Cadbury Curlywurly

Product name: Cadbury Curlywurly
Calories: 65 for a 14g bar
Country of origin: UK 

This treatsize Cadbury Curlywurly was part of a Mondelez Christmas selection pack I received as part of a gift last year. I’m not really a big fan of chewy bars like this but they’re ok and I certainly wouldn’t let one go to waste! 

Simply described as ‘milk chocolate with caramel centre (69%)’, the Curlywurly came in its usual but uniquely designed white wrapper with its name being written in colourful writing. Its shape, as well, was something a bit different since it was a long, flat and holey bar. Unfortunately, mine was a bit bashed, but I tried not to hold that against it too much! 

Unfortunately, this product was coated in standard Cadbury chocolate rather than Dairy Milk, and so only contained a minimum of 14% milk solids. The chocolate did have quite a strong scent, though, and I did wish there had been more of it! 

The stiff caramel centre looked smooth and was a good colour. Despite being extremely chewy, it was soft too, so it was a bit like chewing gum once it had been worked on a little bit. Its sugariness did result in a slightly rough surface texture but I did like how the chocolate quickly mixed into the overall experience. On the downside, the thinness of the chocolate combined with the thickness of the caramel, meant that the bar didn’t melt very well as an alternative method of consumption. 

The caramel was very much the main feature of this sweet bar – the chocolate was fine but nothing to write home about. Together, the bar was never going to be the most amazing thing in the world, but I have to admit that my lack of excitement over it was more down to my personal taste rather than specific problems with the product. I don’t mind chewiness, here and there, but I much prefer it if there’s a contrasting texture alongside it. Still, this was a good bar for children and, with so few calories, for dieters too! 

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.88/10

Frijj Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding

Product name: Frijj Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 471ml bottle (tesco.com)
Calories: 405 per bottle
Country of origin: England  

I’ve reviewed both sticky toffee pudding products and milkshakes recently so I jumped at the chance to buy a sticky toffee pudding flavoured milkshake! This was from the Frijj Supreme range and I just loved the sophisticated black label that represented the line of ‘supremely thick’, ‘smooth’ and ‘indulgent’ shakes. The packaging did also maintain the cow-like splodges of the more standard Frijj milkshakes but, in this case, they were rich brown swirls that made me think more of chocolate than toffee.

This product was clearly going to feel a bit more special than the Fudge Brownie and Cookie Dough standard Frijj drinks I’ve previously reviewed since it contained 45% each of whole milk and skimmed milk – this was just over double the amount of whole milk and considerably less skimmed so it seemed like good news for the tastebuds but not the waistline! What hadn’t changed was the fact that the milk used was ‘fresh’, and the milkshake was also a source of calcium and vitamin B12, whilst containing no artificial flavours or colours.

The drink was beige in colour (well, ‘plain caramel, apparently!) and had a lovely, buttery caramel scent. The bottle described it as ‘temptingly delicious’ so, having chilled and shaken it, it was time to see for myself. 

The initial taste that hit me was a milky one but then a sweet toffee flavour did come through too. Exact flavourings were not included on the ingredients list but there were two types of sugar (normal and ‘caramelised’!) as well as buttermilk powder, so I imagine these had quite a big part to play in the ‘indulgent flavours’. 

What pleased me most about this Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding milkshake was the texture – it was definitely thicker than the other varieties I’ve tried and, since this has been something I’ve previously commented on, it was a welcome improvement. Furthermore, it maintained its vital smooth texture too. 

I’m not going to pretend this milkshake’s flavour was as deep as that of real sticky toffee pudding but it was delicious nevertheless and has become my favourite Frijj variety so far. 

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

Cadbury Dairy Milk: Hoppy bunny

Product name: Cadbury Dairy Milk: Hoppy bunny
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 100g bar (tesco.com)
Calories: 133 per 25g serving (530 per bar)
Country of origin: UK 

In the run-up to Christmas, I reviewed the Cadbury Dairy Milk: Winter wonderland bar and found that, as tasty as it was, the thing that made it different from standard Dairy Milk chocolate was its appearance. Did that stop me trying the limited edition Easter version? Er...no! 

This Hoppy bunny ‘milk chocolate with white chocolate bunnies’ came in a Cadbury purple wrapper that contained an image of a milk chocolate square and white chocolate bunny. In reality, these bunnies sat atop the chocolate, so there was no innovative shape linkage like there had been with the Winter wonderland. As a little aside, I did love how the letter ‘O’ on the word ‘Hoppy’ was made to look like it was bouncing, though!

Like with the Winter wonderland bar, this Mondelez product contained 12% white chocolate and, I have to say, it did look like a pretty thin layer. I actually managed to cut one of the bunnies off the milk chocolate to try it on its own and, disappointingly, it didn’t taste that nice! It was very sweet but there just didn’t seem to be anything additional in its flavour – I certainly wouldn’t have recognised it as white chocolate if I hadn’t known. Thankfully, though, it still tasted great when combined with the milk chocolate. 

I’m not going to say anything further on the smell, taste or texture, since it was exactly the same as the Winter wonderland bar so you might as well read that review instead! However, I did know this would be the case prior to purchase, so that speaks for itself in terms of whether or not I’d recommend the product. 

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8.13/10

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

Milky Way Chocolate Milk

Product name: Milky Way Chocolate Milk
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 180ml carton (B&M)
Calories: 140 per carton 

I’ve bought an unusual amount of milk-based drinks recently so, for today’s review, it’s the turn of Milky Way Chocolate Milk. Simply described as a ‘chocolate milk drink’, I wasn’t quite sure how the nougat centre of a Milky Way bar would be incorporated, but at £0.39, I thought it would be worth a try! 

Produced by Mars for the UK and Ireland (once again, no actual country of manufacture was stated!), this drink came in a tall, slim carton which carried the usual Space-themed Milky Way design, with the addition of a splash of milk at the bottom. Since the drink contained 90% milk and less than 5% added sugar, it met government regulations for use in schools, and it was also a source of calcium and protein, with no artificial sweeteners, colours or preservatives either. 

The drink’s brown colour had the very slight purple tinge that was present in Frijj Fudge Brownie and it had a pretty decent chocolate milk smell too. 

As instructed, I consumed the Chocolate Milk after it had been chilled and shaken, and I found it had a fairly creamy taste with a rich, slightly sickly sweet chocolatey taste mixed in. Since no flavourings were listed on the ingredients list, it seemed the taste came entirely from sugar and cocoa powder, suggesting that the milk itself was the only thing remotely representing the inside of a Milky Way.  

Since this was a flavoured milk rather than a milkshake, its texture was very liquidy – there wasn’t even any resistance through the straw. However, although it was predominantly smooth, I did find it had a starchy feel to it too. 

I felt this drink was much the same as any other chocolate milk. There’s no denying it was flavoursome but, why it was carrying the Milky Way brand name, I’m not quite sure. 

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