Might Eat Again
If I was desperate.
The last variety of fruit snacks I have to review are from Mott’s. The first thing that come to mind when I think of Mott’s is their apple juice and sauces. So it’s interesting that they’re like Hawaiian Punch in the sense they’re trying to expand their product base with fruit snacks.
Right away the Mott’s fruit snacks come across as “healthier” and more “wholesome” than the Hawaiian Punch variety. It probably has something to do with their base drink product being fire engine red in color. Still it means I’m also going to expect more realistic flavors from them.
Banana Strawberry: Light yellow in color, the flavor is mild and somewhat starchy, which I feel it supposed to be the banana. I do taste some light strawberry notes, but they’re an afterthought I think in order to get some banana flavors in there.
Grape: Surprisingly hard to tell apart from the mixed berry flavor. This one also tastes just sweet a first, then you get some light concord grape flavors.
Apple: The taste is very mild. It almost just taste lightly sweet. I suppose there’s some light apple juice notes here, but it’s so hard to say.
Strawberry: Ah, this one actually has something to it! This has a nice sweet, jammy strawberry flavor which is pretty good.
Mixed Berry: This one also has some nice distinct flavors. You get some sweetness, followed by some light flowery flavors which reminds me of blueberries.
Pineapple: I was excited about this one since I love pineapple. Alas, it’s similar to the others: mildly sweet with no real specific flavor to it.
I was kinda disappointed with these. They really didn’t have much flavor to deliver, and isn’t that the whole point of a fruit snack? To taste yummy and fruity? If you like your sweets milder than most these are for you, but personally I like something more intense.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Mott’s Fruit Snacks Webpage
I had heard about these new “Drops” that Hershey’s was coming out with. Hershey’s seems to really like experimenting with methods on how to make their chocolate more accessible. From their line of minis, to the little bags of Kisses I saw in the checkout line in the grocery store. The front of this package reads: “No candy shell - No mess” which makes me suspect they’re trying to compete with M&Ms. What happened to the whole “melts in your mouth, not in your hands”? Maybe they abandoned that marketing tagline a long time ago and expect no one to remember it.
As with most Hershey products, first thing I do it look at the ingredient list on the back. Hershey’s has been cutting a lot of corners recently with their chocolate products, so I wanted to know what I was getting into. The ingredients are almost wholesome, to my surprise. No tropical oils are to be seen, which are the wost offender. Thankfully there’s coco butter listed but so is “PGPR” , so really it’s a step ahead of mockolate. It does use confectioner’s glaze instead of a shell, so vegans beware.
The drops are wide and flat-ish, like a button or a bean. They’re in between the size of a nickel and a quarter in diameter. They are shiny and have the word “Hershey’s” printed on the top. So overall, they’re very pretty to look at. Not quite as colorful and fun as M&Ms, but way more appealing that trying to eat Kisses or the baking morsels.
The flavor is exactly of Hershey’s chocolate. Starts of very sweet, with a creamy texture to it. With the sweetness there’s chocolatey notes to it which are very mild. There’s really no milk flavor here, just sweetness. There’s also that classic throat burn when you swallow.
These were a nice step in a new direction for Hershey’s, but it’s not exciting enough for me to keep buying them. As a candy taster my preferences in chocolate have gotten more sophisticated so I don’t find myself craving Hershey’s often. Also, the bag these come in make it hard to eat a little at a time, since you want to keep working at it. Portion control Sera, portion control.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Hershey’s Drops Webpage
The last of my recent Kit Kat finds is this Parmesan Cheese Kit Kat. Yeah, you heard me, Parmesan cheese. Why they decided this was a flavor to incorporate into a Kit Kat, I’m not sure. But, it’s new, it’s interesting, and it’s unique. So of course I’m going to try it. Otherwise my taste buds are going to forever regret not ever giving it a shot, no matter how bad it potentially may be.
These, unlike the other Kit Kats, came is a box with individual Kit Kat “fingers’ as opposed to the big “grab bag” the other were. They each come individually wrapped and have a pretty orange and yellow color scheme on the little wrappers. I get the feeling even the makers of this flavor realize it’s more unique, and packaged it to reflect that. Are they suggesting you’d only want to each one finger of these as opposed to the normal two? I think I am thinking too hard about this…
The naked Kit Kat is pristine white in color. It smells exactly like Parmesan cheese actually. It’s cheesy, tart and slightly odious with a sharp note to it. I was surprised by this, cause I was secretly hoping that this would be more like cheesecake. I guess I am mistaken.
