Cadbury Combinations

I know, I know once again I haven't posted in an age. Fear not I haven't given up blogging. It's just been a combination of being snowed over by University essays and a lack of Internet in my house for about a week. As I say have no fear as I will keep trying to post and hopefully there will be something exciting on the horizon for my blog.
But before I divulge too much information I will talk about some new products I have tried recently. Once again Cadbury seems to be having some kind of crazy inspiration phase and have released a lot of new products. Two of which I have tracked down and tried recently. These are the Ritz and Lu cracker combinations that have been released. I found these rather easily after hearing about them and they immediately surprised me in a few ways. Firstly their price at fifty pence for four rather large squares I was impressed by the quality for my moneys worth. They come in a nifty snack size packet that can also be resealed, which is awesome in two ways.
Taste wise I was mostly impressed by the Ritz version which has a nice salty Ritz cracker taste that's quickly followed by the usual Cadbury milk chocolate sweetness. Which is where I found a problem, namely that the chocolate is rather overpowering. Worse still is that the Lu cracker has no discernible flavour of it's own and really only adds a crunch to the slab of chocolate.

The tiny crackers are soooo cute 

Perhaps there is indeed a problem with how sweet the Cadbury milk chocolate is. The UK version is well known for being much sweeter than it's continental counter parts but usually I have no quams with it. I love how creamy and intense the flavour is alone but in combination bars it would be nice if they could reign it in somewhat. It feels a bit pointless in bars such as these and the other combo ranges, when all you really can taste is the chocolate. Perhaps I'm expecting too much.


Overall these are nice bars and at a good size/price, but perhaps it's time we reigned in the sweetness.

May have been a bit disappointing but it didn't go down the (snigger) loo!

Score
Ritz - 6 out of 11
Lu - 5 out of 11

Found
One Stop convenience minishop

Final Thoughts
Something wickedly exciting this way comes!

Joy's Ginger buns and Frangipan Mince Pies

Wow, is it already the sixth of December? We are over a fifth of the way there to festive family fun. Goes so quickly, it won’t be long until the second of January when we emerge bleary eyed and amazed we have to wait another year. It is odd after months and months of build-up often Christmas is gone after just a week.

Months of panic buying, panic preparing and panic baking. If you do it right though, it is definitely worth the hassle. Christmas creates some magical moments if you let it, especially when baking’s involved. There’s nothing quite like settling round the TV with “the folks” and enjoying a warmed mince pie. Roaring fire in the corner, bellies so full already that you can’t actually move. Yet somehow there’s definitely room for that warm pie and indeed I will have some brandy butter.

Look a candle!

That’s a lovely image to have in your head to power you through the last few weeks. In reality by the evening everyone’s fed up of each other, the kids want to play with prezzies, adults want to just sleep and Grandmas just done or said something unpleasant. But you know what keeps its special nature that homemade mince pie, you know unless it’s Mr Kiplings.

Why do I present these pictures for you? Well todays review is a little different and a little special too. I have two items for you that were homemade with love. Made by my wonderful Girlfriends mum, who is eagerly getting into the festive mood and baking up a storm. Except that last week we had a ground almond stock emergency and had to do some extra scouting to track the blighters down. In celebration of our success she baked thank you ginger buns (which I love) and Frangipane Mince Pies, which I have never tried but was more than a little intrigued.

His happiness was not to last...

Now I know, in context can I be completely impartial in this review you ask. Well not really I guess for one both my Girlfriend and her mum could possibly read this. However I will attempt to review them as I do with any item given to me and try to remain impartial. Not that I think it will be a problem the ginger buns especially are always good (don’t get me started on the crumbles!)

So first up ginger buns, that’s what they are called and essentially what they are. You may know them as fairy cakes or mini cupcakes depending on your vocabulary. Either way these are slightly more special than usual by featuring an icing topping with a miniature gingerbread man for added love. The cakes themselves taste as great as ever, with a light fluffy texture and a subtly sweet butter taste. Then you come across a small piece of stem ginger and get an intense fiery kick that adds even more excitement.

