Kellogg's Froot Loops

Product name: Kellogg’s Froot Loops
Purchase details: £0.79 for a 350g box (Home Bargains)
Calories: 117 per 30g serving (159 per 30g serving with 125ml skimmed milk)
Country of origin: UK

I’ve got two different memories of Kellogg’s Froot Loops from my childhood. The main one is Woody sticking his head in a bowl of them (or something that was supposed to hint at them!) in Toy Story (see the end of this clip if you don’t know what I’m talking about). The other one, though, was being told that the different colours were artificial and all the additives made kids hyper. As a result, as much as I wanted to try the cereal, I never did.

 

As an adult, although I’ve been tempted to buy a box previously, I’ve always been put off by the high prices. That’s why, when I saw this amazing offer as part of Home Bargains’ ‘Spotted on Star Buys’ promotion, I was straight in there – the limited shelf life wasn’t going to bother me. As it happens, the ‘multi-grain cereal’ specified that it was made with natural colours and flavours...so there!

 

The ‘mixed cereal fruit flavoured loops’ were designed for kids and effectively looked like colourful Nestlé Cheerios and came in a red box that featured a toucan as its mascot. In addition to the positivity surrounding the lack of artificial colours and flavours, the cereal (made from corn, oats and wheat) also contained folic acid and various vitamins and minerals (including at least half of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C). On the downside, each 30g serving contained 14g of sugar...not so great.

The box contained around 11 servings and contained green, purple and yellow loops that were hard, lightweight and a little sticky to the touch. Combined, they produced a slightly juicy, fruity scent when dry, but smelt more of general cereal when covered in milk.

I assumed that the different colours represented different flavours so I tried each one on its own first. They all appeared to have a slightly sweet coating and they did taste pretty similar but with subtle differences. The yellow rings tasted like fairly plain cereal and, if anything, reminded me of Kellogg’s Corn Pops. In comparison, the green loops were sweeter and, although there was no immediately obvious fruity taste, they did seem to have a minimalist apple tang in the aftertaste. This was noticeable when dry but stronger when wet. The purple loops remained sweet but, again, there was no fruity flavour. At this stage, I couldn’t help but wonder why they were called 'Froot Loops'!

I obviously did proceed to eat combined spoonfuls of the cereal to get a proper idea of what it tasted like. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of flavour, but the green’s fruity hint definitely came out the strongest. However, just when I was thinking that the overall flavour was the same as any other sweet cereal, I found that an apricot taste emerged as more milk was absorbed. This was pleasant but I still wouldn’t have said the bowl screamed ‘fruit!’.

Texturally, the Froot Loops were very good. They remained nice and crispy, even when wet – their surfaces got a little soggy over time but this never affected the structure.

This cereal was definitely nice enough, and I enjoyed the sugary milk it left behind, but I’m glad I didn’t pay over the odds for a box since I didn’t find them very fruity at all. Coincidentally, I saw that Erin reviewed the American version over at Guilt Free Veggie yesterday, and it turns out our recipe is different...maybe I’d prefer the strength of flavour on offer in the USA?

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.38/10

Kellogg's Pop Tarts: Frosted bustin' berry

Product name: Kellogg’s Pop Tarts: Frosted bustin’ berry
Purchase details: £1.49 for a box of eight tarts (Home Bargains)
Calories: 200 per tart (400 per pack of two)
Country of origin: UK

 

This box of Kellogg’s Pop Tarts: Frosted bustin’ berry was the variety I was actually buying when I ended up getting the Frosted apple blast ones too.

The product was very purple in terms of the branding, frosting and, to an extent, the inner ‘berry flavour fruit filling’. However, the icing certainly wasn’t a natural shade of purple for food, and it was also a shame that it had succumbed to the greasy effect Pop Tarts sometimes get. However, the jammy-looking filling (with a red tint) looked deliciously moist and plentiful within the golden, albeit cracked, pastry.

When cold, these Pop Tarts, like with the Frosted blueberry kind, smelt like Go Ahead! Fruit Bakes. I was pleased that the pastry had the seemingly-improved UK flavour that was evident in the apple blast Pop Tarts, too, with a combined buttery and salty taste. The filling did mainly taste of berries (4.5% of the overall product was strawberry) but there was also a slight tangy apple flavour mixed into the general sweetness...it turned out apple was also listed on the ingredients! As usual, the texture was slightly crumbly but with a crispy element from the frosting, whilst the moist filling softened the pastry nicely. Overall, the experience reminded me of sweeter fig rolls.

This was another box that stated that the pastries couldn’t be microwaved so I only warmed the tarts in the toaster. This turned the pastry itself to a lovely shade of golden brown and caused the frosting to appear slightly molten. The baked berry aroma was also delicious, and I loved the added crisp that was given to the pastry when toasted. The flavour was also a bit richer, warmed, but sicklier too.

All in all, this was another tasty fruity variety of Kellogg’s Pop Tarts, once again proving that not all the nice stuff has to be imported! 

