Junk Food Rennaisance

[Wyvern]

I've noticed that lately, a number of the large American brands of junk food have been expanding their catalogues by adding in new flavors and varieties of candy. Being a curious connaiseur of sugar and anything labeled "chocolate," I decided to experiment and try out a couple of the new gimmicky products being offered. Here are a few of the things I tried, and the conclusions I reached about them:

 

Mazing - This is a new chocolate bar that contains crunchy M&Ms inside of a Hersheys-clone length of chocolate. I was skeptical upon viewing the cover, and my worst fears were confirmed when I tried it and found it to be a bland replica of Nestles Crunch. Not terrible, but nothing exciting and there are far better candy bars that you can spend your spare change on. For die-hard M&M enthusiasts only.

 

Snicker's Munch - I actually decided to try this bar specifically for the purpose of this thread, since the wrapping which advertised what appeared to be just peanuts in caramel didn't entice me much (if it doesn't have chocolate, I usually ain't messing with it). Upon trying it, I found that it wasn't in fact caramel that surrounded the peanuts, but was toffee. Never the less, it didn't excite me much and was pretty bland, plus it was difficult to chew. It should also be noted that a single bar of this stuff contains a whooping 3.5 grams of transfat, which probably marks it in the "avoid" territory when all's said and done.

 

Kit Kat Big Kat - White - For those who don't know, Kit Kat Big Kats are an alternative variety of Kit Kat bars that contain a single bar of chocolate with wafer inside of it, as opposed to the series of smaller bars found in normal Kit Kats. Kit Kat Big Kat White follows that same schema, only it uses white chocolate instead of milk chocolate on the outside. Well... I'm a sucker for white chocolate, and I've always enjoyed Kit Kats, so I'm a fan of this new flavor. Mmmm... chocolate.

 

Yorkshire Chocolate PepperMint Patty - Dark Truffel Limited Edition - I've never been the biggest enthusiast when it comes to York's Peppermint Pattys (though I have been in the mood for their flavor at times) but I was enticed by the "Dark Truffel" headliner in the title and decided to try it out. To be honest, I couldn't distinguish much of a difference between this flavor and the normal Yorkshire Patty, since the Peppermint really takes the forefront when it comes to this candy. Like Mazing, it was not terrible but not exciting either.

 

JBz - This is definately the strangest and most eccentric new variety of candy I've tried in recent weeks, though I can't whole-heartedly recommend it. JBz are basically M&Ms with shells that taste like different Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors. o_O The results are widely ecclectic, ranging from excellent (marshmellow shells with chocolate evoke fond memories of s'mores, cherry and chocolate go well together) to less-than-satisfactory (buttered popcorn and chocolate?! o_o). It should also be noted that this candy, like most things Jelly Belly-related, will probably cause massive stomach aches if consumed in large amounts. Worth trying out, but they're not something I'd frequently consume.

 

Reeses Snack Bar - Don't let the nutritious-looking drawing and "0 transfat" boast on the cover of this candy decieve you, Reeses Snack Bars are actually surprisingly good! It's a fairly large bar composed mostly of rice with Reeses peanut butter in the middle, and a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom. The peanut butter works really well in it, and overall I'd have to say that this bar is a success. It's still not quite as good as Nutrageous though, or Reeses Fast Break for that matter.

 

Has anyone else had any interesting experiences with junk food recently?

[cryptomancer]

The Kit Kat Big Kat is marketed in New Zealand as the 'Big Finger' and has an amusing advertising campagne. But beside that, I too am a sucker for white chocolate. If you like a real SWEET bar the 'Kit Kat White with Caramel'. Essentially the same thing as the 'Big Kat White' Just with a layer of caramel in it too... Only to be consumed if your suger tolerance is very high.

 

Got introduced to chinese snack foods, and biscuits, very interesting, tasty, subtle flavours, and go well with the range of teas that originate in the same area.

 

'Tia Maria' the coffee liquer. Newest flavour in the chocolate buscuit range.

 

Oh, Honey flavoured rice crackers, mmmm (by flavoured I mean coated as well)

 

My main junk food concern at the moment is the choice that I have each day for lunch. I work in the CBD of Auckland, and as such have a large range of fast food options to enjoy. However, I have been eating almost exclusively at subway. But when a large Pizza chain opened a store in the same building as me, well, I asked the question, "Do tennents get a discount?" so now I have a large Pizza for less than a foot long sub, and a 1.5l bottle of coke.

 

Starbucks across the road from me, I walk in they make my order without asking for more than a confirmation that I still want 6 shots in it (and caramel on top) and the managers know me now. If retail has taught me one thing.... if you want to pay less for things, ask. 6 shots for the price of 2, my diet is now officially caffeine and pizza.

