Tcho Dark Chocolate Chocolate Squares Disappoint!

The Good: Good ingredients, Accurately captures the promised flavor
The Bad: Expensive, Bitter, with a dry aftertaste more akin to a baker's chocolate than a dessert chocolate.
The Basics: Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolates are disappointing in that they have a high cacao content with little flavor or enjoyment to be derived from consuming them.


When it comes to exceptionally dark chocolate, I find there to be a difficult balance to find in getting an accurate flavor for the dark chocolate and making a treat actually worth consuming. Far too often, I encounter dark chocolates that are far too milky and fail to live up to the promise of their dark chocolate flavor. Only once in a long while do I encounter a dark chocolate that is more like a baker's chocolate - bitter and unpleasant - than an actual consumable confection. The Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolate squares are one of the rare examples of the latter problem.

Basics

Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolate squares are one and 1/2” squares of chocolate that are 3/16” thick. Each of the squares comes individually wrapped in a dark brown and gold foil wrapper. It is worth noting that while I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine Tcho chocolate squares not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.

Each chocolate square is a seamless square that is a milk chocolate patty with an artistic grid filigree stamped into the top.

Ease Of Preparation

These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as opening the bag and then opening one of the plastic wrappers around the actual chocolate square one wishes to eat. There is no grand secret to eating Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolate squares. That said, they do need to be kept comparatively cool or these squares will melt.

Taste

The Dark Chocolate Tcho squares smell exceptionally strongly of cacao. Anyone who loves dark chocolate will instantly recognize the aroma of strong, dark chocolate undiluted by the milk chocolate medium or additional sweeteners that most inexpensive chocolates are hampered by. The aroma is akin to baker's chocolate.

In the mouth, the Tcho Dark Chocolate squares are dry and surprisingly sweet compared to the aroma. The initial sweetness fades within seconds to an obvious bitterness that accompanies very dark chocolates with high cacao content. Unfortunately, the Tcho Dark Chocolate lack any real depth of flavor or subtlety; these are dry and bitter with little pizazz. These might as well be baker's chocolate for their flavor.

There is a heavily bitter aftertaste to the Dark Chocolate chocolate squares, which leaves the mouth dry and robs the delight from any part of the flavor experience.

Nutrition

The Dark Chocolate chocolate squares are candy, so it is tough to look at these for something nutritious and then blame them for not being healthy. Tcho chocolate squares have decent ingredients, though, which is probably why they are so expensive. The primary ingredients are cacao beans, cane sugar and cocoa butter. There is nothing unpronounceable, nor unrecognizable in these candies.

A serving of the Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolate squares is considered a single square and while there is nothing bad in them, they are not exactly loaded with nutrients.

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 may contain trace amounts of tree nuts.

Storage/Clean-up

The bags of these Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolate squares remain fresh for quite some time. Ours did not have an expiration date that I could find. Given that it is chocolate, one assumes that if they are kept in a cool, dry environment they will not melt or go bad. It is hard to imagine just what it would take for these to go bad outside melting and refreezing.

As for cleanup, 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 chocolate squares melt into most fabrics, they will stain. Getting them to melt, though, is quite a task.

Overall

Tcho Dark Chocolate chocolate squares are a good example of a dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao, but a low appeal based on their flavor and expense.

For other chocolate reviews, please check out:
Lindt Red Velvet Lindor Truffles
Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark chocolate squares
Green & Black's Pure Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao chocolate bars

4/10

For other candy reviews, please visit my Candy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark Is Fun!

The Good: Good flavor, Decent ingredients
The Bad: Not exactly nutritious.
The Basics: Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark is a flavorful limited edition chocolate square worth trying and makes the consumer wish it was around year round!


I am not, honestly, a huge fan of chocolate and fruit flavors. That said, every now and then I pick something up that is fruit-flavored and chocolate and it turns out to be wonderful and I love it. Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark chocolate squares are one of those products!

Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark is pretty delicious and is a limited edition flavor of Ghirardelli chocolate that Ghirardelli released for Valentine's Day.

Basics

Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark chocolate squares are one and a half inch squares of chocolate that are about three-eighths inches thick. Each of the squares comes individually wrapped in a white and pink foil wrapper with hearts on it. It is worth noting that while I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine Ghirardelli chocolate squares not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.

Each chocolate square is a seamless square that is essentially a chocolate patty which has milk chocolate on the bottom and white chocolate with Strawberry flakes in it on the upper half of the confection. In this form, the 5.4 oz. bag, the individually-wrapped chocolate squares are packaged together in a thick foil paper bag. This size has thirteen squares and the thick foil paper bag does little to protect the squares. The bag is not resealable, though this matters very little considering that the chocolate squares do not go bad as they are individually wrapped.

One of these bags, even with only thirteen squares, tends to run in the $6.00 range, before the end-of-the-season sales.

Ease Of Preparation

These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as opening the bag and then opening one of the foil wrappers around the actual chocolate square one wishes to eat. There is no grand secret to eating Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark chocolate squares.

Taste

The Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark smells powerfully of strawberry. The scent is strong and inviting. There is no hint of chocolate in the bouquet of these chocolate squares.

The Strawberry Bark tastes sweet and chocolatey. The fruit flavor actually dominates the chocolate squares. The strawberry flavor is delicious and plays off the chocolate better than something like chocolate covered strawberries; there is no sourness to these chocolates, like can happen with real strawberries. The white chocolate portion of the Strawberry Bark is incredibly mild. The strawberry flavor holds its own with the milk chocolate in these chocolate squares and these taste delightful as a result.

