Glico Pocky: Milk flavour

Product name: Glico Pocky: Milk flavour
Purchase details: £0.65 for a 25g box (Sida)
Calories: 120 per box
Country of origin: Thailand

I’ve heard of quite a few varieties of Pocky over the last year or so but have never been lucky enough to find any on sale – I’ve just had to stick to the UK’s Mikado re-branding! In the end, I managed to get this box of ‘biscuit sticks coated with milk flavour confectionery’ on my first ever visit to an oriental food store. I’m shocked that it took me so long to set foot in one (I just don’t normally pass them on foot!) but I’ll definitely be checking them out in future.

The box was a bit bashed on purchase but I liked the imagery of a white cloudy sky with illustrations of a cow, milk, and the biscuits. I was also pleased to see a more interesting foil wrapper on the inside, featuring the Glico logo, rather than being plain silver.

These biscuits had been imported by ASCO Foods Limited and had a delicious scent that was like a cross between white chocolate and vanilla ice cream. They were coated in quite a thin, creamy yellow coating and so it was possible to see the biscuit’s markings through this outer layer.

To try and familiarise myself with the flavour, I sucked the first piece of biscuit I tried and, to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend it! The coating was really waxy and didn’t melt at all. I resorted to rubbing at it with my tongue and it just had a weird, slimy feeling which wasn’t great. It didn’t really taste of much either!

Chewing was definitely the way to go. Initially, I thought the product tasted like dried banana chips which, whilst nice, wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. However, a milkier element did come through in the aftertaste, and it was at this point that I realised how bland milk actually is! I love it to drink but using it as a flavour for something else just didn’t give the tastebuds much to get excited about.

Despite this, there was enough going on for me to still enjoy my first try of Pocky. The main flavour soon developed into the biscuit itself, rather than the coating, and whilst the product was only slightly sweet, I liked how this contrasted with an almost saltiness at times.

Texturally, the biscuits had a dull crunch, and the waxy nature of the coating wasn’t an issue when chewing.

I certainly wasn’t put off Glico Pocky with this Milk flavour variety and I’m hoping the only way is up as I, hopefully, discover some of the more exciting offerings available. This type did have the bonus of containing 3% calcium, although I found it strange that it was listed as an ingredient!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 8.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.38/10

Frijj Supreme: White choc raspberry swirl

Product name: Frijj Supreme: White choc raspberry swirl

Purchase details: £1.00 for a 375ml bottle (tesco.com)
Calories: 266 per bottle
Country of origin: UK

Yesterday I reviewed a white chocolate and strawberry combo which tasted like milkshake (Lindt Lindor: Strawberries & cream), and today I’m reviewing an actual white chocolate and berry milkshake – Frijj Supreme: White choc raspberry swirl.

I love this kind of flavour combination and I’ve been wanting to try this particular product for a while but I was waiting for it to be on offer as I’m watching the pennies. I quickly snapped it up when I saw it for £1.00 online but, when it arrived, I realised its cheaper price was down to a smaller bottle than normal (by nearly 100ml). I actually saw this as a good thing, though, as I’ve previously found other Frijj milkshakes a little too large, and this made the treat less calorific whilst still allowing me to save money despite it not being as good value as I’d originally thought.

As part of the Supreme range of milkshakes, this bottle had the same overall design as the Sticky toffee pudding variety, but with purple and white splodges instead of brown ones – I thought it looked gorgeous. It carried the same general promises and was described as ‘fresh milk combined with indulgent flavours – a source of calcium and vitamin B12’. It contained no artificial colours or flavours and no gluten, and I was surprised to see that the ‘high temperature pasteurised’ drink was also low in fat – it contained 1.3g of fat per 100ml, with 0.8g being of saturates.

I was a bit confused by this shake on the basis that it contained 70% skimmed milk and 22% whole milk which was almost the same as the standard Fudge Brownie and Cookie Dough varieties. Since this was marketed as being more indulgent, I didn’t understand why it didn’t have the higher whole milk content that the Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding had.

Despite my concerns, I carried on, shaking my chilled bottle well before opening. The liquid’s appearance looked exactly like milk but it was visibly thicker and heavier to pour. It had a fantastic, gentle scent of Mr Whippy ice cream with raspberry sauce, and the base flavour was essentially sweetened milk with a bit of vanilla. However, the main taste element was the raspberry which was bang on what the aforementioned ice cream sauce is like. My brain actually found it hard to process because it tasted so much like ice cream but there was no raspberry ripple to look at!

As delicious as these flavours were, I found it a shame that I couldn’t taste the white chocolate at all, despite it being an actual ingredient rather than just a flavouring. However,  I wasn’t all that surprised by this as I remember once getting a Nestlé Milkybar milkshake from Sblended Milkshakes and finding I couldn’t taste the white chocolate there either, despite there physically being bits of it throughout! I guess it’s a flavour that’s easily overpowered...

Not to end on a downer, the drink’s texture was nice and thick and smooth. I had been feeling a bit dehydrated but it was wonderfully refreshing and, as I said, it did taste fantastic despite the absence of a noticeable white chocolate flavour. A very enjoyable treat.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

Frijj Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding

Product name: Frijj Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 471ml bottle (tesco.com)
Calories: 405 per bottle
Country of origin: England  

I’ve reviewed both sticky toffee pudding products and milkshakes recently so I jumped at the chance to buy a sticky toffee pudding flavoured milkshake! This was from the Frijj Supreme range and I just loved the sophisticated black label that represented the line of ‘supremely thick’, ‘smooth’ and ‘indulgent’ shakes. The packaging did also maintain the cow-like splodges of the more standard Frijj milkshakes but, in this case, they were rich brown swirls that made me think more of chocolate than toffee.

