Friday, April 18, 2008

Regional Flavors: Key Lime, Pina Colada & Huckleberries

Key Lime Coconut PattiesI reckon one of the best things about traveling is finding new candies that reflect the local flavor. I’ve collected quite a few of them over the years from friends & relatives who travel and have presented quite a few of them.

Some of them are kind of hokey, but some truly reflect the local ingredients that the region is known for. (Just look at all the wonderful things the South does with pecans, molasses and peaches.)

My neighbor & friend, Robin, just brought these goodies back from Key Largo, Florida last week. They’re two different kinds of chocolate dipped coconut patties made by Anastasia Confections. (Robin & Amy are the same friends that sparked the idea for Candy Blog via their seating arrangement at their wedding reception seating plan ... and have also graced Candy Blog with other confections like the big old mess of Peruvian goodies, Charleston Pralines, Cowgirl Chocolates Hot Caramels & Rocky Mountain Huckleberry Gummi Bears.)

Key Lime Coconut Patties

The first one I tried was the Key Lime Coconut Patties.

It has a lovely scent of lime, that unmistakable smell of key limes. Key Limes are softer on the tongue, I think. But they’re also more bitter but slightly less acidic. There’s something a bit chalky about key lime juice and the resulting key lime pies. This doesn’t quite capture all of that (as it’s not a custard), but it gets many of the notes. 

It’s all sweet with an overtone of the lime essences and of course a lot of sickly sweet coconut. The coconut is moist and flaky and the chocolate coating is a nice counterpoint.

It’s not a treat I’d buy often or eat a lot of in one sitting, but it’s a fun item to have one of, maybe with some tea or a glass of milk.

Anastasia Confections are Kosher.

Pina Colada Coconut PattiesThe Pina Colada Coconut Patties are similar to the Key Lime ones. They’re dipped in chocolate, they’re oddly tinted and smell like a fruity cocktail.

While Key Limes may sport a tart flavor as part of their profile, you can get by with just the essence of it and people will buy it. But in this case the pineapple here is only a faint waft. There are a light and creamy yellow color, still the same sweetness and crumbly flaky coconut. I liked it better than an actual pina colada (but no one’s quite figured out how to dip those in chocolate, have they?).

Another interesting thing I noted here is the resemblance of these to the Disney Mickey Coconut Patties I got last summer at Disneyland. I’m certain they’re made by Anastasia Confections (which is based in Orlando, Florida ... as is DisneyWorld). So if you enjoyed those at the park, you can get squared off versions via their website.

SpokandyAmy went to Spokane, Washington on a separate trip over a month ago and brought this unique item back. It’s made by Spokandy a chocolatier that’s been around since 1913. At first I thought that’s what the actual product was called. Turns out it’s just the name of the company.

The box is simple and elegant and says that it holds some Huckleberry Almond Bark.

The picture shows something that’s an indescribable shade of lavender. It’s not pale, it’s shockingly bright, yet still a pastel.

The picture is actually accurate. It really looks like that. It looks just like that.

SpokandyThey call it a creamy bright, flavorful huckleberry chocolate coating with slivered almonds blended for the perfect balance of flavor and texture. THis mouth-watering treat is not complete until we top it with real dried huckleberries..

It smells like blueberries and has a nice glossy appearance. The berries were not actually distributed evenly. Some pieces had no bits and others had huge clumps. However, the bark itself had a nice integration of slivered almonds.

It has a nice smooth and milky melt. It’s very sweet. It tastes a bit like BooBerry Cereal smelled. I enjoyed the almonds and the berries when I got them. But it’s not a real white chocolate confection there, there’s no actual cocoa butter, just an array of tropical oils and partially hydrogenated palm oils.

The color I couldn’t quite peg? That’s FD&C colors Red #3, #40 & Blue #1.

What it really needs is some salt, so maybe their Huckleberry Pretzels have a better balance. If this is one of your wedding or baby shower colors, though, this might be the candy for you.

Related Candies

  1. Parkside Candy Sponge Candy
  2. Confetti & Agrumetti
  3. Charleston Pralines
  4. Rocky Mountain Huckleberry Gummi Bears
Name: Coconut Patties & Huckleberry Almond Bark
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Anastasia Confections & Spokandy
Place Purchased: gifts from Robin & Amy (thanks!)
Price: unknown
Size: 2.7 ounces & 7 ounces
Calories per ounce: 128 & 140
Categories: Chocolate, Coconut, Nuts, United States, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:43 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. You mention the coloring for the huckleberry bark, but from the looks of it the key lime coconut patties are teaming with coloring also. (Key lime juice is more yellow than green.)

    Comment by bitguru on 4/18/08 at 10:55 am #
  2. they usually have big boxes of the coconut patties (key lime, pi?a colada, plain and assorted) over at the marshalls in burbank’s empire center. i have a friend who is addicted to them, and it’s a pretty reliable source.

    Comment by santos. on 4/18/08 at 7:15 pm #
  3. i just thought it might be a nice regional present from burbank smile

    Comment by santos. on 4/18/08 at 7:24 pm #
  4. Which flavors got which score?

    Comment by shane on 4/19/08 at 7:03 am #
  5. Its great trying out different regional ‘local Jewells’ isnt it Cybele. Its funny how a product can be so popular in one part of a country but not another.

    A good example of that in the UK would be something called ‘Kendall Mint Cake’ which is a sugary minty snack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendal_mint_cake) its eaten almost religously by the people up north but never really seen down south.

    Anyway nice to see your so open to try anything at least once. Keep up the great work!

    Jim

    Comment by James on 4/20/08 at 12:38 am #
  6. if you ever want anymore of the coconut patties(i think there are other flavors as well), let me know. living here in FL, those can be found just about everywhere.

    Comment by Doug on 4/21/08 at 8:44 am #
  7. I recently had one of the key lime patties-delicious-like a tart mounds bar, yes, they are all over the place here in Florida, but those sorts of local flavors are sometimes taken for granted sometimes. 
    I don’t know about this brand of huckleberry bark, but last summer I had one kind in Alaska that was surprisingly good and didn’t have the odd blue/periwinkle tinge.

    Comment by Bianca on 5/01/08 at 12:20 pm #
  8. I love these! Last March in Florida I bought a box of the Almond ones. Can’t get those around here so in Canada when I want coconut chocolate I settle for the Bounty Bar, not really settling I guess as the Bounty Bar is good too!!!

    Comment by juliecan on 7/27/08 at 11:23 pm #
  9. I recently found these Coconut Patties and Key Lime Patties at The Dollar Tree. I love coconut and really love Key Lime so I had to try them. WOW! The Key Lime flavor is tart and the chocolate is smooth. Yummmm. The squares are interesting looking too.

    Comment by Suzanne on 2/19/13 at 5:59 pm #
  10. Yum,,Huckleberry candy, I was directed here from the link on the neopolitan candy (Blue Ribbon) coconut site that you had and thought that this would be coconut flavored like huckleberries. Oh well, still, huckleberry flavored chocolate..smile

    Comment by SteveCarras on 8/17/15 at 10:53 pm #
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