Lindt Strawberry

Product name: Lindt Strawberry
Purchase details: £0.99 for a 100g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 496 per bar
Country of origin: Switzerland

I was very excited to see a range of Lindt chocolates in Home Bargains last week that I’d not seen before. Although most of them were boozy, I managed to pick out this Strawberry bar, along with one other appealing flavour for another day.

The red and silver wrapper of this wrapper was really attractive, slightly festive, and featured images of juicy strawberries and the ‘filled milk chocolate’ that was within. It was clear that the bar was an unusual shape since each of the 12 pieces was flat but with a pill-shaped dome that contained the filling. Whilst I was initially impressed that a piece of cardboard had been included within the foil to protect these pieces, this quickly turned to disappointment when I realised just how broken my bar was – I pieced it back together as best as I could for its photo shoot!

When I first spotted this Lindt & Sprüngli product, my first thought was of a previously reviewed product: E. Wedel Strawberry. Whilst this bar didn’t contain a cream layer, it did still contain alcohol (unfortunately) but, once again, I’d later find that this wasn’t noticeable in the taste.

Despite the image on the wrapper, the filling inside the Lindt logo-engraved pieces was like a very pale pink creme rather than a deep red goo. The chocolate contained a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 14% milk solids and had a really good colour about it and the bar also has a nice yet subtle berry scent.

There was no nutritional information on the packaging but I was able to obtain this from Lindt's website. The ingredients were present on the wrapper, though, so I knew that the flavour came from 1.4% strawberry powder which, despite sounding minimal, made a huge impact on the taste. Whilst the chocolate tasted as good as Lindt usually does, on its own, it had still picked up a hint of sweet berry.

When combined with the filling, the chocolate flavour was barely detectable at all because the dominant taste was a really sweet and tangy strawberry one which was just like Campino sweets and, therefore, hinted at cream too.

The chocolate had a nice melt and, despite not being a proper liquid, the filling did pop out of this under a little pressure. To chew, the thin chocolate had a really crunchy texture which went wonderfully with the lovely, soft centre too.

I think some people would probably find this bar a bit too sweet but I really liked it. Although it wasn’t my favourite ever flavour combination, it had been very well executed, so I’m glad I spotted it!

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

Vilniaus Pergalé Pergalē: Coconut centres

Product name: Vilniaus Pergalé Pergalē: Coconut centres
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 100g box (Poundland)
Calories: 499 per box
Country of origin: Lithuania 

This box of Vilniaus Pergalé Pergalē: Coconut centres recently caught my eye in Poundland as, not only did they contain white chocolate and coconut, but they looked like a cheap version of Lindt Lindor. Granted, the fillings looked moist and bitty in comparison to Lindt’s truffles, but they even had the pale blue and white colour theme used for Lindor: Coconut!

These 55% white chocolate-containing ‘candies with coconut filling’ came individually wrapped in coconut-depicting, paper-lined foil wrappers. The chocolates were almost like a rose, in shape, and I was pleased to see that their chocolate shells looked nice and thick, albeit slightly scuffed. Compared to the image on the box, the fillings didn’t look nearly as wet, and appeared to have more of a truffle-like texture than I was expecting. However, it was moist and sticky to the touch.

The chocolates did have a coconut aroma but, oddly, this seemed to be mixed with a hint of alcohol. The white chocolate itself was sweet with a milky taste that reminded me of the coating used on Wall’s Magnum: White. This melted nicely but not all that comfortably since the chocolates were quite large for the mouth!

When first biting into the soft, wet filling, the taste that hit me was almost like melon, but this then settled into a coconut flavour, helped along by a bittiness provided by the ‘coconut chips’ that accounted for 2.8% of the product. I would still have liked a stronger coconut taste but what really disappointed me was the taste of alcohol. This was only mild, to start with, but since I’m a non-drinker, I found the warm feeling at the back of my throat unmistakable. On checking the ingredients, I saw that the chocolates did, indeed, contain ‘ethyl alcohol’. I persevered anyway but I found that that the boozy taste only got stronger and I felt that this was such a shame as it was completely unnecessary for what would have been a perfectly acceptable product as it was.

I thought that this was a good concept for a chocolate treat but, for me, the inclusion of alcohol ruined it. Whether or not someone who actually likes alcohol would enjoy these, I’m not sure, but I did feel that, without the alcohol, these were decent enough. The flavours from the chocolate and coconut may not have been the strongest in the world, and they may not have been mind-blowing, but they were certainly enjoyable. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 6.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

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