There’s a lot of candies that feel “timeless” to me. A lot of Brach’s candies fall into that category for me. These Jelly Nougats are certainly one of them. It seems like I’ve always seen them around in grocery store bins. One thing I’ve noticed since moving to Los Angeles is that I don’t’ see these Brach’s bins in the stores here, which make me a little sad since I’m so accustomed to see them.
OldTimeCandy.com was kind enough to write me and offer some candy samples for me to review. I was super excited to see they carried these Jelly Nougats since it’s been so long since I’ve seen them sold anywhere. I immediately selected a few and eagerly awaited for their arrival.
Upon arriving, I immediately opened the bag as I was excited to finally try one after all these years. They are as pretty as I remember them. They’re slightly rectangular little blocks that have a creamy vanilla colored base with bright chucks of jelly in them. Often in tones of ruby, orange and yellow. I tried to squish them a little with my fingers and the nougat has no give to it. I was a little worried that they were a tad old since they felt so rock hard.
The candy smells sweet with a hint of vanilla. Taking a bite I was relieved to find that these are actually pretty soft to bite into. My teeth easily took a bite of the candy off and it softened even more as I chewed it. The flavor is creamy and has a soft, barely there vanilla flavor. It has slight fruity notes from the jellies. I get some “red” flavors, while others are more orange and even lemon. It’s a nice mix of flavors, and it’s very delicate and not overpowering at all.
I really enjoyed these, but since they’re such a “stranger” candy because of the intense chew and subtle flavors, I don’t think they’re for everyone. I really appreciate how unique these candies are, so I will always be excited to see them. Since they are on the rarer side, if you seem them, it’s not a bad idea to give them a try.
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links Brach’s Website
Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews are a very well know candy if you’re a Philadelphia local. It’s a classic candy, as it’s been around since 1917. I hadn’t had one until summer 2005 where I stumbled across a promo for them on the streets of Manhattan. I tried the free samples I was given and feel in love with their flavor. It’s delicious and timeless.
Now some years later, Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews have re-designed the packaging and are trying to get the word out about Peanut Chews. I for once, am happy to help, as I know a “local” candy can sometimes have a hard time branching out. I feel they’re doing a good job, as I have seen Peanut Chews around here in Los Angeles on occasion. When Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews asked if I’d like some samples for a review, I excitedly said yes!
I want to start by saying I love the new packaging. It’s retro yet keeps the essence of the candy. It doesn’t look out of place on the candy shelf, and it’s eye catching at the same time. Peanut Chews come in two varieties, milk and dark chocolate. Each is color coded and easy to identify.
For those of you who don’t know what exactly is a peanut chew? It’s a chewy center made of peanuts mixed with a molasses then covered in chocolate. Simple yet tasty. I have to also say that, these Peanut Chews are not using real chocolate. They’re mockolate, as there’s no cocoa butter in there. It’s right there in the ingredients.
The milk chocolate variety smells sweet and full of peanuts. The flavor is very heavy on the milk chocolate’s sweetness and the toasty peanuts. The chew is nice and think and there’s no hint of the molasses.
The dark chocolate has a very different flavor. The flavor is not as heavy of on the peanuts, you taste more of the chocolate and the molasses. I think I like the dark chocolate version better because the notes of the molasses is are really unique and wonderful flavor.
Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews are a candy that I keep coming back to. They have such a classic flavor and its simplicity is really delicious and addicting. That combined with the nostalgia factor and the connection with Philadelphia (which really means a lot to my Philly raised fiance!) makes Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews a candy that is found in my candy stash very often.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Peanut Chews Website
As a candy enthusiast, it’s important for me to not only taste candies and love doing so. It also entails knowing a lot of the history behind the candies. Anyone who knows anything about candy knows the name David Klein. He’s the man who invented the Jelly belly jelly bean, and is the focus of a documentary call “CandyMan”. It’s a really good documentary if you haven’t seen it, and what I’m reviewing today are David’s newest jelly bean.