The flavor is sweet and first. It’s creamy with a hint of coconut. The the flavor grows and you get those sharp cheesy notes that say “Parmesan cheese” to me. Think of it as Parmesan mixed with Ricotta cheese; creamy and cheesy. You just have to add the sugar in to complete the flavor. I take a few more bites and the flavor kinda grows on me, once you know what to expect. The tart/sweet works surprisingly well and makes for a very tasty Kit Kat.
Sometimes strange can also be tasty. This is a good example of such. If you’re a fan of Parmesan cheese, this is worth a try. It’s a fun curiosity to indulge in.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Japanese Kit Kat Website
The other sampled that I received from Trolli included two new candies of theirs. This is always exciting, as it’s fun to think you’re getting a taste of them before they head into stores to sell. I was aware that Trolli made gummi products, but I don’t see their gummi bears around very often. Usually it’s Haribo, Black Forest, or a store brand I see. So Trolli has released these Big Bold Bears, which is a re-vamp of their classic gummi bears. Pretty neat!
These bears are, the package describes them, “4x larger than their classic bears” and “Loaded with Flavor”. This interests me because the major problem I have with gummi bears is that they were never flavorful enough for me. Sadly, I didn’t have any of the regular Trolli gummi bears on me so I couldn’t make a direct comparison of the size. I didn’t feel like going out hunting for them.
These bears come in all colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. The back of the package lists the flavors: blue raspberry, wild cherry, grape, green apple, lemon-lime and orange.
Let’s work our way down the colors:
Wild Cherry: Smells faintly of red. The gummi has a horribly medicinal taste to it, just like cough medicine. It’s very bitter and metallic, even though it finished with a juicy flavor.
Orange: Immediately tart and zesty. This is more like it. The orange flavor is bright and juicy and reminds me of tangerine flavors.
Lemon-Lime: This one is just lightly sweet. No real sourness or tartness. This is good for people who usually hate lemon flavors.
Green Apple: The flavor is mild at first, then gradually grows into an apple flavor that reminds me of store bought apple pie mix. It’s sweet but has these strange “green” notes to it.
Blue Raspberry: Surprisingly tasty for a blue raspberry. Its taste like good blackberry jam. Color me surprised, I really liked this one.
Grape: This one is mild and flavorful. It taste more of muscat grapes with a juicy base with floral notes to it. Very taste, my second favorite after the blue raspberry.
I was pleased with these. The few I thought I’d like where actually the ones I liked least, and the ones I wasn’t looking forward to at all ended being extremely yummy. Just goes to show you need to try things in order to see if you like them.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Trolli Website
Along with the free samples of Brach’s products, Farley and Sathers Candy Company sent me some new and classic Trolli candies. I remember loving these Sour Brite Crawlers as a kid. They are chewy, colorful, sweet, slightly sour and were fun to tie in knots. Most everything a kid looks for in a candy. These also have a fun decorative application too, I’ve seen many a birthday cake decorated with these tasty Crawlers. That being said, it’s been years since I’ve had them. So this is an excellent opportunity to revisit a childhood favorite.
The succinct way to describe these Sour Bite Crawlers is that they’re sour gummi worms, plain and simple. They have the form of a worm, or more accurately night crawlers, and each one has two flavors, one for each half. They’re coated with a sour sanded sugar, which gives them that sharp initial bite.
As you can see they’re very attractive to look at.
Blue/Pink: Blue is blue raspberry. The flavor starts off sweet and fruity, then grows into an intensely tart sour berry flavor where you taste more sour than berry flavor. Its strikes me a the very standard “blue raspberry” taste from what I gather. Pink is strawberry, and it has more sweet notes that are reminiscent of bubble gum and jam. It has sourness to it, but thankfully nothing like the blue raspberry side.
Yellow/Red: Yellow is lemon, and right away has nice sour and zesty flavors. It has a tart edge, but the flavor still stands in the forefront. Red is very….red tasting. I’m trying to decide if it’s supposed to be cherry or fruit punch. I think it’s cherry, and thankfully it’s got a lot of fruity notes to it as opposed to being bitter and medicinal.
Orange/Green: Orange is orange, and it’s very lovely. It has rich, juicy flavors which remind me or orange juice with just the right touch of sourness to it. Green is lime, which surprises me since I thought it was watermelon when I had it last. No matter. This lime is zesty and tart, and has that funny “bathroom floor cleaner” flavor to it.
These were tasty, yet I can’t say if they’re what I reember exactly from childhood. My memory on these is far too fuzzy for that. They are enjoyable and I have many friends who buy these as regular favorites. I still like them, but not as much as I did when I was a kid. That’s probably because I can buy my own chocolate now, which is my favorite.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Trolli Website
