Kellogg’s Limited Edition Pop-Tarts: Soft and Chewy Gingerbread

Acquired by: retail purchase at local supermarket

Price: $2.50 on sale for a box of 12 Pop-Tarts

Rating: 1 out of 5

Nowadays, every major brand on the market feels a need to make limited editions of their products. We get short-lived, special editions of candy bars, cereals, soft drinks, and even winter-themed snack crackers.

Now, the folks at Kellogg’s have decided that their plain old Pop-Tarts aren’t good enough to get us through winter. No, we need special, winter-themed Pop-Tarts. And so they’ve introduced these Limited Edition Pop-Tarts in the Soft and Chewy Gingerbread flavor.

Winter-themed, I said. Seems no one is bold enough to attempt a Christmas-themed, or even a generic “holiday” themed, product. Kellogg’s, in their infinite wisdom, has chosen to take a flavor inextricably associated with Christmas - gingerbread - and use it, and the image of gingerbread men and women, in an attempt to create a Pop-Tart theme that offends no one.

As always, please click on any image to see a larger version.

On opening the interior packages (each housing two Pop-Tarts), I found pasty-looking rectangles. If these are gingerbread, they used a very light recipe - I normally expect more color. For the festive element on these limited edition pastries, images of gingerbread men or women engaging in some winter activity have been applied with a printing process that uses FD & C approved food colorings.

The images are inoffensive enough, but so crudely printed that it’s hard to tell what they are. The bumpy pastry surface, and the dusting of sugar over all, don’t help. I stared at the picture of a gingerbread woman on the right for the longest time and still can’t figure out what she is supposed to be carrying, or what those curvy green lines behind her are supposed to be.

Kellogg’s claims on the box that there are “50 possible images!” to be found within. Maybe it’s just me - maybe I just coincidentally got the lamest ones in the bunch. But the first Pop-Tart I ate? A picture of a gingerbread man operating a snowblower. How festive!

A key component of any Pop-Tart is the filling. A key element for any gingerbread man is the icing defining his clothing and facial features. Kellogg’s, then, naturally put the icing inside the Pop-Tarts as the filling.

Ultimately, the proof in any food, whether a limited edition or not, is in the eating. Pop-Tarts have always been meant to be edible either unheated, or toasted.

I tried a “raw” Pop-Tart first. And immediately regretted it. Granted, on the box itself they’d told me to expect “Soft and Chewy Gingerbread”. What I didn’t expect was something that felt like half-baked cookie dough in my mouth. Where the icing filling came into play, it only enhanced the gummy nature of the raw Pop-Tart.

Following the instructions on the box (”Warm pastry in toasting appliance at lowest or lightest heat setting for one heating cycle only.”), I prepared a pair of toasted Pop-Tarts. The result? They now tasted like warm, half-baked cookie dough.

Once upon a time, in a less litigious world, Pop-Tarts was okay with people actually getting their product truly toasted in their “toasting appliances”. That’s how I’ve always preferred my Pop-Tarts - with a little crispiness added by using toasters for the purpose for which they were intended - to toast.

Since crispiness was distinctly lacking here, I decided to take a chance that Kellogg’s hadn’t included any surveillance equipment in the Pop-Tarts box, or that they weren’t going to send their Toasting Appliance Police to arrest me for defying the official instructions. I put a pair of Gingerbread Pop-Tarts into my toaster oven, turned the dial to Medium, and pushed the button.

A minute or so later, I had two nicely crisped Pop-Tarts. One, though, had cracked across one end, and the smaller piece was starting to fall through the rack in my oven. I pulled everything out with my toaster tongs, allowed the tarts to cool briefly, and took a bite.

Here, finally, we’d gotten past the half-baked cookie dough texture. What I had in my mouth instead felt like a lightly crispy cookie, properly baked, and with the interesting addition of a layer of icing sandwiched inside.

The recipe that Kellogg’s used for their gingerbread pastry has enough spices in it to have a tiny, almost unnoticeable but definitely there, bite. Unfortunately, it didn’t have enough spices to truly taste like gingerbread. I also couldn’t detect the flavor of molasses anywhere in the mix, which is an essential ingredient in most gingerbread recipes I’ve seen.

The entire assembly of flavors and textures failed to come together to make a pastry that I would ever buy again. To make these Gingerbread Pop-Tarts work, they should have had the texture of a crisp gingerbread cookie. Instead, they came up with a recipe that tasted half-baked, with an unpleasant chewy texture - and then tried to sell it as “Soft and Chewy Gingerbread”. Sorry, Kellogg’s - this is one time you can’t turn a bug into a feature.

Even when I defied the instructions and toasted the tarts until crispy, the flavors didn’t come up to reasonable standards for gingerbread cookies - rich, spicy flavors, with the cool sweetness of icing on top.

In the final analysis, I wouldn’t buy these again - and I wouldn’t recommend them to my readers. Unless you actually like under-spiced, half-baked gingerbread dough.

