Cadbury Strawberries and Cream

SNACK: Strawberries & Cream.

I've already covered on this blog how much I love a limited edition variety, especially when it's totally different from anything else available.  I found this block at Brookside Woolworths a little while ago, but I believe it has spread to most supermarkets now.

When I bought it the block happened to be on sale for $2.99 which I think is pretty darn good for a block of mid-range filled chocolate.  I think Cadbury are trying to make this part of the Snack range as it's got Snack printed above the name.

The centre is actually flowing, left alone it oozes.

It's a milk chocolate block of shaped squares held together on a flat base.  The squares alternate flavours, one strawberry, one cream, with two of each flavour in a row.  The columns going down are all the same flavour which I imagine would be to keep the manufacturing process simple.

The chocolate is good, it's standard Cadbury Dairy Milk which interestingly I've found to be sweeter than the UK Cadbury which tastes kinda bland to me.  The strawberry filling is great! Exactly the same as the strawberry piece in the regular Snack version, sweet and sugary with a nice strawberry flavour.  The cream square is very vanilla in flavour though oddly lacks a scent which I found disconcerting.  It has the same texture as the strawberry flavour, a sugary grain that is pleasant.

I couldn't eat too much of this in one go as it is quite sweet but I'd definitely buy it again.  Irritatingly it's not featured on the Cadbury Australia webpage, but then neither is the other limited edition flavour available solely at IGA Supermarkets at the moment, Tropical Pineapple.

The Final Verdict: 4 - Absolutely recommend this! Sweet and pleasant with great subtle flavours.

Peanut Butter and Coconut M&M's

Peanut Butter M &M's.

So we talked about the history of M&M's in a previous post while discovering the joys of pretzel filled M&M's which I still pine for by the way, in case anybody reading this has access to them and feels compassionate.

Coconut M&M's

Mars is very fond of messing with their product, sometimes it rings with the pleasant sound of success.  Other times is rumbles with the unhappy sound of failure.  Two products which regrettably fall into the latter category are the Peanut Butter M&M's and Coconut M&M's, the PB ones are a regular line feature in the USA but can be purchased in Australia at specialty candy retailers.  The Coconut ones are a limited edition that first appeared in 2009, from what I gather they had a bit of a break and came back for the northern 2010 summer.

Note the irregular shapes.

But anyway, in all honesty the PB version should have worked.  I like peanut butter, in moderation and in the correct places.  Like a satay sauce.  Or on crackers.  But what I dislike is peanut butter as an overpowering flavour and pastiness in consistency.  In fact while we're on the subject what is with the American peanut butter obsession?  Can someone enlighten me?  These M&M's had both an overwhelming peanut butter taste and a pasty middle that stuck to teeth and mouth in a most unpleasant fashion.

A gooey peanuty centre.

The candies themselves had the usual hard shell and milk chocolate interior, but beneath the chocolate was a oval of peanut butteryness that was very bland.  The end result was the pasty texture and a peanut flavour but none of the enjoyable saltiness that peanut butter normally has.  I think I ate two and gave them to my brother's girlfriend, she downed the packet in one go (bear in mind it was a little single serve packet).

For some reason I got no flowers or anything in this shot.

I got the coconut variety not long after the pretzel ones, I was initially disappointed that it was such a small bag.  Man, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise!  These are the same size as a regular milk chocolate M&M, maybe a little puffier, and feature the M on some candies and little summery images on others, like palm trees and flowers.  Unlike the PB ones which contain actual peanut butter, these contain no coconut at all except for artifical

Insidey bits - it shattered when I cut it.

flavouring.  I was hoping for some coconut embedded in the chocolate much like a coconut rough but with a crunchy sugar shell.  The only thing I got was the sugar shell.  They're pleasant, I ate more than the PB ones but after a few my throat was burning from the flavouring and I felt slightly sick.  I wouldn't buy these again.

The Final Verdict: 2 - Both were more upleasant than enjoyable, the Peanut Butter needed salt, the Coconut needed ACTUAL coconut.  Don't buy either, especially if you can't stand imitation coconut flavouring.

Nik'L'Nips

These are too bizarre for words.  I received two large packets of these in quick succession and as almost at a loss as to what to do with them.  They are definitely a love or hate confection.  I was very confused by these at first, but a quick bit of Googling managed to set me straight.

The offending candy.

The story with these guys is basically a little (inedible, go figure) wax container holding a fruity juice type liquid inside.  Note here that I say 'juice type liquid' and not fruit juice, because to be fair I am unaware of a fruit that will produce neon blue juice.  Most of the juice flavours, red, orange, green, yellow and blue, taste fairly similar a vague tropical-y sort of experience.

The wax container itself is a totally different experience, it's shaped like a bottle and honestly has the same texture as candle wax or maybe dental wax.  It is completely non-toxic and I'm sure it wouldn't kill you if you swallowed some but I'm also not convinced that it would become lodged in your lower colon requiring medical intervention.

Eating these was tricky, you have to bite the top off enough to get the juice out without squirting yourself or swallowing the wax top you've just bitten off.  It's not a candy for polite company.