The Strawberry Bark has a slight, very sweet, aftertaste to it that does not endure in the mouth very long after the last of these are consumed.

Nutrition

These are candy, so it is tough to look at these for something nutritious and then blame them for not being healthy. Ghirardelli chocolate squares are surprisingly good, though, which is probably why they are more expensive than many mass-produced chocolates. The primary ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter and whole milk powder. Still, there is nothing unpronounceable in these candies.

A serving of the Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark chocolate squares is one square. From a single square, one takes in 70 calories, with 4.5 grams of fat. There is no cholesterol and subtle amounts of sodium, Potassium and Iron. 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 pass over. They are, however, kosher.

Storage/Clean-up

The bags of these Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark chocolate squares remain fresh for quite some time. The package I bought on clearance after Valentine's Day would not have expired until Halloween, had I not eaten them first. Given that it is chocolate, one assumes that if they are kept in a cool, dry environment 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 refreezing.

As for cleanup, 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 chocolate squares melt into most fabrics, they will stain. Getting them to melt, though, is quite a task.

Overall

Ghirardelli Strawberry Bark is a pleasant combination of chocolate and strawberry flavoring that manages to land . . . even with someone like me, who is much more of a fan of dark chocolate and mint flavors.

For other Ghirardelli products, please check out my reviews of:
Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee Chocolate Squares
Dark Chocolate With Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Squares
Intense Dark Cabernet Matinee

7/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Imbalance In Deliciousness: Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix Nails One Flavor!

The Good: Fairly easy to prepare, Good flavor, Environmentally-responsible packaging.
The Bad: Comparatively expensive, Coffee flavoring is not present in any satisfying way
The Basics: Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is all right as an alternative to hot cocoa, but not as much of a thrill for coffee lovers.


I have, generally, enjoyed the Maxwell House Indulge Max Coffee Drink Mix line. The instant coffee beverages are an interesting alternative to hot cocoa, which seems to be in a weirdly short supply in my area. Ironically, this becomes a problem for the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix; this drink nails the chocolate flavors needed to accurately embody mocha, but there is almost no real coffee flavoring to the beverage.

Basics

Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is part of Maxwell House Indulge Max's new premium Coffee Drink Mix line and one suspects that the company is trying to compete with the flavors from the International Delights Coffee Drink Mix line. This mix comes in a 12 oz. cardboard canister, found in the coffee or cocoa section of most grocery stores. The canister represents 12 or 13 full servings of the resulting beverage.

Ease Of Preparation

Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is fairly simple to make. The single serving is two Tablespoons of the mix and eight fluid oz. of water. One must measure out the drink mix in order to use it properly; these are not individually portioned servings, which makes the canister more environmentally friendly than most instant coffee beverages!

To make the drink, pop the plastic lid off the canister of Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix. Then, measure out two Tablespoons of the powder from inside the canister and place the powder in a mug that is able to hold at least 10 oz. of liquid. Once that is done, simply pour hot water - near boiling, but not actually boiling as boiling water cooks the ingredients as opposed to simply dissolving them - over the powder and stir. Stir the powder until there are no blobs of coffee granules visible in the water. This drink mix always seems to crackle when hot water is added to it and it was near-impossible to get all of the drink mix to dissolve when using the proper amount of water. Chunks of powder in the drink aside, this makes for a fairly potent beverage! The Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix, when mixed up, makes a dark brown liquid that is opaque, like coffee with creamer or hot cocoa.

Taste

The Mocha smells fairly potently of chocolate. There is almost no coffee scent in the bouquet of this coffee beverage. Indeed, this smells more like a cup of hot cocoa than a coffee drink.

In the mouth, the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix tastes strongly of dark chocolate. The initial chocolate flavor of the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix continues with a dry flavor indicative of dark chocolate flavoring. The drink lacks both the bitterness and the flavoring of roasted coffee beans. Instead, this is flavored much like a hot cocoa than a mocha flavored coffee beverage.

The Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix leaves a surprisingly sweet and chocolatey aftertaste that endures in the mouth for several minutes after the last of the beverage is consumes.

Nutrition

Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is a coffee mix and therefore is entirely lacking in real nutritional value. There are 100 calories, 25 of which come from the 3 grams of fat in this drink. It seems like there is an undisclosed amount of caffeine in the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix, as one of the latter ingredients is "instant coffee," not instant decaffeinated coffee. In addition to nineteen grams of carbohydrates, there is a single gram of protein and 2% of the RDA of Iron.

Made primarily of sugar, nondairy creamer and cocoa, it is unsurprising that the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is not very nutritious. Because it contains milk, this is not Vegan compliant and it is not marked as gluten free or kosher.

Storage/Cleanup

So long as one leaves the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix mix in its canister, it ought to stay usable. The canister I purchased on clearance today had an April 10, 2018 expiration dates, but it is hard to imagine what might make it go bad even after that. One assumes it will last quite a while and dissolve appropriately when one attempts to use it.

Cleanup for the Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is very easy; if the product spills while dumping it into the mug, simply wipe it up or brush it up with a dry or damp cloth. If it has already been reconstituted with water into coffee, simply wipe it up. Light fabrics are likely to stain if this gets on them, in which case consult your fabric care guide to clean it up.

Overall

Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha Coffee Drink Mix is decent as a flavorful beverage, but mediocre as a beverage that that is supposed to have coffee flavoring to it.