He met an unfortunate "accident"

I will admit I took more pleasure in slowly consuming the gingerbread man limb for limb than I’d like to admit. Then again that’s where the fun is, poor guy by the end he was barely a bow tie! Then I moved on to a pie, a new concept for me this one. I’m use to my mince pies being topped by more pastry, which if I have to admit I’m not found of due to the fact that I get a bit board by pie crust. So these seem like an awesome idea, instead of the usual pastry on top, is a layer of marzipan and then flaked almonds.

Tasted amazing, totally unbiased... honest

The result tastes great with the combination of buttery pastry, mince pie filling and almond topped marzipan is great! They somehow all hit you at once in a lovely blend and yet also are unique enough that you can pick out each layer. I’m not sure what parts my favourite but I’m going to hedge my bets and say the top layer, it tastes sweetly of almond and has the flaked nuts on top for added crunch and texture. I don’t know why shops don’t sell these; Mr Kipling does about five types of mince pie but all pretty much the same.

Overall these were amazing, but then again they were bound to be. No, not because I’m biased, but because they were homemade and that made them special.

Score

Ginger Bun - 8 out of 11

Frangipan Mince Pie - 9 out of 11

Found

A tupperware box presented to me.

Final Thoughts

What should I bake in return?

Foxes Cherry Cheesecake and Honeycomb-crunch Fingers

Guess what guys! Today's review is back to biscuits, okay wait before you flip your table in uproar at least hear me out. I do have a reason for going back on my statements from yesterdays review. Basically these two items are either on sale right now or limited edition. (coincidental tumbleweed of uncaring happens)

Fine! I know it is a feeble excuse for going back on my word, but you know what? I don't care, I love biscuits. Hell, I bet you love biscuits and anyway they aren't ginger biscuits again so at least there is some variety here.

 

Vinnie looks mighty proud of his "bisquits" (Advert reference)

The two items in question are completely different in their use too. One is aimed at snacking, pretty much to be shared in a group type function like an ambassador ball (or more likely film night). The other is more along the line of my usual biscuit binge, as an accompaniment to my caffeinated beverage at lunch.

I'll start with he biscuit that was on offer, mainly because it's not new just on offer so I get a sweet treat at a discount price. Win, win in my eyes. These are a sharing bag of Cadbury's mini fingers and not just any mini fingers but HONEYCOMB CRUNCH fingers. I know your excited now right. So without further ado or cup in hand I chomp down on these bizarre biscuit. They are definitely crunchy too, a great taste too when bitten into. The milk chocolate is sweet but not too sweet that the subtle honey flavour underneath can't get through. It has a nice toffee taste to it and is similar to the chocolate coated cinder toffee I tried before.

If left to melt you can fully enjoy the great Cabury's milk chocolate but with an added biscuit tinge. It's not quite as sweet as usual but this is as I've said good as it allows the honeycomb to step in. The biscuit beneath doesn't really do much on the tongue and isn't absorbent in any useful way for it to be dunked. Still a really nice biscuit great for sharing, especially with the re-seal able bag aspect. Although I doubt you will need it!

Next up with have one of Foxes new American orientated biscuits. Four limited edition flavours that Vinnie the Panda (Don't ask) hopes will invoke a taste of the Atlantic in our mouths. This is the flavour that most appealed to me and is Cherry cheesecake Jammy Dodgers. Which is odd as Jammy Dodgers are one of my least favorite biscuit around. Too much biscuit not enough filling. However, the idea of cherry cheesecake definitely appeals to me.

 

Amazingly exercised cross section display here... perfect separation

Am I glad it did catch my eye? You be I am! These taste great and I hope that they keep the range gong for a while or even add to them. The cream filling doesn't really taste cheesy, more like a vanilla butter-cream flavour. A bit too sweet on it's own. The jam has a very powerful and nicely tart cherry taste that compliments the creams sweetness. The digestive biscuit doesn't really have flavour of it's own but that's not a bad thing considering the mix already on offer.

Overall both of these biscuits are great. I would definitely recommend the American range whilst it is available. As for the fingers if you have a party coming up then these are bound to be favorites and enough to go around too.

