Monday, April 25, 2005

Violet Crumble

Name: Violet Crumble
Brand: Nestle (Australia)
Place Purchased: Convenience Store (Hollywood)
Price: $.75
Size: 1.25 oz
Calories per ounce: 150
Type: Candy (Chocolate)

The package says “It’s the way that it shatters that matters.” Of course the other side calls it “Australia’s Crisp Golden Honeycomb.” I’ve had this bar once before and was not terribly impressed. I was hoping it would be malt, but it’s not.

What is it? Think of that dense chalky styrofoam and then add some flavor and a sweet aroma similar to toasted marshmallows. One of my problems with this bar is the noise the honeycomb makes when you bite into it. Like biting into a piece of balsa wood or stiff styro. The ingredients also do not lend one to be drawn to the bar (there’s no honey), it’s mostly sugar and hydrogenated palm oil (yee! I have a cholesterol test coming up!).

That said, I actually like it. I can get beyond the sqeaky sound on my teeth because the crumble is really satisfying, it crackles and yields in the mouth, melting into a blissful sweet puddle. The chocolate coat is actually chocolate, which helps. The coating, I found, is a tad sweet, but I expect that from Aussie and Brit sweets, I suppose. Also, at only a little over an ounce, it’s a very satisfying bar because it’s so stuffed with air, it looks formidable. It’s the trans fat content that has me worried, so I’m going to stick to monosaturated treats for a while.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:13 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewNestleChocolate6-TemptingAustralia

Comments
  1. Fortunately since I don’t know what “trans fats” are I’m saved worrying about them.

    Violet Crumble strikes me as a great name, I mean, I *really* great name.

    Comment by russ on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  2. Cadbury’s Crunchie Bar is a much better honeycomb crisp bar than Violet Crumble - its a little smaller and usually has more air pockets in it and reminds me of a 5th avenue bar, but not flaky and peanut butter but somehow simular!

    Comment by jenne on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  3. Just a note - honeycomb was traditionally named because of its texture, being filled with holes, and not because it had honey in it.  There are a few Aussie manufacturers who do add honey.  Great site!

    Comment by Cassandra on 10/08/06 at 1:42 pm #
  4. I first discovered Violet Crumble in a large regional grocery chain store, and I loved it right off. Sure, it’s not the best candy in the world, but it is crunchy and melty, you can make it last a long time, and the chocolate is decent.

    BTW, one of my sisters-in-law is the candy buyer for that grocery chain, which is in Texas and Mexico and is expanding.  What a cool job!

    Comment by Rebecca on 11/02/06 at 6:42 am #
  5. I am looking for “sticky” Australian candy. I found a store in Sydney, on the Rocks, and am looking to be able to order some. Anyone know a website for this stuff? I’m addicted…

    Comment by Jessica on 1/15/07 at 5:18 pm #
  6. What always bothered me about Violet Crumble was that unlike Cadbury’s Crunchie Bar, the ingredients included gelatine.  I’m not a vegetarian, but I find that icky (I avoid gelatine-based sweets generally).

    Interestingly there is an imported products store in Sydney that as well as selling things that expats can’t get at all (such as Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup) it sells the UK versions of Australian confectionery.  For some reason Cadbury, which I believe manufactures its Australian chocolate in Tasmania or New Zealand(?) uses a completely different formula than it uses in the UK.  I actually find the Australian version inedible, and I have yet to find anyone - Aussie or Brit - who prefers the Australian version.

    Comment by secretdubai on 2/03/07 at 7:15 am #
  7. It doesn’t taste of violets and it doesn’t crumble.

    At best, this is a very poor imitation of Cadbury’s Crunchie.

    Comment by richard on 3/17/07 at 9:56 am #
  8. Violet Crumble is WAY BETTER than Crunchie.  No contest.  It’s smoother, tastier and it doesn’t have the one hard side of honeycomb that the Crunchie has. 
    I love the little mini, bite sized ones that come in a packet.  They’re great to eat while watching TV.

    Sare

    Comment by Sare on 8/15/07 at 8:07 pm #
  9. I tried Violet Crumble and Crunchie recently and I must say I like Violet Crumble much more. I’m addicted to it, it’s so delicious! <3

    Comment by Nena on 10/22/07 at 9:01 am #
  10. I love Crunchie…but I love Violet Crumble too. I think that they’re both good, just different. The texture to Crunchie is a bit rougher, and it’s true that Violet Crumble’s less airy yet lighter texture is a bit of a surprise, but I think it’s just as good.

    Or maybe I just love the slogan..

