Monday, December 9, 2013

Ovation Mint Filled & Pumpkin Spice Oranges

Ovation Dark Chocolate Mint FilledOne of the special items for the holidays would be what I consider the anchor item of a well-stuffed stocking. Usually, a good stocking has a mix of candy, perhaps some small gifts and then a specialty food item. Like the Chocolate Rabbit anchors an Easter Basket, a chocolate orange fills a similar role for Christmas.

There are a few brands out there, though the Terry’s Chocolate Orange is probably the most ubiquitous, it’s also probably the most disappointing for adults as the chocolate quality has declined over the years. It’s fun to see some more upscale versions, but also some that incorporate other flavors and new production techniques to achieve a unique experience.

I’ve reviewed quite a few of the Ovation chocolate oranges, which were also sold under the name Florida Tropics and made by SweetWorks. It’s an American company using all natural ingredients in their chocolate. Today I have two of the holiday versions: Ovation Dark Chocolate Mint Filled and Ovation Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Spice.

Ovation Dark Chocolate Mint Filled

I’m starting with the Ovation Dark Chocolate Mint Filled because I was really excited about the construction. It’s mint filled. So not only is it a chocolate sphere made of 20 sections molded like orange segments, each one of those is filled with a minted white confection. That’s crazy!

Ovation Dark Chocolate Mint Filled

The Ovation oranges are wonderfully structured. They’re a bit overpackaged, but it does pay off. All of my oranges were in excellent shape. Though the sticker exhorts the consumer to BREAK then OPEN, I usually choose to pry it apart. This means less chocolate dust, though it’s possible that some sections will still get broken.

This orange is a bittersweet chocolate base (though made with dairy fats) filled with a minted white confection. It smells lightly of mint once removed from the foil. Though there’s not listing on the package, I’d estimate that the chocolate is about 55% cacao.

Ovation Dark Chocolate Mint Filled

The snap is excellent and the individual slices have a pretty consistent stripe of minted white confection in the center (not a true white chocolate). The melt is good, very smooth with a silky, cooling note from the mint. If you’re fond of something like Andes Mints, this is a similar product, except much cooler to look at. I wish it was real white chocolate in the center, but it is all natural. It’s made in a facility with peanuts and tree nuts, it contains milk and soy. There’s no statement about gluten. It’s also Kosher, which means it would be a great Hanukkah item as well.

Ovation Pumpkin Spice Orange

The Ovation Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Spice is also very well made with all natural milk chocolate and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves and natural pumpkin flavor. The pieces are like the dark chocolate version, 20 segments held together in a spherical form by a dollop of chocolate in the core. They’re easily broken apart by either smacking the whole thing on a hard surface, or just prying it in half.

Ovation Pumpkin Spice Orange

These smell milky and sweet with a light spice note. The flavor is overly sweet with a lot of milk components and a warm hint of the pumpkin spices. Mostly I got the nutmeg and ginger, not as much of the cloves and cinnamon. It’s a lot sweeter than I like my chocolate, though didn’t quite arrive at the throat searing level. I’m finding now after a couple of years of these spiced chocolates that it’s not my preferred genre. My usual use for chocolate that’s too sweet to eat or bloomed is to make it into hot chocolate or chocolate pudding. I think this is an excellent candidate for that.

Their standard chocolate versions are also very good, and a great value for 6.17 ounces of all natural chocolate. If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you’ll also notice that their chocolate oranges are made by the same company under the Trader Joe’s holiday packaging.  Ferrara Candy also makes chocolate oranges, which I’ve seen on sale at Walgreen’s.

Related Candies

  1. M&Ms Pumpkin Spice
  2. Florida Tropic Oranges
  3. Ferrara Chocolate Oranges
  4. Terry’s Chocolate Toffee Crunch Orange
  5. Slice of Orange Hot Chocolate
  6. Andes Mints & Dessert Indulgence
  7. Terry’s Peppermint Orange


Name: Dark Chocolate Mint Filled Break Apart Orange
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Sweet Works
Place Purchased: sample from SweetWorks
Price: $3.99
Size: 6.17 ounces
Calories per ounce: 147
Categories: All Natural, Candy, Christmas, SweetWorks, Inc, Chocolate, Kosher, Mints, 8-Tasty, United States


Name: Pumpkin Spice Break Apart Orange
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Sweet Works
Place Purchased: sample from SweetWorks
Price: $3.99 retail
Size: 6.17 ounces
Calories per ounce: 147
Categories: All Natural, Candy, Christmas, SweetWorks, Inc, Chocolate, Kosher, 7-Worth It, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:33 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     All NaturalCandyReviewChristmasSweetWorks, IncChocolateKosherMints7-Worth It8-TastyUnited States

Comments
  1. Cybele's avatar

    I’m told that they’re available at the following stores:
    Bed Bath & Beyond
    Kroger
    Fred Meyer
    Tuesday Morning
    Jo Ann’s
    Associated Foods
    Ingles Markets
    URM Stores
    United Western Groceries
    Affiliated Foods
    Tops Markets
    Haddon House
    Miles Kimball
    Charted Distribution
    Wythe Will Dist..
    Smiths

    Comment by Cybele on 12/10/13 at 5:15 pm #
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