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Friday, August 3, 2007

This Week in Candy - Elvis is in the Cupcake!

MentosI forgot to mention the huge supply of Asian Mentos that Santos brought me (but you probably have some clue when you saw the Fuji Apple). So be on the lookout for reviews of the coveted Mentos Plus Citrus Mix, Mentos Xtrm (Spearmint & Peppermint), Summer Cherry, super-cute mini Mentos Lime Mint Cool Chews and even a different Sour Mix that has Pineapple in it. (Photos here to keep you as excited as I am.)

In other chew news, I found a blog post from a Canadian that mentions their version of the Carnival Flavors Skittles that have been all the buzz this summer. Theirs is called Skittles Unlimited and comes in a black package. See Amby’s post with photos. It looks like the same flavors as ours. They have them in Australia too, but the flavors are different: *popcorn, *jam donut, *toffee apple, fairy floss & bubble gum.

In other fun foreign candy news, I also saw this post on TalkLotaChocolate about something called Clickos “Happy Peanuts” from Germany. Sure, they sound like Goobers or Peanut M&Ms ... only made from happy peanuts.

Freakgirl's Elvis Reese's CupcakeFreakgirl posted this photo of a cupcake and then this post about the pictured cupcake. Yes, the two Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (miniatures) in the cupcake sound good (one inside and one on top), but so does the insane fresh banana buttercream frosting mounded on top.

USA Today published one of the strangest lists of the 10 Great Places to Milk Chocolate for all it’s Worth. Of the 10 I’ve actually had three (considering they’re all over the world, I consider that pretty good.) The choices are odd though. Naked Chocolate in Philadelphia and not someplace like Jacques Torres in NYC? Or Max Brenner in any one of their locations? Nothing from Australia. And Scharffen Berger represents the West Coast?

Here’s the Weekly Recap of Reviews:

Monday: Payday Fresh from the Factory (8 out of 10)

Tuesday: Mentos Fuji Apple (8 out of 10)

Wednesday: Ferrero Raffaello & Rondnoir (6 out of 10 & 8 out of 10)

Thursday: Confetti & Agrumetti Lemon, White Chocolate & Almonds (8 out of 10)

Friday: Candy Dump: The International House of Chocolate Bars Mallorca Bars from Spain, Cacao et Chocolate from France and Dark Angel from South Korea (6 out of 10 & 8 out of 10)

Weekly Average: 6.83 (for 12 items) ... 58% chocolate content.

Related Candies

  1. Naked Chocolate Maltballs
  2. Dalandan & Juicy Ponkan Mentos
  3. Pink Grapefruit Mentos
  4. Max Brenner Chocolates

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:51 pm     CandyFun StuffNews

Candy Dump - International House of Chocolate

I’ve been accumulating chocolate bars faster than I can review them. (And faster than I can eat them, to boot!)

Here’s a selection of what’s been in my queue for a while with some brief thoughts on each. I don’t know much about the companies that make them, but all were tasty enough that I’m going to keep an eye out for the brands again.

Kilamanjaro Chocolate - MallorcaMy boss went to Spain and brought back three amazingly beautiful artisan chocolate bars from a company called Mallorca. Each bar was similar in format - 10 squares and wrapped in clear cellophane. The plain bar was wrapped face up, the nutted bars were bottoms up to show off the elegantly placed nuts.

The basic bar is called Kilamanjaro Chocolate and was an admirable middle-of-the-road 75% dark chocolate. It was smooth and creamy with woodsy notes and a bit of coffee in there. There was a slight grain to it and a later crisp dry finish. It was pleasant but perhaps a little too dry and acrid for me in the end.

Avellana Caramelizada Chocolate - MallorcaThis bar was by far my favorite. Called Chocolate con Leche Avellana Caramelizada it is a milk chocolate bar with caramelized hazelnuts.