 

[Quincunx]

My newest vice is Nöt-Creme, the deceptively simple idea of making the filling one usually puts inside a fancy chocolate truffle, squeezing it into a small plastic packet, and selling it on its own. Coarse-chopped hazelnuts with a generous amount of sugar--peanut butter is the only substance which even comes close in concept, and that is far short of the mark. It's recommended to be spread on crackers or bread, but I just slurped it out of the packet pixystix-style.

 

Every time this topic comes up, and several times in the shoutbox, I have mentioned Toffifee, the hard-caramel hemispheres with a creamy filling, a hazelnut in the cream, and a dab of chocolate over the flat part of the candy. I've developed a taste for dill-flavored chips and salt-and-vinegar pretzels, but don't like the more common forms of dill dip and salt-and-vinegar chips. If anyone has a reliable recipe for homemade soft pretzels, please forward it; for being this close to Germany, they're conspicuously absent.

 

I loved both dark and white chocolate Kit Kats but they were damn hard to find. Mini M&Ms in white chocolate taste just fine, wonder why they tried sticking them in milk chocolate. Also, at a confectionery in Florida, they made a. . .well, bark is the closest category it approaches. . .a layer of white chocolate, then a layer of stick pretzels well coated in gooey caramel, then a layer of milk chocolate. Two kinds of chocolate, caramel, AND salt. . .heaven.

[jonathan_wolfe]

Gobstoppers - I don't know why but I've always had a soft spot for hard jawbreaker-like candy that you can shatter with your molars and get at the sweet/sour powdery inside if your teeth are strong enough

 

Runts An old favorite from a 25cent vending machine at my high school, I never knew what these actually were until yesterday while on a candy run at a 7-11, I stumbled across what looked like a box full of my old favorites from years ago.

 

Lo and behold my favorite sugary crunching candy was inside and I was in tooth-decay heaven.

[cryptomancer]

Yeah, Not-Creme..... you can make it too, real easy.

 

Icing sugar, butter, and a very little bit of boiling water,(sorry forget the exact quantities) then you beat it (it takes a while) until it is fluffy and creamy.

 

We cant buy it here, well not that I have found.

 

Giant gobstoppers are fun, especially if they are so big you cant get them in your mouth.

 

Cotton candy makers, one of the stores I worked at sold these, and we spent all day 'demonstrating' how they worked.

 

[Lady Celes Crusader]

I do have a knack for Zero dark chocolate bars as they taste delicious and they are not sickenly sweet.

 

I do have my shares of Aero (Aero caramel is cool), Kit Kat, Coffee Crisp (the Moka flavor's nice) and Crunchie but I want to consume these the least often as possible.

[cryptomancer]

"Pixie Caramel" Very chewy bar of solid caramel coated in dark chocolate.

 

Very good at removing fillings from teeth.

 

[FrozenWombat]

I'm going to lean away from sweets and towards chips and other such junk food with with my post.

 

Just today, I had a bag of Munchos. Now, Munchos have been around for a while, but as hey're not a big-brand potato chip, I thought they might deserve speical mention. They're incredibly salty, but they are decent.

 

Dorrito's Guacamole- I Haven't yet been able to bring myself to eat green dorritos, although I am a sucker for guacamole.

 

Lays Baked Chips- "Healthy" Potato chips. One of those things that makes me laugh.

 

Rosemary Garlic Olive Oil Potato Chips- The designer clothes of chips, these things are possibly the best chips on the planet. They don't come cheap, but I love them. I'm not sure whereabouts you can get them, but I picked them up at a small NYC grocery store. Like Muncho's. these aren't all that recent, but I thought they deserved some special mention.

 

On a side note, I'm also a sucker for White Chocolate, although I can't consume it in the same quantities as milk or dark.

[cryptomancer]

Lime and chilli flavoured corn chips, with a good salsa, (and a strong mexican flavoured orange juice, with a dash of grenadine)

 

 

[Edit: Spelling again]

Edited September 27, 2004 by cryptomancer

[Lady Celes Crusader]

As for chips... I have a knack for Cajun flavored and Ketchup flavored Pringles but I refrain to buy them because I know I'll empty the whole package.

 

As for White Chocolate, I'm not a fan of it because its way too sweet.

[Belizean]

Well one of my favorite junk foods has to be Doritos Cooler Ranch. I can eat bags of that a day and never get sick of it, it helped me survive back in the dorms freshman year. The spicy cheetos are delicious as well, the only down side is they leave a terrible mess on your fingers. Try dropping 2 or 3 into a cup o' noodle and see if you like it, another "must have" for broke freshmen. I should point out though, the site alone of a cup o' noodle makes me lose my appetite......