Score 

Finger's 5 out of 11

Cherry Pie 8 out of 11

Found

Sainsbury's

Final Thoughts

Why does a Panda have an American gangster character type? Also why is a Panda the mascot for Foxe's bisquits?

Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread

Expectations are a funny thing aren’t they? Build them up and quite often they knock you down. Take today’s blog post for example if you go into reading this with the low expectations you’ve come to it with you may just enjoy it. Then again no matter how you approach my blog you’re going to love it, after all its awesomeness is a reflection of my own and I just can’t help that.

It’s a true point, however, that often when we build ideas up in our mind they can never truly live up to all the hype. It’s why I try to live as spontaneously as I can, if we don’t think too much not only will we be surprised more but you can never really be disappointed when something doesn’t live up to your standards. Take today’s item, a Nestle Millionaires Shortbread Wonka bar. When I heard that Nestle were re-launching the Wonka brand over here after a seven or so year hiatus I was excited like a small puppy. I remembered the amazing tasting bars that were released to coincide with the Tim Burton film and thought of the possibilities for crazy combinations.

 

Definitely an air of madness about it

Then they came out with the new flavours and immediately I was less jubilant, they weren’t the same and part of me knew that the flavours were variants of other Nestle products. This bar for instance is very similar in taste to a limited edition product that snuck out the back, as these jumped through the door. On the outside these do meet my hopes with the same crazy Wonka feeling design as the Nice Cream I tried Here. The colour and design are brilliantly chaotic that I’m sure Dahl would approve of. Once unwrapped, I found the shape to be rather a let-down. The last bar had a nice print of an ice cream sundae on it; this one is plain except for a monogram W in the corner.

Undeterred too much as usual by aesthetics alone I try a chunk, immediately I notice the chocolate yet again isn’t the usual quality Nestle taste. It’s clearly less cocoa more sweeteners, possibly with all the flavours being thrown around Nestle thought they be sneaky well I got you. It doesn't taste bad with a caramel paste inside with tiny chunks of crumbly biscuit for bite. I would have thought however if they were aiming to emulate millionaire’s shortbread that a solid layer of biscuit topped with caramel and then layered in chocolate would have been closer.

 

Just rather plain in comparison

Then it hit me what I was really eating and my hopes for the future of innovation fell ever more! This is essentially just a re-packaged Kit-Kat caramel, the limited edition bar that always seems to be around. Except unlike them the chocolate coating isn't as thick or even as nice. Whilst the Nice Cream was good and a great idea this one was disappointing. It just feels a bit cheap, the caramel paste itself shows this, and surely a nice coating of normal Mars like caramel would have felt less manufactured.

Overall I was disappointed by round two of the Wonka bar saga; I do blame my expectations in part. I’m looking forward to the final assault when I buy a bar of the Crème Brule although I will try to be neutral… TRY!

Score

4 out of 11

Found

Sainsburys

Final Thoughts

Todays review is rather serious clearly disappointment has aged me.

Mistletoe and Whining

Well folks Halloweens over for another year. Pack your prize costumes away and consume that candy before its best before date. Not that the second one is much of a challenge.

I hope your Halloween was as treat filled as mine, although perhaps not as much. I managed to over consume as you can imagine and felt rather full and floaty before bedtime. I did carve an amazing pumpkin with a little help from a glamorous assistant. It was a great night and I look forward to the tricks I'll find next year.

A work of pure blasphemous artwork

So whats next then now that my challenge is over, well folks its quite obvious isn't it? Christmas! Tis the season to be jolly, although if you believe the shops that season started about six months ago. Before you panic no i'm not going to do a festive foodstuff from now till the twenty fifth although today's two are both Christmas theme. Many because at the moment Christmas stuff is on offer in the shops and very easy to get a hold of.

So we have two of Galaxys festive frollicks in the form of their gift for you range. They have released two varieties one of milk chocolate and one white chocolate. It's the second one that really excites as there is as of yet no regular white chocolate Galaxy bars. Therefore its of slight novelty, though both have uniqueness in the shape and filling but not as exciting as new white chocolate.

