Fox's Party Rings: Raspberry ripple

Product name: Fox’s Party Rings: Raspberry ripple
Purchase details: £0.50 for a 125g packet (Asda)
Calories: 27 per biscuit
Country of origin: UK

I was really excited when I first heard about the ice cream-inspired limited editions of some of Fox’s classic biscuits but it took me ages to track them down. Thankfully, I managed to find them all at an amazing £0.50 a packet in Asda, and the first variety I’m reviewing is the Party Rings: Raspberry ripple.

These excitingly-flavoured ‘iced shortcake rings’ came in colourful raspberry and baby pink packaging which was less ‘busy’ than the standard version but also contained Vinnie the panda. I’ve mentioned before that I found his image a bit unappetising (see here) but he’d had a bit of a makeover, here, and actually looked quite cute with a drop of melted ice cream on his ear!

The packet contained around 20 biscuits that were free of artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. There was no specific mention of raspberries on the ingredients so, what the flavourings contained, I’m not sure.

The rings looked almost identical to one of the standard Party Rings but seemed a tiny bit smaller – I’m not sure if I’m going mad?! To my delight, they genuinely smelt of Mr Whippy ice cream with raspberry sauce, and I couldn’t wait to tuck in.

I was impressed that the flavour was pretty realistic and did taste like raspberry ripple ice cream, although it was so sweet that there was a slight sherbet element too. They were absolutely full of flavour but also pretty sugary so, unusually for me, I would have liked a little bit more focus on the cream rather than the sugar.

Texturally, these biscuits were as standard for Party Rings, but the icing’s surface was a bit rougher on the tongue, and it seemed to add a juiciness to the flavour too.

This was such an interesting twist on a classic and it’s such a shame that it’s only intended to be a limited edition!

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

Galaxy Ripple

Product name: Galaxy Ripple
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of four bars (Tesco Superstore)
Calories: 175 per 33g bar

Another quick review tonight since these Galaxy Ripple bars by Mars were made using the same ‘smooth and creamy milk chocolate’ found in the Smooth Milk.

Made for the UK and Ireland, this product was essentially the Galaxy version of the Cadbury Flake, but with a smooth and glossy chocolate coating covering the ‘rippled centre’ – it looked like a long, slightly wrinkly log and was less messy to eat!

Whilst the overall branding was the same, I loved how the name’s font reflected the ribbon-like appearance of the chocolate centre that had been ‘folded into silky layers’.

The chocolate’s scent and flavour was the same as the Smooth Milk but I did find that its less dense middle section made it feel a little juicier. It still had a thick melt but this rippled part was definitely lighter and collapsed nicely under pressure. It had a nice crumbly snap to it as well but it still succeeded in filling the mouth with Galaxy’s delicious chocolate flavour.

I'd say that the composition of this bar made its melt a bit less luxurious but, on the whole, it was the same great product.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8.25/10