Thursday, May 4, 2006

Balisto

This has to be one of the oddest “candy bars” I’ve tried in a long time. Balisto is a Muesli Mix bar. For those of you not familiar with Muesli, it’s like granola - a mix of whole grains. The same friend, Matt, who brought me the Caffarel Guanduia also included this in the package of European candy goodies.

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This bar was kind of like a Twix ... well, not really. There’s a cookie base, but the cookie isn’t tender and flaky, instead it’s kind of grainy and has a distinct oats and wheat flavor. In fact, it tastes just like a hay bale smells.

On top of the cookie is a stripe of cream that had raisins in it every once in a while. The whole thing is covered in milk chocolate. It’s not bad, but it definitely doesn’t feel like a treat. It feels like a rock in my stomach. The wholesomeness of it is just too much for me! I can’t stop chewing the little chewy bits of grain in it!

The label also mentioned hazelnuts, but I didn’t find anything particularly hazelnutty. It seems like a really unlikely bar for Mars to put out, even for Europe, but hey, they’re the big successful candy corporation, not me. I’m sure this bar has its fans, so if you’re one of them, maybe you could explain it to me. As for the healthy part of this bar, the second ingredient is hydrogenated vegetable oils ... you decide.

Name: Balisto
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Mars
Place Purchased: gift from Europe
Price: unknown
Size: 41 grams
Calories per ounce: 147
Categories: Chocolate, Nuts, Mars, Germany

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:23 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. There are different kinds of the Balisto bar. Haven’t had one in ages, but I quite like them when I eat them. They’re not too sweet, for example. The fact that I don’t buy them regularly might speak against them, but I basically just don’t buy a lot of sweets. If they’re at home, I eat them.
    As I said, there’s a few varieties, Almond-Honey, Berries, Yogurt…personally I like the first two best. Muesli-Mix sounds a bit dry and, yes, grainy. You might have liked the others better.

    Comment by Barbara on 5/04/06 at 7:18 am #
  2. Sounds awful.

    Comment by Dave on 5/05/06 at 9:59 am #
  3. I have to disagree with Cybele on this - I find Balisto extremely rewarding: all the chocolate goodnes I want (with distinct hazelnut flavor, I might add) at only a fraction of the calories from, say, a snickers bar. And I can eat it secure in the knowledge that it is actually doing good things for my digestion. I didn’t find it dry at all - perhaps you should have tried a glass of milk with it? I’m a definite fan

    Comment by julia on 5/18/06 at 6:01 am #
  4. I like it. It’s not as disgustingly sweet as, for example, a Mars bar.

    I guess it’s one of those things you can only love if you grew up with them - when I first tasted a Dr. Pepper soda, I nearly barfed. That stuff is truly disgusting (a few friends, who were also trying it for the first time, agreed); it tastes very artificial and not far from cough sirup with a mild subnote of plastic bag,  but strangely, it seems to sell very well in the US.

    Comment by Carrie on 6/19/06 at 7:07 pm #
  5. You must have had a bad Balisto bar because all the ones that I have had are really quite delicious. Currently I am savoring the one with the purple wrapper. I think that it is similar to an energy or granola bar, it has the sweetness to it as well as the wholesomeness of whole grain and not wafers like Twix(don’t get me wrong, I love Twix!). Thats just my personal opinion, but I think that you are missing out! =)

    <3
    Sabine

    Comment by Sabine on 1/24/07 at 3:17 pm #
  6. Cybele must be nuts!  Baliso is awesome!  One must eat it slowly and savor the flavors.

    Comment by Robert Riddle on 2/09/07 at 1:15 am #
  7. I heart Balisto.

    Comment by Christoph on 4/15/07 at 5:22 am #
  8. I first had Balistos when I visited my girlfriend in Germany.  (That’s where she was born).

    I love them.  I like the simple orange-wrapped Balistos the best.  Simple and really good.  My girlfriend knows that if she ever wants to give me a present I love she gets me a pack of Balistos.  grin

    Comment by JFrank Anastasio on 4/19/07 at 11:56 am #
  9. I love these!!  I had them in Ireland for the first time.  Does anyone know where I can order them online??!!  Thanks!

    Comment by JD on 5/09/07 at 11:24 am #
  10. I became obsessed with these when I was very young, there was an ad on television about them, and they looked so healthy & yum! But sadly I never saw one in real life until I was 20!! In Dublin at the train station. OH MY GOD!! They are yuuuum! A trail of the yellow rapper could easily lead you to me last year! I liked them so much that my house mate regularly had dreams about me chasing her for a Balisto.haha. They’re kinda too sweet now..I think I over didi it a little, but there will always be a room in my heart for balisto, & in my tummy!!

