Monthly Archives: December 2006

Kit Kat White Chocolate

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So the good folks over at Hershey’s have decided to throw a curve ball at us. Gone are the days when chocolate was simple and purely of the “milk??? variety. In today’s modern world, one can find everyday candy bars of all shapes and sizes and what’s more, all varieties of chocolate. Because of their many varieties, Kit Kat is the number two most popular candy bar in the world and number one in the UK. It is sold as both a candy bar and a cookie. Today I am sampling their newest confectionary creation – White Chocolate Kit Kats.

It still has the same well known (and most importantly) well loved, Kit Kat flavor, crunch and munch appeal, but this time, they’ve drenched the familiar wafers in luscious white chocolate. Four sweet and crispy wafers have been layered with a sugary white chocolate substance and the whole thing is encased in creamy, dreamy white chocolate. These Kit Kats have a certain appeal to them. They are just as delicious as their predecessors, but the white chocolate adds a smooth, sophisticated taste to the whole affair. They are the perfect candy for any time of the day – but especially when you want to treat yourself. The textures in this candy are superb. Crispy, crunchy, creamy, and slightly coarse sugary. The bar smells delicious – white chocolate is truly a pleasing fragrance – very reminiscent of vanilla beans. This is a very pleasing candy – it is filling without being overpowering but it definitely leaves you wanting more. It’s a good thing that Kit Kats come four bars to a pack!

Starburst

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Starbursts first exploded onto the candy scene in 1976. Then, the square/tube package featured lemon, lime, strawberry, orange and lemon, while today’s package features lemon, cherry, orange and strawberry. Starbursts have real fruit flavor and a healthy dose of vitamin C in each tasty little square, something that few other fruit chews can boast – this and the fact that they are so delicious help attribute to the fact that they are America’s top selling fruit chew!

I love Starbursts. When I was young, my Grandmother kept them around for me and my 500 cousins. We loved them, but we especially loved what she did with the wrappers. We’d tear into our candies, lickety split and hand the wrappers over to her. Once she was done making a few twists and turns with her fingers she handed back mini captains hats to us. We’d put them on our fingertips and draw faces on the pads of our fingers. Instant finger puppets! I will never forget that. Starbursts are fruity, juicy little candies that make my mouth water long after I’ve eaten them. Strawberry and cherry are my favorite flavors, although lemon and orange are pretty tasty, too. They each have a sweet, pleasant flavor with just a hint of tartness – almost like you would have if you were eating the actual fruit. Starbursts are chewy, but not rough on your teeth. You’ll definitely need a good brushing after eating them, but it’s so worth it!
 

Hershey’s Symphony

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A hush falls over the crowd. The conductor takes his place at the podium. He raises his arms and a cacophony of sound fills the air. We hear horns, violins and cymbals. Drums and cellos, oboes and chimes. All are singing a sweet, sweet melody and are in perfect tune. All is right in the world. Ok, so I am not at the Symphony, but I am eating a Symphony candy bar. And it tastes like a whole orchestra of goodness in my mouth.

The good folks at Hershey’s really know what they are doing. They know chocolate and sometimes, they like to show off. Like with this delectable candy bar. They have a long history of offering products that let us candy lovers enjoy the many faceted and multi-dimensional tastes of chocolate. I think that they were inspired by this rationale when they created the Symphony bar. It was first brought to the market in 1989 and has been providing us with this smooth, rich creamy indulgence ever since. The Symphony bar has a truly unique flavor. The creamy milk chocolate taste seems to melt in your mouth and every bite has you closing your eyes and smiling, anticipating and wanting more. It is a thick bar, but not too thick that you tire of the candy before you finish it. It is the perfect blend of milk, cocoa butter and sugar. It is so superb that you might think you are eating a fine European chocolate. In fact, you might be able to fool someone with a blind taste test. Let’s put it this way candy kids, if you are a choco-holic, you are going to LOVE this bar!

Oh Henry

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Oh Henry candy bars have been around since 1920. The candy bar was invented by Tom Henry and was said to have gotten its name from another fellow at the candy company named Henry. As legend goes, the young man was quite the flirt and forever had the women at the company saying, “Oh Henry!??? Whether or not this is true, it’s a cute story for a great candy bar.

I have not had an Oh Henry bar in years. To be honest, I did not think they even made them anymore. But with one bit, it’s easy to see why they have stood the test of time. For one, it is a very thick and heavy candy bar. You are definitely getting your monies worth with this lil’ number. A thick layer of chewy caramel is at the bottom of the totem pole, on top of that, sweet, fluffy nougat, still to come, fresh roasted peanuts and then the whole thing is enrobed in rich, fudgy milk chocolate. It is kind of like a heartier Snickers bar and the bar is split into two pieces which makes it great for sharing. This is a great candy bar. Hands down, one of the best I have sampled in while. The many different textures and tastes make this bar a winner with me and apparently with most of America since it has been around for so long. Yet another nostalgic candy that will be around for years to come.

