one that might be peach ... but it might be vomit. Fun times for car trips!

The last day of a trade show, especially All Candy Expo is particularly difficult. Many people leave early and of course the samples are sparse and those who are at their booths are as exhausted as those who have been trudging around for three days. There’s a free-for-all atmosphere that makes it hard to have a real conversation about products, trends, packaging, ingredients and availability because there are so many attendees who are just grabbing things (literally) away from you as you talk. I feel really bad for the candy companies sometimes. It’s this issue that made it hard for me to get the essential information that I needed. But then again, I need to remind myself that it’s really not about the press, it’s about getting their products into stores.

I tasted quite a few things today, some that I was very pleased with:

  • Aunt Sally’s Original Creamy Pralines are done in the New Orleans’ style. It’s a creamy, kind of fudgy sugar and cream base that melts in the mouth. I tried the Bananas Foster version and have some samples or their traditional.
  •  

  • Emily’s Chocolates - they have cute and spare design on their packaging, which lets me really focus on the chocolate. They make a nice line of panned nuts and dried fruits. Everyone’s doing a dried cranberry these days but I have to say that theirs may have been the best I tasted this week - juicy and bursting with flavor with a nice coating of good dark chocolate.
  •  

  • Michel Cluizel was showing some wonderful dark chocolate, as usual. They’re a bean to bar company that also makes bonbons and other confections. A rarity. I was pleased to taste their 99% cacao truffle. Seriously ... it’s all chocolate in the couveture (no soy lecithin either) and a ganache center has, of course, rich cream in it. I can’t tell you the experience. Unlike eating cacao nibs, which are, you know, 100% cacao, this was smooth, creamy without that dry, acrid feeling on the tongue. Intense! Jacques Dahan, of Cluizel also told me that Cocoa Bella is preparing their new “World’s Best Box” so maybe it will make the grade (if it doesn’t, I really want to see what surpasses that!).
  • image

  • I ate a LOT of licorice today. I’m working on pulling together a big roundup of the licorice scene. I tried Kookabura’s new chocolate dipped as well as Kopper’s ... both are great, but I really loved the darkness of the Koppers. I also stopped by one of the importers, Gerrit J. Verburg Co. Mr. Verburg was wonderfully patient with me as I tried about a dozen different kinds, a few were salmiak but most were traditional. I tried one Italian-style that has bay leaf in it that was indescribable but wholly wonderful (for licorice lovers, that is). I need to do a lot of work on my licorice tasting.
  •  

  • Albanese makes some wonderful Crunchy Bears that I reviewed before but I went for their panned sweets today. I tasted their chocolate covered pretzel poppers. They were little, smaller than a malted milk ball covered in really nice dark and milk chocolate. A winner in my book.
  • The big business news on the floor was a swirling rumor starting on Sunday night that Brachs (which is owned by Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut and has been “on the market” for a while) was purchased by Farley’s & Sathers. It’s definitely happening. Callebaut was looking to get out of the hard candy (I guess they tried to expand Brachs chocolate line, but didn’t make much of an impact on the crowded American market). I stopped by the Brachs booth, but we didn’t talk about that, I just picked up some of their new Soda Poppers, which are soda flavored hard candies that have real fruit juice in them.

    I also ran into Katie Das of Das Caramels when I went to hang out at Chuao for a while (and beg for one their pretty little purse packages for their ChocoPods which were in the press room but disappeared by lunchtime the first day). She was so sweet, as I expected after our wonderful email exchanges, and was happy to tell me that they’ve changed the wrapper on the caramels to a thicker waxed paper that no longer sticks to the caramels (which was one of my, um, sticking points).

    Other things I’ll tease you with right now that I picked up (forgive me if I don’t have the proper naming of the products as I’m going from memory):

     

  • Niederegger has a new Espresso in a long version instead of a bar. This new format is much like the loaf that they do, which promises a larger proportion of marzipan to chocolate. I’m looking forward to it. I gushed at the booth that Niederegger has changed my mind about marzipan. (I also had a great marzipan ball at Koppers ... I have no idea what I ate as a child that gave me such a bad impression!)
  •  

  • Pop Rocks has introduced a new Pop Rocks Chocolate Bar and I got my hands on one! I only got one, dangit, but I’m excited because they said that it’s premium chocolate ... something to look forward to.
  • image

