puffed rice Archives - Candyrageous

March 24, 2021March 28, 2021 Michael

Mr. Big – Boring, but Tasty

Candy Bars

Mr. Big is one of those old, reliable candy bars that isn’t particularly exciting, but gets the job done. I was under the impression that it was a Canadian-only thing, but apparently it was released in the States in 1995.

Featuring a wafer surrounded by caramel, puffed rice, peanuts, and chocolate, this was a favourite of mine as a kid — mostly because, as the name implies, it’s bigger than average, and I was a fat kid.

It’s still good. The chewy caramel contrasts nicely with the crispy wafer and puffed rice. I guess there are peanuts as well, but they’re stingily applied and don’t make much of an impact.

The chocolate is probably the weakest link — I’m not even sure if it’s real chocolate (the ingredients lists three types of oil, though unsweetened chocolate is there as well), but whatever it is, it’s not the best. There’s enough going on here that doesn’t make a huge difference, but it’s a bummer regardless.

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (1 bar, 60 grams): 290 calories, 14 grams of fat (8 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 100 mg of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 33 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, glucose syrup, modified palm oil, modified milk ingredients, rice, modified vegetable oil, wheat flour (with barley), peanuts, cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, corn starch, salt, hydrogenated palm oil, malt extract, soy lecithin, baking soda, citric acid, natural and artificial flavour.

December 9, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

M&M’s Milk Chocolate Bar with Minis & Crisp Rice – Needs More Crispiness

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Why does the M&M on the packaging of this bar look so worried? Is it because he knows he’s about to be entombed in milk chocolate and then eaten? I’ve always found it odd that anthropomorphized M&M’s are the face of the candy. Why would an M&M want you to eat M&M’s?? Are those not his brothers and sisters? At least the look of terror on the M&M on the wrapper is honest about what the experience of being an M&M must be like.

But I digress. Outside of the ethical implications of eating a sentient being who has the capacity to feel fear for his own mortality, this was fine, I guess?

The bar consists of mini M&M’s and crispy puffed rice surrounded by milk chocolate. It’s not bad, but it’s not something I’m particularly keen to rush out and buy again.

The milk chocolate is typical M&M’s chocolate — it’s a bit too sweet and it’s not exactly the best chocolate you’ll ever eat, but mostly, it’s creamy and tasty. It’s chocolate. It’s fine.

The biggest issue is that there aren’t nearly enough M&M’s and puffed rice to bring the bar all that much crispiness. It’s neither here nor there; the level of crispiness is too mild to be satisfying. It makes the bar feel pointless. I’d much rather eat something way crispier, or not crispy at all. This particular bar teases crispiness but doesn’t deliver. It’s frustrating.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1/3 bar, 36 grams): 190 calories, 11 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 30 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, lactose, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, artificial flavour), M&M’s Minis Milk Chocolate candies (milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, lactose, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavour, flavour), sugar, colour (with tartrazine), corn syrup, tapioca dextrin, cornstarch, carnauba wax, modified coconut oil and/or modified palm oil (medium chain triglycerides), crisp rice (rice flour, rice bran, raisin juice concentrate, honey, salt).

September 23, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Dairy Milk Crispy Rice – A Better Version of a Crunch Bar

Chocolate

I recently wrote about my disappointment with the current version of the Crunch bar, which was bought by Ferrero, reformulated, and made thoroughly mediocre.

Crunch used to be one of my favourites, so this kinda bummed me out.

Well, here comes Cadbury to the rescue — Dairy Milk Crispy Rice is basically a Crunch bar, but without the crushing disappointment.

There’s not much to it; it’s just crispy puffed rice and milk chocolate. And of course, if you’ve ever had Cadbury milk chocolate, then you know exactly what to expect here. It’s distinctive and tasty, and aside from the rice, that’s the entirety of this bar.

The puffed rice is nice and crispy, though I wish there were a bit more of it. The ratio of chocolate to rice is higher here than in a Crunch bar, but that’s a fairly minor complaint. The contrast between the creamy chocolate and the crispy rice is absolutely delightful.

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (10 squares, 38 grams): 200 calories, 11 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 50 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavour), rice crisps (rice, sugar, salt, malted barley extract, monoglycerides).

July 15, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Crunch – New and Not-So-Improved

Candy Bars, Chocolate

You may not realize this, but you couldn’t buy Crunch for a little while; in 2018, Nestle sold Crunch to Ferrero, who pulled it off the shelves so that they could “reformulate” it.

Well, it’s back, and either I’m remembering Crunch being better than it was, or it’s gone down in quality. Which is weird; you’d think the jump from Nestle to Ferrero (the makers of Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, and many other delicious things) would be a clear upgrade. Alas.

Still, it’s not bad. It’s also not “good” per se; the chocolate is fairly bottom-of-the-barrel, with a generic sweetness and not a whole lot going on in the flavour department, and even the crispy rice is a bit more anemic than you’d expect (it’s mildly crispy, but the texture isn’t quite there).

Also, this is purely psychological, but I miss the old design of the bar, with the big embossed “Crunch” lettering. The new segmented bar is boring in comparison.

And yet… I mostly enjoyed it. The chocolate has a nice creaminess, and while the rice doesn’t bring the assertive crunch you’re looking for in a bar called Crunch, it still has enough of that creamy/crispy contrast to be satisfying. If I didn’t have nostalgia for the old Crunch bar my opinion on this would probably be a bit lower, but I do, so here we are. I didn’t particularly like it at first, but it (mostly) grew on me.

Manufactured by: Ferrero
Nutritional info (1 bar, 43.9 grams): 230 calories, 12 grams of fat (8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 60 mg of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 24 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, milkfat, lactose, soy lecithin, natural flavour), crisped rice (rice flour, sugar, barley malt, salt).

July 12, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Wunderbar – Chewy, Crunchy, Crispy, Peanut Buttery, and Delicious

Candy Bars

Wunderbar is a classic — known as Starbar in the UK, it’s been around since the ’70s, but has apparently never been sold in the States. This is clearly America’s loss. It’s so good.

If you’re an American and have never been blessed with the deliciousness of the Wunderbar, it features crunchy peanut butter mixed with puffed rice that’s surrounded by chewy caramel and milk chocolate.

I haven’t had one in years, but it’s just as delightful as I remembered it being. It’s got everything you want in a candy bar: it’s chewy, it’s crunchy, it’s crispy, and the sweetness is perfectly tuned — it’s delicious.

The puffed rice is a stroke of genius; it gives the bar a memorable crispiness that sets it apart from something like a Reese Peanut Butter Cup. Between that, the very chewy caramel, and the crunchy chunks of peanuts, you’ve got a bar with a really satisfying contrast of textures.

The layer of decent quality chocolate on the outside is substantial enough to add a decent hit of flavour which — of course — works nicely with the peanut butter. I mean, why wouldn’t it? Peanut butter and chocolate are best friends. The rich caramel only adds more flavour, and the bar has a very mild saltiness that rounds things out.

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (58 g bar): 290 calories, 17 g of fat (8 g of saturated fat, 0.1 g of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 105 mg of sodium, 32 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of fibre, 26 g of sugar, 4 g of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, glucose syrup peanuts. modified palm oil, modified milk ingredients, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, modified vegetable oil, rice, cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, salt, malt extract (barley wheat), soy lecithin, baking soda, calcium chloride, monoglycerides, natural and artificial flavor.