    Comment by RoRo on 5/20/07 at 11:39 am #
  11. I agree with Nr.4! I got my first really bad taste of soft drink in the U.S., but in my case, Root Beer was the culprit! One of the worst things I’ve ever tasted in my life. In general, my impression of the whole candy thing in North America (living in Canada since 4 years) is, that somewhere along the way into the Free World, immigrants lost their taste or it just got replaced with lots of sugar and cheap chocolate with a minimum percentage of cacao (Hershey’s).
    Has anybody among you Europeans ever tasted “Twizzlers”? Don’t! Unless you like the flavor of rubber, dipped in a blend of artificial cherry..thing. Yikes!

    Balisto rules, and so does Ritter Sport, Pick-Up, Hanuta, Milka and Duplo!

    Comment by hendrixter on 8/27/07 at 5:30 pm #
  12. Try the Berry version. It’s my favorite candy bar in the whole world.

    Comment by joe on 10/11/07 at 7:55 am #
  13. I love these ! I had the Honey-Almond mix one in Dublin and it was delicious!

    Comment by Kris on 10/17/07 at 4:17 am #
  14. I just finished eating one that I brought back from France. I LOVE Balisto! I’m trying to find a way to purchase them online. Has anyone had any luck with that?

    Comment by Phil on 12/04/07 at 12:17 pm #
  15. I’ve searched and haven’t been able to find anywhere online to order from.. help!!!  Must have more Balisto!!  smile

    Comment by JD on 12/05/07 at 6:19 am #
  16. Balistos are awesome.  I ate them everyday for the year that I lived in Belgium.  I bought one from a vending machine everyday in between classes and during breaks.  Balisto bars were the only things that kept me going in boring Belgium.  They also helped me pack on 30 lbs, but it was worth it.

    Comment by Janet on 2/24/08 at 4:53 pm #
  17. I just did a google search, trying to track down my favorite candy bar of ALL time (I’m old, making this   an even more special statement), and found your blog. Balisto is my favorite candy bar and I haven’t eaten one in 20 years! How’s that for sad? So, if anyone knows how to get them to me, I’d be so happy! I think there are enough people who love Balisto that we might want to campaign for Mars launching them here—but sell them as something other than a candy bar, since Americans have an underdeveloped palate and mainly respond to anything that’s 90% corn syrup.

    Comment by Merrie on 3/04/08 at 6:44 pm #
  18. Oh I disagree with the “hay bale” part.  They do have a different texture, but they taste very good. This is/was one of my favorite snacks when I lived in Europe. In fact I just had one a few minutes ago and thought I’d do a search and see if I can find them somewhere in the States.

    Comment by DKees on 3/07/08 at 3:29 am #
  19. oh where oh where can we find these to order in the US??!!  Anyone?!!  Please!!!  smile

    Comment by JD on 3/07/08 at 8:51 am #
  20. Definitively love it, no caramel, no tenderness, just cookie, chocolate and some kind of milk filling.
    Always loved Twix but Balisto is more “sharp”, not the long-lasting-boring sweetness and caramel sensations, no residues that you chew for long time like Mars.
    Sweet,solid and sharp.
    Nicola
    from Italy

    Comment by J0tar0Kjo on 4/17/08 at 5:44 am #
  21. Fortunately my wife is German so we get to go to Germany a lot and always come back with loads of Balisto (which she then hides and rations out to me).

    If you’re desperate and live in London you can get them from a German Deli in Borough Market. Here is the link:

    https://www.germandeli.co.uk/sess/utn154820ae1947040/shopdata/product_search.shopscript?query=balisto&search_submit=Go

    Note that a pack of nine costs around ?3.20 compared to EUR2.00 per pack in Germany or Austria. Still, if you’re in need of a fix…

    Comment by Andrew on 5/06/08 at 9:20 am #
  22. Well,  germandeli.com in Texas added Balistos (all kinds) to its inventory in December. They are out of stock right now, but you can ask them to notify you when they come back in. They probably won’t ship them until it gets cooler, though. But they have my favorite, the yorgurt/berry variety.

    Got hooked in Germany. Fortunately, I have a friend in Frankfurt who is keeping me supplied.

    Comment by Heidi on 6/20/08 at 6:18 am #
  23. I tried my first balistos in germany!! My favorite is the berry… i definitely prefer the european candies over the american. I have to go back to america in about a week so im eating up all of the candy i can!! Horrible!! I wish somehow i could get it in america rather than making my friend in munich send them!