  • I spent about a half an hour at the Koppers booth. Gorgeous candy, I love the inventiveness and personality of everything they make. The colors created a serious, giddy overload for me. I tried dark chocolate covered ginger, whiskey cordials, licorice pastilles, chocolate covered licorice, matcha dusted almonds, lavender savoury chocolate, rose savoury chocolate, mocha pastilles ... and probably lots of other things I can’t even remember. Leslye Alexander, who is the creator of the riot of confection, showed me some of the other colors that the Milkies come in, creating a beautiful palette with five colors ... four different greens and a brown that just make me want to get married all over again just so I can have a huge vase of those as a centerpiece at each table at the reception. (She also helped me to fill a bag of dextrose goodies at Concord Confections ... I know she thought I was nuts to want the little bones and fish shaped candies after her couture crafted confections, but I’ve been obsessed with actually grabbing a baggie of their stuff since coming to the show last year.)
  •  

  • Melville’s has been expanding their line of Honey Spoons, which I really need to write more about. They still carry the traditional clover and tupelo honey version and are branching out into pomegranate, lavender and then some other fun caramel flavors. Their traditional line of barley sugar pops remains one of my favorites, so I’ll have more on that as we get closer to the winter holidays.
  •  

  • I keep meaning to write about Gimbal’s Lava Balls, which are a hot cinnamon ball, rather like a jelly bean (after all, they make jelly beans). I got a full package of them, so look forward to that and some notes about their Licorice Scotty Dogs.
  •  

  • Bogdon’s, who make the lovely Reception Stick (a crisp peppermint stick dipped in dark chocolate) are now making Chocktail sticks, which are flavored for cocktails like Mojito and Cosmo. They were really nice, though I’m not sure I’d put them in my drink, it’s fun to have a little sassier candy center like a lime/mint or orange/cranberry like that.
  • Okay, that’s all I can write today! (Isn’t it enough?) I’m hopping on a plan shortly and I’ll have more later this week after I get some sleep and perhaps eat a decent meal. Thanks to everyone who has visited this week, I really wish I was able to write as much as I wanted, I was so torn, but I know that the priority had to be spending as much time at the All Candy Expo because I can always write later.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:11 am     All Candy ExpoCandyFeatured News

    Tuesday, September 18, 2007

    All Candy Expo - Tuesday Wrappers

    DSC09980I appreciate everyone’s patience with me not being my normal organized self. It’s been tough without consistent internet access. Right now I’m typing this while sitting at the Chinatown branch of the Chicago Public Library. Thank you free wifi!

    Today I spent far more time on the floor focusing on my list of things that I wanted to see than yesterday. And of course I’m keeping an eye out for all the items you requested. But it’s tough ... I’ve started making candy friends (folks who run these companies, sell candy and of course fellow writers) and I find myself torn between visiting with them and gabbing and going out and finding new things. I know, you all feel really sorry for me!

    I had a great conversation today with a gentleman at the Tootsie booth (I went back in search of the name of the Junior Mints Deluxe product that I mentioned earlier). It was fantastic to talk about all their products, the company’s history, their positioning in the market and the new items that they’re coming out with. I’m especially interested in their new holiday offerings including a Candy Cane Tootsie Pop (they had these last year) and the Junior Mints for the holidays that include candy cane crunchies on them.

    I had a fun time looking at some of the licensed items (which I don’t ordinarily pay attention to). Folks will be happy to hear that Hershey’s will bring back the Dark Chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in a tie in with the new Batman movie (of course it will be a bat-shaped Reese’s!).

    I found another line of completely branded Bratz candy cosmetics. I wasn’t much for Barbie as a girl (I was more of a Lego fan), but I can see the appeal of these products, which are basically edible lip glosses. (Hey, women basically eat their lip gloss anyway, why not have it be actually made from edible things?) I’ll have more on that when I get home and can photograph them.

    I spent a little while at the Nestle booth and was so pleased to talk to them about their product lines, especially the Wonka items and the dearly departed Tart ‘n’ Tinys. The bad news is they’re also discontinuing the bulk Banana Runts (you’ll still be able to get them in the regular Runts mix). They have a new Berry Mix Chewy Spree product as well, which I’m eager to try and picked up some samples of.

    I tried lots and lots of black licorice today and had a great time talking to Kenny’s Licorice, which does an amazing job in the standard twists (they make the Root Beer ones!), an Australian style and a new release of an Organic line that will include black and red.