Related Links:

• Kellogg’s - www2.kelloggs.com
  

Posted: October 29th, 2007 under Snacks.
Comments: 2

3 Musketeers Minis Mix

Acquired by: retail purchase at local Walgreens

Price: $3.59 for 9 oz. bag

Rating: 4 out of 5

Oops! I blew through these 3 Musketeers Minis so quickly that I never got a picture of the full bag, or of the individual pieces. So for a product shot, you’ll have to settle for this photo of the empty bag posing on my computer keyboard.

Yes, they’re that good. But let’s rewind first, shall we, and see what we know about the 3 Musketeers Minis Mix.

What we have in this bag are three flavors of mini-sized 3 Musketeers candies - French Vanilla, Strawberry, and Mocha Cappucino. None of these flavors are offered in a full-size bar. It’s worth noting, however, that the flavor mix is reminiscent of the original version of the 3 Musketeers bar, as introduced in 1932. At the time, the wrapper contained three separate pieces of chocolate-enrobed candy - one with vanilla nougat, one with chocolate, and one strawberry. It was from this trio of flavors that the candy got it’s name - 3 Musketeers.

I first learned about the 3 Musketeers Minis Mix through a review Cybele posted at Candy Blog on August 21, 2007. Later, on October 4th, David at Candy Addict posted about them as well. Oddly, David only reviewed the Strawberry flavor at that time, because he’d previously reviewed the Mocha Cappucino and French Vanilla flavors as part of a Limited Edition Mix that 3 Musketeers put out in Spring 2006!

All this time, I searched the aisles of my local drugstores, supermarkets and discount department stores trying to find them myself. The 3 Musketeers official website was of little help - I looked through the product listings as best I could, and found no mention of the Minis Mix anywhere.

It was about two weeks ago that I finally came across this mysterious item at a local Walgreens here in New Hampshire. Feeling a rush of success, and the anticipation of finally tasting the candies that had been so well reviewed by others, I pounced.

“Mini” size is small - smaller than the so-called “Fun” size. Looking at the pieces as I took them out of their individual wrappers, I was reminded most of candies in a Whitman’s Sampler. The three flavors were somewhat unevenly distributed in the bag I purchased, with somewhat more of the Mocha Cappucino flavor than either the Vanilla or Strawberry.

The bag lived next to my television chair for a few days, and I’d munch a few while watching. Interestingly, at first I didn’t like the Minis. They seemed mushy in my mouth, and the flavors didn’t feel like they had any depth to them. Over a short time, however, they grew on me.

The nougat in the Minis mix is softer and fluffier than in a regular 3 Musketeers bar, which probably contributed to my impression of these as mushy. After a while, though, they seemed less mushy to me, and more like a nice buttercream-filled bonbon.

The Mocha Cappucino flavor didn’t taste so much like coffee to me, but like a darker chocolate with a bit of an edge. It was okay, but not my favorite of the trio.

Strawberry was actually pretty good. Which is saying a lot for me, because Strawberry is not one of my favorite flavors as a rule. In the case of the Minis, however, I found that the light berry flavor had a bright note to it that was quite pleasant.

French Vanilla wound up being my favorite of the three, even though I’m not sure this really counted as French Vanilla. True French Vanilla would have had a strong eggy richness, and the vanilla itself would have been somewhat more intense from the presence of actual vanilla seeds. Even though mis-named, however, this was a nice, strong vanilla flavor, without seeming artificial.

I was quite pleased with the mix as a whole, and would happily buy these again. My rating, therefore, is a 4 out of 5.

3 Musketeers Minis Mix may be a little hard to find, and we have no clue how long they’ll be around. Based on the experience of other bloggers and their readers, it seems your best bet is to check at national drugstore chains like Rite Aid and Walgreens, in the seasonal or Halloween candy aisle. If you find them, do give them a try - they’re worth it!

Related Links

• 3 Musketeers - Official website, which somehow completely fails to mention the existence of the Minis Mix
• May 24, 2006 review of French Vanilla and Mocha Cappucino Minis at Candy Addict
• August 21, 2007 review of current full Minis Mix at Candy Blog
• October 4, 2007 review of Strawberry Minis at Candy Addict

Posted: October 22nd, 2007 under Candy.
Comments: none

Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips
New Reclosable Bag

Acquired by: retail purchase at local Target store

Price: $2.29 for 9 oz. bag

Rating: Salt & Vinegar chips, 2 out of 5

Rating: New Reclosable Bag, 4 out of 5

I reviewed Archer Farms Wasabi Mustard Potato Chips about a month ago. They were quite tasty, and though I don’t normally like kettle-cooked potato chips because of the overly hard crunch, they were easy to eat. I gave them a 4 out of 5 rating.

I spotted the Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips on the shelf at our local Target last week. Salt & Vinegar chips are one of those tastes I got from my father - they’re a big favorite of his, and mine. Having liked the Wasabi Mustard chips so much, I thought I’d try the Salt & Vinegar variety.

As a bonus, the chips come in a new style of bag - Reclosable. Pull the little tab at the top of the package, and you open a slit. Inside is a zipper-type plastic bag closure. Good and sturdy, I found that the zipper was easy to use, closing readily when I wanted to put the chips away, and opening just as nicely when I was ready for more. A squeeze test of the sealed bag showed it to be fairly airtight, so I think we can expect an opened bag of chips to stay fresh even if stored for a while.

