Kellogg's Pop Tarts: Frosted bustin' berry

Product name: Kellogg’s Pop Tarts: Frosted bustin’ berry
Purchase details: £1.49 for a box of eight tarts (Home Bargains)
Calories: 200 per tart (400 per pack of two)
Country of origin: UK

 

This box of Kellogg’s Pop Tarts: Frosted bustin’ berry was the variety I was actually buying when I ended up getting the Frosted apple blast ones too.

The product was very purple in terms of the branding, frosting and, to an extent, the inner ‘berry flavour fruit filling’. However, the icing certainly wasn’t a natural shade of purple for food, and it was also a shame that it had succumbed to the greasy effect Pop Tarts sometimes get. However, the jammy-looking filling (with a red tint) looked deliciously moist and plentiful within the golden, albeit cracked, pastry.

When cold, these Pop Tarts, like with the Frosted blueberry kind, smelt like Go Ahead! Fruit Bakes. I was pleased that the pastry had the seemingly-improved UK flavour that was evident in the apple blast Pop Tarts, too, with a combined buttery and salty taste. The filling did mainly taste of berries (4.5% of the overall product was strawberry) but there was also a slight tangy apple flavour mixed into the general sweetness...it turned out apple was also listed on the ingredients! As usual, the texture was slightly crumbly but with a crispy element from the frosting, whilst the moist filling softened the pastry nicely. Overall, the experience reminded me of sweeter fig rolls.

This was another box that stated that the pastries couldn’t be microwaved so I only warmed the tarts in the toaster. This turned the pastry itself to a lovely shade of golden brown and caused the frosting to appear slightly molten. The baked berry aroma was also delicious, and I loved the added crisp that was given to the pastry when toasted. The flavour was also a bit richer, warmed, but sicklier too.

All in all, this was another tasty fruity variety of Kellogg’s Pop Tarts, once again proving that not all the nice stuff has to be imported! 

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

Tyrrell's Apple Crisps: Smashingly cinnamony

Product name: Tyrrell’s Apple Crisps: Smashingly cinnamony
Purchase details: £0.15 for a 30g bag (Home Bargains)
Calories: 152 per bag
Country of origin: UK 

I don’t usually have fruit or vegetable crisps – not because I don’t like them but because they’re not as widely available as potato ones and they tend to be more expensive. I just couldn’t say ‘no’ to this absolute bargain bag of Tyrrell’s Apple Crisps: Smashingly cinnamony, though – I love cinnamon and the promise that ‘the light dusting of this thoroughly cockle-warming spice’ gave ‘the apple slices a rather, jolly apple pie-ish quality’ was just too good to refuse.

I was rather taken with the red and white gingham background used for the bag’s design since it gave the product a picnic feel. I also liked the use of the black and white photo at the top of the packaging which made it look like the man was using the big red apple as a golf ball. As with the Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee, the information on the back was presented in a fun way. Due to using whole apples for the ‘cinnamon seasoned apple crisps’, it warned of pips and stalks, and it also suggested another alternative five a day.

The ‘delicately cooked’ crisps were presented as thin, dried slices with a ruby red skin. Their natural nature meant they were all different shapes and sizes, and they looked very rustic with their visible flecks of cinnamon. I could totally understand the connection with apple pie from the scent alone since this was one of deep cinnamon, slightly overtaken by the tangy apple.

At first, I didn’t think the crisps tasted of much – they were almost papery. However, the apple’s tang came through at the end of the first mouthful and I also became aware of the lovely cinnamon seasoning. I then found that, the more I ate, the more the flavours developed, providing a really warming experience. Even better was the way that the dry texture gave a pastry feel which, again, was reminiscent of apple pie. The crisps also had a delicious sweetness. I was hoping this was all natural but sugar was listed as a separate ingredient on the pack and I also found that some of the crisps nearer the bottoms of the bag had visible granules. Oh well...it was still fruit!

Texturally, the crisps were far crispier than I ever could have imagined when considering how juicy apples are when they’re raw. They were extremely satisfying although, combined with their thin nature, some of them did have sharp edges. There was also a slight chewiness mixed in for good measure which I think may have been provided by the rind. 