For other Maxwell House coffees, please visit my reviews of:
Maxwell House Indulge Max Mocha + Salted Caramel Coffee Drink Mix
Intense Bold Coffee
South Pacific Blend

6/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Indistinct Edibles: RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars Underwhelm

The Good: Decent ingredients, Does not taste bad
The Bad: Not particularly or distinctly berry flavored, Not as nutritious as it is ethically produced, Comparatively expensive
The Basics: RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars are unimpressive and not particularly filling or healthy, making them a tough sell for their premium price.


My wife has her eyes out constantly for new and interesting foods. As a result, she often picks me up products from new (to me) brands that have "hooks" that I tend to be intrigued by. Recently, she found me RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars and the gimmick for RXBars seems to be listing their primary ingredients on the front of their packaging. For me, that meant a sense of bemusement right out of the gate: there are no berries listed as primary ingredients for the RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars! Sadly, that truth carried through to the flavor of the Berry Blast bars, which meant that the flavor of raspberries only was a minor aspect of the flavor palate and made these an underwhelming treat to me.

Basics

RXBars are new to me. They seem to be trading on the idea of being all-natural and up-front with their ingredient list (the front of the package lists the four main ingredients that compose the bar).

Each Berry Blast Protein Bar is in a 1.16 oz. bar that is plastic-wrapped. Each bar represents a single serving and the Protein Bars are each 1 5/8” wide by 3/8” thick by 2 1/2” long. The RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars are unsurprisingly breakable or squishable. Each bar looks like a simple cookie bar, like a textured Fig Newton or a soft breakfast bar.

Ease Of Preparation

Eating RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars is simple. After removing the plastic wrapper, simply pull out the bar and stick it in your mouth. There is no particularly complicated equation to eating this Protein Bar; it is an entirely ready-to-eat food!

Taste

Unwrapping the Berry Blast Protein Bar, the bar smells surprisingly fruity. The scent of raspberries and strawberries emanates compellingly from the RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bar!

In the mouth, the RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bar tastes dry and sweet, with a vaguely fruity flavor. The sweet and tangy flavor of raspberries overwhelms the actual dates that form the basis for the bar. The mildly berry flavor comes out in every bite - usually as a mid-flavor between the mealy date dryness and a buttery, nutty aftertaste.

The RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars have a buttery, almond aftertaste that is not particularly distinct or flavorful.

Nutrition

RXBar Kids Protein Bars are intended as a meal supplement and they seem to work fairly well for that. These 1.16 oz. Protein Bars represent a single serving and they are surprisingly healthy. Made primarily of Dates, egg whites and almonds, what surprised me was how there was nothing in these bars that was unpronounceable. This is an all-natural food product and these Protein Bars are not Vegan-compliant, because of the eggs in them.

RXBar Kids's Berry Blast Protein Bars have 130 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. A full serving represents 3% of one's RDA of saturated fat, though they are cholesterol-free. Surprisingly, they are fairly low in sodium with only 80 mg (3% RDA) per serving and there are an impressive 7 grams of protein to be had by eating a full bar. These bars are a notable source of Calcium, Iron and Potassium, but no other vitamins or minerals.

Storage/Cleanup

As a healthy Protein Bar, RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bar remain fresh so long as they are kept in their wrappers. Ours had an expiration date of June 23, 2018, so these last for a while. As long as the bars are not heated up, they remain fresh and the only real clean-up for them comes from wiping up crumbs. These bars are fairly moist and they seem almost greasy; cleaning the moisture/greasy film off the fingers is pretty much the only clean-up required!

Overall

RXBar Kids Berry Blast Protein Bars are unimpressive on all fronts.

For other bars, please check out:
Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars
Quest Beyond Cinnamon Roll Cereal Protein Bar
Clif Builder's Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar

3.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please check out my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee Chocolate Squares Delight!

The Good: Good flavor, Good ingredients
The Bad: Not exactly nutritious, I wouldn't pay full price for them . . .
The Basics: The new, limited edition, Valentine's Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares are flavorful and worthwhile!


I love Valentine's Day . . . for the after-holiday sales. I'm not a huge fan of the Hallmark style holiday (I have an anniversary to glorify my love for my wife!); so getting the treats from the holiday afterwords for half price is a much bigger deal to me than the actual Valentine's Day. This year, I stopped at Target after the holiday and I picked up a bunch of Valentine's Day candies. One of the most exciting candies I picked up this year was a bag of Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares.

Basics

Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares are one and 13/16” squares of chocolate that are 1/4” thick. Each of the squares comes individually wrapped in a light pink foil wrapper with gold hearts. It is worth noting that while I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine Ghirardelli chocolate squares not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.

Each chocolate square is a seamless square that is essentially a white chocolate patty with tiny flecks of additives that are reminiscent of cookie pieces with the Ghirardelli symbol stamped into the top. In this form, the 4.8 oz. bag, the individually-wrapped chocolate squares are packaged together in a thick foil paper bag. This size has fourteen squares and the thick foil paper bag does little to protect the squares. The bag is not resealable, though this matters very little considering that the chocolate squares do not go bad as they are individually wrapped.

One of these bags, even with only fourteen squares, tends to run in the $5.00 range, which is not at all prohibitively priced.

Ease Of Preparation

These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as opening the bag and then opening one of the plastic wrappers around the actual chocolate square one wishes to eat. There is no grand secret to eating Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares. That said, they do need to be kept comparatively cool or these squares will melt.