The Reclosable Bags are so new that not every Archer Farms flavor on the shelf at Target had them yet. If you don’t see them at your local Target, be patient - they’ll roll out as stock turns over.

Based on its good performance, I give the Archer Farms Potato Chips Reclosable Bag a 4 out of 5 on my new Gizmos, Gadgets, and Thingamabobs ratings scale. Sadly, the Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips inside were nowhere near as good.

I expect kettle-cooked chips to have a hard crunch, and be somewhat wrinkled and folded from the cooking process. I found the Salt & Vinegar chips to be so hard as to be difficult to break apart, even with my teeth. They were very badly folded and contorted, too, sometimes making it necessary to bite through at least four layers of chip at once. Or more - I frequently found that more than one chip had been folded together.

As for the vinegar flavor, it was weak and uninspiring. Vinegar flavored potato chips should have a fairly strong, acidic bite to them. The Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips were weak in flavor, barely giving my tongue a tingle.

Ultimately, the issue is clear - Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips failed me in two areas. For crunch, they had far too much bite. For flavor, they had far too little.

I’d eat them if they were put in front of me at a party, so long as there were no other chips offered. I almost certainly won’t buy them again, unless they improve the recipe. Archer Farms Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips only rate a 2 out of 5 on my scale.

Related Links:

• Archer Farms (Warning - plays video and sound.) This is a minimally informative promotional site at Target Online, but it appears to be the only one they offer. Archer Farms foods are not available for purchase at Target Online - only in brick-and-mortar Target stores.

Posted: October 19th, 2007 under Packaging Innovations, Chips and Crackers.
Comments: none

Maltesers

Acquired by: Retail purchase at local supermarket, in the imported British food aisle

Price: $1.49 for 37g

Rating: 4 out of 5

One of my favorite candies is malted milk balls. Here in America, we most often find these in the form of Whoppers or Mighty Malts in our supermarkets and drugstores.

I’m also a fan of British sitcoms. Over the past year, I have, on at least two occasions, heard characters on different “Britcoms” talk about a type of candy named Maltesers. Malt - hmm? Could these be another variety of malted milk ball from the UK? The level of casual, cultural reference in the television shows suggested something as commonly known in its country as a Hershey’s chocolate bar would be here. I was intrigued - that’s a level of fame that neither Whoppers or Mighty Malts can lay claim to. What made Maltesers so special, and how could I find out?

Then, one day, while buying groceries at the local Stop & Shop, I spotted Maltesers on the shelf in the section for British imports. There they were - little bags of red, with a bold splash of the name, Maltesers, in white, and a few round, brown balls dancing around. Now was my chance - but they were not cheap. $1.49 for a single, 37g bag - that’s only about one and one-third ounces. As much as I wanted to try a potentially delicious, exotic new variation on my beloved malt balls, I couldn’t justify the cost for a casual snack.

Along came this blog, though, and a perfect excuse to go to the expense - to tell you about Maltesers, and whether they’re as good as the Brits seem to think. So I bought a bag - and then, to be fair, I bought a box of Whoppers for a side-by-side comparison.

For the purpose of this article, I’m only reviewing the Maltesers. It’s a given that Whoppers are good - they’re my go-to choice for a malted milk ball craving, being not only tasty, but more readily available than Mighty Malts.

For all pictures that follow, the Whoppers will be on the left hand side, and the Maltesers on the right. For better detail, click on the photos for a larger image.

Appearance

The Whoppers and the Maltesers are both similar in size. Whoppers are darker in chocolate color, though both are within the range of milk chocolate shades. The Maltesers have a glossier finish to the surface than the Whoppers.

Internal Structure

Malted milk balls are made from a round, crunchy, malt center, coated with a layer of chocolate. The Whoppers have a dense center with very small air pockets. The Maltesers have a light, almost fluffy, center, with large air pockets. The coating of chocolate on the Maltesers is thinner than that of the Whoppers.

Mouthfeel

Mouthfeel is the term for the way a food feels in your mouth as you eat it. Does it melt? Is it crunchy or chewy? Does it slide on your tongue, or get caught in your teeth? The fullness of the concept is much more complex than these few words can convey.

The Whoppers had a distinct, almost hard, crunch. The chocolate coating was slight waxy, and a little gritty, as it melted on my tongue. The inside of the malt ball itself tended to feel sharp, almost like sandpaper, on the inside of my mouth.

The Maltesers were a very different experience. The chocolate coating was smooth and light, and melted more quickly than that of the Whoppers. The malt ball inside had a light, crispy crunch. There was also, however, a very interesting and enjoyable sensation of the malt center melting in the moisture in my mouth, and collapsing into a light, tasty, almost creamy substance that spread the flavor of the Malteser throughout.

Flavor

Whoppers are made by Hershey’s, and the milk chocolate coating tastes very Hershey-like. Hershey’s is not my favorite brand of chocolate - I much prefer the smoother, lighter milk chocolate flavor of a Nestlé or Cadbury milk chocolate.

