Ritter Sport Caramel Orange

Product name: Ritter Sport Caramel Orange
Purchase details: £1.75 for a 100g bar (monstersweets.co.uk)
Calories: 147 per four square portion (586 per bar)
Country of origin: Germany 

Well, this is unusual – a German Ritter Sport bar that has the same name in English! Like the Gebrannte Mandel that I’ve previously reviewed, this Caramel Orange variety was one of the limited edition offerings for Winter 2013.
 

The bar’s wrapper was designed in the same way but, unsurprisingly, was represented by the colour orange. When I first heard about this flavour of Ritter Sport, I’d expected a gooey filling, but the photo on the front showed a centre that appeared to have a nougat-like consistency. I also realised that the picture of the caramel (shown in front of an orange slice) also looked more like cubes of fudge, making me realise that this bar was likely to focus on flavour rather than traditional runny textures.

The Ritter Sport website described the bar as ‘aromatic caramel orange cream’ with ‘the sweet flavour of classic milk chocolate’. This cream contributed to 45% of the overall product but I was surprised to see that the main orange flavour came from ‘orange powder’ (containing juice and pulp) that only made up 0.68% of the ingredients. ‘Orange oil’ was also listed but there was even less of this. In comparison, the bar contained 12% ‘caramel powder’.

Despite the apparently low orange content, it had a very noticeable aroma that wafted upwards as soon as I opened the wrapper. Whilst not overpowering, this was a pretty strong and delicious scent that was like a cross between a Jacob’s Club: Orange bar and a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. I couldn’t pick out a caramel element in the smell but I was quite happy with the sweet tang as it was.

The bar’s outer appearance was Ritter Sport’s standard 16 squares and it came with a smooth (when cut) fudge-coloured centre that looked very appealing. This cream filling was also smooth on the tongue whilst providing a slight graininess.

The chocolate used for this bar was as normal in that it hadn’t been infused with an orange flavour. It had a great cocoa taste and a silky melt that flowed into the caramel orange cream. This filling, thankfully, had a noticeable orange flavour which, again, was like an orange Club but far better in quality. I found the caramel aspect added a slightly darker element which prevented the bar being too sweet but didn’t remove the slight tang from the orange. 

When letting the centre melt, it did feel and taste more like fudge since the orange flavour wore off, allowing the caramel to become more prominent. Personally, I preferred to chew the chocolate since it was satisfyingly chunky and made the orange flavour more noticeable and tangy.

I can’t say orange and caramel are two flavours I’ve ever thought of mixing but it worked so, so well here. I was delighted that the rich chocolate was still very much a feature and also that the combined elements provided such a creamy experience. As a big fan of Terry’s Chocolate Orange (it just isn’t Christmas without one – I buy my own if I don’t get given one!), I loved how Ritter Sport Caramel Orange delivered similar flavours but with a softer texture, as well as an easier method of breaking into the chocolate. The orange flavour didn’t seem as strong in this Ritter Sport offering but I didn’t find that surprising when taking into account the caramel’s presence and the ingredient quantities used.

Having eaten this bar whilst watching a Christmas film, I’m now well and truly ready for the festive season despite it still only being November. It’s a shame that this bar was so calorific as I could easily have eaten a lot of it. It really was fantastic and I think it’s a new must-have for my Christmas stocking! 

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