Taste

The White Chocolate Creme Brulee Ghirardelli squares smell incredibly like white chocolate. The white chocolate aroma is strong and aromatic. There is a hint of cinnamon in the scent of the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares.

In the mouth, Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares taste potently of white chocolate. The cinnamon and caramel flavor comes out in the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares as the white chocolate melts away. The Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares feature a crunchy additive that bears the flavor of the creme brulee; the white chocolate is smooth and creamy opposite the caramel and cinnamon crunchy pieces.

The White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares have a slight, sweet, milky aftertaste.

Nutrition

The White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares are candy, so they are not intended to fill in nutritional gaps one might have. Ghirardelli chocolate squares have decent ingredients, though, which is probably why they are so expensive. The primary ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, and whole milk powder. There is nothing unpronounceable, nor unrecognizable, in the White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares.

A serving of the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares is a single square. From a square, one takes in 60 calories. There is no cholesterol and 20 mg of Calcium. There is only a negligible amount of Sodium (10 mg) and no other vitamins or minerals are truly represented!

The White Chocolate Creme Brulee squares are not Vegan-compliant, nor are they recommended for anyone with a nut allergy as they may contain trace amounts of tree nuts. They are, however, kosher.

Storage/Clean-up

The bags of these Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares remain fresh for quite some time. Given that it is chocolate, one assumes that if they are kept in a cool, dry environment they will not melt or go bad. It is hard to imagine just what it would take for these to go bad outside melting and refreezing. The bag I purchased on clearance following Valentine's Day had an expiration date of November 30, 2018.

As for cleanup, just throw the wrappers away in socially appropriate places and you're done! 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 chocolate squares melt into most fabrics, they will stain. Getting them to melt, though, is quite a task.

Overall

Ghirardelli White Chocolate Creme Brulee chocolate squares are surprisingly good, even for those who like dark chocolate, as a flavorful alternative to the norm!

For other Ghirardelli chocolate squares reviews, please check out:
Milk Chocolate Peppermint Brownie chocolate squares
Cinnamon Crunch
Sublime White Vanilla Dream White Chocolate With Vanilla Beans

7.5/10

For other candy reviews, please visit my Candy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Intriguing, But Not Indispensible, Lindt Red Velvet White Chocolate Lindor Truffles Are Fun!

The Good: Good white chocolate flavor, Generally decent ingredients
The Bad: Not the most distinct flavor, Limited edition nature makes them hard to find/potentially expensive
The Basics: The Lindt Red Velvet White Chocolate Lindor truffles are an interesting Valentine's Day exclusive truffle that shake things up for those who love white chocolate.


"Red Velvet" seems to rapidly be becoming one of those trendy flavors that products are produced with the coloring and name in mind, as opposed to the actual flavor. Red velvet cakes seem to have a wide variety of recipes, but the most consistent seem to be cakes that have a high cinnamon content and I most frequently find them with cream cheese style frostings. In that fashion, Lindt Red Velvet White Chocolate Lindor Truffles manage to live up on more than just the coloring front. But next to an actual red velvet cake, these truffles are comparatively mild.

Basics

Lindt Lindor Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles are one of the newest chocolate truffles from the Swiss chocolatiers Lindt & Sprungli and their U.S.-based subsidiary. Each truffle is a one inch sphere of white chocolate with a shell about an eighth of an inch thick. This shell covers a thick red-brown chocolate and cinnamon flavored ganache ball inside. Each of the truffles comes individually wrapped in a dark maroon foil wrapper, which is very easy to distinguish from other Lindt Lindor truffles. While I usually rail against the environmental impact of individually-wrapped candies, it is hard to imagine Lindt Lindor truffles not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.

Each Lindor Truffle is a sphere with a seam at the hemisphere that is essentially a white chocolate globe sealing in a soft creamy ball inside. Currently sold individually (at approximately $.75/ea), by the pound or in various-sized limited edition packs outside the Lindt retail stores, Red Velvet White Chocolate Lindor truffles are a seasonally-available truffle.

Ease of Preparation

These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as unwrapping the foil wrapper around the actual chocolate truffles. There is no special way to unwrap or eat Lindt Lindor Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles; it's not like baking a red velvet cake from scratch!

Taste

Opening the wrapper from the Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles, the strong, creamy scent of white chocolate bursts forth from the wrapper. The aroma of white chocolate is very inviting for anyone who loves that style of chocolate. The bouquet of the Red Velvet White Chocolate does not hint at anything more than white chocolate.

The white chocolate coating of the Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles is thick, sweet and creamy without being at all waxy. The strength of the white chocolate overwhelms even the hint at any other flavor hiding inside. As the white chocolate melts away, there is a flavor much like cream cheese that comes to the forefront. As that flavor transitions, the Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles take on a more cinnamon flavor. The cinnamon and mild chocolate flavor finish the truffle well, but the white chocolate definitely dominates the flavor of these truffles.

The Red Velvet White Chocolate lindor truffles leaves a creamy aftertaste in the mouth, which endures for several minutes after the last truffle is consumed.

Nutrition

The Red Velvet White Chocolate Lindt Lindor truffles are candy, so it is tough to look at these for something nutritious and then blame them for not being healthy. Lindt Lindor truffles are made of good ingredients, which is probably why they are so expensive. The primary ingredients are white chocolate, vegetable oil and sugar. There is nothing unpronounceable in these candies, which is something I have come to expect from Lindt.