This may explain why I liked the milk chocolate coating on the Malteser better - it’s a more European take on milk chocolate. That makes sense, since Maltesers are a British product. If anything, I usually like my milk chocolate a little more chocolate tasting than the Maltesers, but then it might have overwhelmed the lightly-flavored malt center.

The malt ball in the Whoppers had a very strong, distinct, malt flavor. In the Maltesers, the malt flavor is subtler, smoother. But the way that the malt center melts in your mouth spreads the flavor more than the harder center of the Whoppers does.

In the end, it’s hard to compare the flavors, because they’re so different. Whoppers are a strong, in-your-face flavor, while Maltesers are, well, like their name - they tease you with the malt flavor.

My Preference?

Hands down, I find that I prefer the Maltesers. I’ve always liked subtle layers of flavor, and the way the Maltesers melt in your mouth makes for a more interesting nibble than the Whoppers. If all things were equal, I’d be eating Maltesers when I get that malted milk ball craving.

But, alas, the only way Maltesers can get here is via specialty importers, and they therefore sell at a premium price. For the same $1.49 I spent for a 37 g bag of Maltesers - barely a decent serving - I can buy a much larger dose of Whoppers.

That makes Maltesers a bit too pricey for my budget. So, even though I am rating them a 4 out of 5, in actual practice they’ll be more like a 3 out of 5 - in the regular rotation when I can, but not something I can afford to make a point of.

The Cult of Maltesers

A Google search for “Maltesers” turns up 239,000 hits. “Whoppers ‘Malted Milk’” brings only 14,600 hits, and “Mighty Malts” (a product of NECCO) a mere 364. Clearly, there are a lot more people out there with an interest in the British candy.

Among the interesting sites I turned up for Maltesers:

• Guardian Unlimited, the online version of the Manchester, England newspaper The Guardian, hosted a discussion among readers. The subject was “How are Maltesers made?” Several readers had answers that seem quite possible, but many spun elaborate flights of fancy describing the process.
  
• The Falcon’s Malteser - First in a series of mystery books for pre-teens, this has a plot that centers around a mysterious box of Maltesers.
  
• www.playchocolateball.com - this appears to be a Swedish - or some other Scandinavian language - promotional site for Maltesers. Though it’s called “play chocolate ball”, and the initial screen has little bowling pins and Maltesers that move in response to your cursor, nothing seems to actually happen to them - the pins don’t fall over.
  
  From the front page, though, click on “Alle filmer” at the bottom left of the screen. You’ll have a selection of short films to choose from. These mostly seem to be amateur videos extolling fan’s love of Maltesers. But if you go to the far right of the second row, choose the film called “Godt for magen”. This is actually a television commercial for Maltesers that stars Charlie Sheen!
  
• YouTube - a search for Maltesers at this video site turns up 462 films that have that as a tag. I haven’t watched any, but judging from some of the descriptions, you might want to be careful if you’re at work or the kids are around.

Bottom Line

Maltesers have a cult following for a reason - they’re that good! I have to admit, though, that I’m not sure they’d catch on as well here in America. Subtlety is lost on most Americans, and what I like so much about Maltesers is their subtlety.

I’ll still be buying Whoppers, because they’re tasty enough, and much more cost-effective for me. But I’ll be thinking about Maltesers when I eat them!

Related Links:

• Maltesers homepage at Mars UK
• Whoppers at Hersheys.com
• Mighty Malts at NECCO.com
• Wikipedia entries - Maltesers, Whoppers (no individual entry listed for Mighty Malts)
• Maltesers review at Taquitos.Net

Posted: October 18th, 2007 under British Imports, Candy.
Comments: 2

Nabisco Wheat Thins - Sundried Tomato & Basil

Acquired by: retail purchase at local supermarket

Price: unrecorded, but under $3

Rating: 4 out of 5

Back in the early days of this blog - a whole month ago! - I posted a review of another Nabisco product, the Garden Harvest Toasted Chips. Among the flavors they came in was Tomato & Basil, which prompted a comment from Sara recommending the Sundried Tomato & Basil flavor of Wheat Thins as a worthy snack.

I’ve been a fan of Wheat Thins since childhood. Of course, for most of my life the only variety offered was good ol’ plain and tasty Wheat Thins - no adjectives, modifiers, or flavors involved.

I have a habit, which I’m trying to break for Shopping Jen, of being cynical about tried-and-true brands that suddenly decide that “original” and “traditional” flavors aren’t good enough. My suspicions get aroused - is it just a gimmick? Are they selling out just to make money? Will they abandon what has worked perfectly well for decades? So, although the various flavors of Wheat Thins have been on the market for a while now, I had avoided them.

Until now. Thanks to Sara’s prodding, I decided to pick up a box of the Sundried Tomato & Basil flavor. And I don’t regret it for a moment!

Opening the box, the aroma of the tomato and basil wafted out and tempted me. This was promising. I tipped out a pile of the crackers onto a plate.

Clearly, at least part of the flavor is achieved by dusting the basic Wheat Thins with powders and seasonings. As you can see in this photo, the distribution was pretty uneven - there were some superloaded crackers. Most, though, just had a light dusting.