    Comment by Dai on 11/27/07 at 4:10 pm #
  11. Quote:
    “At best, this is a very poor imitation of Cadbury?s Crunchie.
    Comment by richard”

    For Richard’s information, Violet Crumble has been around since 1913, whereas the Crunchie bar was invented in 1929

    Comment by TS on 2/07/08 at 11:48 pm #
  12. An iconic Aussie chocolate bar.
    I never actually eat them when I live in Australia, but when overseas it truly reminds one of home. The Crunchie is nothing like a Violet Crumble!

    Comment by KP on 2/26/08 at 11:33 pm #
  13. where can i get VIOLET CRUMBLE here in las vegas for my future wife ?????? please help me.

    Comment by john g wong on 6/02/08 at 7:47 pm #
  14. Hello, john g wong.  If Las Vegas has HEB grocery stores, check there.  If not, your best bet is to buy them online.  You can get them fresh and sometimes for a very reasonable price.  Just do a search for “Violet Crumble” and you will get plenty of hits for places to order the candy bar.  Congrats to you and your future bride!

    Comment by Rebecca Plunkett on 6/03/08 at 2:46 am #
  15. Firstly - Sticky has a website: http://www.sticky.com.au/ 
    Don’t know if it will do foreign orders ... and also don’t understand the fuss, personally!

    I come from a family of Violet Crumble devotees whereas I am in the Crunchie camp.  Both manage a think chocolatey coating, but I prefer Crunchie’s aerated honeycomb.

    Just as an aside, may I suggest checking out this Australian Crunchie ad from my childhood - Naomi Watts did a lot of average stuff before saying G’day LA!!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuKITlpAENo

    Comment by Sweet Jess on 6/18/08 at 8:04 pm #
  16. Where can I buy the violet crumble candy, love the candy but very hard to find, please send information so that I can order it.

    Comment by Yamile Azze on 2/11/09 at 12:12 pm #
  17. Hello, Yamile.

    If you do a search for “Violet Crumble,” you will find several sites to buy from.  But right now, all are saying it is out of stock.  But don’t give up!

    Comment by Rebecca Plunkett on 2/12/09 at 2:36 am #
  18. Richard: At best, this is a very poor imitation of Cadbury?s Crunchie.

    Actually, it’s the other way around. Crunchie is a poor imitation of Violet Crumble.

    First Violet Crumble manufactured in 1913 => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Crumble#History

    First Crunchie manufactured in 1929 => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunchie

    Comment by Melanie on 3/01/09 at 11:34 pm #
  19. its very   tasty and good looking as i took a bite the honeycomb seemed to be quite i mean very satisfying.

    Comment by Annie on 3/27/09 at 12:51 am #
  20. Violet Crumble may be older and have a better name, but Crunchie is made from far better ingredients and tastes like it.

    Comment by Todd on 7/23/09 at 1:44 am #
  21. The chocolate in crunchie is without a doubt better but the honeycomb in violet crumble is made properly and is far more consistant, love em both but i prefer crumble for its crisper, yet smoother texture, if it had cadbury chocolate on the Rowntree Hoadley honeycomb (now bought out by Nestle unfortunaly)it would be perfect.

    Comment by Smojoe on 8/04/09 at 5:46 am #
  22. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Violet Crumble - not so much the Crunchie.  Eating one and getting the most from it is almost an art form.  You have to take very tiny bites and let each bite melt in your mouth.  And it will, just melt away leaving you in sweetie heaven!

    I have found that World Market sometimes carries them.

    Comment by Shelly on 12/29/09 at 4:38 pm #
  23. Comparing the Crunchie and Violet Crumble is like, well, comparing jelly babies and jelly beans. They are not the same thing at all. A Crunchie melts in your mouth and has a sweet tingly feel on the tongue, a Violet Crumble snaps off in your mouth and doesn’t “melt” at all. I usually go a Crunchie, but only because that’s usually what’s at the supermarket checkout, Nestle needs to pay the supermarkets more money for better shelf space.

    Comment by Natalie on 2/10/10 at 4:05 pm #
  24. Where can I order violet crumble candy bars? Could someone be so sweet to give a website thats not going to break the bank?  Thanks Lydia !

    Comment by Lydia Flores on 2/11/10 at 5:18 pm #
  25. where did u buy that violet crumble candy bar???i wanna know!!!

    Comment by greg78 on 4/13/10 at 1:45 pm #
  26. Cybele's avatar

    Greg78 - I usually find them at Cost Plus World Market or India Sweets & Spices in Los Angeles.

    Comment by Cybele on 4/13/10 at 1:47 pm #
  27. In California, I have found them at Longs Drugs pharmacy stores.  Here in the East Coast, the closest I could get to Violet Crumble, is the Crunchie bar, by Cadbury - I found them at World Market stores.  The differences?  Crunchie does have more honeycomb pockets, and melts better in your mouth.  I found that Violet Crumble tends to melt down to a bit of residual chewy caramel, which sticks to molars of teeth.  I believe VC is thicker in size, and cheaper (about a buck 25 cheaper!)  Crunchie ranges anywhere from $1.50-$2.00   As far as taste goes -  they taste almost identical to each other!