A serving of the Lindt Lindor Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles is three truffles. From a single serving, one consumes 220 calories, 17 grams of fat. There are twenty-five milligrams of Sodium and 5 mg cholesterol in these truffles. This flavor is devoid of any vitamins. There are two grams of protein, 65 mg Calcium (6% RDA), 85 mg Potassium (2% RDA) in each serving.

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 marked as kosher (dairy), but not gluten-free.

Storage/Clean-up

The Lindt Lindor Red Velvet White Chocolate truffles remain fresh for quite some time. However, they ought to be kept in a cool environment between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Kept in such an environment, the truffles we bought a couple of days ago would have lasted until August 31, 2018.

As for cleanup, throw the wrappers in the garbage and that is all of the cleanup needed! 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 truffles melt into most fabrics, they will stain. For that style of clean-up, be sure to consult a fabric guide for whatever you stained.

Overall

The Lindt Red Velvet White Chocolate Lindor Truffles are flavorful and interesting, though it is hardly a flavor I'd hunt down as vigorously as some of the other Lindt seasonal truffles!

For other Lindt treats, please check out my reviews of:
Extra Dark Peppermint Lindor Truffles
Intense Orange Dark Chocolate Squares
70% Cocoa Almond Brittle Chocolate Bars

5/10

For other food reviews, please check out my Food Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Lot To Ask From White Chocolate Lovers: Loacker White Wafer Cookies!

The Good: Tastes good, Generally good ingredients
The Bad: Could be a little more affordable, Not at all healthy
The Basics: Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies are powerfully flavored in a way that anyone who loves white chocolate might enjoy!


I love trying new foods, even when they are not my favorite flavored foods. I am a big fan of dark chocolate and mint, but despite that, I often try things that are milk chocolate or white chocolate. I was pretty psyched when a recent food box my wife picked up for me included Loacker White wafer cookies. While she might like white chocolate more than I do, I can easily recognize the quality of the Loacker White cookies!

Basics

Loacker is an Italian food manufacturer that has begun importing to the U.S. to grow their brand here. The Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies are individually-wrapped wafer wafer cookies and they are good, though they are not the most environmentally friendly.

Each 55 gram Loacker wafer cookie is a single bar-style wafer cookie approximately 3 1/2” long and 3 1/4” wide and 3/8" thick. The White Chocolate wafer cookies come in a 1.94 oz. package with a bar that has six segments.

Ease Of Preparation

Eating Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies is not a real challenge, simply unwrap the wafer cookie, which is pretty much like a candy bar, and consume. When you have a wafer cookie out, all you have to do is stick it in your mouth and chew; there is nothing complicated or foreign about eating these wafer cookies.

Taste

Opening the individual wrap around the Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies reveals a strong, surprisingly nutty scent. There is almost no chocolate scent to these wafer cookie bars, but there is a weird, faint peanut scent to the cookies.

The Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies are very sweet and creamy. The white chocolate is potent and instantly recognizable. The crispy wafer cookie inside the chocolate shell is more of a texture as opposed to a flavor, but it is delightful. The white chocolate flavor is strong and dominates these cookies in a pleasant way.

There is no real aftertaste to the Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies.

Nutrition

Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies are intended as a sweet snack, not a full meal. The full 55 gram wafer cookie bar represents a single serving and they are not at all nutritious. Made primarily of sugar, cocoa butter and whole milk powder, this is not an all-natural food product and these wafer cookies were produced on equipment that forces them to add a disclaimer about almonds, hazelnuts, milk, wheat, gluten and soy.

Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies have a whopping 310 calories for a single wafer cookie serving, 170 of which are from fat. A full serving represents 65% of one's RDA of saturated fat, though they are very low in cholesterol, with only 10 mg. (3% RDA). As well, they are fairly low in sodium for a wafer cookie, having only 70 mg per serving. They have five grams of protein and only fifteen percent of the RDA of Calcium . . . and no other real nutrients. As one who is working on getting heart-healthy, I wish there had been even a gram of dietary fiber.

Storage/Cleanup

Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies are easy to care for and clean up. Unopened, they have a pretty short shelf life; I received mine last month and they have an expiration date of the end of February 2018. Kept sealed, I am sure they would have lasted at least that long. As wafer cookies, one need only not shake the package excessively to care for them and wipe away any crumbs after eating them. This is a low-stress food!

Overall

Loacker White Chocolate wafer cookies are good, for anyone who loves white chocolate and is willing to overlook the nutritional detractions of them.

For other reviews of White Chocolate products, please check out:
Ghirardelli Sublime White Cookies Jubilee chocolate bar
Quaker Chewy White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Reese's White Peanut Butter Cups

5.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Great For Peanut Lovers, Less For Those Who Adore Fudge: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream!

The Good: Decent peanut butter and salt flavor, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other ice creams, Not at all healthy, Fudge flavor is entirely sublimated to the peanut butter
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is an interesting, very nutty ice cream that worked as a pick-me-up, but is unlikely to get a repeat "buy" from me!


Today was not a great day for me. I spent almost twelve hours driving to a convention - and got very much inside my head while driving alone - and I finally managed to take in the new film by one of my favorite writer/directors only to be gravely disappointed by it. Two things, however, made my day better. The first was a series of phone calls from my amazing wife. The other was buying some comfort food. Yes, nothing changes the tenor of the day like cranking the heat up in a hotel room and cracking open a pint of ice cream. In this case, the therapy ice cream was Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream.

Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream strikes me as something my wife might enjoy more than me. I like chocolatey flavors quite a bit and I love a good mix of chocolate and peanut butter. But, between a peanut butter base, a very weak fudge and actual peanuts, the Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream is definitely intended for a peanut butter lover!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is a smooth ice cream with occasional chunks of fudge and a lot of peanuts mixed in. At (locally) $4.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert.

Ease Of Preparation

The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream is a basic ice cream with two additives. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream smells fairly strongly of peanut butter. The aroma is nutty and becomes even more prominent as the ice cream nears its melting point.

On the taste front, the Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is dry and salty. The chocolate fudge flavor barely has a chance to manifest before the actual peanuts in the ice cream overwhelm any potential sweetness and the saltiness in the ice cream overcomes the cocoa flavoring. This is a great ice cream for those who love peanut butter!

This ice cream has an extremely dry aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with hard additives. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 340 calories, 210 of which are from fat. The twenty-three grams of fat represent 35% of the RDA of fat, with 55% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 11 grams of saturated fat in this ice cream. One serving has 60 mg of cholesterol (that’s 20% of the RDA!) and 150 mg of Sodium (6% RDA). The only other real nutrients are six grams of protein and 10% of the RDA of Calcium in the Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and sugar, Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Haagen-Dazs is neither Kosher, nor gluten free. There are no specific allergy warnings on the package, though this ice cream is noted to contain milk, peanut, soy, and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs ice cream is both a frozen and a dairy product, so it is pretty obvious that it must be kept frozen in order to remain viable. Kept frozen it remains fresh for months (my pint had an expiration date of September 7, 2018, though it will be gone by the end of the weekend, if not the end of the night!).

The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is fairly light off-white/tan color and will stain if the ice cream comes closer to room temperature, especially because the Salted Fudge is far darker and melts into fabrics. As well, when the ice cream melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the ice cream wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is good, but the peanuts in it distract some from the salted fudge, robbing it of perfection!

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
Vanilla Bean Gelato
Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato

6.5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Delightful For What It Is: Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars Satisfy!

The Good: Very tasty, Very healthy, Surprisingly filling
The Bad: Comparatively expensive
The Basics: Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars are a decent meal replacement bar with a surprising number of nutrients and a yummy flavor!


There are very few meal replacement bars that I truly love. So many of them taste like something mealy and gross and unlike their promised flavor. So, when I find one that actually tastes like what it promises to be, I actually get excited. I am excited about the Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars!

Basics

Special K is perhaps best known for making the breakfast cereal that is a classic, but a little bland. Special K Protein bars are part of Kelloggs’ expansion into meal and snack bars. Their Meal Bars come in several flavors and I chose the Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bar because I love chocolate mint foods.

Each Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bar is in a 1.59 oz. bar that is foil-wrapped. Each bar represents a single serving and the Meal Bars are each 1 1/8” wide by 5/8” thick by 4 1/8” long. The Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars are unsurprisingly breakable or squishable. A box of Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars contains only five bars. Each bar looks like a simple chocolate bar.

Ease Of Preparation

Eating Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars is simple. After removing the foil wrapper, simply pull out the bar and stick it in your mouth. There is no particularly complicated equation to eating this meal bar; it is an entirely ready-to-eat food!

Taste

Unwrapping the Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bar, I was thrilled by how the bar smelled strongly of chocolate and mint. The mint and mild chocolate aroma is distinct and enjoyable to those who like those flavors (which includes me).

In the mouth, the Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars are sweet with a fairly light milk chocolate coating. The sweet milk chocolate melts way fairly quickly to expose the minty center. The sweet, cool, peppermint is muted by the chocolate coating and its protein isolate medium - which tastes like uncooked cookie batter. The batter-like flavor is delightful and enjoyable and accurately represents a chocolate mint flavor.

The Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars leaves a mild, minty aftertaste in the mouth for about five minutes after the last of the bar is consumed.

Nutrition

Special K Protein Meal Bars are intended as a meal replacement and they seem to work to fill a consumer up fairly well. These 1.59 oz. Meal Bars represent a single serving and they are surprisingly healthy. Made primarily of sugar, soluble corn fiber, and soy protein isolate, what surprised me was how there was nothing in these bars that was unpronounceable. This is a mostly-natural food product and these Meal Bars were produced on equipment that may leave the bar with traces of peanuts, wheat, almonds, soy, wheat and milk, so they are not Vegan-compliant.

Special K Protein's Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars have 190 calories, 50 of which are from fat. A full serving represents 23% of one's RDA of saturated fat and they have 15 mg. of cholesterol. Surprisingly, they are fairly low in sodium with only 140 mg (6% RDA) per serving and there are an impressive 8 grams of protein to be had by eating a full bar. These are a significant source of ten vitamins and minerals, with several B vitamins in the 20% RDA range.

Storage/Cleanup

As a healthy meal bar, Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bar remain fresh so long as they are kept in their wrappers. Our box had an expiration date of June 5, 2018, so these last for a while. As long as the bars are not heated up, they remain fresh and the only real clean-up for them comes from wiping up crumbs.

If the Chocolatey Dipped Mint bars get hot, though, the chocolate coating on them will melt and cleaning that up can be a little more tricky, especially from light fabrics. Consult a fabric guide if the chocolate melts onto your clothes.

Overall

Special K Protein Chocolatey Dipped Mint Meal Bars are a pleasant surprise in that they are a delightful meal bar well worth trying!

For other bars, please check out:
Larabar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars
Quest Beyond Cinnamon Roll Cereal Protein Bar
Clif Builder's Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar

8/10

For other food and drink reviews, please check out my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Appropriately Cheesy: Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps Blurs The Lines Between Cheese And Crackers!