I attempted to lick the dust off one of the more lightly coated crackers - I wanted to see if the base Wheat Thin underneath was a plain original, or if there was a change in the recipe for this flavor. Using a few sips of water as a palette cleanser first, I chewed carefully, examining the taste. The classic Wheat Thin flavor was there, surely, but there was still a good note of the tomato and basil. Whether it was baked into the cracker, or merely absorbed thoroughly by long contact with the seasonings, I can’t be sure. But I was pleased that the flavor permeated the entire piece, instead of just being layered on top.

I snacked on several crackers, enjoying the rich flavor. The over-dusted crackers were not over-flavored, which suggests that the balance of tastes in the seasoning mix was well formulated. Then I had an idea - these would taste great with some tuna salad on top. (Tuna salad on crackers is a favorite mini-meal for me - Original Wheat Thins are one variety of cracker I commonly use.)

Near mealtime, then, I mixed up a bowl of tuna salad. A small forkful on a Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thin, and pop! into my mouth.

Yum!

I’ll admit it, I’m a convert. I will try not to automatically write off new flavors of classic favorites as gimmicky. I will, instead, embrace them as an opportunity to discover new variants that can enrich my snacking repertoire!

Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins are going into the regular rotation - and I may make a point of specifically having them rather than the Original. That gives them a 4 out of 5 rating. Thanks, Sara, for turning me on to a new favorite!

Related Links:

• Nabisco Wheat Thins
  

Posted: October 11th, 2007 under Chips and Crackers.
Comments: 2

Everybody’s Nuts! Pistachios
Roasted & Salted Flavor
European Roast Flavor

Acquired by: Retail purchase at local supermarket

Price: $2.99 per 7 oz. box
- $1.00 coupon attached to package
Final Price: $1.99 per box

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pistachios have long been a favorite of mine, but I seldom indulge. There are a few reasons for this - the overall cost of nuts as a snack, and the fussiness of eating pistachios in the shell.

Eating pistachios in the shell depends on the little crack between the halves. In most cases, you find that a number of the shells in a bag of pistachios aren’t very open, or have never opened at all. You’re left with a tiny little rock of a nut, that you don’t want to throw away because there is, after all, a pistachio in there. But it’s nearly impossible to crack - too small for a nutcracker, and a hammer would destroy the contents. In the end, I usually wind up with a little pile of hopeful, closed pistachios that sits around, being tried now and then, before finally tossing them as a lost cause.

Yes, it’s possible to buy jars of shelled pistachios, but they seldom taste quite as good. There’s just something about sitting there, a bowl of pistachios in front of you, picking the shells open and popping the tasty nugget into your mouth as you set aside the empties.

Enter the folks at Everybody’s Nuts! (note - links plays animations and sound), purveyors of fine, jumbo, California pistachios. These folks have, with great style, attitude, and humor, made it their mission to eliminate the closed pistachio. Their guarantee, pictured at left, declares the presence of closed nuts in their package an event as unlikely as discovering Bigfoot exists.

I found Everybody’s Nuts! in a cardboard merchandiser at a local supermarket. There was apparently a marketing push to get the product out into people’s hands - there were coupons for $1 off the product stuck to every box.

The attitude presented on the box - especially as exemplified by the Guarantee printed on the back of the Roasted & Salted flavor - was the first attraction.

But attitude can only take a snack product so far - ultimately, if it doesn’t taste good, or deliver on the promises of a wacky guarantee, it will fail. I decided to see if the pistachios in the Everybody’s Nuts! packages lived up to the claims.

I surveyed the three flavors presented - Roasted & Salted, European Roast, and Salt & Pepper. (Missing was the company’s fourth flavor, Roasted No Salt.) Not being a fan of pepper, I decided to bring home the Roasted & Salted, and the European Roast.

Starting with the basics, I opened the interior bag of nuts in the Roasted & Salted flavor, and dumped them out into a bowl. These were absolutely the most open pistachios I can ever remember seeing in my life - in fact, many shells were so open they sat empty, having already lost their nut into the bag.

I took my first taste, prying open a gaping shell. The meat of the pistachio was large. Popping it into my mouth, I tasted a fresh, chewy, lovely pistachio, with just enough salt to count. I was hooked.

The European Roast flavor was next. I’d never had pistachios in any flavor other than plain salted before - how would these be different? The website describes European Roast as “A darker roast, with the taste combination of salt and malt vinegar.” Sort of like English fish ‘n chips, with the malt vinegar to sprinkle over the thick cut pieces of fried potato, then.

The ingredients for European Roast list, after the pistachios and salt, “Fructose, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavor, Malt Vinegar, Spice, Apple Cider Vinegar.” As those ingredients would suggest, the flavor of the European Roasted nuts was slightly sweet, slightly salty, and a bit darker than the Roasted & Salted. I’d be happier without the Fructose and the vague “Natural Flavor” listings. But overall, I rather liked the flavor. The difference from the plain Roasted & Salted was subtle, but distinct.

