marshmallow Archives - Candyrageous

August 31, 2021 Michael

Walnut Whip – Chocolatey, Gooey, and Tasty

Candy Bars

I wasn’t even sure what to expect from Walnut Whip, a British candy that I hadn’t heard of until I ordered it for this blog. It looks more like an oversized selection from a box of chocolates than like a traditional candy bar, but it’s basically like a Valomilk or a Mallo Cup in a different shape.

It’s pretty simple — it features what the packaging calls a “fondant centre” surrounded by a thick layer of milk chocolate and topped with a walnut.

The fondant is creamy and marshmallow-like (it’s extremely similar to Marshmallow Fluff, though without the vanilla flavour, which I missed), and the milk chocolate is very British; Walnut Whip is a Nestle product, but the chocolate tastes like it’s trying hard to be Dairy Milk.

The walnut, oddly enough, is a bit superfluous; it adds some crunch, but is otherwise lost among the sweet chocolate and even sweeter filling. Still, the whole thing is tasty enough — it’s probably better than Mallo Cup, but not quite as good as Valomilk.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Nutritional info (1 whip, 30 grams): 148 calories, 7.2 grams of fat (4.2 grams of saturated fat, unknown grams of trans fat), unknown mg of cholesterol, 50 mg of sodium, 19.9 grams of carbohydrates, 0.4 grams of fibre, 18.1 grams of sugar, 1.4 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, dried whole milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, lactose and proteins from whey (from milk), whey powder (from milk), vegetable fats (palm, shea, sal, mango kernel), skimmed milk powder, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin)), sugar, walnuts (6%), glucose syrup, glucose-fructose syrup, dried egg white, humectant (glycerol), flavouring, tartaric acid.

February 17, 2021February 20, 2021 Michael

Huckleberry Gems – Like Viva Puffs without the Cookie

Marshmallow Treats

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

December 24, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Reese’s Mallow-Top Peanut Butter Cups – A Tasty Combo

Candy Bars

Marshmallow and peanut butter is an odd combination. I can’t think of another candy in which those two flavours are combined, and the very idea of it is vaguely funky. Mostly, however, I think the combo is off-putting on a textural level rather than a flavour level.

The people at Hershey seem to agree with me, because the “mallow-top” here is entirely about flavour rather than texture. The packaging uses the term “marshmallow flavored creme,” which makes me think of stuff like Mallo Cups and Valomilk. But it’s basically marshmallow-flavoured white chocolate (it’s technically mockolate, hence “creme” instead of “white chocolate”).

It’s a lot better than I thought it would be. The “creme” has a decent amount of sweet marshmallow flavour, which works surprisingly well with the creamy peanut butter. There’s also the milk chocolate, which obviously complements the marshmallow and the PB quite nicely. And the mild saltiness of the peanut butter does a great job of rounding out the sweetness of the chocolate and the creme.

It’s everything you want an offshoot of a candy to be; it’s tasty in all the same ways that the original is tasty, but with something new to mix it up. It’s great.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (2 cups, 34 grams): 180 calories, 10 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 115 mg of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 16 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Peanuts, milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, milk fat, lactose, lecithin (soy), PGPR), sugar, vegetable oil (palm oil, shea oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel oil, and/or safflower oil), dextrose, skim milk, corn syrup solids, contains 2% or less of: lactose (milk), salt, natural flavor and artificial flavor, lecithin (soy), PGPR, TBHQ and citric acid to maintain freshness.

November 29, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Rocky Road — It’s Better than the Ice Cream

Candy Bars

Rocky road ice cream is fine. It’s generally not the first (or second, or third) flavour I’ll go for in an ice cream shop, but it’s there, and it’s tasty enough. I like it, but I definitely don’t love it.

But what about the candy bar? Annabelle’s Rocky Road is one of those hard-to-find old-timey candy bars that’s been around for decades despite the fact that there’s a decent chance that you haven’t heard of it. I know hadn’t before buying it for this blog.

There’s not much to it — it’s just marshmallow coated in a layer of cashew-studded milk chocolate. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

Sometimes the marshmallow in a candy like this can be overly chewy and spongy, but the stuff here strikes a delightful balance between chewiness and creaminess. And the generous layer of milk chocolate is clearly above average, with a really satisfying flavour that compliments the marshmallow quite well.

As for the the cashews, they add a nice nuttiness without being too crunchy or assertive; the creamy chocolate and chewy marshmallow are clearly the stars of the show. The nuts are there in the background, but they let the marshmallow and chocolate shine.

Manufactured by: Annabelle
Nutritional info (1 bar, 46 grams): 220 calories, 10 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 30 mg of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate, sugar, corn syrup, cashew nuts, palm kernel oil and coconut oil, cocoa powder, whey powder nonfat milk powder, soy lecithin as an emulsifier, vanillin (an artificial flavor), sorbitol, gelatin, glycerine, salt, artificial flavor [Milk chocolate contains: sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, milk powder, soy lecithin (as an emulsifier), natural vanilla and artificial flavors]