I guess the only thing left to say is that these Tyrrell’s Apple Crisps were thoroughly enjoyable and I’ll definitely buy them again!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.75/10

Kellogg's Pop Tarts: Frosted apple blast

Product name: Kellogg’s Pop Tarts: Frosted apple blast
Purchase details: £1.49 for a box of eight tarts (Home Bargains)
Calories: 200 per tart (400 per pack of two)
Country of origin: UK

It’s been a little while since my last review of Kellogg’s Pop Tarts so I thought it was about time for another. This time, though, it’s a little bit different since these Frosted apple blast Pop Tarts are the first UK ones I’ve featured on my blog. As a result, they were considerably cheaper!

I actually nearly passed up this flavour until it occurred to me that that the ‘apple cinnamon fruit filling in a pastry with a sugar topping’ might actually be a bit like apple pie.

The Pop Tarts came in the same type of blue box as the American varieties I’ve previously reviewed, and featured a photo of the inner product – a rectangular pastry with a fresh white icing topping and a centre that looked like an apple purée. The reality of the tarts was very much the same. The pastry was the paler kind and I noticed that, like with the Frosted confetti cupcake variety, parts of the icing looked a little greasy. The highlight of the appearance for me, though, was the moist-looking apple compote. Once again, the 50g pastries were stored in pairs in silver foil wrappers.

Surprisingly, this box specifically stated that the Pop Tarts were not to be microwaved and, since it didn’t state they could be eaten cold either (although they had been pre-cooked), I decided to play it safe and only eat them toasted on the lowest setting, as instructed. As a result, this review will be shorter than my other reviews of this brand!

The tarts had a gentle but fruity apple scent which was evident when they were both cold and warm. I also noted that the pastry tasted slightly buttery too and, pleasingly, this transferred to the flavour. I’m not sure if the UK pastry recipe is different to the American one but I certainly enjoyed this one more than normal – not only was it buttery but it was sweet and didn’t have the usual flavour I associate with stale biscuits. It had also absorbed a slight tang from the filling so it was a lot nicer than I’d expected.

The ingredients stated that 6.5% of the product was apple and, as a result, there a lovely sweetened but tangy apple flavour. What was particularly nice about this was the way that the sugary topping cut through the slight tartness. The butteriness of the pastry went well with these elements too.

Furthermore, the texture was great and, to my delight, just like the part of an apple pie’s pastry that has been in contact with the apple filling – it was moist and stuck to the mouth slightly. The pastry’s edges added a twist to the texture by being crunchy (without being dry) and the crispy sugar topping also provided some variety.

I couldn’t believe how flavourful this Frosted apple blast variety was. I genuinely thought it tasted more like a dessert than a Pop Tart. I’m so glad I added these to my shopping basket as an afterthought – it would have been a crime if I hadn’t! 

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

Butterkist Toffee Apple

Product name: Butterkist Toffee Apple
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 150g bag (Poundland)
Calories: 100 per 25g serving
Country of origin: UK 

There are two words that, when combined, almost guarantee that I will buy a product: ‘limited edition’. From memory, I bought this bag of Butterkist Toffee Apple popcorn near Bonfire Night – a time when a toffee apple variety makes particular sense. Having never had a fruity popcorn before, I just had to try it, even though I’d not had a real toffee apple since I was about six years old! 

 

Once again made by Tangerine Confectionery Ltd, this ‘deliciously sweet and satisfying’ product came in a bag that was very similar in design to the Caramel version I reviewed in November. The main differences were simply the burgundy panel being a little larger and the background being more of an amber shade than a yellow one. (I also realised very last-minute that the red section is meant to look like an apple!)

This popcorn, like Butterkist Caramel, was largely made up of its coating, with a whopping 65% of the product being ‘apple flavour toffee’. As a result, it was identical in both appearance and texture.

Although there was a very slight cinema-style popcorn aroma, this wasn’t nearly as strong or sweet for the Toffee Apple variety, and there was also a whiff of another, almost burnt, element mixed in. If I thought about it hard enough, I could associate this scent with tangy apple – it wasn’t instantly recognisable but it was present nonetheless.

Although I wasn’t overly impressed by the popcorn’s smell, I really enjoyed its taste. It had a subtle but sweet apple flavour that was surprisingly realistic and also quite refreshing – it left a nice aftertaste too. Again, I found it almost hinted at banana at times but, overall, there was enough of an apple flavour to make this a unique product, but not so much that it became unpleasant or sickly. Despite still containing it, this was completely different to standard toffee popcorn, although the pieces that had a thicker coating did have a slightly darker sweetness to them.

I felt that this Butterkist Toffee Apple provided the usual great texture of coated popcorn but with a unique twist on a proven flavour combination. What a shame this isn’t available all the time! 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.38/10