In the end, I was very satisfied with both flavors of Everybody’s Nuts! Pistachios. Fresh and tasty, and true to their Guarantee, not a single closed nut in either package. If these stay available, I may find that pistachios are back on my regular rotation of snacks, giving these a 4 out of 5 rating. I may even find myself trying the Salt & Pepper flavor - I have to admit, the experience with the European Roast flavor has emboldened me in regards to flavored pistachios.

I should note that this product was also tested by the four-footed members of our family, the Rattie Sisters, Lola and Sable. They give a hearty “two paws greedily reaching to grab the nut as quick as they can” as their rating! Pistachios were a big hit with both girls, and the nicely opened shells made it easy for them to get their treats.

Related Links:

• Company Website: Everybody’s Nuts! (Note - site plays animations and sound)
• Wikipedia: Pistachio

Posted: October 9th, 2007 under Snacks.
Comments: none

Harry and David Mint Crème Maltballs

Acquired by: Retail purchase at local Target store

Price: $2.99 for 6 oz.

Rating: 3 out of 5

One of my favorite flavors of all is malted milk. I’ll eat malted milk balls by the score. When I’m lucky enough to find an ice cream shop that actually knows what malt is, and has the powder variety, not the liquid, I’ll order my chocolate malt “crunchy” - meaning that it’s got enough malt powder that it sticks to the sides of the shake can and resists mixing.

I never considered combining the malted milk flavor with anything but milk chocolate. Until a couple of years ago at Christmas, when Target’s Choxie line of chocolates offered a mint flavored coating on a malted milk ball.

After December 26th, I pounced on a package at a discount. And I liked what I tasted - the malted milk and the mint flavors complemented each other beautifully. Since then, I’ve hoped to find a return of this variety to the Choxie shelves at Target, but alas, it seems that Choxie is too trendy to repeat itself.

So it was with some delight that I cruised the premium chocolates aisle at the same Target recently, and spotted this box of Harry and David Mint Crème Maltballs. Would I be pleasantly reminded of the Choxie version, or would I be disappointed?

I’m pleased to say that I’ve been reunited with that favorite flavor from the Choxie Mint Malted Milk Balls! Pop one of these green spheres in your mouth, and the minty coating begins to melt on your tongue. Crunch, and the flavor of malted milk joins the mix.

The malted milk center has a good texture - nice, tiny honeycombs, not large and full of holes. Crunchy, too, with no hint of excess moisture detracting from the experience.

Mint is so often overdone as a flavor in candies, but not here. The creamy coating adds just the right note of refreshment. This is no solo act - the mint and malt work together in a talented duet.

I wouldn’t want to eat these all the time - although the flavor is light, they’re fairly rich and satisfying. But now that I’ve found them, I will certainly make a point of picking them up now and then. Which gives them a 3 out of 5 rating.

Related Links:

• None, I’m sorry to say. Harry & David’s website doesn’t list these at all. And Target doesn’t sell food items through the online store. I’m guessing this may be an exclusive packaging for Target stores nationwide. Sorry!
  

Posted: September 26th, 2007 under Candy.
Comments: none

Reese’s Whipps

Acquired by: Retail Purchase at local Walmart

Price: 50 cents for a 1.9 oz. bar

Rating: 4 out of 5

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have been around for a long time. In recent years, the Hershey company has been on an extensive program to extend the brand with new varieties. By current count at the Reese’s website, there are at least 15 different candy and snack products with the name Reese’s attached.

The latest of these offerings is Reese’s Whipps. I first found Whipps on the bottom shelf of the checkout display at a local Walmart. My immediate impression, based on the wrapper image and the word “Whipp” was that these might be similar to the Mars company’s 3 Musketeers bar.

3 Musketeers was once my very favorite candy bar. I liked the malty chocolate flavor of the nougat center. But even more than that, I loved the texture of the bar - the slight chewy nature of the nougat, the way it spread on your tongue as it softened and melted in your mouth.

Sometime in the 80’s, the Mars company reformulated the recipe for the 3 Musketeers bar. I regret that I can’t find evidence of this on the web, but I remember distinctly at the time it happened that I read about it in the newspaper. I believe the recipe change involved using a different form of sugar, something that many candy makers were doing at the time - usually to reduce costs.

The flavor of the 3 Musketeers bar was forever altered. What had once been a mellow, malty note became purely sweet-tasting, with the light chocolate flavor nearly overwhelmed.

3 Musketeers bars were no longer the bar I had come to love, and I sadly walked away. I’ve hoped, over the years, that the Mars company might reverse their decision, or find yet another new formulation that would restore the original flavor. Or that I would discover another candy bar that could give me the same whipped nougat texture that I loved so much. But alas, it was not to be.

I bought Reese’s Whipps in the hopes that I could again experience something like my old friend. The wrapper shows a cross-section of the candy bar. A whipped nougat center is wrapped with a fudgy peanut butter candy. The whole is coated with milk chocolate.

I opened the wrapper and exposed the bar. If I saw these naked next to a 3 Musketeer bar, I’d be hard pressed to tell which is which without biting into one. Both have the same brick-like shape, and to the best of my memory, they’re about the same size.

