Cadbury Picnic

Product name: Cadbury Picnic
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of three bars (Poundland)
Calories: 230 per 48.4g bar
Country of origin: Europe

The Picnic seems to be one of Cadbury’s lesser known products – it’s not a bar I see around all that often and it must have been over a decade since my last one so I could barely remember what they were like!

The purple wrapper boasted ‘a feast-full’ of caramel (32%), peanuts (12%) and raisins (7%) and these three ingredients were each represented around the brand name – I particularly liked the way the caramel was used as a border. However, beneath the chocolate that contained a minimum of 14% milk solids, lurked another significant ingredient: ‘crispy’ rice cereal (10%).

This particular multipack had been produced by Kraft Foods and I couldn’t believe how huge each bar felt on removal from the main packaging. However, on opening the individual wrappers, I realised that, whilst the bars were very long, there were also relatively thin. That said, they had a very rugged appearance, and the caramel was clearly holding the individual elements together. Despite not being mentioned in the main product description, the cereal was definitely a big feature, whilst the raisins were a lot less visible and nowhere near as big as the Nestlé Yorkie: Raisin & biscuit.

The Picnic mainly smelt of sweet chocolate but the aroma did hint at the fact there was more going on beneath the surface and I was pleased to find that each ingredient made its own significant contribution to the whole. The peanuts provided flavour (although not lots) and a bit of a crunch within the crispy chewiness provided by the cereal and caramel. (For the record, this overall texture was perfectly balanced so that the bar wasn’t hard work to eat.) As for the raisins, I found there were more of these further down the bar than first appeared, and they produced an extra chew and an occasional additional sweetness.

Thinking of the Picnic as a whole, I realised that it was essentially a cereal bar in reverse, with a proper chocolate coating rather than the silly drizzles some brands include in an attempt to make a seemingly healthy product a bit more exciting. In this case, though, the overall flavour was a general sweetness that came from the individual components, and the thicker-than-normal chocolate layer provided an alternative method of consumption since the bar was also enjoyable to let melt, and it added a nice juiciness to combine with the raisins and caramel.

This was certainly a decent product but, although individual elements were noticeable, the main flavour wasn’t particularly exciting and, I guess, it felt a bit too healthy for my liking, bearing in mind it was an unhealthy snack!

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

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream: Satisfy my bowl

Product name: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream: Satisfy my bowl
Purchase details: £2.24 for a 500ml tub (tesco.com)
Calories: 255 per 100ml serving

I seriously don’t know how I survived for so many years without having tried the delights of Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. This Fairtrade Satisfy my bowl tub was a special edition to mark the 30^th anniversary of Bob Marley’s Legend album, and also supported the 1Love Foundation which funds a youth-empowerment programme in Jamaica.

I was really interested in this ice cream since it was banana flavoured (it contained 4% banana puree) but also had cookie (6%) and caramel (9%) swirls and ‘chocolatey peace signs’ (4%). To fit in with the Caribbean theme, the usual green field of the branding was replaced with a sandy beach and a cow playing a guitar. However, the pale blue sky meant the packaging was still recognisably Ben & Jerry’s.

For this variety, a 100ml serving equated to 91g, and 23% of the product was cream itself. The ice cream was pale in colour but did have some visible caramel swirls. The chocolate chunks were presented as thick discs with raised peace signs, although the visibility of this finer detail varied.

As usual for frozen products, this didn’t emit any kind of smell, but the flavour was immense and felt like a full-on dessert. I allowed my ice cream to soften a fair amount before trying it and it was ridiculously creamy! Adding to this, the banana flavour was really strong, but then there was also a lovely, sugary taste from the caramel. I can’t say I really noticed the cookie swirls as a feature but, in contrast, the size and abundance of the chocolate made a massive difference to the experience. It tasted just liked ice cream chocolate sauce but its format meant it provided a crunchy texture amid the juicy, thick, but not completely smooth ice cream.