    I also got to taste RJ’s New Zealand Licorice, Tubi’s Tire Tread and Lucky Country. I’ll have a licorice day (or perhaps week!) soon.

    In another version of Licorice, I tried the J. Morgan Confections Licorice Caramel. Holy moly ... it was creamy and spicy and smooth. So satisfying. They have a whole line of butter caramels (and even some fudge). They amply sampled me up, so I’ll have more to say about this Utah confectioner.

    On the fortified side of things, Hall’s cough drops came out with some fun new all natural lozenges, as well as a Ginger lozenge (in the regular square packs) and some zinc fortified lozenges (they’re going to send me samples, hopefully before cold season starts).

    In other fortification, I picked up something called Java Pops by McJak company which have 60 mg of caffeine in them and come in a variety of coffee inspired flavors. They’re the gourmet style pop, dense and heavy. It’ll take me a while to get through them (since I can’t eat them all at once!).

    Tonight I also went to a reception to honor the new Lemonade Stand mix of Mike and Ike. The limited edition (or perhaps seasonal) item has a fundraising tie-in with Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a fundraising program to benefit Pediatric Cancer Research. It’s a really sweet promotion for a tangy product. I’ll have more on that later.

    There are so many other things on my list I fear that I’m not going to get to them all tomorrow. I’ll do my best, I don’t want to let you down!

    I’m not publishing all the All Candy Expo coverage on the front page of Candy Blog, so be sure to look at the little “featured news” block on the upper right to make sure you don’t miss any of my briefer postings.

    Related Candies

    1. All Candy Expo - Monday Noon Update
    2. This Week in Candy - Chicago Bound
    3. Navigating a Candy Expo
    4. What is the All Candy Expo

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:45 pm     All Candy ExpoCandyFeatured News

    All Candy Expo - Tuesday Noon Update

    This morning I decided to really concentrate on my list of candies I wanted to seek out.

    Here are a few highlights so far:

  • Junior Mints has a new product called, jeeze, they don’t even have the name on the wrapper! It’s kind of like the Cella cherry cordial. A giant Junior Mint. The dark chocolate is decent and gives a nice dry but chocolatey counterpoint to the abundant soft flowing and abundant mint fondant.
  •  

  • Hershey’s was displaying more of their Chinese line of chocolate that includes a Kiss filled with a thick and creamy strawberry fondant. It was pretty good, again, nothing I’d buy regularly, but I enjoyed the new edition.
  •  

  • Welch’s has a new line (manufactured by Promotion in Motion) called Fruit ‘n Yogurt snacks. It’s almost too healthy to call candy. There’s a soft fruity center that’s made from fruit puree (and added sugar after using fruit juice for sweetener) and is covered with a creamy yogurt coating that has added calcium, vitamins and even probiotics. They come in Strawberry, Cherry, Raspberry, Blueberry and Peach. No artificial colors or flavors.
  •  

  • Dove is also branching into the fortified chocolates with their Vitalize line that will be sold in morsels like the Promises. Milk and dark chocolate pieces are fortified with heart healthy antioxidants and vitamins. If the dark chocolate version is any indication, this silky smooth piece doesn’t feel like a compromise on taste. But I expect a premium price to be attached.
  •  

  • I sat down with a few minutes with Ginny (I’ll link up to her in the future with her coverage) and tried the Twix Java bar. It’s definitely a strong coffee flavor and feels authentic. It has the chocolate cookie core and a coffee flavored caramel with milk chocolate on the outside. I think I’d prefer the dark chocolate, it just felt a little too sticky sweet ... just a little too much for me in the two stick pack. I think I’d like it in the mini size they do.

  • Related Candies

    1. All Candy Expo - Monday Wrappers
    2. All Candy Expo - Monday Noon Update
    3. This Week in Candy - Chicago Bound
    4. Navigating a Candy Expo
    5. What is the All Candy Expo

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:18 am     All Candy ExpoCandyFeatured News

    Page 384 of 584 pages ‹ First  < 382 383 384 385 386 >  Last ›

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

     

     

     

     

    Facebook IconTwitter IconTumblr IconRSS Feed IconEmail Icon

    COUNTDOWN.

    Candy Season Ends

    -2547 days

    Read previous coverage

     

     

    Which seasonal candy selection do you prefer?

    Choose one or more:

    •   Halloween
    •   Christmas
    •   Valentine's Day
    •   Easter

     

    image

    ON DECK

    These candies will be reviewed shortly:

     

     

    image