I carefully broke the bar in two, and found a cross-section almost identical to the drawing on the wrapper. This is promising. A sniff of the bar revealed a faint peanut-buttery scent, with just a hint of milk chocolate.

Emboldened, I took a bite.

BLISS.

Pure and simple, the Reese’s Whipps bar had the same chewy, yet melt-in-your-mouth, texture that I remembered from 3 Musketeers. The peanut butter flavor was almost subtle, but definitely present. I loved that it didn’t overwhelm the taste buds.

Hershey’s has a winner here. I actually prefer the Reese’s Whipps over other Reese’s products, even the original Peanut Butter Cups. The flavor of the peanut butter in the Whipps is handled in a much more mellow, sophisticated way, and I liked it.

The texture of the nougat, plus the gentler peanut butter flavor, make this a bar that can last a long, long time. That’s a good value for the candy lover.

And most of all, Reese’s Whipps have returned to me, if not the flavor I loved in the 3 Musketeers, at least the magical texture of that bar’s whipped nougat - and with a different flavor that I love as much as the old 3 Musketeers. I am ecstatic!

I seldom get to Walmart to shop, so I’ll be scouring the racks carefully at other stores to see where else I can purchase Reese’s Whipps. These need to be on my regular snack list - making them a 4 out of 5 rating.

Thank you, Hershey’s!

Related Links:

• Manufacturer: Hershey’s
• Product Information: Reese’s Whipps at Hersheys.com
• Review at Candy Blog: Reese’s Whipps (link added 10-1-07)
• Review at CandyAddict: Reese’s Whipps (link added 10-18-07)
  

Posted: September 25th, 2007 under Candy.
Comments: 3

Archer Farms Five Cheese Macaroni Home-Style Baked Entree

Acquired by: Retail purchase at local Target store

Price: $3.49

Rating: 4 out of 5

As I’ve become more familiar with Archer Farms, the premium house brand of foods at Target stores, I’ve begun expanding the range of items I’ll try. Last weekend, I was inspired to check out one of the Archer Farms boxed dinners - Five Cheese Macaroni.

It is tempting to compare this to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, the best known boxed macaroni and cheese dinner on the market. Clearly, though, Archer Farms isn’t aiming at the kiddies with this product.

From the box -

The ultimate in grown-up comfort food, we take mac & cheese to the next level with this dish. Our pasta is bathed with a luscious Parmesan, Romano, Cheddar and Asiago cheese sauce with a touch of tangy blue cheese, and then topped with herb and Parmesan bread crumbs - creating that perfect marriage of crunchy and creamy.

I’ve made my share of the Kraft product, even as an adult - there’s no denying that it’s quick, tasty, and cheap. I’ve also made macaroni and cheese from scratch, using assorted cheeses to create the sauce, and baking the casserole in the oven.

Archer Farms Five Cheese Macaroni comes somewhere between the two. The box contains three packets - the thick, curly tubes of pasta (sadly, they don’t name the variety for us), a packet of sauce mix, and one of the crumbs for the topping. The home cook needs only to add milk and butter to complete the dish.

I boiled up the pasta according to the instructions. While it cooked, I began the sauce, heating the milk with the butter on med-low, as specified. I think they expected that the sauce would be done about the same time as the pasta, but I found that the milk took longer to bring to temperature. Next time, I’d start the sauce before the pasta.

By the time I drained the pasta, I still needed to add the sauce mix into the hot milk, then cook it for five minutes. “Or until the sauce is slightly thickened.” By my estimate, the sauce hadn’t thickened noticeably after the five minutes, so I gave it five more minutes.

I was still unsure about how thick it was by then, but decided to go ahead from that point - I was afraid of scorching the milk in the pan. I poured the pasta into a Pam-sprayed 8×8 inch glass baking pan (an alternative choice if you don’t have a 2-quart casserole). The sauce was poured over all, then the crumb topping sprinkled over.

The instructions say to bake for “20 minutes or until heated through” in a pre-heated, 325 degree oven. After 20 minutes, we took the pan from the oven, and felt it was still far too liquid to be done. We baked for an extra 10 minutes.

At that time, the macaroni and cheese still seemed far more liquid than it should. The top hadn’t browned too much yet, though, so we decided to go for one more 10 minute run. It still seemed a little too fluid after that time, but the top was now just about perfect, so we thought we’d see if a sitting time helped.

After about 20 minutes, the casserole was just about perfect. The sauce had firmed up, allaying our fears that we’d made an oven-baked soup. We spooned out a couple of servings, and dug in.

Folks, this stuff was good! As I mentioned, I’ve made macaroni & cheese from scratch before, and this had the same sort of mellow taste and semi-firm texture you’d expect from homemade. The flavor was a perfect blend - no one cheese stood out as a star, but all came together to create a smooth, creamy, cheesy note.

Not only was the taste and texture like homemade, the sauce was much easier to make than working from scratch. Here, I had a powdered mix that I added to the heated milk. From scratch, you’d have to grate a couple cups of cheese, then slowly stir it into the hot milk until it was all melted.