    Comment by Carrie on 9/24/08 at 1:21 pm #
  24. I love Balisto. My favorite one is the Muesli Mix, in the green pack. I love it - I find it has the perfect balance of sweetness, chocolatness and crispness for a candy bar. I live in Greece so sadly I have them only when I travel, so maybe this adds some extra charm to their status. I had my first one in Amsterdam after a case of tremendous munchies. It felt like a taste of paradise for my sugar begging palate. Even in more sober states, they do stand up to their good impression.

    Comment by Georgia on 2/18/09 at 7:38 am #
  25. I’m from northern Germany and now live in southern Indiana.  I have to agree with all the harsh, but very true comments on the lack of finesse of the American taste-bud society…Every once in a while I give in and buy a candy bar like snickers or mars here and it almost makes me gag. How can the same thing in the German (or European version) be sooo much better, what don’t they get over here…? Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but the longer I’m here the more I miss home…
    Balisto is a huge part of that!!! I did the same thing, search Google for my favorite candy bar and found this community of Balisto lovers…I knew we existed!!!haha
    I, as well, have been searching for a place to order them online…, Plan B is always my mom back home, she sends wonderful care packages full of my favorite treats.  It helps also that things like Ritter Sport are beginning to appear over here.  It gives me hope for the future!!!

    Comment by Romina on 3/12/09 at 10:03 pm #
  26. how can anybody NOT LOVE BALISTO????? I love it, grew up with it (I’m german) and next to “Schwarzbrot”, “Fahrradwegen” and a good “schwaebischen Brotzeit” one of the things I miss most. anybody knows where to get one in the US?
    Uhh, all Germans in Exile - my Mum told me “Aldi” started to built stores over here… they should carry Balisto, right? Has anybody seen one? Let me know…

    Comment by sarah on 4/07/09 at 6:24 am #
  27. Fantastic product 10/10. Too bad it is not available here in Spain.

    Comment by Henry on 7/15/09 at 3:04 am #
  28. Hi everyone! Please note that you can find a candy bar which is exactly the same as Balisto at Aldi. Its name is “Crusty & Fit” and it comes in 3 presentations, just as the original bar: Yoghourt and Red Fruits, Cereals Mix, Muesly Mix.
    It’s unbelievably good, and so far you will find it in Aldi stores in Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Slovenia, and Hungary. Hope you enjoy!

    Comment by Charlie on 8/27/09 at 5:32 am #
  29. Charlie , (comment 28) is that chocolate bar named after Madonna?

    Comment by RoRo on 8/29/09 at 9:15 am #
  30. RoRo, not that I know. The name “Crusty&Fit;” communicates both the nature of the bar and its particular proposal (it’s much more natural than regular candy bars, being made out of natural ingredients including whole flour, pectin, and a reduced content of sugar). As I see it, its dietary fiber content definitely helps you keep fit, and it’s definitely crusty. In fact, as you may know, the Balisto name comes from the german name “Ballaststoffe”, supposedly alluding to its dietary fiber content as well.

    Comment by Charlie on 8/31/09 at 6:15 am #
  31. I was smitten with these when I tried them in Germany.  I guess the closest comparison would be a chocolate-covered pretzel, texture-wise.  Delicious.

    Comment by K on 11/12/09 at 3:37 pm #
  32. Like the other reviewers, I love this bar.
    I am disappointed that Cybele doesn’t like them ... now I don’t know if we could agree on other products… :-(

    I really liked these since 1st time in Europe.  Felt they were a good in between product (towards granola but more candy-like).
    Love the fact that it has/seems to have whole grains and oats and still tastes like a candy bar without being a granola bar.  The cream center feels like a dollop of candy indulgence that is quite unique and there is not too much of it.  (I also perceive dairy as a positive touch in confections, but haven’t bothered to see if this contains much milk or any claims to the sort.
    I just eat ‘cause I like it grin
    I just wish they were less sweet. I especially like the minis - I usually eat two and done.
    (Bought them in Europe; have not seen them in the US).
    I also love Digestive cookies, esp. the Milk chocolate ones, if that is of any reference or explanation.

    Comment by Tricia on 4/22/10 at 9:54 am #
  33. Balisto’s are my FAVOURITE chocolate bar.. The Yoghurt-Berry (purple wrapper) is what I devour every chance I get. Trying DESPERATELY to find anywhere to buy it from to get to me in UK but ah well.

    Comment by Caz on 9/17/14 at 3:43 pm #
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