marshmallow Archives - Page 2 of 3

October 7, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Mallo Cup – Overly Sweet Marshmallow Cups

Candy Bars

It’s been several years since I’ve had a Mallo Cup; my memory is that it’s basically an inferior version of Valomilk. But then Valomilk isn’t exactly easy to find. I’ve only ever seen it in the Cracker Barrel gift shop, which makes it pretty much impossible to buy at the moment. Popping down to the States for a day trip probably isn’t going to be in the cards for quite a while.

Well, Mallo Cup, it turns out, is exactly as I remembered. It’s fine? I guess? But Valomilk is the superior candy in literally every regard, and they’re so similar that it’s impossible not to compare them.

It’s a pretty simple concept; it’s a chocolate cup filled with marshmallow creme (which the packaging calls “whipped creme”). Mallo Cup distinguishes itself from Valomilk by including coconut flakes in the chocolate, but they’re otherwise identical.

The coconut is actually a nice touch; it adds a very subtle crispy texture and a hint of coconut flavour. The cups are a bit bland aside from intense sweetness, so I actually wish there were a bit more coconut. But it’s fine.

That’s the thing, there’s nothing overtly wrong with it — the gooey creme and the creamy chocolate make for a satisfying combo. But the flavour is one-note sweet; neither the chocolate nor the creme have all that much flavour other than an overriding sugariness. It’s decent enough, but since Valomilk is a thing that exists in the world, it’s kinda superfluous.

Manufactured by: Boyer
Nutritional info (2 cups, 42 grams): 200 calories, 8 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg cholesterol, 40 mg sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 24 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fibre, 1 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk, chocolate liquor, and soy lecithin), corn syrup, sugar, water, coconut, dextrin, egg white, salt, guar gum, natural and artificial flavor, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness) and soy lecithin.

August 26, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Old Faithful – Chewy Marshmallow and Crunchy Peanuts

Nut Clusters

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.

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.

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.

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.

January 12, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Goo Goo Cluster – A Classic for a Reason

Marshmallow Treats, Nut Clusters

I’ve already reviewed the Cinnabon Cinnamon Caramel Pecan Cluster, which is made by the Standard Candy Company, the same people who make the Goo Goo Cluster. I kind of liked that one, though it wasn’t really something I’d ever want to eat again. The Goo Goo Cluster is the candy that’s allowed Standard to stick around for so many years (since 1912), so I was definitely curious to try it even if I had some misgivings about their Cinnabon-branded confection.

The Goo Goo Cluster consists of chewy marshmallow, topped with caramel and roasted peanuts and covered in milk chocolate. The marshmallow is quite dense and chewy; it’s sweet, but without the vanilla taste that you expect from marshmallow. I liked it, but if I had eaten this blind I probably would have pegged it as nougat rather than marshmallow. The caramel adds more chewiness and is definitely less sweet than the norm.

As for the peanuts, there are a lot of them, which gives the cluster a satisfying crunch as well as a nutty taste. They’re unsalted, which is good because the Goo Goo Cluster isn’t overly sweet (salted peanuts would have overwhelmed the other tastes of this candy). The whole thing is covered in decent milk chocolate. It’s quite good, and unlike the Cinnabon one, I can definitely see myself buying this again.

Manufactured by: Standard Candy Company
Calories (50 g cluster): 230

November 21, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Hebert’s Fully Loaded Rocky Road Milk Chocolate Bar – A Whole Bunch of Tasty Stuff

Chocolate

Looking at Hebert’s Fully Loaded Rocky Road Milk Chocolate Bar (that just rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it?), it becomes clear pretty quickly that they’re not kidding around with the whole “fully loaded” thing: the entire underside of the bar is completely covered with chunks of walnuts, dark chocolate and marshmallow pieces. My initial impression was that the bar may just be too overloaded, with my fear being that all that stuff would overwhelm the chocolate. Happily, I was wrong.

It probably helps that, despite the thick layer of chunks on the bottom of the bar, the actual bar itself is pure chocolate. The chocolate itself is very creamy, and has a smooth, milky flavour. The marshmallows (which seem to be infused with a dark chocolate flavour) add their own taste, as well as a mild chewiness. As for the nuts, they’re slightly crunchy but otherwise doesn’t bring much to the table.

This Fully Loaded bar is definitely better than I thought it would be. It’s not overly sweet, as you might imagine it would be, and the flavours all compliment each other fairly well.

Manufactured by: Hebert Confections
Calories (78 g bar): 400

November 14, 2008January 10, 2021 Michael

Valomilk – Absolutely Delicious (if you can find a Fresh One)

Marshmallow Treats

I recently took a day trip into the States, and of course, I had to stop by a Cracker Barrel in order to pick up a candy I have a definite love/hate relationship with: Valomilk. Love, because when Valomilk is fresh, it’s delicious and easily among my favourites. Hate, because finding a fresh one is ridiculously hit-and-miss.

Each package of Valomilk contains two chocolate cups – each about the size of a Reese’s Big Cup – filled with a soft, flowing marshmallow centre. The marshmallow in here is very unique; it’s not fluffy at all (or at least it shouldn’t be, assuming it’s not too stale) and is similar in consistency to the caramel inside a Caramilk or Caramello. It has a satisfyingly rich vanilla taste, and combined with the better-than-average milk chocolate, it thoroughly hits the spot.

As you can see from the picture, both cups suffered from a bit of leakage, which seems to be the norm with these (in fact, I think I got lucky with the minimal amount of leaking in these cups – I’ve seen far worse). The only way to ensure that you get a pair of cups without too much damage is to stand there in the store and feel the tops of each package, until you find one that feels smooth.

Of course, this being Valomilk, staleness has reared its ugly head – while I’ve had much worse, these cups were already a bit past their prime. You can’t tell from the picture, but the flowing marshmallow had started to partially solidify in certain areas.

Which leads me to this: I have some advice for the good folks at the Russell Sifers Candy Company: change the packaging. Seriously. Change the packaging. What you’ve got right now, which I can only assume is sealed by hand, is completely inadequate. Maybe it has some kind of old-timey appeal, but I couldn’t care less about that. You need to completely overhaul your packaging to maximize the freshness of the product. When buying your candy is like rolling the dice at a craps table, you know you’ve got trouble.

I have a suggestion: lose the flimsy paper wrapper. It does absolutely nothing to protect the delicate cups, nor does it particularly do much to slow down the product’s disconcertingly fast march towards staleness. Perhaps a small cardboard box would work better; one just big enough for the two cups so they don’t slide around at all. And vacuum pack it. I know this will be more expensive. You’ll have to raise the price. Do it! I’d pay double if I knew that I was almost certainly going to get a fresh product. I don’t buy nearly as many of these as I used to, and it’s only because finding a completely fresh, undamaged one is sort of like finding a four-leaf clover.

Finally, you need to print a “best before” date on the packaging. I know you’ll probably lose some money once the product goes past its date, and people no longer want to buy it, but in the long run I’m sure you will gain sales. People will be much more likely to buy your product if they know it’s going to be (reasonably) fresh. Perhaps I’m wrong, though I suspect otherwise.

This is starting to get a bit long, so let’s just say that I think Valomilk is great, but with a few substantial caveats. I’m going to give it three-and-a-half chips; at its best it easily deserves four, but finding a pristine Valomilk is much harder than it should be.

Manufactured by: Russell Sifers Candy Company
Calories (2 cups, 57 g): 260