The box front claims this makes 4 hearty servings, and since Gryphon and I ate this as a meal by itself, that’s how it worked out. (The nutritional information, oddly, claims that there are six servings in the package.) We ate well for dinner on Saturday. Then for Sunday lunch, we had a second excellent meal. The leftovers took to re-heating in the microwave quite nicely.

I think the issues I had with the baking time could have been alleviated if the instructions had included some descriptions of the expected results. They could easily have added a line telling the home cook to “Allow to rest at room temperature for X minutes to firm up before serving.” If I’d seen that, I would have been okay with the amount of liquid the casserole still showed after baking.

I’d also recommend suggesting that the milk be put on to heat just as you’re putting the water on to boil for the pasta. The instructions currently explain how to cook the pasta in Step 2, then in Step 3 they say “Meanwhile, …heat…milk and …butter until butter is melted.” If, instead, Step 2 had you starting the sauce, then Step 3 the pasta, I think the timing might work a bit better.

In spite of the box instructions, Gryphon and I both give this a hearty 4 out of 5. The flavor was as good as my homemade macaroni and cheese, and the dish was easier to prepare. Next time, I’ll know from this experience to start the sauce sooner, and to let the casserole sit after baking.

Related Links:

• Archer Farms (Warning - plays video and sound.) This is a minimally informative promotional site at Target Online, but it appears to be the only one they offer. Archer Farms foods are not available for purchase at Target Online - only in brick-and-mortar Target stores.

Posted: September 24th, 2007 under Box Dinners.
Comments: 2

Caribou Coffee Vanilla Latte Snack Bars
Caribou Coffee Caramel High Rise Snack Bars

Acquired by: Retail purchase at local Target store.

Price:
Shelf price $2.33 per 6-pc. box.
On sale at 2 boxes for $4.00.
Additional $1.00 discount by using a newspaper coupon.
Final price, $1.50 per 6-pc. box.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Caribou Coffee is a nearly unknown entity here in New Hampshire. It was founded in 1992 in Minnesota by a pair of newlyweds who, climbing a mountain two years earlier in Denali National Park in Alaska, are supposed to have looked at the view and been inspired to open a coffee shop.

Okay, there are stranger reasons to start a business. The important point here is that the company, though it had a rocky beginning and eventually was bought by larger corporations, has become the “second-largest operator of non-franchised coffeehouses in the United States.” As with most companies, that means lots of auxiliary products to supplement your original product line.

This leads us to today’s topic: Caribou Coffee Snack Bars. I found these one day while shopping in Target. Since They were on sale, and I’d recently clipped a coupon from the newspaper as well, into my cart they went.

The snack bars are made by the General Mills company, making this a co-branded or licensed product. General Mills doesn’t list them on their website, and Caribou Coffee does. I suppose that means they’re more a Caribou Coffee product that happens to be made by General Mills, than a General Mills product licensing the Caribou Coffee name.

The flavor names are derived from coffee beverages actually served at Caribou Coffee stores. The website lists two other flavors that I didn’t find available in boxes at Target - Mint Condition and Chocolate Mocha.

These other two flavors can be purchased at the Caribou Coffee site, at $1.25 each for individual bars. The site also lists the Vanilla Latte and Caramel High Rise, but shows them as “no longer available.” I wonder if they pulled those flavors to test the market for boxed supermarket sales?

On opening the individually wrapped bars, there are no real surprises here. They look like classic granola bars. The texture is soft and chewy, the grains and nuts crispy. They impressed me as good quality bars, with a pleasing texture.

The coffee flavors themselves seemed to come more from the coatings they were dipped and drizzled with than the main body of the bar. The Caramel High Rise bar has a milky brown color; the Vanilla Latte is white. The coatings also seem to have tiny grains of brown mixed in them. Since the boxes claim the bars are “Made with REAL Caribou Coffee,” I’m guessing that’s where the coffee is found.

The aroma of good coffee rises up as soon as you open the wrappers. Vanilla was immediately obvious in the Vanilla Latte flavor. I’m not sure that I noticed a distinct caramel aroma or taste in the Caramel High Rise, though that may just be my inexperience with caramel-flavored coffee drinks.

I don’t eat granola bars often, because the flavors aren’t usually very interesting to me. Raisins, for instance, are an immediate no, as are many dried fruits. (Except apples. I like dried apples. And bananas.) Caribou Coffee Granola Bars, however, had no pretense about being anything but a coffee-flavored bar.

Bottom line? I liked these, a lot. On the few occasions where I do buy granola bars, I’m likely to prefer Caribou Coffee Snack Bars if they’re available. They were sweet without tasting artificially so; chewy without threatening to tear out teeth; crispy to just the right degree. The coffee flavor was distinct and tasty, without being overwhelming.

I rate both flavors of Caribou Coffee Snack Bars a solid 4 out of 5. These will probably find their way into my cart again!

Related Links:

• Company - Caribou Coffee
• Buy Online - Caribou Coffee Snack Bars at Caribou Coffee
• Wikipedia - Caribou Coffee

Posted: September 18th, 2007 under Snacks.
Comments: 2