The milk chocolate was creamy and had strong dairy notes, almost sticky and fudgy (but then again it was rather hot when I was eating it). The hazelnuts were dreamy little spheres - they were coated with a crispy sugar glaze of caramelized sugar with the nuts fresh and crunchy inside. They went so well with the chocolate I was often torn between pulling the nuts out and eating them whole and eating them with the blocks of chocolate.

I would love to get my hands on this bar again.

Almendra Marcona Chocolate - MallorcaThe Chocolate Negro con Almendra Marcona Chocolate features two blanched Marcona almonds in each square. The almonds are crisp and buttery (and are always more rounded than the pointy American almonds).

The dark chocolate here was not as strong as the first Kilamanjaro bar. It was sweet and bright tasting, some citrusy flavors along with light woodsy notes and a good buttery melt on the tongue.

The almonds were the star here, I love Marcona almonds, it’s like they’re a different nut from the almonds I usually get, they have an almost hazelnut/pine nut flavor to them.

Dark Angel from HaitaiThis bar came from a friend traveling in South Korea (thanks Kiele!). It’s almost like a greeting card in chocolate!

Since it was purchased in South Korea, I have not idea what the back of the package says except for the web address: www.happynco.com which didn’t help me much in figuring out this bar. Sure, the front says stuff like “lighten up your day with dark angel dark chocolate” but I was curious about ingredients and stuff. The website is filled with cutesy images with butterflies and daisies but no sign of this bar. The character on the package, the spindly-legged princess with blonde hair is called Happy Girl with her even blonder Happy Guy. But the bar is called Dark Chocolate Dark Angel from Hatai and says it’s 42% cacao. Not too dark ... kind of in the middle.

The back of the package has some helpful pictograms that told me that the bar can be broken in half while it’s still in the package (the paperboard sleeve is scored). Then I think you’re supposed to share.

Dark Angel from HaitaiThe bar inside the package is quite cute (mine was a little broken, but I reassembled it). It features a large section with a butterfly in darker embossed chocolate and four smaller squares with a milk chocolate heart and potted flowers opposite a darker chocolate piece of wrapped candy and a rainbow.

The pieces have a nice snap (obviously, since they broke easily before I got the bar). The flavor is creamy and has a slight dairy edge to it. I wasn’t wild about it, but I thought the packaging was sweet (a little too sweet and immature for me, but fun for a tween or teen and the fact that you can get sheets or pillows to match just sends it over the top for me).

What I found in the end was it didn’t have quite enough of a chocolate hit to me, but it went well with a handful of almonds and pretzels as a snack.

French ChocolateFinally, I got three bars from Cacao et Chocolat in Paris shortly after Christmas from my father. Two of the bars (including the one shown) were dark chocolate. One was called Teculi and was 79% cacao. It was rich yet still buttery. The bar was crisp and glossy and really smelled glorious. It has some fruity cherries in there, maybe raspberry and plum along with the deep cocoa notes.

The second bar (which looked an awful lot like the first so there’s not another photo) was called Tobago and was 88%. This one I actually still have about 1/3 sitting around in my chocolate box. It’s very dark and really a lot of effor to eat. It’s like a riot of flavors in my mouth. Some acidic notes of citrus (grapefruit mostly) and dark woodsy tones of cedar along with coffee ... but then it’s just too dry for me. I miss the creamy cocoa butter to float it all around on my tongue.

The final bar in the set was a white chocolate one (which I didn’t photograph because it was broken). It was glorious ... it was so buttery and though sweet, it had some wonderful cocoa background notes (I don’t know if it was deodorized cocoa butter as a base or it just assumed some of the chocolate flavors from being shipped to me with the other strong bars).

In my package were also some truffles, which didn’t look photo-worthy after their world travels, but I found them quite nice, very simple. Creamy, toasted flavors and a good buttery melt. They have a nice website in both French and English (though I don’t know if they’ll ship to North America). It looks like the kind of place I’d definitely put on my list of shops to visit (along with everywhere else David Lebovitz tours).

