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.