What fruit makes that colour juice?

The name apparently originates from the price that they were original sold for (a nickel) and the method by which you access the juice by removing the top (nip).

The Final Verdict: ? - They're just too weird!  I mean seriously, an inedible container holding fake fruit juice?  What were you smoking?  The taste is okay, except for the wax and there's a lot of wax.

Rainbow Candies

Who doesn't like a rainbow?  They're pretty, entertaining and have leprechauns with gold at the end of them (or so I have been led to believe).  And when it comes in candy form it a bonus as it's also edible and sweetly tasty!

Both of these candies today were sent to me from overseas, I don't think either are available in Australia but eBay is your friend as they clearly got through customs unscathed.

Melty sweet clouds of colour.

The first is a small bag of Rainbow Drops from Scotland, the name is confusing.  A drop in the candy sense that I grew up with is usually a hard candy, like a boiled sugar sweet.  Eucalyptus drops were very popular at school when I was a kid.  These however are nothing like that, they're nothing like anything I've ever seen or consumed.  They are in fact little puffed grains of rice coated in a gently crunchy sugar shell all coloured like the rainbow.

You little geeks.

If you're currently having flashbacks to bad multi-coloured sweet popcorn then you're not alone I wrote these poor little guys off before opening the package.  But man, was I wrong!  And pleasantly surprised to be wrong.  They're nothing like nasty showbag popcorn but are instead delicate little puffs with a sweet exterior that almost melt in your mouth.  I couldn't say there were any specific flavours other than sugar and the lovely meltiness of it all.

The other morsel of rainbow candy is a very large package of Rainbow Nerds from the United States.  These came in a parcel with a few other items and by far survived the journey the best.  Other tasty things didn't make it so good like the VALOMILK and the Skybar (it was given a burial befitting it's status, it clearly died in transit).

An extremely pretty candy.

My exposure to Nerds goes back to my primary school days so I knew what I was in for with this one, and they were everything I'd hoped for.  The rainbow of flavours included the usual strawberry and grape, with I think green apple, orange and something yellow (maybe lemon) thrown in as well.  These were good, the drawback being with most Nerd candy that the extreme sour coating and big suagr crystal innards equal do equal a fairly sickening treat fairly quickly.  Where the Rainbow Drops disappeared before my eyes, these things seem to multiply and I still have them kicking around my house (to be fair the box was a very large 170g).  On a sidenote, does anyone else remember Dweebs?

The Final Verdict (Rainbow Drops): 4 - Fantastic yummy little treats the even in a larger bag would not evoke any sort of sugar hangover.  Totally recommend if you can find them.

The Final Verdict (Rainbow Nerds): 3 - Really good, however nothing on the box indicates what the flavours are supposed to be.  The size of the box was also a drawback for the Nerds, a smaller box would have equalled less Nerd induced comatose state.

Whatchmacallit

I don't know, what do we call it?

So my delicious friend Annie gave me this tasty treat the other week.  I'd never seen nor heard of this bar before and I was certainly dubious when I saw it contained 'peanut flavoured' crispy things.  But in my solemnly sworn duty to try any and all candy that crosses my path I decided I would give it the benefit of the doubt.

The packaging describes it as 'made with chocolate, peanut flavoured crisps and caramel' though looking at the ingredients it technically isn't chocolate but I'm not going to quibble.  The bar is a long flat slab, nicely shaped and with a creamy latte coloured wrapper.  The bar travelled from the Gold Coast to my handbag which it then lived in for three days before being consumed and it was in surprisingly (or scarily) good condition.

Inside-y bits.

The main scent present upon unwrapping is sweet and cocoa-y, the bar snapped nicely and I didn't detect any overwhelming peanutiness so things were going well.  On a sidenote what is with the American obsession with peanuts and peanut butter in particular?  Can anyone shed some light on this for me?  I mean I get the peanuts and the releated butter is tasty but really?  You want it in that many things? Ahem, back to the candy.

First bite I was hit with mainly sweet, the textures are really nice and the peanut flavour is subtle.  I couldn't say the caramel added much but it was a nice contrast to the base.  I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this bar, I ate the whole thing quite easily.  It reminded me a great deal of a Smores Bar that was available some time ago but I think has been discontinued.

The Final Verdict: 3.5 - It was good, unexpectedly so.  But I'd also say it was a little forgettable.  Nothing really stood out and the flavours couldn't really be determined from one another.  Satisfying textures within though, good for people who like feeling in their food.

Skittles Fizzl'd Fruits

I remember when I was a kid and Skittles first hit Australia.  It was a revelation to me, these tiny chewy candies bursting with flavour!  Up until then the closest thing that we had were Kool Fruits and they were both bigger and not as juicy.

My love affair with Skittles continued until my last year of highschool when the bastards took away the grape flavour, my favourite, and replaced it with blackcurrant (though it might also be blackberry, I haven't checked in awhile) then to add injury to insult they took away lime and replaced it with green apple!  WTF Mars Inc!  WTF!