    Comment by Janet from another planet on 5/29/10 at 4:44 pm #
  28. Violet Crumble is way way better than a Crunchie. The honeycomb is so much more, well, crumbly… i grew up on the violet crumble, and i think the advertisment used to go “its the way that it shatters that matters”. the best way to eat it is to bite off all the chocolate and enjoy the honeycomb just by itself… delicious! the bag of small ones is the way to go if you can get them…

    Comment by andy h on 7/08/10 at 12:08 am #
  29. Many years ago while I was visiting Monson, Maine with my Dad, we went into their only variety store and that is where I first encountered the “Violet Crumble” candy bars.  The owner told me that a traveling salesman from Canada had stopped and sold them a couple of boxes to sell. I bought 2 bars, one for my Dad and one for myself and we both agreed that this was one of the best candy bars that we had ever had. So I went back the next day and ended up buying the last full box that they had. And by the way they didn’t last very long. lol lol Since then, I have had trouble finding them.  At first I was getting them through the Del Mar International Co. in California but then they stopped carrying them and as of late everywhere that I have found them - they are either not selling them in the USA any more or are out of stock.  I would be delighted to hear from anyone
    who could guide me in the right direction to finding them here in the states.

    Comment by Judith on 10/02/10 at 9:31 am #
  30. Cybele's avatar

    Judith, I see them sometimes at Cost Plus World Market. Even though they’re an Australian bar, sometimes I see them at British import shops. You also might want to try Cadbury Crunchie, which is often easier to find in the states. The honeycomb center is a little different in texture, but still has a similar flavor profile.

    Comment by Cybele on 10/02/10 at 9:44 am #
  31. http://www.theprofessors.com.au/products/Nestle-Violet-Crumble-(42-x-50g-bars).html

    Comment by srsos on 10/28/10 at 11:10 pm #
  32. I love these, too.  I was finding them at World Market’s in 2008-2009 but not recently.  A new candy bar that has a similar crunc is the 3 Musketeer’s Truffle candy bar sold in most grocery stores.  Very good!

    Comment by Julie on 1/20/11 at 4:47 pm #
  33. I LOVE Violet Crumble and have been in search for them in the Las Vegas area. I have been a fan of these delicious treats since I first tasted one in the early 1990’s. I used to find them in chain drug stores and some grocery stores in California and the entire west coast. Now I am in southern Nevada. They don’t seem to have them at our Cost Plus here or the specialty candy shops in Boulder City. Does anyone know where to find them in the Henderson/Las Vegas area? Thanks!!

    Comment by Cindy on 1/23/11 at 1:33 pm #
  34. Violet Crumble Bar is far and away better than Crunchie! Violet Crumble is TRUE honeycomb coated with REAL chocolate. Honeycomb is made by adding a small amount of bicarb soda to molten toffee which has been cooked to almost zero moisture. The molten toffee foams up rapidly and is spread into a thin sheet as it cools. It is then cut into size usually with a fine toothed saw as it is very crunchy and fragile. The pieces are then (usually)enrobed with chocolate, however it is delicious on its own.
    I don’t know how “Crunchie” is made, but it is not the same process and it is a coarser tectured and poorer flavoured immitation in my opinion. I believe that Crunchie is also coated with “compound chocolate” which is inferior to “real chocolate” and cannot be labeled “chocolate” under Australian food regulations. It is usually called a “choc coating”.
    I have not seen Violet Crumble on the Australian market for several months!!!! Does anyone know what has happened to it or where is can still be purchased?

    Comment by Vince R on 8/12/11 at 12:19 am #
  35. Vince - Our UK chocolate is far from being ‘compound chocolate’.. its covered in Cadburys delicious REAL chocolate, far nicer than nestles awful stuff, and Violet Crumbles themseleves are disgusting. Like eating styrofoam! If you don’t know how Crunchies are made, how do you know the process is different?Australian Cadbury do use a different chocolate recipe but us Brits prefer the real thing, i.e UK Cadbury! Its very far from being inferior, but I dont expect the australians to understand that. Its bizarre really that something as good as our UK chocolate can be degraded because of some daft food regulation abroad. Dear me. Ive trid both Aus and US ‘Chocolate’ (its not imo) before and its pretty awful stuff.

    Comment by Alan on 3/03/12 at 3:22 pm #
  36. I would love to know exactly why the Violet Crumble was discontinued. And I’m THRILLED to report that they’ve brought it back! Wondering what changed & why it’s now back on the market, as well.

    We found it in a drug store in Burbank yesterday and were freaking out! Our year-long search is over! at a whopping $3.69 a pop, ...it’s still worth it.

