The Good: Good taste, Generally affordable
The Bad: Still fairly expensive, Not as nutritious as many almond options.
The Basics: Planters Creme Brule Almonds are delicious, but not the health food many other premium almonds are.
I’ve gone nuts! Okay, I have gone to nuts for trying to eat healthy. My reviews have begun to reflect that as I have recently reviewed Blue Diamond Toffee flavored almonds (here!) and Wonderful Pistachios’ Roasted & Salted Pistachios (here!). Given that Planters is one of the leaders in nut production and sales, I figured it was a good time to review one of their products. Today, that takes the form of Planters Crème Brule Almonds.
I picked up the Planters Crème Brule Almonds for my wife and I had to sneak them out of the house in order to review them; she loves them so much, I know she would object to me sitting and consuming some for the sole purpose of writing about them. The truth is, though, I enjoy these almonds. They are a nice alternative to candy, but not a great alternative to other flavored nuts, at least for those looking at the health benefits. For those who are not, these are wonderful either way. Tasty and not at all like what one expects of almonds, Planters Crème Brule Almonds are a treat . . . much more than a health food.
Basics
Planters Creme Brule flavor Almonds are a ready-to-eat snack that is reminiscent of glazed peanuts, like what one buys at premium locations like Gertrude Hawk. Packaged in an 20 oz. cardboard canister, the Almonds are well protected. After removing the safety seal, consumers have access to the almonds that are glazed with a sugary coating that gives them their Creme Brule flavor. In fact, the glaze is so heavy on the Crème Brule Almonds that they do not resemble almonds at all. Instead, these nuts look like little candied blobs with no discernable nut or item they are coating.
Each 20 oz. container has approximately twenty 1 ounce servings easily removed through the wide mouth of the canister. This is a snack that is very hard to ration unless you are actually counting out the nuts!
Ease Of Preparation
These are glazed, roasted nuts, so preparing them is as easy as opening the canister they come in and consuming them. There is no trick or work needed to eat Creme Brule flavor Almonds. The most work here comes in stopping yourself from eating them all!
Taste
The Creme Brule Almonds smell like a bakery in the early morning. They are rich in the aroma of cinnamon and brown sugar and they are entirely inviting. This is arguably the best smelling nut – for something that smells like anything but a nut – that I have ever smelled. These are so richly scented, they are impossible to resist.
On the tongue, the Creme Brule almonds are overwhelmingly sweet. Completely eliminating the flavor of almonds until the very last of the hard, caramelized coating is gone, the Crème Brule Almonds taste exactly like what they are supposed to. These taste like a warm, caramelized crème brule treat and it is impressive just how well Planters nailed the flavor of crème brule. The almonds, when their flavor does come out after the sweetness dissipates are remarkably average, almost bland almonds. They have the buttery, indistinct flavor of unsalted almonds. They are not bad, but Planters could pretty much put the crème brule coating on anything and get it tasting as good as they make these almonds!
Nutrition
What surprised me most about Planters Creme Brule Almonds was how my wife recently applauded almonds as exceptionally healthy and these nuts are not all that healthy! A serving is 28 grams which is approximately eighteen nuts). With the standard recommended serving size, the nuts have only 8 grams of fat, which is pretty goof! That's 12% of the RDA of fat, which is less than many nut products. With 3% of the RDA coming from the half gram of saturated fat, Planters Crème Brule Almonds are not as bad on the health front as some saltier nut options. While there is 4% of the RDA of calcium and three grams of protein, there are not a ton of other nutrients in these nuts. In addition to potassium (115mg) and a comparatively low amount of salt (45 mg sodium!), these nuts have trace amounts of dietary fiber, iron, Vitamin E, Magnesium, and Manganese!
The ingredients list for these Creme Brule flavor Almonds is fairly short as well. Planters Crème Brule Almonds are made primarily of almonds, sugar and fructose. There is nothing unpronounceable in these nuts.
Storage/Clean-up
Just as with the preparation, Planters Creme Brule flavor Almonds are low stress when it comes to storage and cleanup. Storage is simple when the nuts are kept in their canister at room temperature or cooler. I was surprised to discover that these nuts, which seemed like they were new to the market, had an expiration date of March 9, 2012 (I bought them on the 1 and wrote this review days after, so . . .); they seem very fresh and I am surprised they would go bad so quickly. Once opened, they did not last long around our house, so I doubt that when they expire they actually “go bad.”
Planters Almonds are easy to clean up after as well. Simply wash your hands after eating them. Because these nuts are a dry glaze, there should be no residue left behind. If, however, there is, it may easily be wiped away with a damp cloth.
Overall
Planters Creme Brule flavor Almonds are a very good sweet snack and they win big points for tasting like the dessert whose name they bear. But they are not the healthiest rendition of almonds and that makes it a little harder to justify the expense of these delicious nuts.
For other snack reviews, please visit my takes on:
Quaker Low-Fat Chocolate Chunk Chewy Granola Bars
Peeled Organics Banan-A-Peel
WhoNu? Nutrition Rich Chocolate Cookies
5.5/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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