E. Wedel Strawberry

Product name: E. Wedel Strawberry
Purchase details: £0.86 for a 100g bar (Asda)
Calories: 100 per two square serving (500 per bar)
Country of origin: Poland 

I never used to go down the world food aisles in supermarkets but, these days, I quite enjoy it! This bar of E. Wedel Strawberry is the result of a such a visit and I thought it looked quite interesting and Milka-like in that it combined cream with a strawberry filling rather than having one or the other.

I was just about to open this bar when I read the ingredients for the first time. I saw that 50% of the product was made up of milk chocolate that contained a minimum of 31% cocoa solids, whilst the strawberry filling contained 1.3% strawberry juice. However, the bit that jumped out at me, and set alarm bells ringing, was that the bar also contained 0.3% alcohol. Now, I’m teetotal for the simple reason that I dislike the taste of alcohol but, as the years have gone by, I’ve become more determined to avoid it at all costs. (Only last month, I turned down the option of buying a peanut butter chocolate bar because it contained a tiny amount of alcohol – that’s right, even peanut butter couldn’t persuade me!) As a result, I was in two minds as to whether to go ahead and try this bar but, having already purchased it, I decided to give it a go.

On removing the bar from its dark blue wrapper, I was hit with an instant sweet, fruity smell, with a hint of chocolate, and so I was reminded of the fondants that can be found in selection boxes. Although I could see that the bar was quite well presented on the whole, the chocolate on my bar had bloomed which, unfortunately, spoilt its appearance. This, combined with how greasy the chocolate felt between the fingers, making it difficult to pick up, and also how the base of the bar had become indented were the filling was, made me question the quality of the bar. Then again, it did only cost £0.86!

The inner strawberry filling was jelly-like in appearance and, whilst looking quite red on my photograph, in reality, was more of a deep orange/brown colour. 

Taste-wise, the bar was very sweet with a tanginess from the fruit centre. This filling was the main flavour and partly reminded me of strawberry sweets but was also a bit like medicine! However, the chocolate did help break up the sweetness slightly, and I was delighted that the alcohol wasn’t at all noticeable (maybe I can buy that other bar after all!). Unfortunately, though, the fruit flavour was so strong that it made it really difficult to pick up on the flavours from the chocolate and cream layers.

Texturally, this product was similar to the aforementioned selection box fondants, but the filling was slightly smoother and less sugary. This soft jam-like centre was very squidgy and, when melting, tended to disintegrate on the tongue.

This product was nicer than I thought it might be, all things considered, but I did find it a little too sweet for a chocolate product. However, for the price, it was pretty decent. 

Appearance: 6.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.88/10