    Any insight?

    Comment by Gina on 9/17/12 at 2:48 pm #
  37. Violet Crumble has not been discontinued… I bought one yesterday from Woolies…

    Comment by Alan on 10/20/12 at 11:34 pm #
  38. I grew up on violet crumble candy ....can someone hook me up with some ...hawaii price busters use to carry it ....@.75 cents n can someone email me or call me up there in the mainland…send me some ....please ....in return send u some of our chocolate MAC nuts ...n…candies…much mahalos ....piilani

    Comment by piilani kanekoa on 1/18/13 at 12:13 pm #
  39. Oops ..number is 808-723-2443…mahalos

    Comment by piilani kanekoa on 1/18/13 at 12:16 pm #
  40. For those that say Violet Crumble is a poor imitation of Crunchie, id like to point out, that the VC is 16 years older than the crunchie and pioneered the manufacturing process that allowed the honeycomb to stay fresh for up to 12 months buy using a metallised cellophane wrapper

    Comment by Alan on 1/20/13 at 12:08 am #
  41. Ah, I wanna try this! I had a Crunchie bar on a trip to England a few years ago and this sounds really similar.

    Comment by Angelica on 3/20/13 at 4:44 am #
  42. Just got one at World Market. Reminds me of fine grain version of cinder toffee, dipped in chocolate. Yummy!

    Comment by Sara on 11/13/13 at 8:05 am #
  43. This is my favorite candy bar! (Or close to it.) I have a hard time finding them (generally at World Market), but when I do they are $4 now - still worth it for a treat occasionally. Often, at least around here, World Market stocks Cadbury Crunchie instead. Not quite as satisfying, but I’ll take it.

    Comment by Rachel on 3/10/14 at 1:08 pm #
  44. We buy ours from Cost Plus World Markets (which are a franchise all over the USA… don’t know about other countries). They are my husbands favorite candy of all time. I like them ok but they are sooooooo sweet. They have the large size bars for $4. I have had the Crunchie bars also and don’t like them nearly as much… something off in the flavor. I first had them about 17 years ago when a friend sent me a bag from OZ. Then while in Canada, I came upon the Crunchie bars in a convenience store in my friend’s apartment building. My husband liked the Crunchie but prefers the VC bars. It’s all a personal choice though obviously so try both to see which you prefer or if you even like them.  They are often out of stock even at the World Market so call ahead (we have to drive 30 miles to get one as we live in the “sticks” lol). http://www.worldmarket.com/product/nestlĂ©-australia-violet-crumble-bar.do

    Good luck finding them,
    Az Kitten

    Comment by Az Kitten on 1/16/15 at 12:05 pm #
  45. I’ve always big a big Crunchie fan, but I’m sad to say I have never eaten a Violet Crumble! I need to try one. Over Christmas, I decided enough was enough and attempted to make my own honeycomb toffee, and it actually turned out SO great! I’m planning a blog post on the process.

    Comment by Heather on 1/19/15 at 10:38 am #
  46. This is without a doubt my favorite candy bar, and has been since I first started getting them as a little kid from Gemmel Pharmacy in Rancho Cucamonga CA, in the mid 80’s.  And really, nothing is even close.

    I have tried Crunchie a number of times over the years, and it is similar, but not as good.  The texture of the Violet Crumbles “honeycomb” is just superior in my opinion.  The Crunchie’s interior has varying amounts of air bubbles in different parts of the bar, and can get chewy in your teeth at times, like a Butterfinger’s layers when crushed between your teeth. 

    However, the interior of a Violet Crumble is completely uniform, and never chewy. You rarely see any air bubbles in them, just a solid, lightly colored wall of goodness….almost like the consistency of drywall, or if you have ever had astronaut ice cream…similar to that…but infinitely better.  I like to just put my teeth on the bar and slowly apply pressure like a vice, until a small chunk just shatters into multiple tiny shards within my mouth.  The shards then melt away like magic within a few seconds, leaving the chocolate taste to finish. It’s an amazing candy experience.

    Comment by Sean on 7/13/15 at 2:03 pm #
  47. Violet crumbles are one of the best candy bars I’ve ever eaten,,,I remember having them 30 years ago if not longer and then one day I spotted them at a grocery store in an area not even related to candy at all and bought a handful of them,,,i’ve never had a Cadberry Crunchie before but if there anything like honeycomb at all I’m sure I’d love it just the same..
    I remember as a kid buying honeycomb in the local Sears and Roebuck in the candy section where they had various types of candy you could buy by the pound and honeycomb pieces was one of them but those also slowly faded away and disappeared ... Anyway I love them and hope they stick around for good ...

    Comment by Joe A on 5/06/16 at 5:25 am #
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