At first I was skeptical of the “Beyond Gourmet” in the name of these jelly beans. Gourmet is such a trendy word to throw around nowadays, especially in regard to food products. ONe look at the flavor list of these jelly beans and I immediate got why they’re named in such a way:
Bacon? Ginger? Himalayan Sea salt? Yes, these jelly beans are definitely thinking outside the box.
I had some trouble with the packaging, as the little wells inside the box didn’t contain my jelly beans very well. When I first opened them they had all amassed as a giant colorful pile at the bottom and I had to sort them back into their original spaces. That was harder than it sounds, as some of the jelly beans, mainly the Cranberry, Pomegranate, Black Cherry and Grape are pretty close in color.
Upon opening the box and looking inside, you can see how gorgeous the beans are:
Enough with the looking, let’s get on with the tasting!
Bacon: I admit I was skeptical of this flavor. I know “meat” flavored jelly beans have been attempted before, and there’s bacon jelly beans that I’ve seen around yet I haven’t’ tried any of them. The bean is a cream colored with brown speckling on it. It has no aroma. The flavor starts off very spicy and smokey. It actually does taste like bacon! It has a pork flavor with a lot of smoke to it. Of course there’s some sweetness to it. I have to admit, I love bacon, and tasting it in a jelly bean is bizarre. Tasty, but bizarre.
Black Cherry: This flavor is awesome. It’s deep, very complex flavor. It’s sweet, it has notes of jam and and it’s all back cherry. Extremely authentic, totally delicious.
Blueberry: This flavor is a little strange to me. It has intense berry notes right at the beginning, and about halfway though does the true blueberry flavor comes out. When it does, boy, it’s the real thing. Yum!
Coconut: This flavor is outstanding. It tastes like real coconut flakes. It has this extra tier of flavor that really makes this taste who and authentic. So awesome, one of the best flavors in this box.
Cranberry: This flavor was very tasty. It’s tart, zesty and has the “bite” that cranberries have. It’s a taste tha tworks really well in jelly bean form. Delicious!
Ginger: This one is spicy and fun. it has the very typical ginger “burn” to it, and it’s like taking a swig of an authentic ginger ale. It’s like eating real crystallized ginger.
Grape: The flavor is very floral for grape. I get notes of concord grape and jam in there. It’s a very tasty bean.
Green Apple: This flavor is fun. It’s starts off wit ha floral edge then immediately blossoms into apple. I’m surprised that it tastes so authentic. It’m immediately reminded of those dried apple slices that just pop with flavor.
Himalayan Sea Salt: This one is really unique. It has a sweetness to it, that’s very plain and has no essence to it. The salt flavor is really awesome, it balances beautifully with the sweetness. A really different and delightful bean.
Lemon: I was looking forward to this flavor so much. It’s exactly everything I hoped it would be. It’s tart. It’s zest and it’s completely refreshing. The lemon flavor it out of this world. I love it so much!
Orange Punch: This flavor is so much fun. It’s bright and punchy with notes of oranges and tangerines. It’s sweet, it’s tart and full of citrus flavor. So wonderful.
Peach: This is a fun flavor. It’s perfectly preach. I get notes of peaches, and oddly, plumeria. It’s a very juicy, fresh flavor. One of my favorites!
Pomegranate: This flavor was hard to pin down. Pomegranate is a very vague flavor to me. it tastes very fruity and red, with a nice tartness to it. It’s very delicious and refreshing because of the tartness.
Root Beer: This jelly bean is my absolute favorite out of the whole box. I have never tasted a more delicious root bear candy than this jelly bean. It is absolutely outstanding. The flavor stats with subtle spice and wintergreen notes and then quickly blossoms into a creamy, rich root beer flavor. Amazing!
Strawberry: This flavor is really great. it tastes exactly like a sweet strawberry jam. Often candy strawberry flavors just come across as “pink” or “red”, but this flavor has completely captured the fruit.
