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