I give the whole pile of chocolate a 6 out of 10 with the standouts of the Mallorca Chocolate con Leche Avellana Caramelizada and Cacao et Chocolat White Chocolate bar at 8 out of 10 (bars I would buy for myself). I have no idea of the price on these and of course none of them have nutrition labels on them.

Related Candies

  1. Theo Confections
  2. Michel Cluizel Les 1ers Crus de Plantation
  3. Cafe Tasse: Orange, Extra Noir & Noir Praline
  4. Pierre Marcolini Chocolates
  5. Nestle Carlos V Milk Chocolate

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:15 am     CandyChocolatierReviewChocolateNuts6-Tempting8-TastyFranceSouth KoreaSpain

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Confetti & Agrumetti

Confetti & AgrumettiI have the best friends who bring back the best sweets from all over the world. In fact, a co-worker is in Greece right now with a list!

My friend Will went to Europe on a decadent cruise and found something truly “of the place” to bring back from Sorrento, Italy for me.

I’m telling you about this not so you can go out and buy these, because I’m not sure you can (they supposedly have a website but it’s not been working) but just to show both the universality of sweets and the local flavor.

This little box and bag contains some rather upscale almond dragees (rather like the Cherry Almondine M&Ms from last week) from a little shop called Confetti & Agrumetti.

image

These little olive-sized morsels have a freshly roasted local almond at the heart. It’s then coated in a white chocolate flavored with lime zest and then coated in a colored candy shell. The shell was not as sharply crisp as some Jordan Almonds I’ve had, but still a nice crunch. The white chocolate was thick and sweet but had a really strong citrus zest to it. The almond at the center was nicely toasted to a darker brown than I think we’re accustomed to here in the States. It was rich and flavoful and had a good crunch.

Antonio, the fellow who runs the shop, I hear is a hoot. He loves to sing to his customers and expressed a desire to live and retire in Southern California (how funny, because I’m pretty sure a lot of Californians would be happy to swap with him). You can see in this photo Will took of his wife buying these little goodies that the panning machine (it looks like a tiny cement mixer) is right out there in the open and you can watch him drizzle the candy coating on right before your eyes. (Perhaps panning drums will become the new stand mixers as must have appliances.)

Here’s the only other English reference I could find to the shop.

Related Candies

  1. Anis de Flavigny
  2. Candy Rocks and Rock Candy
  3. M&M Pirate Pearls
  4. Coffee Beat
  5. Treat Trip: Jelly Belly Factory
Name: Lemon, Almond & White Chocolate Dragees
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Confetti & Agrumetti
Place Purchased: Confetti & Agrumetti (Sorrento, Italy)
Price: unknown
Size: unknown
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: White Chocolate, Nuts, Italy

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:10 pm    

July Search Strings

A year ago I started posting the monthly top search strings that brought people to Candy Blog.

1. carnival skittles
2. m&ms
3. tronky
4. japanese candy
5. balisto
6. maya gold
7. bonkers candy
8. choxie
9. skittles carnival
10. white rabbit candy

Not much has changed in the past year. Tronky and Balisto are new to the top 10, though they’re always in the top 25. I feel bad for folks still looking for Bonkers, since they’re long gone. White Rabbit has had a scare this past month with some tests in the Philippines indicating the candy is contaminated with formalin. China insists it’s not.

One year ago people were looking for Ice Cream Skittles ... this year that search was #12 ... still kinda funny.

I need to find some more Balisto bars, judging from the more recent comments, it deserves a second look (and there are other varieties).

Related Candies

  1. Skittles Carnival Flavors
  2. Tronky
  3. Bonkers
  4. Skittles Ice Cream

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:55 am     CandySearch StringsFun Stuff

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Ferrero Raffaello & Rondnoir

imageHere’s a little fun for the Summer. Some white and some dark.

Ferrero makes quite few different little two bite confections besides their Rocher and Mon Cheri. The one that I’ve kind of avoided all these years is the Ferrero Raffaello. Why? It looks kind of like a snowball, and I was afraid there’d be some marshmallow in there. But a kind reader set me straight.

