Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Christopher’s Big Cherry - Dark

Christopher's Big Cherry - DarkIt’s amazing the diversity of candy bars that are still available, many of the most popular bars we eat today have been around for over 70 years. One regional classic that started right near where I live now is the Christopher’s Big Cherry (original review).

The lump of a candy bar was introduced by the Christopher Candy Company, which started in 1887 in Southern California. (That company was later bought out by Ben Meyerson, who made the Sunkist Fruit Gems, who then sold out to Jelly Belly in 2006 who kept the Fruit Gems line but sold off the Christopher’s line to Adams & Brooks, keeping it in Southern California.)

More recently the folks at Adams & Brooks introduced the Christopher’s Big Cherry Dark. The wrapper is a rich brick red instead of the bright pink of the classic bar.

Christopher's Big Cherry - Dark

The bar looks terrible. It’s a big, golf ball sized mass. It’s lumpy and irregular but at least smells good, like roasted peanuts and hot cocoa.

The ingredients are, well, barely passable as an edible item, very high in partially hydrogenated oil:

Sugar, Coating (Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder, Whey Powder, Nonfat Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla), Cherries, Peanuts, Corn Syrup, Water, Invert Sugar, Red #40, Invertase, Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid, Egg Whites and Cream of Tartar

Christopher's Big Cherry - Dark

The previous review I did of the classic Christopher’s Big Cherry didn’t have a cross section. So I wanted to be sure this review fully documented the innards of this candy. What does set it apart from all others (Cherry Mash and Twin Bing) is the fact that it uses a whole cherry in the center. That auspicious fact aside, it’s marginally satisfying.

The center is sweet and slightly grainy. The mararschino cherry is sweet and heavily artificially flavored and colored. The mockolate coating is supposed to be “dark” but still has milk products in it and really doesn’t do much for me except that it’s less sweet than the original version. The peanut bits in the mockolate are the shining star here, they’re fresh and crunchy and flavorful. The combination of flavors is odd, the peanuts come across as rather savory, the fudgy mockolate has a vague brownie flavor to it but at least isn’t sweet and the cherry center is a blast in the face of fake cherry and sugar.

It’s certainly not a candy for me. The fakeness on so many levels is disappointing, especially for $1.89 which I could spend on things with real chocolate and real cherries in it. But it’s unique, if that’s still a selling point. If chocolate covered bacon can be all the rage, I suppose this can find a home somewhere.

Related Candies

  1. Die Besten von Ferrero: Mon Cheri, Kusschen & Rondnoir
  2. Nestle Cherry Raisinets
  3. Cadbury Cherry Ripe
  4. Gimbal’s Cherry Lovers
  5. Cherry Cordial Creme Kisses
  6. Christopher’s Big Cherry is Big Peanuts


Name: Big Cherry Dark
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Adams & Brooks
Place Purchased: Rocket Fizz (Glendale)
Price: $1.89
Size: 1.75 ounces
Calories per ounce: 114
Categories: Candy, Adams & Brooks, Fondant, Mockolate, Peanuts, 5-Pleasant, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:19 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewAdams & BrooksFondantMockolatePeanuts5-PleasantUnited States

Comments
  1. I find it odd that certain candies that have been around for decades are loaded with artifical and hydrogenated ingredients. When I think of “old fashioned” candies, I think of real ingredients since they didn’t have the technology to make mock versions of the ingredients.

    Comment by Laura on 8/29/12 at 11:16 pm #
  2. Really now, this shiz looks worse than undigested excrement. Who would put that back in their mouth?

    Comment by Ron P. on 8/30/12 at 6:31 am #
  3. Laura- Sadly, partially hydrogenated oils have indeed been around for many, many decades.  Old fashioned doesn’t always necessarily mean pure.

    Ron-  To answer your question, I would!  But I also get the big bowl at KFC so take that as you will.  smile

    Comment by Brad on 9/02/12 at 12:11 pm #
  4. Spent a few days off and on going over your blog page… Rather amazing. I’m going to ask you to be put on the food network.. wait and see… one candy from germany.. “smarties” They wew brought back to me from there… a colaberation between nestle and haribo.. a gummy bear inside a candy shell.. they were amazing in flavor.. but seems there not avalabale anymore. have you heard of them???

    Comment by kevin sterner on 9/05/12 at 10:29 pm #
  5. Kevin-I believe they were called Fruity Smarties. I can’t seem to find much info about them. Maybe they were taken off the market because they look exactly like Skittles. I bet they tasted lovely though. A gummy bear skittle-type candy sounds tasty smile

    Comment by Laura on 9/06/12 at 12:25 am #
  6. I’ve seen everyday the regular…would love to know where the dark version would be found…these were established as the regular type with pink cover (like Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer’s nose! LOL) in 1887 here in Southern Calif., and can be bought pretty much at any candy store for such an old candy (Chic-O-Sticks and Necco being some other examples.)

    I gotta praise the creme center myself, the easter egg (for all year round) like taste/feel, the somewhat nougat like thing,..and then the REAL cherry.

    Nothing else like it..smileSC

    Comment by SteveCarras on 7/25/15 at 10:56 pm #
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