Nik-L-Nip Sour

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Please keep in mind that there are other reviewers who strongly disagree with this review. They will post their own reviews in the future on this candy which they believe to be incredibile.

Now I have seen people chew on some strange things in my day, tobacco, cigars, and even peanut shells. But I have never had the urge to put a hunk of wax into my mouth and chew and chew and chew until I could chew no more. But for some reason that I cannot possibly fathom, somebody has decided to combine ordinary wax and a sorry excuse for fruit flavoring in an attempt to strike it rich in the candy business. Are you kidding me? This has got to be one of the sorriest excuses for candy on the market today! And yet this ridiculous creation has somehow managed to find it’s way into my bag of candy for review so you, the reader, may not have to suffer as I have. Woe is me!!! Whoever thought that chewing on artificially flavored wax sounded like a good idea should be pelted mercilessly with there own strange excuse for candy until they beg for forgiveness. Then they should be pelted some more.

My first real gripe is that these “fruit flavors??? are completely artificial! I had a hard time distinguishing what horrible flavor I was forcing into my mouth, and against my better judgment I would sample the next excuse for a flavor with my tongue screaming in agony after each bite. Again I freely punish my taste buds so that you the reader can make an informed decision before suffering the same fate as I. After biting into this wax “treat??? and I use this term loosely, your mouth is greeted with what tastes like an old melted otter pop. I guess this is the sad attempt to give you a reason to continue chewing on……..wax. Another claim on the packaging is that these little bottle shaped pieces of wax are “really sour??? when in reality these wax bombshells are mildly sour at best. What a waste!! Think of all the perfectly useful candles that were not made in order to create another batch of these waxy abominations!! I don’t know, perhaps I’m being too harsh in judgment here. But I could think of about a million other things I would rather be chewing on then some wax. Hey- anybody want to share an artificially flavored piece of wax with me? I didn’t think so.

Riesen

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You don’t need a reason to take a time out during the day to enjoy the chocolate and toffee goodness that is a Riesen. These delicious pieces of evil arrive in a dark seductive and sultry wrapping, which immediately indicates that the contents are wicked, and indeed they are. From what I hear these little toffees can be rather expensive in the stores, but for me the indulgence would be worth it since I do believe they are one of the best toffees around. On opening the wrapper you can smell the darkness, the bitterness and the immaculateness of these small but perfect toffees. They are roughly one-inch square and a little more than 1/2 inch high with a glistening darkness that invites you to partake of this wonderful treat. The toffee itself is initially quite hard and protected by a thin but enticing layer of dark chocolate. Once the chew is initiated the toffee becomes much softer and the true taste seeps slowly out and jiggles your taste buds into immediate action.

The stimulation here is somewhat strange since the taste buds are usually still coated by the chocolate that for some reason takes longer to melt. The toffee is smooth and quite creamy and when intermingled with the dark mysterious covering becomes an absolute joy. Each toffee is wrapped in a deceivingly simple brown wrapper masking what is one of the most fantastic chocolate toffees out there on the market today. Be careful though, once you eat a Riesen all other candy may cease to exist to you and seem bland, tasteless and unappealing. If I had my way I would gather several dozen Reisen together to create a mutant super Reisen and horde it away from others where I could be alone with it, and tenderly stroke it to show how much I cared for it. My preciooouussssssss………..

Gold Mine Nugget Bubble Gum

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There’s gold in them there hills boys. Espeez Gold mine bubble gum that is.  This uniquely packaged bubble gum was a real big hit back in the 70’s and for those of us that enjoy the nostalgia of retro candies and bubble gum, this is a very special treat. This particular gum comes in what appears to be a miniature burlap sack, but when opened you find dozens of little golden nuggets of bubble gum fun. It makes me almost wish I were a gold miner in the early 1800’s. Dirty, unshaven, with sore butt cheeks from riding a mule up a hill for nine hours straight. But it will be worth it when I reach the small flowing brook that is rumored to have huge flakes of gold just waiting for those diligent souls that spend weeks on end sifting through the river bed. I find myself clinging to nothing but the frail hope that maybe, just maybe all those years of hardship on my step-fathers farm may finally be over and my dreams will finally materialize in the form of beautiful golden nugget. I haven’t bathed in weeks and I have been forced to live off of roasted squirrels and wild berries, but soon very soon all of the hardship, braving the wild, and finally having to eat my friendly mule that helped me up the mountain…….it will all be worth it.