This product was clearly going to feel a bit more special than the Fudge Brownie and Cookie Dough standard Frijj drinks I’ve previously reviewed since it contained 45% each of whole milk and skimmed milk – this was just over double the amount of whole milk and considerably less skimmed so it seemed like good news for the tastebuds but not the waistline! What hadn’t changed was the fact that the milk used was ‘fresh’, and the milkshake was also a source of calcium and vitamin B12, whilst containing no artificial flavours or colours.

The drink was beige in colour (well, ‘plain caramel, apparently!) and had a lovely, buttery caramel scent. The bottle described it as ‘temptingly delicious’ so, having chilled and shaken it, it was time to see for myself. 

The initial taste that hit me was a milky one but then a sweet toffee flavour did come through too. Exact flavourings were not included on the ingredients list but there were two types of sugar (normal and ‘caramelised’!) as well as buttermilk powder, so I imagine these had quite a big part to play in the ‘indulgent flavours’. 

What pleased me most about this Supreme: Sticky toffee pudding milkshake was the texture – it was definitely thicker than the other varieties I’ve tried and, since this has been something I’ve previously commented on, it was a welcome improvement. Furthermore, it maintained its vital smooth texture too. 

I’m not going to pretend this milkshake’s flavour was as deep as that of real sticky toffee pudding but it was delicious nevertheless and has become my favourite Frijj variety so far. 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8/10

Milky Way Chocolate Milk

Product name: Milky Way Chocolate Milk
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 180ml carton (B&M)
Calories: 140 per carton 

I’ve bought an unusual amount of milk-based drinks recently so, for today’s review, it’s the turn of Milky Way Chocolate Milk. Simply described as a ‘chocolate milk drink’, I wasn’t quite sure how the nougat centre of a Milky Way bar would be incorporated, but at £0.39, I thought it would be worth a try! 

Produced by Mars for the UK and Ireland (once again, no actual country of manufacture was stated!), this drink came in a tall, slim carton which carried the usual Space-themed Milky Way design, with the addition of a splash of milk at the bottom. Since the drink contained 90% milk and less than 5% added sugar, it met government regulations for use in schools, and it was also a source of calcium and protein, with no artificial sweeteners, colours or preservatives either. 

The drink’s brown colour had the very slight purple tinge that was present in Frijj Fudge Brownie and it had a pretty decent chocolate milk smell too. 

As instructed, I consumed the Chocolate Milk after it had been chilled and shaken, and I found it had a fairly creamy taste with a rich, slightly sickly sweet chocolatey taste mixed in. Since no flavourings were listed on the ingredients list, it seemed the taste came entirely from sugar and cocoa powder, suggesting that the milk itself was the only thing remotely representing the inside of a Milky Way.  

Since this was a flavoured milk rather than a milkshake, its texture was very liquidy – there wasn’t even any resistance through the straw. However, although it was predominantly smooth, I did find it had a starchy feel to it too. 

I felt this drink was much the same as any other chocolate milk. There’s no denying it was flavoursome but, why it was carrying the Milky Way brand name, I’m not quite sure. 

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

Shaken Udder Chocolate!

Product name: Shaken Udder Chocolate!
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 200ml carton or three for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 140 per carton
Country of origin: England 

Having reviewed Shaken Udder Vanillalicious! when I first started my blog, I was pleased to see this great offer on the brand’s newer kids’ cartons. I bought one of each flavour and tonight’s review is of the Chocolate! variety. 

  

This fun, slightly more angular than usual,  brown carton was very much focussed on being natural and having health benefits. It contained no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives and, containing vitamin B12 and calcium, provided ‘natural immunity support’. The ‘high temperature pasteurised milkshake’ claimed to be a ‘delicious blend of natural fresh milk and real chocolate’ and ‘full of great tasting natural milk goodness’. Furthermore, it met government guidelines for use in schools. 

As instructed, I enjoyed this drink chilled and shaken (the latter caused the extreme frothiness at the top of my glass!). You may be wondering how a child could enjoy this chilled having taken it to school in their lunchbox. The answer? Freeze it overnight – sorted! 

The drink was the shade of brown I’d expect for a chocolate milk drink but I was pleasantly surprised that it smelt more like a sweet milk chocolate itself rather than a chocolate flavoured milkshake. However, this aroma wasn’t overly strong. 

Since 95% of the milkshake consisted of semi-skimmed milk, with only 1% being milk chocolate powder (plus some cocoa powder for added measure), the chocolate taste was quite subtle.  However, the cocoa flavour was definitely present and it did taste more interesting than standard milk. For me, the best thing was that it wasn’t at all sickly! 

In terms of texture, this drink was only a little thicker than ordinary milk, so it felt more like a flavoured milk than an actual milkshake. That’s not to say it wasn’t pleasant, but I do prefer a thicker liquid for milkshakes. However, this probably would have been more difficult to be consumed through a straw. (Incidentally, I intended to try this milkshake in that way too but I completely forgot until I finished it and then spotted the straw on the side – oops!) 

I’m not going to pretend this milkshake was mindblowing but I do love the concept of a relatively healthy but fun drink aimed at children. I know I would have loved to have found this Shaken Udder Chocolate! in my lunchbox when I was a kid! 

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