The Good: Wonderful aroma, Great taste, Decent amount of Calcium
The Bad: Not overly healthy, Expensive.
The Basics: Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps are flavorful and interesting, though a little pricy for what they are.


I am very interested in how snacks have been evolving in recent years. When I was younger, there were cheese flavored crackers; now there are snacks that are basically baked cheese! The first of these snacks that I am trying are the Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps. These snacks remind me of what happens when I toast an asiago cheese bagel and the cheese on it falls onto the grate and gets baked there. I've scraped plenty of hot cheese off toasters like that; it never occurred to me to sell them as a snack!

That said, Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps are quite good and when my wife got a bag of these for me, they turned out to be quite delightful.

Basics

Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps, for those who are not familiar with them, are baked cheese snacks. Cello has marketed their Whisps chip line as a high quality, cheese alternative to cheese-flavored crackers. The Cheddar Cheese Crisps are a light yellow and look like little waffle crackers with quite a bit of texturing to them.

Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps come in a 2.12 oz. bag that is resealable The cheese crisps are round, approximately 1 1/4" in diameter and 3/16" thick

Ease Of Preparation

Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps are simple to consume; all you need do it open the bag and remove the crisps from it! There is no trick to eating Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps; they are a snack that is ready to go from the package to the mouth.

Taste

Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps smell mildly of cheddar. The scent is recognizable, but simple. The cheese scent is not overly powerful; it lacks the sharpness of most cheddars - it is potent-enough to be recognizable, but not much more than that.

In the mouth, Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps are greasy and salty and they taste like a fairly mild cheddar cheese. The flavor has the distinctive sourness of a good cheese and the sour cheddar flavor is increased as the crisp melts in the mouth. The salty, greasy flavor is enhanced as the sourness fades; the Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps taste exactly like what they are supposed to; actual cheddar cheese with a little crispiness to them.

The Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps leave a slight sour aftertaste in the mouth for a few minutes after the last of them is consumed.

Nutrition

Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps are all-natural, but they are not particularly healthy. The Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps are made entirely of cheddar cheese.

Each twenty-eight gram (23 crisp) serving of Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps has 170 calories, one hundred thirty of which come from fat. There is no dietary fiber. While there are 14 grams of fat and 10 grams of protein, there is an excessive 330 mg of sodium, which represents 14% of one's RDA of sodium. There is a smattering of Vitamin A and an impressive 35% RDA of Calcium in a serving. There is a dietary note that the Cheddar Cheese Crisps crackers includes milk ingredients, which prevents them from being Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-up

Kept in their bag, Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps will remain fresh for almost a year and as long as the bag is resealed, one suspects they will last for a few weeks before getting stale. I've never had to deal with issues of freshness for my Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps; the bag my wife got me last month had an expiration date of November 24, 2018.

Cleanup is simple as well. Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps are a dry food and they leave crumbs. Interestingly, these do not leave a greasy residue. Once done with consuming, simply wash your hands, because that’s a good idea no matter what. When one is done, throw out the bag and cleanup is done!

Overall

Cheddar Cheese Crisps Whisps are fun on their own or used as an augmentation to soups or salads, but they are a bit pricey for what they are.

For other cheesy snacks, check out my reviews of:
Cheez-It Cheddar Cheese Crisps Snack Crackers
North Country Cheese Garlic Dill Cheese Curds
Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar organic chickpea puffs

7.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please click here to visit my index page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Powerfully Pepper: Hippeas Pepper Power Organic Chickpea Puffs

The Good: Good corporate ethics, Good ingredients, Very accurate flavor
The Bad: Comparatively expensive, Not overly nutritious
The Basics: Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs are accurately flavored and the company that makes them has wonderful corporate ethics, even if they make consumers pay a bit more for them!


There are very few things that I will try a second time when the first attempt is something I do not like at all. Not long ago, I tried Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar organic chickpea puffs (reviewed here!) and I was not impressed. Despite that, my local grocery store was clearancing a bunch of Hippeas products, so I decided to try a different flavor. Fortunately, the Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs were far better than the Vegan White Cheddar flavor!

Basics

Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs are a ready-to-eat snack that attempts to fill the same niche as cheese puff but for people with dietary restrictions or picky eating habits or higher moral standards than most consumers. Packaged in a 4 oz. plastic bag, the Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs are kept fresh until opened. After unsealing the the top of the bag, consumers have access to the snack inside.

The Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs look just like white/yellow cheese puffs. They are approximately 2" long and 5/8" thick and are textured much like a traditional cheese puff snack.

Ease Of Preparation

These are flavored, puff chick peas - intended to be a ready-to-eat snack food -, so preparing them is as easy as opening the bag they come in and consuming them. There is no trick or work beyond that needed to eat Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs.

Taste

The Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs smell surprisingly mild. The aroma is slightly rubbery with a mild pepper afterscent. The smell of pepper in these chickpea puffs is almost non-existent compared to the smell of the chickpea medium that houses the pepper flavor.

In the mouth, the Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs taste fairly strongly of black pepper. The pepper flavor is mixed with a greasy and popped corn flavor, like a Cheetos snack that is missing its cheese powder and then was dipped in a vat of black pepper.

The Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs leave a heavy black pepper flavor in the mouth that is very spicy. The aftertaste endures for a good ten minutes after the last of the Pepper Power chickpea puffs are consumed.