They do look rather impressive

I'll begin with the least exciting milk chocolate however and build up. The look of these bars are quite nice with a present like bow and cool sectional design. They are great for sharing although hope your groups small as there's only four segments. With two bubbly chocolate and two smooth chocolate filling really this is a bar for two. Luckily for me when I tried these I was a party of one and got the full benefit to myself.

I broke off one of the segments and took a nibble, I immediately recognized that amazingly silky Galaxy taste followed by the sweetness. Now I do love Galaxy bars however I find they create a scratchy sensation in my throat, not enough to deter me however. The part I'd tried had the truffle filling which had a great fudge like texture that stood out once the outside had melted. A lovely combination and the filling was slightly different in taste, enough to just notice the difference. Next segment I tried was bubbly, and although not as melty as an Areo bar it still created a tingling sensation on the tongue.

In hindsight the packaging doesn't mention truffle

Next I opened the white chocolate, again these look really quite impressive. I took a bite within instantly, however something was wrong. Or rather not wrong but disappointing, it turned out that the Mars corp have just repackaged a lump of Milkybar chocolate under the guise of Galaxy. I'm not exaggerating this bar is Milkybar chocolate but aerated. The bubbles again are nice and create a good texture but this isn't Galaxy bar white chocolate in any sense. I tried another section hoping the filling parts would be good, To my dismay it turns out that all four segments are bubbles! This bar is lazy on two accounts and the experience left a rather bitter and scratchy taste in my mouth.

Overall whilst I was disappointed with the white chocolate offering, I was pleasantly surprised by the milk chocolate. Also I got them on offer so really can't complain... Yet I do!

Score
Milk chocolate- 7 out of 11
White chocolate-5 out of 11

Found 
W.H Smith's 

Final Thoughts
I wonder when Easter will begin?

Spider sham, spider sham

So another day, another step towards all Hallows eve. The time when those long since past rise up and seek revenge on those who wronged them. The day when the barrier between our world and the other side gets flimsier than a piece of tissue paper soaked in water… evil water. Also one step closer to all saints day, you know that day when we listen to cheesy nineties pop I think.

Yeah anyway so basically it means all that and allows Company’s the chance to resell all their existing brands with a holiday twist. Or release slightly (and in some cases it is really slightly) altered versions of their products. Take today’s offering to the damned we have an example of a slightly new product. They are called Cadburys Crunchy Spider and describe itself as “MILK CHOCOLATE WITH GREEN CRISPED BALLS”. Nope I didn’t accidentally leave caps on that’s how excited they are to describe the product.

Despite their excitement we all know this is just a dairy milk block with some rice puffs coloured green. I’m not complaining there is after all no dairy milk with rice puffs on the market at other times so at least it has something new-ish. I must admit though I think the packaging’s rather lazy the only thing that makes this a spider is the cardboard base, which is rather unnecessary as they could just market it as a generic bad bug. Either way it’s not really blood chilling but I do like the foil art it’s a nice touch, one slightly chilling thing is that it mentions that it may contain lupin. I don’t know what lupin is other than the Harry Potter character and I hope to god he’s not in here! (Turns out it’s a type of pea or something, who knew?)

Found him scuttling on my window sill.

After unwrapping this frightful freak from the foil I found that the chocolate has a design moulded onto it. Seems the laziness extended further than pointless card as its literally some indentations meant to be hair. If I’m honest it makes it seem rather dodgy now that the legs are gone the round shape and design make it look more like a sensitive male body part than a spider. The thought of eating that though is quite scary so perhaps it’s appropriate.

I broke it in half to show the green puffs and found the chocolate to be slightly aerated though this is probably due to green ball addition rather than deliberate. However when I tried some I did find it melted slightly easier much like the bubbly bars. Taste wise it’s the usual dairy milk that we all know and love. The green rice doesn’t do anything to add flavour. Obviously my purchase wasn’t one of them that may have contained lupin. They do add a nice texture though and work nicely if you allow it to melt on your tongue. 

Sorry you can't quite see the green balls in the photo, they are that small.