Whilst this tub of Satisfy my bowl wasn’t quite up there with the amazing Peanut butter cup, it did feel really special and it’s a shame it was only a limited edition.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Nestlé Munchies

Product name: Nestlé Munchies
Purchase details: £0.60 for a 52g packet or three for £1.20 (Tesco)
Calories: 135 per six sweet serving (256 per pack)
Country of origin: UK

It’s been years since my last packet of Nestlé Munchies but I do remember loving them as a kid as they seemed to last forever (yep, I was a greedy-guts!). I don’t feel the wrapper has changed much since then, with the 12 chocolates still coming wrapped in a gold foil and red wrapper, on one side of which was an image of a biscuit and caramel centre within a chocolate shell.

 

The sweets contained no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and the milk chocolate contained a minimum of 14% milk solids. Shaped into cubes with a simple decoration, I did find their dusty appearance made them look less appealing than they could have done. However, the ‘crisp biscuit’ (6%) and ‘soft caramel’ (30%) inside did look more promising, although the colour of these barely contrasted with the outer chocolate which I thought was unusual (that said, the difference is more noticeable on the photo!). 

The product had a scent of overly sweet and not great quality chocolate but it still had a nice enough flavour. It had the taste of general Nestlé chocolate, as well as quite a buttery biscuit. Mainly, though, it was very sweet and this seemed to be down to the caramel and chocolate combination.

The standout feature of the chocolates, for me, was the texture. The chocolate’s melt was ok but was improved by the way the caramel seeped out. As an added bonus, the biscuit didn’t feel uncomfortable when doing this. However, it would have been wrong not to munch on these Munchies and I’m pleased to report that this provided a lovely mix of chunky, crispy and soft, gooey textures – wonderful.

Although I didn’t feel that this was the type of product that was worth raving about, it did provide a nice change in my evening routine. I’m sure I’ll buy them again at some point but they won’t be a regular item on my shopping list.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Cadbury Layers Of Joy: Caramellionaire

Product name: Cadbury Layers Of Joy: Caramellionaire
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of two desserts (Tesco)
Calories: 205 per 90g dessert
Country of origin: UK

I’ve tried a few Pots of joy from Cadbury in my time but this is the first time I’ve tried a new Layers Of Joy, with this brilliantly named ‘Caramellionaire’ being the variety I couldn’t wait to get stuck into.

The purple packaging featured an image of the product that looked like a trifle in style and that was the name it was given in the small print too. Made by Müller Dairy for Mondelez, the full description sounded mouth-watering: ‘shortcake biscuit at heart surrounded by delicious layers of Cadbury milk chocolate mousse, rich caramel dessert and white chocolate mousse’. You probably won’t be surprised to know that it was the white chocolate that particularly caught my eye!

The clear pot made it nice and easy to see three distinct layers of white chocolate (1% of the product was white chocolate powder), caramel, and milk chocolate (another 1% was milk chocolate but the pot also contained cocoa powder). However, despite accounting for 11% of the dessert, the shortbread wasn’t visible.

The dessert smelt of chocolate mousse (possibly as it was at the top!) and the latter aspect was also the key texture throughout. The chocolate layer was deep and provided quite a rich cocoa flavour and this went nicely with the caramel which was the same as my memory of Cadbury Dairy Milk: Pots of joy (caramel) and had quite a butterscotchy flavour to it.

Despite appearances, there was a definite biscuit layer next, with a buttery shortcake taste which was delicious. Rather than being hard and crumbly, this was soft and soggy, but very enjoyable!

I initially struggled to sample some of the white chocolate on its own, and it was hard to notice it against the other flavours, but it was possible to try it in larger quantities at the end of each pot. It was beautifully sweet and tasted a little like vanilla ice cream.

All in all, this was a really good dessert and, although I’d prefer a real piece of millionaire’s shortbread, the combination of layers did produce a satisfyingly authentic experience. To my surprise, it was the biscuit that made it, but every layer made its own unique and tasty contribution.

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