 

Moving along to candy. Good N Plenty is one of my favorites. For some reason I like peeling the candy shell off with my teeth and then chewing the licorice center. And Twizzlers....... 6 cavities when I was a kid should give you an idea of how much I like twizzlers!

[Aardvark]

I've recently given up chocolate in protest of what has happened with my favourite brands.

 

Ok, so here's the scene down under. You've got cadburies who make the majority of chocolate down here. So popular are they that thanks to their slogan, "A glass and a half", which refers to how much milk goes into one bar of their milk chocolate, their name has been adopted by pissheads and drunkards everywhere to refer to people who can't handle their alcohol. Cadbury's, actually. But hey, what can you do. Anyway, they've got their milk chocolate, their white chocolate, their dark chocolate, their nutty chocolate, their nuttier chocolate, their creme filled chocolate, their fruit and nut chocolate, the list goes on. Anyway, many years ago, they released Top Deck. Simple concept, normal chocolate base with white chocolate on top. Greatest chocolate on the face of the planet. Fast forward to a decade and a half later, they release this new type of white chocolate, they call "Dream". It's rubbish. Tastes like powdered glass. Anyway, Cadbury's, in a fit of marketing genius must've seen that their Dream sales were bottoming out and their Topdeck sales were still at all time highs, so decided to replace the standard white chocolate on Top deck with their Dream chocolate, thus ruining forever the name Top Deck. Now they've brought out Triple Deck, which I puke at the thought of. Who's ever heard of pink chocolate, anyway?

[Wyvern]

Thanks for the observations and comments, all. I didn't realize they had a Ketchup-flavored variety of Pringles... the concept sounds strange but I might want to check for them if they get Celes Crusadors seal of approval. Similar goes for that Zero bar, which I've seen but haven't tried, as well as Not-Cream (is this similar to Nutella? And is it available in the U.S?) Runts and everything Cadbury-related get my seal of approval, though I haven't tried that Dream chocolate you mentioned Aardvark.

 

Here are a few more more reviews of some other recent junk products I've tried:

 

Hersheys - Double Chocolate (Limited Edition) - Mmmm... Double chocolate. The manner that this new brand of Hersheys bar is advertised on the candywrapper makes it seem as if it can do no wrong: "Creamy milk chocolate with a dark chocolatey filling." Unfortunately, the bar disappointed me, since the "chocolatey" filling tastes like little more than Hersheys Chocolate Syrup. Ewww. No wonder they couldn't use "chocolate" to describe the filling...

 

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups - Extra Smooth and Creamy (Limited Edition) - Man, these recent "limited edition" candies have had such promising advertisements on their covers and such little content. An "Extra Smooth and Creamy" Reeses cup sounds promising, right? Well, unfortunatly the only difference between this and normal Reeses Peanut Butter Cups is that the peanut butter is not chunky, which kinda takes some of the texture out of it. Not as good as the original, though it's for only a minor difference in texture.

 

Ben & Jerry's "Peanut Butter Cookie Dough" Ice Cream (Limited Stock) - I'm actually surprised that Ben & Jerrys ice cream hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet, since they can really do no wrong. Their new flavors of ice cream are always innovative and creative, yet somehow manage to remain consistant in the quality department (with a few minor exceptions). Their latest limited run flavor, "Peanut Butter Cookie Dough," maintains this tradition of excellence. The ice cream contains peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, fudge chunks, and dough used for baking peanut butter cookies (which, truth be told, tastes pretty much just like peanut butter, but I ain't complaining). This is a darn good flavor, but not as good as some of their previous limited runs, such as "Dublin Mudslide" (which I thought was absolutely phenomenal).

 

Mountain Dew - Pitch Black (Limited Edition) Soda - what's with all the "limited edition" labels on junkfood nowadays anyway? Darn marketing campaigns. Anyway, Mountain Dew - Pitch Black is the latest flavor in the Mountain Dew remix catalogue. After the amazing Mountain Dew - Code Red (probably one of the best mainstream sodas on the market) came out, they followed it up with the heavily disappointing Mountain Dew - Live Wire (which was supposed to have orange flavor, but it wasn't very flavorful). The most recent edition to their catalogue, Pitch Black, is advertised as having "A Splash of Black Grape," and is actually a striking success. I personally think that Mountain Dew - Pitch Black is on par with Mountain Dew - Code Red, as it has a very distinctive grape flavor that doesn't taste completely like grape tylonal for a change (see: Fanta Grape). Highly recommended to soda fans.