They stay nice and crunchy too when cheaper puff bars tend to contain puffs that go soggy.

If chewed straight away you kinda miss out on the puffy additions although they are still somewhat detectable. Except like this they kinda feel like the popping candy bars you can get without the excitement of the popping party. Some still stick around even when chewed so actually in this chocolates case chewing allows the best of both worlds.

Overall it’s not very impressive and is just holiday cash in. It would be greatly improved if they bothered to mould the legs too instead of the cardboard addition, still chocolates chocolate right?

Score

6 out of 11

Found

Local newsagents, they are on offer.

Final Thoughts

What disappointments lie in store next post, bet you can't wait.

Yo Sushi! The good, the bad and the Mochi

Konnichi-wa! That's hello in Japanese for those of you who don't know. See, my blog can be educational as well as entertaining, though some may say that it's neither. Those few are deviants however so lets not dwell on their opinions.

So if you can't guess from that charismatic and seamless introduction today's review has an aspect of the Orient about it. Only an aspect though, after all I only went to Yo! Sushi not all the way to the Japan. Someday perhaps I'll bring tidings and more than likely treats back from the Far East. Until that day we will have to settle for the South East... of England.

Yo! Sushi has always interested me. Seeing those tiny plates sailing past the customers like something from a game show appealed to my sense fun. Only the idea of not quite knowing what I could be eating and the possibility it could be seaweed was putting me off. Until recently that is when I finally bit the Wasabi, took a seat and let insanity and sushi wash over me.

They are even presented in a great way too!

Believe me I am glad, Yo! sushi is a truly unique experience. It really feels like your in a crazy TV show with the neon colors and waitress call system that plays a random sound clip like a buzzer. For those like me who are worried about the mystery aspect of the food system have no fear. Firstly there is a menu that describes what you see and you can order straight from it. I strongly recommend the Katsu chicken and Vegetable Yakisoba, two dishes only in fact found on the menu.

Secondly I urge you to try a random dish from the belt and really immerse yourself in the experience. In doing this I did genuinely end up eating seaweed thinking it was runner beans. However it tasted soo good that by the time I had realized I didn't care. Today's review isn't about seaweed however as always it concerns something far sweeter, dessert. I decided to top the meal off to try their two newest editions to the men chocolate and cheesecake Mochi.

Mochi is cooked sweet rice pounded into a paste and them formed into a ball. It has a squishy rubber like texture to it and contains a filling, traditionally red bean paste. Now I know that doesn't sound appetizing to the ears and actually they don't look that appetizing to the eyes either. To the mouth though it can be very appealing. The rice outside has no taste itself unless its coated and really just provides a squishy rubber casing that melts in a weirdly pleasing way when masticated. Then you access the filling which can pretty much be anything you could imagine.

So chocolate and cheesecake isn't traditional but believe me it was worth breaking with tradition. Firstly the chocolate one. It has a great taste of luxurious dark chocolate cocoa mainly due to the dusting of cocoa powder on the outside. The filling is a very thick and subtly sweet chocolate paste that contrasts with the bitter dusting. The outside picks up on these flavors brilliantly and the whole thing is almost akin to eating solid hot chocolate.

I made this recently, not relevant but I'm proud of it.

The cheesecake variant is even better believe me. Initially it was a bit disappointing as the outside dusting is soft biscuit. Had it been more like digestive, crunchy and oaty then it may have made the experience astronomical. Not that it wasn't once I got to the gorgeous cream cheese filling. Again a really thick and generous paste, starting off as subtly sweet before shifting seamlessly to a Philedelphia like cheese tinge. I was amazed by these Mochi, where my past experiences had found them to be rather dull and bland (I admit they were store bought) these were truly amazing.

Overall I'd recommend both Mochi and seaweed. However I'd recommend going out of your comfort zone and trying new experiences even more though. You never know what you might find. Lastly I'd like to put out an appeal for you guys to suggest things for me to find and try. I want interesting and odd ideas, things I may not have heard of is best. Comment below or tweet me @Snaxon.

