candy Archives - Page 8 of 31

January 31, 2021 Michael

Duplo – Like a Hazelnutty Kit Kat

Candy Bars

Confusingly, Ferrero actually makes two different European candy bars called Duplo; one features three segments, each with a whole hazelnut surrounded by chocolate cream, and the other is a Kit-Kat-esque wafer bar infused with hazelnut. This particular one is the wafer variety, and it’s made in Poland, with nothing but Polish on the wrapper.

It’s quite good. It has so much resemblance to a Kit Kat that it would be hard for it not to be tasty. The wafer is nice and crispy, the chocolate is creamy, and the pronounced hazelnut flavour compliments it perfectly.

I wish the quality of the chocolate were better (it’s a bit one-note sweet), and the crispiness of the wafer could be more pronounced. But mostly, this is an above average chocolate bar that really capitalizes on the inherent tastiness of the hazelnut/chocolate combo.

Manufactured by: Ferrero
Nutritional info (100 grams): 555 calories, 33.5 grams of fat (19.1 grams of saturated fat, unknown grams of trans fat), unknown mg of cholesterol, 191 mg of sodium, 56.09 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 50.49 grams of sugar, 6.19 grams of protein.
Ingredients (Google translated from Polish): Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, full-milk powder, cocoa butter, emulsifier: lecithin (soya), vanillin), sugar, palm oil, shea vegetable oil, wheat flour, hazelnut, wheat powder, cocoa powder with reduced fat content, emulsifier: lecithin (soya), wheat starch, salt, raising agents (ammonium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate), vanillin.

January 24, 2021January 30, 2021 Michael

Bounty – Delicious Coconut and Chocolate

Candy Bars

I’m really not sure how I’ve managed to get to over a hundred reviews on this blog without doing Bounty, which has always been one of my favourites. In fact, I think it might have been my absolute favourite candy bar when I was a kid, which means that in a lot of ways, my warm fuzzy feelings for Bounty are tied up in childhood nostalgia. So take everything I say about it with a grain of salt.

It’s really good, though.

It’s just coconut and milk chocolate, but as far as these types of candy bars go (I think Almond Joy and Mounds are the other big ones), Bounty is where it’s at. The coconut is very sweet but not overwhelming, with a nice coconut flavour. It’s fairly dense, and moist enough that you’re not going to be chewing on dried up coconut bits long after the flavour has gone.

The generous layer of decent quality milk chocolate compliments the coconut perfectly. The fat kid version of me bought these on a fairly regular basis, and eating it again now, I can definitely see why.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (2 pieces, 57 grams): 270 calories, 13 grams of fat (10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 55 mg of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fibre, 28 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, modified milk ingredients, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, lactose, soy lecithin, artificial flavour), coconut, sugar, glucose syrup, glycerol monostearate, glycerol, salt, artificial flavour, sulphites.

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 Michael

Aero Peppermint – It’s Aero, but Minty

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Sometimes these candy reviews basically write themselves, and sometimes… they do not. This one definitely falls into the latter category.

I mean, it’s right there in the name. It’s minty Aero. It tastes exactly how you think it’s going to taste. It’s Aero that’s minty. The end.

Oh, that’s not enough? Fine, a bit more. Here’s the thing: it’s Aero… that’s minty. What? Did I say that already? Fine.

The chocolate is nice and creamy, the bubbles give it that interesting texture that Aero fans know and love, and the whole thing is very, very sweet. But the strong minty flavour (this is absolutely not a subtle bar) makes the sweetness feel right. It’s tasty stuff.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Nutritional info (9 segments, 40 grams): 210 calories, 12 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 35 mg of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fibre, 24 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, modified milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, natural flavour, sodium copper chlorophyllin, turmeric.

January 17, 2021 Michael

Milky Bar – Average White Chocolate

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Here’s something odd: the wrapper of the Milky Bar I ate for this review contains two separate lists of ingredients. One of them is on the wrapper itself, and one is on a sticker, presumably put there by the company that imported the British bar into Canada.

The lists are surprisingly different. Most pressingly, the sticker version lists sugar as the first ingredient, directly contradicting the wrapper’s proclamation that “milk is our no. 1 ingredient.” Is milk the number one ingredient or not? Who am I supposed to believe??

Anyway, it’s plain white chocolate, so there’s not much to it. I should note that the sticker on the front of the wrapper is keen to point out that’s it’s actually a “white chocolaty candy bar” rather than a white chocolate candy bar, presumably due to the inclusion of vegetable fat supplementing the cocoa butter.

It’s tasty enough. I guess it’s not technically real white chocolate, but it’s fairly creamy. True to its name, it has a pronounced milky flavour. It’s not the best white chocolate you’ll ever eat, but it’ll do in a pinch.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Nutritional info (1 bar, 25 grams): 140 calories, 8 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 40 mg of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fibre, 14 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients (from the wrapper, not the sticker): Milk powders (whole and skimmed) (37.5%), sugar, cocoa butter, vegetable fats (mango kernel, palm, sal, shea), emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), natural flavouring.

January 13, 2021 Michael

Charleston Chew – Listen to the Packaging and Try it Frozen

Candy Bars

Charleston Chew is one of those old-timey candy bars that’s been around for decades and decades. Which is obvious just by looking at it — it’s named after the Charleston, the dance that was popular in the 1920s. It’s got some history.

It’s an abundantly simple bar. It’s just vanilla-flavoured nougat (it’s also available in chocolate or strawberry) with a chocolatey coating.

Yes, the chocolate is fake, but in this case it doesn’t really matter — the nougat is chewy enough to completely overwhelm the texture of the mockolate.

“Chew” is right there in the name, so it shouldn’t come as any particular surprise that it’s intensely chewy. The nougat here is quite different from the stuff you’ll find in something like a Mars Bar — it’s way, way more dense.

It’s vaguely marshmallow-esque, both in its flavour and texture, with a springier, more marshmallow-like consistency than traditional nougat. But it’s a lot chewier than any marshmallow I’ve ever had. It’s closer to the level of chew you’ll find in a Tootsie Roll, which isn’t surprising considering that this is made by the same company.

The packaging says to try it frozen, which I did. I mean, what am I supposed to do, not take advice from a candy bar wrapper?? I’m generally not crazy about freezing candy bars, so I was highly skeptical about this.

It was way better than I thought it would be; the freezing process completely changes the texture of the bar. I had feared it was going to be inedibly chewy, but instead the frozen bar takes on an appealing crunchiness (that eventually gives way to chewiness) that kind of reminded me of a Crunchie bar. I can admit when I’m wrong: this is clearly the superior way to eat a Charleston Chew.

Manufactured by: Tootsie Roll Industries
Nutritional info (1 bar, 53 grams): 230 calories, 6 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 20 mg of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 31 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein.
Ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, palm kernel and palm oil, nonfat dry milk, cocoa, lactose, milk protein concentrate, egg albumen, artificial flavor, soy lecithin, soy protein, salt, sodium citrate.