The Good: Good mint flavor, Neat idea
The Bad: Comparatively expensive, Not great on the nutrition front
The Basics: Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolates are a delightfully cooling mint chocolate treat with a dark chocolate exterior that does not hold its own against its powerful mint center.
When it comes to chocolate mint candies, I am of the mindset that the ideal chocolates of that type are balanced between the chocolate and mint elements. I am a huge fan of dark chocolate mint candies and oftentimes, the mint aspect of a dark chocolate mint candy cannot hold its own on the flavor front against the dark chocolate. Such is not the case with the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolates. Instead, the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate candies are a good example of a confection where the mint is so strong it overwhelms the flavor of the chocolate that encases it.
The Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate is a single-serving chocolate that is reminiscent of a chocolate marshmallow egg, like what one finds around Easter.
Basics
Each Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolate is a roughly two and a half inch discs of chocolate that are about three-quarter inches thick. Each of the chocolates comes individually wrapped in a blue and white plastic wrapper. It is worth noting that while I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine these (and other) Russell Stover chocolates not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.
Each chocolate disc has a flat bottom and a somewhat textured top. In this form, the 2 oz. individually-wrapped chocolate allows one to get a single serving per pack. Given that each Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate is roughly a dollar, these are pretty expensive for the quality.
Ease Of Preparation
These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as opening the wrapper. The Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolates recommend freezing the candy for at least thirty minutes as it is intended to vaguely emulate an ice cream treat. For the review, we left the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate in the freezer for about two weeks, so it was very adequately frozen. Having tried one at room temperature and now multiples that were frozen, freezing the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate does not significantly change the flavor of the candy.
Taste
Opening the blue and white foil wrapper from around the Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate, the consumer is met with a powerfully minty aroma. The dark chocolate that coats the frozen center is entirely overwhelmed by the scent of the mint within the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate.
In the mouth, the Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate is dry and sweet. The chocolate coating is fairly thin and generic. The mint flavor seeps into the chocolate to bias the flavor of the chocolate itself. Instead, the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate has a strong peppermint and spearmint center that is not overwhelmed by its sugary ganache medium. Instead, this is a dry, strong mint flavor that is likely to satisfy those who love mint, but not those who want a decent chocolate mint flavored candy.
The Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate leaves a slightly minty aftertaste in the mouth for about two minutes after one is done consuming them.
Nutrition
The Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate are candy, so it is tough to look at these for something nutritious and then blame them for not being healthy. The primary ingredients are sugar, chocolate processed with alkali, and cocoa butter. There is nothing unpronounceable in these candies and outside a few stray preservatives near the end of the ingredient's list, everything in them sounded pretty palatable!
A serving of the Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolates is considered one piece. From each chocolate disc, one takes in 260 calories, 90 of those calories being from fat. There is 1% of the RDA of cholesterol (5 mg) and 80 mg of Sodium (3% RDA). The 7 grams of Saturated Fat represent 34% of the RDA of saturated fat. Each Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate has 2 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Iron (6% RDA and Calcium (2% RDA) in each chocolate.
Honestly, these are candy and anyone looking to them for actual nutrition needs to get a reality check. These are not Vegan-compliant, nor are they recommended for anyone with a nut allergy as they are produced on the same equipment that peanuts and tree nuts pass over. They are not marked as kosher and they have an allergy warning for tree nuts, eggs and wheat. They are partially produced with genetic engineering.
Storage/Clean-up
The Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolates remain fresh for quite some time. One assumes that if they are kept in a cool, dry environment - or frozen as they are recommended - they will not melt or go bad. Given that they are individually wrapped in a very sealed package, it is hard to imagine just what it would take for these to go bad outside melting and then refreezing.
I applaud those who actually throw the wrappers away in socially appropriate places, as opposed to litter. Outside that, there is no real cleanup needed, unless one is eating them in a hot environment. In that case, it is likely one would need to wash their hands. If these chocolates melt into most fabrics, they will stain. Getting them to melt, though, appears fairly difficult as the dark chocolate is very solid!
Overall
The Russell Stover Freeze-It Mint Chocolate Chip In Dark Chocolate chocolates are good, but they are not a good balance between chocolate and mint; anyone who loves mint are likely to enjoy them, but the chocolate is sublimated to that flavor in a way disappointing to those who love dark chocolate.
For other Russell Stover chocolate reviews, please check out:
Russell Stover Freeze-It Vanilla Bean In Dark Chocolate
Private Reserve Mississippi Mud chocolate squares
Whitman's SoHo Assortment
5/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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