Found
Yo! Sushi

Score
Choclate- 8 out of 11
Cheesecake- 10 out of 11

Final Thought
Sorry for lack of pictures, I was too swept up to capture the moment.

New Nestle Wonka Nice Cream

It must have been fate, or destiny, a great combination of them both perhaps? Nope I’m not talking about how I met my beautiful girlfriend that was much more wondrous (she says she reads my blog!) I’m talking about the amazing coincidence that occurred and how I finally found the new Nestle Wonka bars!

The coincidence is that last night I watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and that today I found these bars on sale! Not only that the shop in question was one I’d never entered but passed when on the bus and today I thought I’ll walk home. See and believe in fate readers because this truly shows it in action.  Since hearing about their announcement I have been scouting any and all shops I pass in the vague chance they may have early stock. After a few weeks I won’t lie my morale was low. Hence why I watched the film to cheer me up and give me hope and clearly it gave something.

Look at it and bask in it's glory.

I thought considering that Kev’s snack reviews have reviewed the Millionaires Shortbread variety here that I’d review the Chocolate Nice Cream today. So without further ado and with much excitement I’m off. Firstly the packaging is pretty bold and invokes the Wonka-esque style we can imagine coming from the book/film. It describes the bar as “Smooth vanilla cream topped with chocolate sauce”. Worryingly this description seems both rather reserved and similar sounding to Wall’s recent non-ice cream chocolate offerings that have been out over the summer. Indeed if any chocolate is more fitting of the Wonka name it’s surely the madcap Aardvark soup mixes Cadbury are concocting.

However new chocolate based on a great book is not to be sniffed at. Great link there to me describing how it smells. Upon opening I took a sniff and found a rather unexciting chocolate aroma. Not nasty, just not exciting. Don’t know what I was expecting really after all this is the real world not something from Roald Dahl’s terrifying mind. This comes from the mind of PR people and marketers, a much more dull and depressing place (no offence!) I was impressed with the decorative image on each chunk, a bowl of ice cream with a flake in the shape of a Wonka W. Quite an impressive attention to detail and definitely wins some brownie points for style.

Really well moulded and quite impressive

I took a nibble of the corner, sampling the outside chocolate layer and a good helping of the cream filling. Both have a great texture that melts immediately on the tongue. With a velvety smooth taste up to the usual good standard of Nestle milk chocolate. A bit plainer than usual but perhaps this is to avoid it becoming sickly when you add the chocolate sauce.  The initial Cocoa taste fades into the vanilla cream which whilst not strong is present enough to distinguish itself. Again it’s just right and not to sweet and compliments the chocolate well. However it isn’t exactly new with these alone as it tastes and looks very similar to the Magnum bites I mentioned from Wall’s.

My next bite incorporated the unique selling point or USP if you’re in “the business” (Which I’m not as you can tell, not sure if there is a “business” in this case either.) By the USP I mean the chocolate sauce topping. It looks amazingly dark and gooey, although it makes me think it could make it sickly. It’s the sort of sauce you’ pile on your ice cream as a kid before throwing up because of said piling. I could wait no further and took a bite before it hypnotized me further.

Sorry about poor quality I was excited!!!

When all three layers are put together they work fantastically. A real chocolate impact is made with the top layers which covers the vanilla. But these fade away, though not too quickly into vanilla. The Vanilla also serves to take the edge off the sweetness I think and stop it from becoming the sickly mess I’d feared. I attempted to try the sauce on its own and scooped some out with difficulty (It’s not sparse just a bit mixed in.) It tasted like the toppings I remember but the good quality ones not the cheap offerings I had at many kids’ parties.

Overall I think this is a good idea and about time we had a return of actual Wonka chocolate bars (The last batch out at the same time of the film to tie in where really good but limited.) Whilst perhaps the flavours on offer aren’t as exciting as their fictional counterparts, they are a sign of possibilities. Nestle have pulled the plug on Wonka chocolate prior to this and I hope history can be broken this time. Imagine what they could add to this line especially considering how popular the Marvellous Creations line is at the moment. We could see some Wimple scrumpet chocolate although that could possibly be considered cannibalism.

