Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Ice Chips: Spearmint

DSC_9617rbIce Chips Candy is a line of sweets made almost entirely of xylitol. They come in 20 different varieties. Since this was a new product to me, I figured I’d start with Ice Chips: Spearmint.

The candy comes in a tin that’s pretty much the same as the one Altoids come in. The selling point, I’m guessing, of this mint is the fact that it’s made with xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol that is not only “sugarless” but also has been shown in clinical tests that it does not promote tooth decay. Though it does have some calories (about 1/3 fewer than other mints made with sugar), it’s not quickly digested by the body so has a very low glycemic index. The xylitol comes from birch trees, not corn like some xylitol products, so the makers say that it’s GMO free. It’s also vegan, gluten free, soy free and vegan.

Though I picked one of the most pedestrian flavors they offer, the candies also come in cherry, licorice, margarita, pumpkin spice and root beer float flavors.

DSC_9620rb

The chips are, well, chip-like. Think of it like peanut brittle, it’s a thin sheet of a sort of hard candy-like mint that’s been shattered into variously sized bits. Some are as big as a dime but most are more like a small tablet about 1/3 of an inch across.

They’re hard to photograph, which is why I left them in the tin for this shoot. They’re not colored, not opaque, not quite translucent. Not quite milky, so they don’t qualify as white.

If you’ve had xylitol candies before you know that like most sugar alcohols it’s a little cool on the tongue. This works very well with a flavor like spearmint or peppermint, which already has the cooling effect of the mint oils. The dissolve is interesting, but even more interesting is the fact that it’s crunchy, like a toffee only without the buttery notes.

Overall, the unique texture and excellent flavor profile makes these quite appealing. Personally, I find eating too much xylitol a problem (it can make some people gassy), so it’s not something I would eat as a candy, only reserve it as a breath freshener.

I’m curious about the other flavors, especially Root Beer Float and Cinnamon.

Related Candies

  1. Lily’s Dark Chocolate sweetened with Stevia
  2. Tea Forte Minteas Lemongrass Yuzu
  3. PUR Gum: Xylitol Sweetened
  4. Choward’s Spearmint & Lemon
  5. Spearmint Leaves
  6. SparX
  7. Hershey’s Favorites - Sugar Free


Name: Ice Chips: Spearmint
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Ice Chips Candy
Place Purchased: Sprouts (La Canada-Flintridge)
Price: $1.99
Size: 1.76 ounces
Calories per ounce: 71
Categories: All Natural, Candy, Mints, 7-Worth It, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:26 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     All NaturalCandyReviewMints7-Worth ItUnited States

Comments
  1. Oh, I think you’re going to love the root beer float.  They’re a local company for me and I was so thrilled that they’d had a booth at the state fair last year.

    They are a little hard to find even up here but I had the root beer float, licorice, lemon, cranberry ... they’re excellent. I am going to end up buying online because I definitely cannot get my hands on eggnog or pumpkin spice at the store. smile

    Comment by Julie on 9/22/15 at 5:54 pm #
  2. Be careful not to let pets get into any product that contains xylitol. (Some pets, including mine, will search accessible purses and backpacks for food and gum.) Even a tiny bit of xylitol is deadly for dogs.

    Comment by Margaret on 9/22/15 at 7:05 pm #
  3. I picked up the root beer float a few days ago. Have you tried them yet?  I can’t wait to try some of the other flavors. There are quite a few choices. They aren’t cheap, but I think that little tin will last for a while. I wasn’t tempted to eat more than just one or two little bits.

    Comment by Sara on 5/08/16 at 9:36 pm #
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