Nutrition

Hippeas are not incredible on the nutrition front. While the company seems to be a cool company with a positive social message, more than being anything good for anyone, the Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs seem to actually just be not bad. In other words, where most snack foods are nutritional detriments, Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs don't put anything bad into a consumer's body. The unfortunate flipside is, they don't actually put anything particularly good or beneficial into a consumer's body, either. A serving is considered 28 grams, approximately 20 chickpea puffs. With the standard recommended serving size, the puffs have 5 grams of fat! That's 8% of the RDA of fat, though none of that comes in the form of saturated fat! The Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs have 130 calories per serving, with 45 calories of that being from fat. There is 2% of the RDA of calcium and four grams of protein, which acts as a decent counterbalance to the fat content! There is also a smattering (8% RDA) of Iron in the Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs.

The ingredients list for these Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs is fairly short, which is nice because the ingredients are all-natural and most are organic. Hippeas are made primarily of Organic Chickpea Flour, Organic Rice Flour, and Organic Sunflower Oil. There is nothing unpronounceable in these puffs and the ingredients are generally healthy. There are no notations about any potential allergens in the Hippeas factory, so these seem to be a great snack for those who have a nut allergy to enjoy!

Storage/Clean-up

Just as with the preparation, Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs are low stress when it comes to storage and cleanup. Storage is simple when the snacks are kept in their bag at room temperature or cooler. Kept sealed in their bag, these puffed chickpeas would not have expired until April 1, 2018.

Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs are easy to clean up after as well. Simply wash your hands after eating, though they do not leave one with any sort of residue on one's hands.

Overall

Hippeas Pepper Power organic chickpea puffs live up to their promised flavor, but are still a bit overpriced and lacking in exceptional nutritional benefits for what they are.

For other snack reviews, please visit my takes on:
Blue Diamond Mini Nut-Thins Hint Of Sea Salt Crackers
Good Thins The Beet One Sweet Balsamic Vinegar & Sea Salt
Angie's Boom Chicka Pop Sea Salt Popcorn

5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Fun And Flavorful, Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping Works!

The Good: Inexpensive, Easy to use, Actually has both flavors
The Bad: Not overly nutritious, A bit waxy as opposed to chocolatey!
The Basics: Smucker's Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping actually manages to live up to its promised flavors pretty well to make a fun ice cream topping!


My local grocery store has some very cool clearance deals frequently, even when a product appears to be getting restocked there. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found all sorts of Smucker's Magic Shell ice cream toppings. While some of the flavors are hit or miss, I found myself very pleasantly surprised by the bottles I picked up of Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping. It was quite a shock to me that Magic Shell could actually produce a product that actually tasted like chocolate and pretzels, especially given that it had no pretzels in it!

Basics

The Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping is part of Smucker’s ice cream topping line and it worked exceptionally well. The 7.25 oz. bottle has a large flip top which allows one to squeeze the fluid out onto ice cream, whereupon it is supposed to solidify into a candy/frosting shell. This is a fun, clever idea, and the execution of the topping is well-done!

Ease Of Preparation

Shaking well is essential to Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping, and the two parts of the fluid mix very easily to make a single, smooth fluid. Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell is like an epoxy that then reacts with the cold temperature of ice cream. One needs to shake the product up quite a bit, then dispense it by flipping the top and giving it about a minute to set on ice cream. It is that easy and the Chocolate Pretzel flavor mixed its two parts very easily. This required about a full minute of full shaking before the two elements of it were mixed.

Taste

For all of my ice cream topping reviews, I am utilizing Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip ice cream (reviewed here!) as it provides a neutral flavor base.

On its own, the dark brown fluid actually tastes just like real milk chocolate. The fluid is surprisingly - and pleasantly - sweet and chocolatey. The pretzel flavor manifests very briefly when the ice cream topping is in its fluid state.

The Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell takes about thirty seconds to solidify. In its solid form, the pretzel flavor is fairly strong. The Magic Shell, when solid, has a somewhat more waxy flavor to it than a chocolatey one. The sweet and waxy flavor blends with the more salty and floury flavor of the pretzel flavoring to make a flavor that tastes quite a bit like a chocolate-covered pretzel.

Nutrition

Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping is a dessert topping therefore not the most nutritious things in the known world. I was shocked that there was nothing unrecognizable in the Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping. The primary ingredients are sugar, sunflower oil, and coconut oil. It is not vegan compliant as a result of milk solids in it.

In each 2 Tb serving of Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping, there are 210 calories, one hundred forty of which are from fat. There are 7 grams of saturated fat, so one serving of this wipes out 37% of one's saturated fat for a day! There is no cholesterol, but a consumer gets 1% of their recommended daily allowance of sodium out of a single serving of this topping! There is a little protein, but not enough to live off this. In other words, this product is not a nutritious food product.

Storage/Cleanup

When one leaves the Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping in its bottle at room temperature, it is usable and shaking ours up worked well to mix it. Our bottle had an expiration date of June 2, 2019 and I imagine it would have kept at least until then, had we not already enjoyed it.

This is a very dark – as is appropriate for chocolate – fluid, so it will stain anything light! Cleanup is easy with very hot water, but anything less is liable to leave a fabric stained.

Overall

Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell Topping is fun and (mostly) lives up to its promised flavors, which is nice for a Magic Shell product!

For other Smucker's products, please visit my reviews of:
Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping
Root Beer Magic Shell
Heath Bar Magic Shell

5.5/10

For other ice cream reviews, please visit my Ice Cream Review Index Page!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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