Vanilla Bean: This bean is so delicious! It tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. It’s so flavorful. This bean even has the bleck flecks on vanilla in it. So yummy!
I was really impressed with all these flavors. The “beyond gourmet” title is certainly well earned. These flavors taste amazing and incredibly authentic, even more so than it’s Jelly Belly ancestors, and they take that little extra step into new “gourmet” territory with the ginger, bacon and Himalayan Sea salt flavors. Just, wow. My fiance and I both really adored these jelly beans, and we hope to order some of their other jelly beans at some point. The “wasabi” and “thai chili” flavors just call to us, we want to try them! Bravo David Klein, bravo!
Rating: Hoard
Links Oregon Trail Foods
I believe the first Ritter Sport bar I ever recall seeing was their Marzipan bar. Something about Germany and Marizpan catching my eye, or perhaps it was the very bright red wrapper. Either way, for some reason, I always felt this was their “signature” bar. My appreciate of marzipan come from my Dad, who is a big fan of the stuff. If it wasn’t for him letting me try marzipan as a kid I probably won’t have been exposed to it until college. I immediately liked marzipan, but it’s something I only treat myself to occasionally. The I realized that I had never reviewed the Ritter Marzipan bar, thus here I am with today’s review!
The first thing about this bar is that it’s dark chocolate. Which I think is a very wise choice, as marzipan can be very sweet. The square bar smells rich and sweet and has a beautiful sheen to it.
The marzipan is delicious. It’s moist, flavorful and has a really nice texture that’s both smooth and grainy at the same time. The chocolate snaps cleanly and easily when you take a bite. It doesn’t lose its form so the marzipan won’t ooze everywhere. The dark chocolate is flavorful, it’s got some nice deep coco flavors that are a little fruity and they balance well with the nice almond flavor of the marizpan. This isn’t too sweet, it’s just right. Love it!
Out of all the marzipan bars I’ve had, I think the Ritter Marzipan bar stands up really well with the best of them. Dark chocolate and marzipan is a match made in heaven, and it’s nice to see a bar like this that’s so easily accessible in American stores. If you’ve never had marzipan before, and you’re a fan of almonds, I really think you should give it a try. This Ritter Sport bar is a great place to start.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Ritter Sport Webpage
I got this small package of Starburst Tongue Tangles from my sister who thoughtfully gave it to me when she returned from a trip to Scotland. I am always excited to try foreign candies, especially ones that have a foundation here in the United States. It’s interesting for me to see how candies translate for a different country. So you may understand my excitement for this candy and the thoughtfulness behind it.
At first I thought these Starburst were going to be chews like the normal Starbursts here. I found out otherwise when I opened them. The texture is like a chewy Gushers fruit snack. The outside appears to be hard and molded, but its chewy and soft and there’s a flavored liquid center inside.
Banana and Mango: Sweet banana exterior is mild and starchy flavored. It’s thankfully does not too much like perfume. The mango center is bright, fresh, and full of tropical flavor. It’s much more intense than the banana exterior and they blend nicely.
Blueberry and Lemon: Blueberry is perfumey and berry tasting. The lemon center is extremely tart and artificial. It’s too sour with an odd metallic flavor to it. I was very disappointed.
Apricot and Cherry: Apricot is sweet and perfumey. It tastes sweeter than peaches, with more of a fruity flavor than a perfume one. The cherry is very tart and tastes more tropical than jammy to me. It’s tart and sweet yet lack a cherry essence.
Out of all the flavors my favorite is the Banana and Mango.
I found two of the three flavors in this mix a little too artificial for me, so I am sorry to say that I didn’t like this mix very much. I think the Starburst gummies we get out here are a better version of this. Still, if you’re really into Starburst and have the opportunity to try these. I do recommend that you give them a go yourself.
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links Starburst UK Website
