|
Thursday, August 23, 2007
UK Smarties (no artificial colors)
Smarties were introduced by Rowntree in the UK back in 1937. Legend has it that Forrest Mars and a Rowntree family member were traveling through Spain in the mid-1930s and saw the soldiers there would eat chocolate that was covered in sugar to keep it from melting. Both men saw the merits of this novel way of serving candies, especially when combined with the French and Italian panning processes that provides an attractive colored shell. Rowntree first named their new chocolate lentils “Chocolate Niblet Beans” but changed next year to Smarties. They’re not sold in the United States owing mostly to the fact that the name Smarties is already taken here (and perhaps some sort of gentleman’s agreement between Rowntree & Mars ... I can’t find any record of it though). Smarties offer a wide variety of colors in their flat chocolate candies and recently change from artificial colors to all natural ones in hopes that it will reduce reticence among moms because of concerns about artificial colors being linked to hyperactivity.
The hexagonal tubes that hold the Smarties are certainly cute. They’re easy to dispense from and they don’t roll around. The candies themselves are attractive, if now a little mottled in color. Smarties shells are a little thicker than M&Ms and have a light flavor to them that I can only call cookie flavored (maybe ‘Nilla Wafers or Graham Crackers). The chocolate inside is rather unremarkable - not terribly rich or creamy. What’s most surprising and pleasant about the Smarties is the flavor of the orange ones. They’re actually orange. Kind of a middle-of-the-road orange, not terribly deep or zesty, more like the Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
The colors are remarkably different than they used to be. I tossed out a little array with some M&Ms ColorWorks as a comparison. The difference is pretty easy to see - the Smarties lack a depth to the color. However, it gives them a little artisan, homespun quality that certainly doesn’t turn me off. Brits are fierce about their Smarties, and even the little changes in the packaging and colors seem to get people all fired up. Here’s a commercial from last year when the Hex tube replaced the round one with the collectible caps. Here’s another earlier one that might lead one to believe that there’s something really psychedelic about these candies! While parents may be happy that the artificial colors are gone, vegetarians aren’t. They now use carminic acid to make the reds, which is made from cochineal insects. (It also means that they’re not Kosher.) Further, it’s not what Americans would consider “pure chocolate” as it contains whey and vegetable fat fillers. Ingredients are: Sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, dried skimmed milk, butterfat, whey powder, vegetable fat, lactose and soy lecithin. The coating is: sugar, wheat flour, modified starch, colors (titanium dioxide, mixed carotenes, carminic acid, vegetable carbon, riboflavin, copper, complexes of chlorophyllins), glazing agents, beetroot juice and flavourings. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:58 am
|
||||||||||||||||||
ABOUT
FEEDSCONTACT
EMAIL DIGESTCANDY RATINGSTYPE
BRAND
COUNTRY
ARCHIVES
|
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
  SEARCHSearch the Candy Blog archives
    
FEATURED NEWS ITEMS
COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2024 by Cybele May Please do not use my photos without prior permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop Studios
|
|||||||||||||||||
SUPERB 
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
SUPERB
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
-
Comment by
Heather on 8/23/07 at 9:47 am #
-
Comment by
Heather on 8/23/07 at 9:49 am #
-
Comment by
Sally on 8/23/07 at 4:57 pm #
-
Comment by
Katie on 8/24/07 at 2:31 pm #
-
Comment by
nic on 8/26/07 at 2:52 pm #
-
Comment by
Shula Edelkind on 9/18/07 at 10:58 am #
-
Comment by
LoveLove on 10/10/07 at 6:27 pm #
-
Comment by
Robert on 10/21/07 at 7:22 pm #
-
Comment by
Cherry on 12/21/07 at 7:47 am #
-
Comment by
James on 3/24/08 at 4:28 am #
-
Comment by
Wendy on 1/20/09 at 7:30 am #
-
Comment by
SmartiesGirl on 4/12/10 at 2:02 pm #
-
Comment by
Rosie on 5/27/10 at 10:07 am #
-
Comment by
Asia on 12/13/11 at 3:12 pm #
-
Comment by
411 NY on 4/17/12 at 8:55 am #
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.I’ve never seen those hexagonal tubes before, how cute! Do you know if they’re somewhat new? I’ve only ever had the flat rectangular boxes sent to me. It’s been a while since I’ve had a Canadian goody swap and my kids still ask about the Smarties. They have a permanent spot on my Canadian “wishlist” now.
Doh - just realized this pack was from the UK! Never mind my “new design” question in the last comment :D
nice review, as always!
I LOVE chocolate, but these just don’t look appealing to me at all.
I actually buy these in Boston all the time. I was so glad I was able to find them here after getting them all the time when I was in school in London.
Nice review. Might you have any information about their flavorings?
LOVE LOVE LOVE SMARTIES!!!! They are way better than M&M’s, I have them everytime I go back home…...mmmmmm…..smarties
Do you eat the red ones last?
The orange ones actually don’t taste orange anymore since they changed to natural colourings. It’s been a big bone of contention for a lot of people in the UK :(
Hi Cybele…quite a debate has arisen at Chocolate Mission regarding Smarties..your expert opinion would be great to hear:
http://chocolatemission.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-22nd-nestle-smarties-egg.html
Does anyone know WHY they are called Smarties? i.e. where did that name come from?
Wendy,
If you actually read this entry, you would know why they are called smarties.
Duh.
It was interesting, but not really one I was looking for. I want to find out what natural flavourings they use.
I thought I was eating these until I realized I bought the knock-off of these, lol. They’re called Smart Alecs and they’re not bad, but the orange ones taste like toilet. ):
The first YouTube video is gone. Do you know if there is another?
Next entry: 100 Calorie Packs - How Lazy Are We?
Previous entry: 3 Musketeers Mini Mix