It didn’t always have a happy ending for most of those poor souls that risked everything they had for a chance at early retirement. But fortunately you are able to have your own bag of golden nuggets at a fraction of what it cost those early pioneers. Not to mention there is very little chance of freezing to death in a snowstorm or getting eaten alive by a pack of ravenous wolves.  The gum itself is rather tasty, the only way I can describe the flavor is well, tooty-fruity. The only real problem I had was that it was so gooey after a couple minutes of chewing on it that it started to stick to my fillings. Which If I do say so myself was a rather unpleasant experience. I would take eating barbecued squirrel any day over gum that sticks to my fillings.

 

 

Candy Cigarettes

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So your ten years old and see pops puffing away on his cigarette. You want to be just like him. You want to be the James Dean of the block, and want to look like him in every way. So you throw on your denim wash jacket and open a pack of your candy cigarettes and think you’re the talk of the town. You look so cool with that thing hanging out of your mouth, and you are puffing like it’s the real thing. Then all of a sudden your mom walks in and catches you. Busted. Not only are you reamed for smoking candy cigarettes, but are grounded for trying to impersonate dad. And then you get it from dad for getting him in trouble for sneaking a smoke when he told mom he quite. Ah the good old days.

Though they look just like the real thing, they taste a little chalkier than I remember. I used to munch away on the gum ones, and as bad as this sounds, could finish a pack a day. I somewhat remember I had some sort of satisfaction when I was done, but these have a hard candy substance that almost makes you want to smoke real cigarettes to get that taste out of your mouth. Though they were probably the reason I became a smoker in the first place nothing can replace the memory of me, puffing away like it was the real thing, next to dad, who unbeknown to me was about to be in the same trouble I was. And though they could have a little more flavor, it is  probably best they don’t. That way kids wont get the bright idea to start smoking at a younger age. So in short, good move by making them the chalky unsatisfying taste you have when you ???light??? one up.

Uno Bars

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Well let me see, where should I begin with this piece of candy. I do know that Uno’s have been around since the early 1920’s which would lead me to believe that there are people that enjoy the taste of these strange chocolate on chocolate flavored candy bars. Maybe it’s just me but I really didn’t dig the taste of this particular candy bar. Each bar has a smooth, truffle-like chocolate center mixed with crushed almonds and smothered in milk chocolate. Sounds like it should be tasty right? I know it may seem hard to believe but it almost appeared to me that there was just too much darn chocolate involved. In a world filled with amazing candy combinations, I would have thrown in some caramel or peanuts, maybe even some form of crispy wafer cookie. But sadly, this is not my decision to make. And obviously the makers of the Uno candy bar have been making it the same way that they have for nearly ninety years. I’m sure it appeals to some, but most of the people that ate these things originally have most likely passed on to a better place. Either that or they probably have no teeth left to enjoy this average tasting candy.

In a world full of extraordinary flavors and combinations, UNO bars are really just an average candy bar would not even show up on the yummy radar if it was the size of a small freighter. In retrospect, I bet it would have tasted better if I had put it in the freezer for a while before sampling it. No, no it definitely would not have tasted any different. Don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate as much as any middle aged slightly obese American does. But I just didn’t think it had that special something that so many of the other competitors have. Even the packaging it comes in is dull. The brown wrapper and white letters just would not catch my eye in a convenience store full of razzle-dazzle candy wrappers. I guess the only good thing I can say about it is that I only had to eat one.

Heath Bar

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The Heath bar has been around since the early 1920’s, but really started to grow in popularity nationally during the Great Depression, mostly due to its size and price. It was one of the few five cent candy bars that were larger than most. Made by hand until 1942, the candy was produced on a major commercial scale for good after the US Army placed its first order of $175,000 worth of the bars. The Heath bar had been found to have a very long shelf life, and the Army included it in soldiers’ rations throughout World War II. Its popularity grew after the war, although the manufacturing process remained largely a hands-on, family-run operation. All four of L.S. Heath’s sons, his two daughters, and several grandchildren were involved in the business.Heath bars are essentially a brick of nutty toffee covered in milk chocolate. They are really yummy and the textures of both the smooth chocolate and cripsy toffee really compliment one another. The toffee is buttery and nutty – I think that there may be ground almonds in it. The chocolate is rich and creamy and melts in your mouth. This bar is very similar to the Skor bar which is also toffee and chocolate although the toffee does not contain the chopped nuts. Toffee is very popular in Europe and did not catch on as much in the States until the candy companies covered the toffee in chocolate. Evidently, we Americans are crazy for chocolate. I guess some things never change!