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

Ritter Sport Kokos

Product name: Ritter Sport Kokos
Purchase details: £1.55 for a 100g bar (monstersweets.co.uk)
Calories: 146 per four square serving (584 per bar)
Country of origin: Germany 

It’s been a while since my last review of the delightful Ritter Sport brand so I couldn’t wait to tuck in to yet another coconut-themed product which I purchased as part of my last Monster Sweets order – Ritter Sport Kokos. Dubbed ‘Variety of the Year’, I had high hopes for this chocolate, although it would have had to seriously impress me to leapfrog Weisse Cocos at the top of my top 10.

The Ritter Sport website described this Kokos bar as being ‘filled to the top with fine coconut-milk cream and crispy coconut flakes’. The bar came presented in a pale blue wrapper and was made of 30% cocoa milk chocolate which was supposed to have a ‘honey-caramel flavour’ as a result of the Ghanaian cocoa beans it was produced from.

The bar consisted of the more standard 16 squares, each engraved with the brand name. These squares were deep and I was pleased to see that the pale coconut cream really did fill each one. Even more excitingly, the Kokos bar had a lovely strong coconut smell...although it could have been stronger!

The bar had a thick chocolate shell which was soft and creamy and immediately started to melt on contact with the tongue – beautiful. When chewing, the previously mentioned caramel flavour was also detectable, providing a slightly darker taste to the overall chocolate one. The coconut flavour was also at a perfect level since it was strong enough to be the main taste but, due it being in cream form, it wasn’t overpowering either. In addition, there were plenty of visible coconut flakes (5.8% of the bar, in fact) that provided a crispy texture and authentic feel to the product, and I was pleased that they didn’t even feel unpleasant when left behind in the mouth after the chocolate had melted.

Since Ritter Sport Kokos combines milk chocolate with coconut, it’s hard not to make associations with the Bounty chocolate bar, and there’s no denying that there was a similarity. However, the Ritter Sport chocolate was far more delicious in its own right and, due to the bar containing 12.8% ‘whole milk powder’, the overall experience was one of a more luxurious creaminess. It really was in a league of its own. In fact, when writing the notes for this review, I wrote two simple words: ‘soooooo amazing’.

I can’t actually put into words how fantastically delicious this bar was. It had so much flavour and such a soft, creamy texture, yet it didn’t get sickly. It didn’t take me long to polish off the whole 100g and, instead of feeling queasy, the words that popped into my head as I swallowed my last mouthful were: ‘Please, sir, can I have some more?’

A. Maze. Balls. 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 9.5/10
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 9.5/10
Overall score: 9/10

Serge Island Peanut Punch

Product name: Serge Island Peanut Punch
Purchase details: £0.79 for a 240ml carton (tesco.com)
Calories: 200 per carton
Country of origin: Jamaica 

I first heard of this Peanut Punch a few weeks ago when I was browsing the world foods section in Tesco. Needless to say, I was very tempted by the inclusion of peanut butter on the ingredients list. However, since I’d never heard of this drink before, I decided to hold fire and do a bit more research around exactly what it was, first. On returning home, I did a quick Google and discovered from Wikipedia that it is a popular beverage in the Caribbean and also contains milk, sugar and, sometimes, spices. This sounded delicious and, although I knew the main ingredient listed on the Serge Island offering was water, with the milk taking the form of skimmed milk powder, I decided it was worth adding to our next Tesco delivery anyway. 

Whilst this drink was new to me, I have had a couple of previous experiences of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups milkshakes from local cafés, so peanut butter in liquid form was something I’d tried before. However, these milkshakes have contained whole milk rather than skimmed milk, ice cream and, obviously, chocolate (well, a chocolate-flavoured substance!), so I was intrigued to see how this Peanut Punch would compare, particularly since I noticed that it also contained caramel.

This drink came in a bright yellow carton which is what originally drew my attention to it, and it contained an image of the product on the front, which looked quite creamy. I was pleased to find that the drink did smell of peanut butter but, unfortunately, there was something extra in the aroma which smelt slightly chemical-like.

The Peanut Punch came in a single-serving carton but, since I wanted to take a photograph, I transferred the liquid into a drinking glass and discovered that it was the pale colour I’d expected. From the glass, the texture was incredibly smooth and silky and slightly thicker than milk and, since I’d shaken the carton first, as instructed, it was also a bit frothy. However, because the product was packaged to be consumed through a straw, I decided to try this too, and discovered it was equally nice and concentrated the thick liquid.

I always think that the taste is probably the most important part of a product and this didn’t disappoint. It was really creamy and did taste like peanuts with a very slight hint of caramel but, unlike most peanut butter products, it was totally sweet with no salty element. Like the smell, there was something in the flavour that hinted at chemicals, but this wasn’t strong and I found it didn’t take away from the richness of the taste experience. Creaminess was definitely the overwhelming positive that this product offered to the extent that it wasn’t at all obvious that its main ingredient was water.

I’m definitely glad I took a chance with this Serge Island Peanut Punch. I can’t pretend I don’t prefer peanut butter in milkshake form but this, arguably, was a healthier option and was not bad at all.  

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

Cadbury Fingers: Fabulous (praline)

Product name: Cadbury Fingers: Fabulous (praline)
Purchase details: £1.99 per box or two for £2.50 (Tesco)
Calories: 30 per finger
Country of origin: UK 

Having recently reviewed Cadbury Fingers: Fabulous, and due to my fascination with the chocolate and hazelnut combination, it seems only right that I now review Cadbury Fingers: Fabulous (praline). That said, I was a bit dubious about how this flavour would be delivered.

These biscuits were exactly the same concept as the original Fingers: Fabulous but with a ‘praline flavour biscuit’ beneath the white and milk chocolate layers. I was pleased to see a continuation in the presentation of the packaging, with the simple change of a rusty-coloured carpet on the box rather than a pink one.

The Fingers themselves were identical in appearance but they did have a slightly different smell which was particularly strong when the packaging was first opened. However, I wouldn’t describe this as ‘nutty’.

The back of the box promised ‘a rich praline flavour biscuit’ experience ‘with every scrumptious bite’ and, whilst there was definitely a difference in the taste, it seemed really sweet rather than nutty. I thought that the chocolate seemed less creamy but this may have been a result of the more overpowering biscuit flavour. Slightly bizarrely, the chocolate layers seemed thinner than the original Fingers: Fabulous, and the biscuit seemed crispier too, but the percentages of these ingredients remained the same.

On the whole, I was a bit confused by this product. I couldn’t associate it with praline at all and, on checking the ingredients list, I discovered that no nuts were listed, and even the allergy warning just said that it ‘may contain’ them – how disappointing for a praline flavoured biscuit! Of course, that doesn’t mean that these Fingers were unpleasant in any way. They were simply a bit unusual and not my favourite from the Fingers range. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 6/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.75/10