Score

9 out of 11

Found

For 60p in local convenience store, worryingly plastered with Daily Mail propaganda.

Final Thoughts
Not sure I'd actually want to try something thought up by Roald Dahl it would be terrifying!!!

Is this what we have become?

What was your favourite family holiday? I know what you’re thinking, that’s a random question to start a sweet review blog. Well yes it is and it’s also the most random thing you will find in this piece as well. Today I take a look at Rowntree’s “Random” Rip-em’s. See even that seemingly a random question has an explanation.

Oh I bet these are interesting...

I thought I’d try a new idea for today and not review something involving chocolate (normal service shall resume do not fear). Hopefully this idea of mine will work out somewhat better than Rowntree’s idea to slap Random on their products. I can only think that they are trying to jump on the whole random is funny bandwagon. The problem is said bandwagon of being random for randoms sake, is sailing off into the horizon now to the point that it’s becoming boring and anything but random.

The second problem is that their definition of “random” is a bit lacking in description. Judging by the products under this line so far to Rowntree the word involves them catching whatever drops off the other production lines and jamming them into a bag together. Basically taking the parts that don’t quite make their own quality control and putting them to good use. A good idea but not quite random I’m afraid guys. Well the next attempt at being kooky are these fruit strips or Rip-ems (bit violent sounding) and in reality they are really rather dull.

Nope maybe I was wrong.

The advert campaign for the release involved a man dressed as a parrot eating the strips and talking to himself. I’ll admit this is a bit random, it is also very annoying and really rather sad. So from the very get go I was wary of this product and its view on kooky. One thing I’d like to point out is that in the advert the parrot man-child thing eats these by pulling a single strip off and eating it. Hardly very random is it, he doesn’t mix flavours nor does he do as they suggest and mould them into something. Clearly the ideas department didn’t make it to marketing as there is no co-operation going on at Rowntree.

It just got a bit less random when I tried these strips, whilst they taste quite nice and have a good quality fruity flavour they are in no way random. The orange is orange, the Yellow is lemon, the purple is blackcurrant and the red is red flavoured (strawberry?). Well that’s randomly predictable isn’t it? Hey guys, you know you could have at least mixed the colours up a bit and kept us guessing. Would it have been too hard to even try some odd varieties, look at the Harry Potter jelly beans they are more random and they put the pictures on the back.

Well I tried at least

As sweets they are very nice good effort and admittedly better than their rival fruit strips, they taste quite clearly of what they are meant to be.  All this just adds insult to injury and that’s what annoys me these do not meet their description in anyway. I played their game though I tried to “Let my random side out” basically play with them. On the back of the pack they helpfully give advice on how to use them, on mine it appeared to be roll it into a ball, seriously! Am I the only person here that either feels like Rowntree either couldn’t be bothered here or are just scrapping the barrel to add to their “random” product line?

It could have been more effective if they had gone; hey everyone here’s our alternative to fruit wind ups. It would have made more sense and be a serious competitor because they are better. Yet instead they want me to play with these things. I don’t because I know where my hands have been (imagine how a pig farmer would feel). I’m not a child! I just want sweets, ah um bad point there perhaps. A bit off putting is that the colour fades when you move them too much and makes them look whitish like they are going off.

An omelette that's random, nope it too has meaning.

Now it’s not these sweets fault the way that they’ve been marketed to us. Therefore they don’t really deserve me ranting about the naming process. To be more honest there also isn’t much else to talk about because they are just so dull. Rowntree knew this and thought slapping the word random on them might drum up some attention. This is what annoyed me to contribute to the current trend of calling everything random to justify it being funny. Surely if we go round calling every slightly odd thing as random nothing is? Random is a beautiful word to be used sparingly, like on the odd occasion when a homeless man swears blind your name is Frank as he sells you a magazine (yes that happened). Random isn’t appropriately coloured strips of fruit sweet. See readers I’m a sage in these modern times really.

Overall they are nice as fruit strips but they are also rather dull.

Score

4 out of 11

Found

Tesco

Final Thoughts

I feel rather guilty for having a rant at these sweets... sorry.