Each package contains three little coconut covered spheres. Unlike everything else in the Ferrero line, these are not individually wrapped ... unless coconut flakes count as wrapping.

imageI rather admire Ferrero. They really seem to understand their marketing segment. An upscale chocolate in sophisticated wrappings that you can buy at the drug store or grocer. Not terribly expensive, decent quality and in flavor/texture combinations you just don’t get in other American chocolates.

I bought a single serving package, which is a small tray with three little candies in it, each in a little white fluted cup. They’re a little messy, with a lot of dislodged coconut coming out of the package along with them.

They smell like summer: like coconut and a sweet hit of sugar.

They’re not terribly big, at about a third of an ounce each they don’t feel very dense. I guessed at what they’d be like inside from the ingredients, that there would be a wafer sphere with a cream filling.

imageSure enough, I got it right. The coconut gave way to a crisp but bland wheat wafer shell and a milky flavored cream inside (think buttercream frosting). That must be a lot of dairy in there, it contains 6% of your RDA of Calcium!

The cream had some strong dairy flavors and a pretty smooth texture. It wasn’t as sweet as I’d expected. In the very center was a little nut that at first I thought was a hazelnut but then found out was an almond when I read the description on the back of the package that called these: Almond Coconut Treat

It was a nice little refreshing treat, but I didn’t find them very satisfying on their own. As part of a mix, they’d be nice as a little change of pace, but I don’t see myself sitting down with a package.

Made in Belgium. Rating: 6 out of 10

imageThe item I was really interested in was something that I saw announced on the All Candy Expo website several weeks ago. Ferrero Rondnoir which sounded like a it would be a dark chocolate Ferrero Rocher. Well, they’re not quite that, but still quite a nice extension of the Rocher line.

I didn’t expect to see these until the ACE next month, so imagine my surprise at finding them at the RiteAid (the same RiteAid that seemed to have the Elvis Cups out three weeks early).

imageThe trio of candies are wrapped in an elegant bronze/brown foil with a little sticker on top that confirms that they are the Rondnoir (in case you get them in a mixed box). They’re further packaged in little brown fluted cups ... perhaps packaging overkill, but they’re a little wafer sphere in a skimpy little paperboard tray ... they probably need the protection.

Again, I’m bad at reading directions or press releases, so all I knew was that these were dark chocolate. I fully expected them to be just like the Rocher.

imageThey’re not at all like Rochers. First, the outer coating is a chocolate crumble - think really rich Oreo cookie bits. Inside that is the wafer shell. Inside that is the dark chocolate cream. It’s light and buttery with some nice but not overwhelming chocolate flavors. Think hot chocolate, not quite rich ganache.

Then at the center is not a nut but a little sphere of super buttery dark chocolate. In fact, it tastes very little like chocolate, but it is like a little ball of cocoa butter (or perhaps something worse that I prefer not to think about). Eaten alone, it’s a little too slippery. Eaten with the whole sphere at once, it’s the perfect little creamy burst.

I’m rather fond of this new Ferrero product and I plan to stuff my sample bag with them at All Candy Expo next month and even consider buying them in the future. The small package makes portion control pretty easy and it’s hard to just rush right through them, considering all the packaging (hey, my city takes aluminum foil in the recycling bin!). At 1 ounce it’s 160 calories, so yes, it’s calorie rich for its size, but then again, if you only bought one package you’re safe.

They remind me of the Lindt Lindor Truffles ... which is a good thing.

This variety is made in Germany. Rating: 8 out of 10

Related Candies

  1. Ferrero Rocher
  2. Ferrero Mon Cheri
  3. Tronky
  4. Nestle Crunch Dark Stixx
Name: Raffaello & Rondnoir
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Ferrero
Place Purchased: RiteAid (Vermonica)
Price: $.69
Size: 1 ounce
Calories per ounce: 180 & 160
Categories: Chocolate, Cookie, Nuts, Coconut, Ferrero, Germany, Belgium

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:24 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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