candy Archives - Page 23 of 31

December 29, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Zagnut – Like a Butterfinger, but Better

Candy Bars

Zagnut surprised me. It’s one of those “classic” bars, and it’s always struck me as being somewhat ho-hum. That, combined with its limited availability (it’s not sold at all in Canada, at least outside of specialty stores), has led this to being one of the few major candy bars that I’ve never actually tried.

The bulk of Zagnut consists of crispy, crunchy peanut butter which is fairly similar (if not identical) to the stuff found within a 5^th Avenue or a Butterfinger. Both 5^th Avenue and Zagnut are made by Hershey, so it’s possible that both bars have the same base. Where Zagnut differs from the two other bars is its coating: Zagnut is covered in a layer of toasted coconut, as opposed to the chocolate (or mockolate, to be more accurate) found on 5^th Avenue and Butterfinger.

It’s surprisingly good. The toasted coconut gives Zagnut a pleasant coconutty taste, and proves to be a much better accompaniment to the crunchy peanut butter than mockolate (or even real chocolate). In fact I’m kind of surprised that Zagnut isn’t more popular than it is, as the toasted coconut works perfectly, and definitely makes this superior to both 5^th Avenue and Butterfinger. I guess the fact that it isn’t covered in chocolate probably works against it, as does the general ho-humness of the name and the packaging. Regardless, it is delicious, and definitely something I’ll be buying more often, at least when I can find it.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (49 g bar): 230

December 22, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Aero – Uniquely Bubbly Chocolate

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Aero is another British bar that, for whatever reason, is sold pretty much everywhere in the world except for the States. I’m really not sure why; it’s pretty good, and as far as I’m aware, there’s nothing else in the US quite like it. There’s Mirage, but I think that may only be available in Canada.

Aero is just pure milk chocolate. What sets it apart is the unique way it’s made – the inside of the bar is filled with tiny bubbles, which gives Aero its unique texture. This uniqueness helps compensate for milk chocolate which isn’t exactly of the highest quality; it’s decent, but it’s too sweet and not really creamy enough.

I actually prefer the dark chocolate variety (which features dark chocolate on the outside, while the inside – ie. the bubbles – remains milk chocolate) because the dark chocolate helps to balance out the overall sweetness of the bar. But even if the chocolate itself isn’t that great, I still enjoy eating these on occasion, if only for the uniqueness provided by the bubbly consistency of the bar.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Calories (42 g bar): 220

December 19, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Cacao Reserve Premium Dark Chocolate Truffles – Not as Premium as You’d Like

Truffles

Hershey launched Cacao Reserve, its “upscale” line of chocolates, a couple of years ago (you know a chocolate maker is trying a bit too hard to seem fancy when they use the pretentious “cacao” rather than the more common “cocoa”). I guess it’s a been a success for them, because here we are two years later and the brand is still kicking around. That’s somewhat of a surprise to me, as nothing I’ve tried in the Cacao Reserve line has been particularly stellar.

These truffles are quite small – probably about half the size of an average truffle. They have a kind of uneven look, as if they’ve been made by hand, though it’s pretty obvious that they all come from a mold. As for the taste, they’re kind of odd – they have a 65 percent cocoa content (sorry… cacao content) and aren’t very sweet. However, they don’t really have the rich chocolately flavour that you might expect. To call them flavourless might be a bit harsh, but there’s no doubt that they are lacking in the taste department. The texture is also a bit off, as they have a strange, somewhat peanut buttery consistency that seems somewhat out of whack with how you’d expect a truffle to be.

They’re edible, certainly – I wouldn’t recoil in horror if you were to offer me another one, but overall I’d have to give these a marginal thumbs down.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (8 truffles, 51 g): 260

December 17, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Yorkie – A Decent Dairy Milk Knockoff

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Yorkie is the British bar which proudly proclaims that “it’s not for girls!” Based on that slogan, I had sort of figured that Yorkie was going to do something like cram every conceivable candy bar filling into one bar, or something similarly ridiculous. But nope, it’s just plain milk chocolate. I’m really not sure what makes that female-inappropriate, since on the whole women tend to appreciate plain chocolate more than men. Yorkie is slightly bigger (and thus higher in calories) than your average single-serving candy bar, so I guess that could be it? Anyway, it’s highly probable that I’m overthinking what amounts to a silly (and potentially offensive) marketing gimmick.

What about the bar? Well, as I said, it’s just plain milk chocolate. The wrapper describes it as “chunky milk chocolate”, which is something else that puzzles me about this candy – it’s pure chocolate, no chunks. In North America, “chunky” is generally only used to denote something with chunks (at least in the context of candy), but I guess that’s different over there in the UK. But again, I digress.

So how’s the chocolate? It’s not bad, actually. It kind of reminds me of a slightly inferior version of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. It’s sweet and creamy, with a similar taste and consistency to Cadbury’s product. I don’t think it’s quite as good, though if I had tried this without knowing what it was, I certainly could have been fooled into thinking it was Dairy Milk.

Manufactued by: Nestle
Calories (68 g bar): 367

December 15, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Heath – Classic Toffee Deliciousness

Candy Bars

Heath may not be the most exciting bar in the store, but with its memorable combination of crunchy toffee and creamy milk chocolate, it’s definitely a classic.

Heath pretty much defines simplicity: it’s just a flat piece of crunchy toffee coated in chocolate. That’s it. Simple, but good. The toffee is crunchy and somewhat crumbly, with a rich, almost burnt-sugary taste. It has a buttery flavour, with a mild saltiness that helps to offset the overall sweetness of the chocolate and the toffee. The chocolate is decent, and unlike some other Hershey products, it’s still real milk chocolate.

I’m really not sure what else to say about Heath, a bar that’s been around for just about eighty years. Uh… it’s good in ice cream?

Okay, I think I’ll cut this one short.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (39 g bar): 210