Planters Salted Caramel Nut Bar – Like PayDay, but Better

At first glance, the Planters Salted Caramel Nut Bar looks like it should be identical to a PayDay.  Like PayDay, it consists of salted peanuts, caramel, and a nougat centre (well, PayDay is technically caramel all the way through, but the “caramel” base is actually quite nougat-like).

Planters Salted Caramel Nut Bar

It tastes quite different, however, thanks to the nougat centre, which is delightfully soft and creamy, with a fluffy consistency and an almost marshmallow-like flavour.  It’s very sweet, but it’s perfectly balanced by the salted caramel and the very generous amount of salty peanuts, which have a nice roasty flavour that adds a lot to the bar.

Planters Salted Caramel Nut Bar

It’s kind of like a cross between a PayDay and the Pecan Log Rolls they sell at Cracker Barrel (which, FYI, are amazing — the next time you find yourself in a Cracker Barrel, buy one.  Trust me, you’ll thank me later).  It’s crunchy and creamy, sweet and salty, and it’s delicious.

3.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Planters Peanuts
Nutritional info (1 bar, 85 grams): 390 calories, 22 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 36 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fibre, 9 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Peanuts, sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, reduced lactose whey (milk), salt, coconut oil, natural and artificial vanilla flavouring, soy lecithin, modified soy protein, invertase, natural antioxidant (canola oil, rosemary extract, natural mixed tocopherols, sunflower oil).

Caramilk vs. Creamy Salted Caramel Dairy Milk

Looking at the wrapper for Creamy Salted Caramel Dairy Milk, I had assumed that it was going to be basically identical to Caramilk. They’re both made by Cadbury, and they both feature caramel surrounded by milk chocolate.  It seemed like a good candidate for a side-by-side review, a new thing I’m trying out for the blog.

As it turns out, the two are very, very different.  A side-by-side comparison is probably somewhat unnecessary.  But hey, I’ve already taken the pictures.  I’ve eaten both bars.  May as well do this.

Caramilk vs. Creamy Salted Caramel Dairy Milk

(That’s Caramilk on the left and Dairy Milk on the right; all unwrapped pictures were shot at the same time, so they’re to scale.)

Caramilk is a classic.  I reviewed Caramilk Thick several years ago, and my thoughts on the bar haven’t changed since then.  The gooey caramel is ridiculously sweet (but satisfying), and the creamy Cadbury milk chocolate is as tasty as ever.  The sweet chocolate and the even sweeter caramel means that it’s a bit of a throat-scorcher, but it’s a solid combo.  It’s a classic for a reason.

Caramilk vs. Creamy Salted Caramel Dairy Milk

I figured that Creamy Salted Caramel Dairy Milk was going to be Caramilk, but with a bit of salt.  I was thoroughly wrong about that; the taste and texture of the caramel could not be more different.  It’s thicker and richer, with a texture that’s more more fudgy than creamy.  It seems like it shouldn’t be as satisfying as the soft caramel in a Caramilk, but it totally works.

And the flavour is so good.  It solves every problem I have with Caramilk, and then some.  It has a super satisfying butterscotch-like flavour; unlike Caramilk’s one-note sweetness, there’s a lot going on here, and it’s delightful.  Its sweetness is surprisingly restrained, and the subtle hit of salt adds a great counterpoint to the caramel and the chocolate.  And of course, the milk chocolate is standard Cadbury.  It compliments the tasty caramel very well.  It all adds up to something I enjoyed way more than I thought I would.

Caramilk
3 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (1 bar, 50 grams): 250 calories, 13 grams of fat (8grams of saturated fat, 0.2 grams of trans fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 55 mg sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 26 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fibre, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, glucose syrup, milk ingredients, modified palm oil, unsweetened chocolate, modified vegetable oil, cocoa butter, salt, calcium chloride, citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavours.

Dairy Milk: Creamy Salted Caramel
4 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (5 pieces, 40 grams): 220 calories, 13 grams of fat (8 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 75 mg sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 21 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fibre, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (milk, sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, whole milk powder, unsweetened chocolate, butter oil, soy lecithin, artificial flavour), salted caramel creme (sugar, modified palm oil, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, cocoa butter, sea salt, soy lecithin, tartrazine, allura red, natural and artificial flavours, brilliant blue FCF).