Huckleberry Gems – Like Viva Puffs without the Cookie

I learned something today: I had assumed that huckleberry wasn’t an actual thing, like a bumbleberry, but nope, it’s real.  It apparently tastes like a blueberry, and it’s the state fruit of Idaho.  So I suppose there are a bunch of Idahoans currently shaking their head at my disturbing lack of huckleberry knowledge.

Huckleberry Gems

Here’s the other odd thing: Huckleberry Gems, which the wrapper describes as “huckleberry marshmallow creme covered in rich milk chocolate,” contains zero huckleberries or anything even huckleberry-adjacent.  A quick perusal of the ingredients confirms that no fruit was harmed in the making of this product.

Huckleberry Gems

That’s never a great sign, but this turned out to be decent enough.  The marshmallow is creamy and not too rubbery, the chocolate is okay if overly sweet, and despite the odd lack of fruit in the ingredients, it has a pleasantly berry-tinged flavour.  It reminded me of a more chocolatey version of Viva Puffs (which I just discovered is a Canadian thing; sorry Americans, you’re missing out) but without the cookie.

It’s fine, but honestly, if I’m craving something like this, I’d rather just have a Viva Puff.

2.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Idaho Candy Co.
Nutritional info (2 pieces, 34 grams): 140 calories, 4 grams of fat (2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fibre, 1 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, soy lecithin (added as an emulsifier), and vanilla), corn syrup, sugar, invertsweet congealed sugar, sorbitol, gelatin, egg albumen, natural and artificial flavors, invertase (glycerine and aqueous extract of invertase from yeast and sodium citrate), and glycerine.

Old Faithful – Chewy Marshmallow and Crunchy Peanuts

I’ll admit that I hadn’t even heard of Old Faithful before a few weeks ago, but apparently it’s been around since 1925, so clearly it’s doing something right.

Old Faithful

It has a traditional bar shape, but Old Faithful is actually a peanut cluster a la Goo Goo Cluster; it features chewy marshmallow creme, lots of peanuts, and a generous coating of milk chocolate.

It’s pretty simple, but also pretty tasty.  The chewy marshmallow, crunchy peanuts, and creamy chocolate are a winning combo.

Old Faithful

The marshmallow is maybe a bit too chewy (it’s slightly rubbery), it’s extremely sweet (it’s a throat-burner), and there’s something slightly off about the flavour that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I otherwise enjoyed this.  The quality of the chocolate is pretty decent and the big peanut chunks add a ton of flavour.  It’s easy enough to see why it’s been around for almost a hundred years.

3 out of 4

Manufactured by: Idaho Candy Company
Nutritional info (1 bar, 43 grams): 220 calories, 12 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 30 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, soy lecithin (added as an emulsifier), and vanilla), sugar, corn syrup, peanuts, egg albumen, gelatin, salt, and vanilla.