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Kellogg's Pop Tarts: Frosted apple blast

Product name: Kellogg’s Pop Tarts: Frosted apple blast
Purchase details: £1.49 for a box of eight tarts (Home Bargains)
Calories: 200 per tart (400 per pack of two)
Country of origin: UK

It’s been a little while since my last review of Kellogg’s Pop Tarts so I thought it was about time for another. This time, though, it’s a little bit different since these Frosted apple blast Pop Tarts are the first UK ones I’ve featured on my blog. As a result, they were considerably cheaper!

I actually nearly passed up this flavour until it occurred to me that that the ‘apple cinnamon fruit filling in a pastry with a sugar topping’ might actually be a bit like apple pie.

The Pop Tarts came in the same type of blue box as the American varieties I’ve previously reviewed, and featured a photo of the inner product – a rectangular pastry with a fresh white icing topping and a centre that looked like an apple purée. The reality of the tarts was very much the same. The pastry was the paler kind and I noticed that, like with the Frosted confetti cupcake variety, parts of the icing looked a little greasy. The highlight of the appearance for me, though, was the moist-looking apple compote. Once again, the 50g pastries were stored in pairs in silver foil wrappers.

Surprisingly, this box specifically stated that the Pop Tarts were not to be microwaved and, since it didn’t state they could be eaten cold either (although they had been pre-cooked), I decided to play it safe and only eat them toasted on the lowest setting, as instructed. As a result, this review will be shorter than my other reviews of this brand!

The tarts had a gentle but fruity apple scent which was evident when they were both cold and warm. I also noted that the pastry tasted slightly buttery too and, pleasingly, this transferred to the flavour. I’m not sure if the UK pastry recipe is different to the American one but I certainly enjoyed this one more than normal – not only was it buttery but it was sweet and didn’t have the usual flavour I associate with stale biscuits. It had also absorbed a slight tang from the filling so it was a lot nicer than I’d expected.

The ingredients stated that 6.5% of the product was apple and, as a result, there a lovely sweetened but tangy apple flavour. What was particularly nice about this was the way that the sugary topping cut through the slight tartness. The butteriness of the pastry went well with these elements too.

Furthermore, the texture was great and, to my delight, just like the part of an apple pie’s pastry that has been in contact with the apple filling – it was moist and stuck to the mouth slightly. The pastry’s edges added a twist to the texture by being crunchy (without being dry) and the crispy sugar topping also provided some variety.

I couldn’t believe how flavourful this Frosted apple blast variety was. I genuinely thought it tasted more like a dessert than a Pop Tart. I’m so glad I added these to my shopping basket as an afterthought – it would have been a crime if I hadn’t! 

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.63/10

Kellogg's Rice Krispies: Squares (cookie crunch)

Product name: Kellogg’s Rice Krispies: Squares (cookie crunch)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of four bars (Poundland)
Calories: 131 per 32g bar 

I’ve had a few varieties of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies: Squares in the past but, for me, nothing’s ever quite matched the chewy marshmallow one. However, when I spotted this cookie crunch version in Asda several months ago, I was gutted I was on a self-imposed snack-buying ban and so couldn’t buy them. I think they were a limited edition at the time, and I didn’t actually see them again for a while, so I grabbed the chance to pick up this ‘new’ packet in Poundland more recently. I’m not sure exactly where they were made, but they were produced for the UK and Ireland. 

The packaging was a cream colour with chocolate-coloured squares to fit the themes of both the flavour and the brand name. It also featured an image of the product which turned out to be very realistic. The rectangular (not square!) offerings of ‘crispy grains of toasted rice cereal with cocoa biscuits and a chocolate flavour coating’ were a syrupy colour and contained visible cookie pieces that looked a bit like Nestlé Nesquik cereal. However, these ‘biscuit pieces’ actually contained ‘chocolate flakes’. I was a little disappointed they only contributed to 11% of the bar, though. The 8% chocolatey coating was then drizzled on top to complete the appearance. 

 

Despite being lightweight, the sticky bars were actually pretty big, but I was surprised that only 21% of the product was made up of the Rice Krispies – the cereal looked a lot more plentiful! The Squares’ aroma was one of syrup, and this ingredient contributed to a chewy texture. However, this was broken up by the crispiness of the rice cereal, along with the crunchiness of the biscuits. When I first hit one of the ‘cookies’, the contrast in texture almost made me think they’d gone stale, but I soon got used to this and the experience grew on me. 

As for the taste, again, the syrup was quite a prominent feature, but there was also a kind of chocolate biscuit flavour too. Unfortunately, though, they didn’t taste of biscuits of the highest quality! Aside from the ‘cookies’, I didn’t find the bars to taste very chocolatey, despite its coating, so the overall taste was simply one of a pleasant but not-too-strong sweetness.

I didn’t think these cookie crunch Squares bars were as good as the original version but I certainly enjoyed them more than some of the other types I’ve previously tried.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.25/10