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

Krispy Kreme Original Glazed

Product name: Krispy Kreme Original Glazed
Purchase details: £1.35 for a 52g doughnut (Krispy Kreme Doughnuts)
Calories: 222 per doughnut
Country of origin: UK 

Since my birthday is fast approaching, Krispy Kreme decided to be ultra-kind and send me a voucher for a free doughnut. As a huge fan of the brand, it shocks me that I haven’t actually eaten once since I started my blog, so I thought I’d go back to basics for my first review with their ‘signature doughnut’ – the Original Glazed.

Although I’ve had pretty much every variety going, I think this may have been the first time I’ve had this simple ring doughnut. However, I pretty much knew what awesomeness to expect, since both the dough and the glaze are used throughout the majority of the Krispy Kreme range. Understandably, this simplified doughnut also contained the fewest calories of the range, according to the website’s nutritional information document.

Their website also provides brief summaries of the product range, with the Original Glazed being described as ‘a light and fluffy dough’ coated in their ‘classic glaze’ and, I think it’s fair to say, it’s this glaze that makes Krispy Kremes so unique compared to other doughnuts. Instead of a granulated sugar or powdered icing sugar coating, they are covered in a thin, slightly sticky kind of molten sugar that, having set, provides a lovely crispiness.

Appearance-wise, this doughnut was like a more attractive bagel, with a smooth, golden outer appearance with its thin sugary glaze clearly visible. I loved how this had been allowed to drip down the sides and accumulate in a crustier layer on the base of the product too. Inside, the bread looked pale and doughy, and the whole product gave off a gorgeous pastry scent combined with sweet icing. 

The Original Glazed had a fantastic doughnut taste and the flaky sugar was so, so sweet – beautiful. The squidgy texture was also amazing – it was so doughy that, if you applied pressure to the inside, it didn’t automatically spring back. Furthermore, it was so moist it was almost juicy. Not to be melodramatic or anything, but there’s nothing worse than a dry doughnut! 

So, just in case you’re in any doubt by this point, I absolutely loved this doughnut and, considering the fact there was no filling or fancy topping, I think that’s quite an achievement. Krispy Kreme – I love you! 

Appearance: 7.5/10

Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 9/10
Overall score: 8.38/10

Tesco Christmas: Milk chocolate satsumas

Product name: Tesco Christmas: Milk chocolate satsumas
Calories: 85 per satsuma 

Every year, for as long as I can remember, I have received a satsuma in my Christmas stocking and, every year, it goes uneaten (there was even a year when I found it in a drawer months later – it was rock solid!). Last Christmas, I was delighted to find that Santa didn’t attempt to give me any real fruit but, instead, gave me three chocolate satsumas.

I had actually seen these chocolates in Tesco prior to Christmas so, on receiving my own, I had a quick look on their website to obtain a bit of information about them since I didn’t have the whole bag. Now Christmas is over, that webpage is no longer active, so I’ve also used this website for a few further details. 

I loved how this product was designed to look exactly like the real thing. Coming in a net bag, 135g worth of milk chocolate was moulded into balls which were individually wrapped in mottled orange foil wrappers that even featured a green sticker detail that simply stated ‘orange chocolate’.  

These Tesco Christmas: Milk chocolate satsumas were slightly smaller than real satsumas but, despite being hollow, the chocolate was still relatively thick. I was slightly disappointed by their inner appearance since the chocolate had been scuffed but, thankfully, their centres looked nice and smooth. The chocolates had also been engraved to look like satsuma segments but  I thought this made them look more like basketballs! 

The chocolate contained a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids and produced a strong, tangy orange aroma. Surprisingly, the milk chocolate flavour was prominent by itself when I first tried a piece, but then the orange taste kicked in. It was as tangy as it had smelt to the extent that it was almost metallic when allowing it melt. I don’t think the flavour was quite as deep as what you get from a Terry’s Chocolate Orange but it was still enjoyable with a powerful taste. The chocolate was also pleasantly chunky to chew but I think it would have been even better if the satsumas were made from solid chocolate instead.

All in all, this was a great novelty product, and I hope Santa remembers to bring me some more next Christmas! 

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

Tyrrell's Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee pudding

Product name: Tyrrell’s Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee pudding
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 75g bag (tesco.com)
Calories: 96 per 19g serving (378 per bag)
Country of origin: England 

I’ve never had popcorn made by Tyrrell’s Crisps Ltd before but, when I saw this Sticky toffee pudding flavour, I was intrigued. I wasn’t sure how it would differ from standard toffee popcorn, and I was sure it wouldn’t taste as good as Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding, but I just had to make sure!

This Proper Popcorn (not sure what fake popcorn is?!) was ‘perfectly popped in England’ and came in a large orange bag which featured a background of popcorn on its upper half, along with a vintage black and white photograph. I confess I initially found this particular photo unattractive but, having read the back of the bag, I warmed to it – it was part of a caption game where consumers can submit their own ideas to Tyrrell’s, whilst they also provided their own (‘At 26, Ellie was starting to get a little tired of the choo-choo game.’). Furthermore, it was exactly the kind of quality packaging I like, providing plenty of information without the brand taking itself too seriously. It even suggested an alternative five-a-day which included ‘a nice, strong cuppa’ amongst other things. The only downside was that I wasn’t convinced the bag needed to be quite so big for just 75g worth of product – it certainly felt like there was a lot of air inside although, I guess, this did provide protection for the popcorn.

The popcorn was made from ‘wonderfully golden corn’ and contained no artificial ingredients. As for the flavour variety, Tyrrell’s described it as ‘the lip-smacking brilliance of England’s best-loved pud, without the indignity of having to loosen your belt afterwards’ – winner! In addition, it promised to be ‘as tempting as the real thing’.

The popcorn was more beige in colour than flavours I’ve tried before and had a grainy kind of coating that almost looked like cinnamon. It smelt deliciously strong – a bit like vanilla mixed with toffee doughnuts. I particularly loved how this scent lingered long after the bag had been finished.

I was pleased to find that the flavour was slightly different to normal toffee popcorn. For a start, it was a bit more buttery, but it also had a darker sweetness to it that combined with a slight saltiness. On the whole, I didn’t find it tasted exactly like sticky toffee pudding but, when allowing a piece to sit on your tongue, it came a lot closer to achieving its aim.

One thing I missed with this variety of popcorn was the glossy, crispy, caramelised pieces. This was because the flavour came purely from the powdery coating but, on the plus-side, it did make the product feel healthier. This difference in coating also produced a softer and more papery texture compared to more standard popcorn flavours, but I found the slightly bitty texture contributed to the sticky toffee pudding experience by making me think of very fine cake crumbs, and there was still a crispiness present too.

There is no denying that this Proper Popcorn: Sticky toffee pudding was incredibly moreish and enjoyable. It tasted even more sweet and flavourful towards the bottom of the bag too – presumably because some of the powder had settled down there. What a lovely change. 

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