Ahem, so upsets aside I still love Skittles, I refuse to eat the nasty Australian variety so instead I shop at Candy Time in Brisbane and buy a large box of American Skittles for $3.99 and thus balance is restored to the universe.

However on occasion Mars Inc decides to play freaky God-like games and brings out limited editions.  Which I love!!  I've tried many a freaky Skittles version over the years, most would get a rating of 1.  Seriously.  Fun times but let's not do that again.

Fizzl'd Fruits though!  Man!  They got something right with these ones.  They've got different flavours to the regular packs, featuring berry punch, melon berry, raspberry, strawberry, and wild cherry, all covered with a fizzy dusted coating.

Oooh, the fizzy coating!

They were all pretty much even covered with the fizzy powder and had a nice crunch to the exterior.  The interior had the usual expected Skittles chew and juicy flavour.  I liked most of the flavours, except the wild cherry and berry punch, nothing cherry flavoured tastes good to me and the berry punch was just... off.

Of the three I enjoyed, raspberry was the best, tangy and sweet and the fizzy coating paired perfectly!  Strawberry and melon berry were a tie after the raspberry, and honestly I did eat the other flavours just to get the fizzy coating.

The Final Verdict: 3 - I really debated whether to bump this up to a 4 because I did really enjoy them, it's just with two flavours I didn't like there's really only 3/5 of the packet I'm going to eat.  But seriously try these, especially if you like fizzoes.

Whittaker's Dark Caramel and Dark Ghana Peppermint

So, it's been a little bit since the last review.  Turns out unexpected and slightly major dental work will drastically reduce one's ability to consume candy, who would have guessed!  It didn't help that for two days my mouth would only open a few centimetres.  But that's behind me now, on to better things.... like rich dark chocolate!

These two blocks were purchased for me by my brother E on a recent visit to New Zealand.  Okay, I'll admit it, I specifically requested he see if he could find them, I've been able to source some of Whittaker's chocolates in Australia but not these two and they were the ones I was most interested in.

But first, a little history!  Whittaker's Chocolate has been produced since 1896 according to their website.  The original founder, James Henry Whittaker sold handmade chocolate and confections from a horse and cart to the locals in Christchurch, by 1913 a base of operations had been created in Wellington and plans to expand across New Zealand had been formed.

During 1931 Woolworths Australia expanded into New Zealand and were selected to carry some of Whittaker's products, on a side note Woolworths and Big W were the two locations I was able to find some in Australia, a very limited range based on what I can see on their website.

Today Whittaker's roast their own cocoa beans for their chocolate and produce chocolate, toffee chews and fruit bars in their range.  The website lists the Peanut Slab as the most popular product, I haven't tried it though my friend Annie had a spasm last time we were in a chocolate store and she saw them.  I'm guessing she likes them.

Gooey caramel filling

However back to the chocolate at hand, I'm a softie for a good bit of dark chocolate.  I'll often pick it over milk, especially when I want a good hit of chocolatey endorphines.  Whittaker's Dark Caramel really delivers on the dark chocolate flavour, it's a sweet smelling bar that actually smells sweeter than it tastes.  Rich cocoa notes and a fruity note come through if you allow it to melt on the tongue.

The caramel filling was intriguing, it's not like any caramel I've tried before.  Light, and syrupy it was a really pleasanty contrast the the strong chocolate flavours, it toned down the coffee notes in the chocolate and was a really nice balance.  Think a strong cheese and and sweet fruit, the create harmony on the palate.  This bar was largely the favourite in my family, only ER wouldn't try them, she doesn't eat dark chocolate.

The Dark Ghana Peppermint was a real treat and the one I was most looking forward to.  It's a single origin chocolate, meaning all the beans are sourced from Ghana, like coffee this creates a particular flavour that is specific to the region due to different growing conditions, plants, soil quality and so on.

I've tasted single origin before and I really can assure you there is a difference. I've heard of single plantation chocolate which I'm dying to try, particularly as cacao plants are notoriously temperamental so making a chocolate bar from a single plantation shows commitment.

Single origin chocolate is not something that I would recommend as everyday eating, it has greater complexities than a regular bar of chocolate and really if you're going single origin the point is to taste the region within the chocolate.  In this case I'd say Ghana tastes smoky with a sharp and surprising berry quality.  Based on the Dark caramel I wasn't expecting anything quite so zinging, it was nice and the peppermint fondat that was smoothly flowing and delicately flavoured cut the fruity notes in the chocolate extremely well.

Flowing pepperminty filling.

Both bars came to me in excellent condition, bear in mind they were purchased in New Zealand, then endured however long in my brother's luggage, a plane trip back to Australia and a trip through customs before arriving in my hands.  Both were shiny and had zero damage, both had a nice snap and good bite to them, which are all things I want in a bar of chocolate.

The Final Verdict: 4 - Whittaker's makes some delicious products, both of these were worth the effort and time.  The Dark Caramel probably won out as the favourite, given the unexpectedly good caramel that was hidden inside.  However the Dark Ghana Peppermint definitely had the better tasting chocolate.  If I could get these in Australia both would be purchased again in a heartbeat.