Nestlé Butterfinger: Bar

Product name: Nestlé Butterfinger: Bar
Calories: 270 per 59.5g bar
Country of origin: USA

This Nestlé Butterfinger: Bar was a gift from my brother-in-law because he’s nice like that...I think he got it from Tesco!

Although I’ve reviewed the Crisp and Peanut butter cups from the Butterfinger range before, I’d only ever had the Bar once, and this was before I had a blog. My memories of it were ones of enjoyment but it didn’t become a favourite due to its ‘peanut-buttery’ features being ‘crispety, crunchety’ – I prefer the smooth stuff to the brittle!

 

Imported by Empire Food Brokers Ltd, the long Bar featured the usual yellow and blue branding, and was described as having a ‘chocolate flavour’ rather than being coated in real chocolate. It also listed GM ingredients but, on the plus side, the ground roasted peanuts and cornflakes it contained sounded good.

I remember being a bit disturbed by the orange shade of the peanut butter in the Peanut butter cups but I’d clearly forgotten this was the usual shade of an actual Butterfinger! My bar had actually broken in two so its hard, shiny and slightly crystallised inner appearance was immediately noticeable beneath the milky-looking outer coating that felt waxy and melty between the fingers.

The snack produced a pretty strong smell – one of chocolate and peanut butter combined but with a sweet, buttery depth. It was initially hard to bite into but the bar did then give way with a real crunch. It felt very much like a hardened butter tablet since the peanut butter centre tended to crumble with a powdery sensation. However, the filling did also stick to the back teeth during the chewing process, providing another dimension to the experience. Overall, the texture was better than I remembered it, although I’d still opt for peanut butter in non-brittle form when given the choice.

In terms of flavour, the chocolatey coating wasn’t particularly strong but it did mix in with the general experience. The peanut butter’s taste was relatively gentle but its saltiness came through, resulting in a good overall balance of sweet, salty and nutty tastes.

Despite being pretty big, this Nestlé Butterfinger: Bar was gone in no time – it was very addictive and I have no intention to leave it as long before I have my next one!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Klik Vanilla 'N Fudge

Product name: Klik Vanilla ‘N Fudge
Purchase details: £1.40 for a 75g bag (Tesco)
Calories: 504 per 100g (378 per bag)
Country of origin: Israel 

Another Klik product today in the form of Vanilla ‘N Fudge (let’s just ignore the missing apostrophe!).

These white and milk chocolate covered corn puffs came in a bag that was designed in the same way as the Cornflakes and Kariot-Pillows but, this time, the colour scheme was brown.

Made by Unilever Israel Foods Ltd and ‘imported and distributed by’ Empire Foodbrokers Ltd, this treat seemed like a simple concept, with the small, glossy balls looking like slightly bigger versions of the pieces you get in pots of Müller Corner: Crunch! (vanilla choco balls). 

I wasn’t quite sure where this Klik product got its name – I figured the white chocolate would either have a vanilla taste whilst the milk had a fudge flavour, or it was purely down to colour scheme provided by the contrasting chocolates.

The chocolate itself had a standard appearance, whilst the inner cereal filling looked a bit like Kellogg’s Corn Pops, providing a pale yellow colour that didn’t stand out much against the white chocolate.

The milk chocolate contained a minimum of 29% cocoa solids and, combined with the 30% minimum present in the white chocolate, provided a sweet chocolate smell which was the same as the Kariot-Pillows' aroma. Both chocolates were really creamy and I enjoyed the cocoa element of the milk chocolate too – it seemed to be of a better quality and it melted better than the other Klik products I’ve tried.

The corn cereal was just that, really, delivering a really crispy experience and going very well with the proper chocolate coatings. As basic a snack as this ultimately was, it was extremely yummy, and I loved how, even when eating the two types of chocolate together, the white chocolate flavour didn’t get lost in the way it often does when competing with milk chocolate.

I honestly didn’t expect this snack to score quite so highly but, if you want a simple yet satisfying snack, I’d highly recommend it. Once again, I felt there was a generous portion in the bag, and I enjoyed every mouthful.

I’m still not entirely sure why the name ‘Vanilla ‘N Fudge’ was chosen, but I’ll let that go! 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

Klik Kariot-Pillows

Product name: Klik Kariot-Pillows
Purchase details: £1.60 for a 75g bag (Tesco Superstore)
Calories: 504 per 100g (378 per bag)
Country of origin: Israel 

One of my first ever reviews was of Klik Cornflakes and, today, I thought I’d revisit the brand with Klik Kariot-Pillows which I, again, picked up from the ‘Foods of the World’ section’.

These ‘nougat filled crunchy cereals coated with milk chocolate’ came in a similarly designed bag but, in this case, it was blue rather than green. From previous experience, I knew that this ‘nougat’ was likely to be a kind of praline, and with the images on the bag depicting square chocolate-covered cereals containing a gooey chocolate filling, I was expecting this product to be a bit like Krave with an added chocolate coating.

Made by Unilver Israel, the bag had been ‘imported and distributed by’ Empire Foodbrokers Ltd, and its contents consisted of 50% cereal which contained hazelnuts. The chocolate contained a minimum of 20% milk solids and 29% cocoa solids, and had the same kind of smooth and waxy feel as the Klik Cornflakes. Outwardly, these slightly dimpled pieces looked very similar to the product image, but inside was a whole other matter. Instead of being a light shade of brown, the cereal looked more of a cocoa colour, and there was no moist filling. Assuming I’d picked up a dud, I cut into a second piece and found that, this too, just had a cavity as if there should have been a nut present. This second one did have a very slight chocolatey lining that the first didn’t have, but it certainly wasn’t the gooey chocolate that the bag had suggested. I had noticed that the Pillows felt light and hollow so this seemed to be why!

The cereals had a slight chocolate smell from the coating and this chocolate tasted sweet and milky. As with the Cornflakes, it had a smooth feel to it, but it didn’t really melt and, when tasted on its own, I felt it was a bit like Advent calendar chocolate in quality. However, when enjoyed with the rest of the components, it was very enjoyable.

The crunchy cereals were a bit like Maltesers in texture – crunchy with a slightly sticky resistance. Unlike Maltesers, though, they had a slight hazelnut flavour which was similar to mainstream pillow cereals, and this nuttiness went well with the chocolate.

I can’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed by the lack of an interesting filling. My bag was a couple of months away from its ‘use by’ date so I can’t think of a reason why this would have just disappeared. It may be, then, that these were exactly as intended, and that the illustration was simply very misleading. I certainly wouldn’t have felt disappointed by the experience if it hadn’t been for the promise of ‘nougat’! Therefore, brushing that aside, this was a tasty and different snack and I felt that there were a lot in the bag for the amount of calories it contained. 

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