 

7Up Plus (Limited Edition) Soda - Uh oh, 7Up with 10% vitamin C and calcium? You know it sounds sketchy to begin with, and unfortunatly the sketchiness is confirmed when you taste it and realize they had to sacrifice a thing or two to add a bit of "healthiness" (a healthy soda? Yeah right) to it, namely "taste." Thank God it's "limited edition." ;-p

[X-Sabre]

Since Wyvie asked me to, I'll post.

 

Baja Blast Mountain Dew *Available exclusively at Taco Bell*

This is supposed to be a refreshing lime drink, which after growing up on lemon-lime sodas, I would assume would be decent. After taking the first drink, I was almost forced to spit it all out. It has a very bland taste to it, almost like really weak Kool-Aid. It seemed to me like drinking seltzer water that someone put a couple drops of lime juice in. I CANNOT recommend this to anyone.

[Gryphon]

Just to confirm that there is always going to be someone who likes that which everyone else does not I happen to like the Cadbury Dream chocolate... However if I were going to walk into the shop and take my pick of white chocolates - I'd go with the Nestle Milky Bar every time.

 

And with Ice-cream you cant go past orange chocolate chip ice cream, except maybe if you're going past it to get to mint choc-chip, rocky road or jelly tip icecream.

 

And then there's those Wonka's candies - I love the ones that have sherbert in the middle of a red licorice straw.

 

Mmm... candy. gotta go now - I'm hungry again.

[Lady Celes Crusader]

Wyvern: Well, ketchup flavored chips are found in Canada (at least in my province for sure) but not in the US although many US flavors made their way up here recently (such as the Cheesumms Pringle).

 

Also, another local junk food specialty is the Spruce Beer. It's some kind of spruce flavored soda. I cannot be more descriptive with the taste because I never really taste it since I hate carbonated drinks. However, it does smells a lot like spruce.

[Lady Celes Crusader]

The joys of the chips world... I decided for comparison sake to display a site where Canadians most common flavors are displayed (in Québec we do also have Sour Cream and Onion chips, from other brands).

 

http://www.lays.ca/en/stores_fav.php

 

The fun of comparison begins.

[cryptomancer]

*Dances around with new chocolate bar from Cadbury's*

 

New to the NZ market, 'picnic, Honeycombe'

 

Just like the old one, but with bits of honeycombe inthe chocolate too.

 

*grins*

 

[Aardvark]

You bastards have pinky bars. I hate you

[Katzaniel]

However, I have never before heard of "Roast Chicken" or "Fries and Gravy" chips. Although, if Ketchup chips can be good (and they are, even though I don't usually like ketchup) then I suppose those could be as well.

 

It's fascinating, how different places get different offerings from companies like Lays. And McDonald's. Ever been to a McDonald's in another country? I've been to some in Italy and France and was surprised at the different selection of food.

 

My favourite junk food: M&Ms, the big ones with peanuts. Gummy "stuff", especially those gummy pop cans you get for 5 cents at gas stations. (Side note: If you've got a dime, you can't afford two, because of tax. But you can afford one, and then one again!). Pretzel sticks. Cheesies. (Not the soft wimpy cheese stuff you get in the states!) Chocolate. White chocolate.

 

Tried Strawberry Kit Kats. Good, but with a not-so-great aftertaste that knocks it down to decent.

 

Catnip. Oh, right, that's just my character...

[YanYanGanaffi]

I like the Mazing. My favorite is Mr. Goodbar. Zero bars are nice too.

[Blondemoon]

They have strawberry KitKats??

I'm partial to the mint KitKats and the mint M&Ms. Doritos has a new flavor (supposedly limited edition), Black PepperJack. They're not bad, though I'd recommend having something to drink handy at all times.

I tried the Pitch Black Mountain Dew....but I handed it off to one of my friends after a few drinks. I thought it was kinda gross.

 

Hey Wyv....what was in that Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream? I don't remember ever seeing that.

[YanYanGanaffi]

Pitch black mountian dew looks like used oil and tastes like crap. I hate it!

[Wyvern]

They have Strawberry Kit Kats, Mint Kit Kats, and Mint M&Ms? Wow, I've never seen or heard of any of those flavors... will have to be on the lookout for them the next time I walk by a CVS.

 

Blondemoon - Ben & Jerry's "Dublin Mudslide" ice cream was a limited edition flavor that came out around St. Patricks Day, and contained chocolate cream liquer ice cream, coffee swirl, and chocolate midnight cookies. It was basically Irish coffee and midnight cookie ice cream, and it tasted incredible.

 

Here are some more new candies that I decided to try out recently:

 

Peanut Butter Mazing - This recipe is the same as that of the previously-mentioned Mazing bar, only instead of crunchy M&Ms they put peanut butter M&Ms inside the chocolate bar. I thought this bar was slightly better than normal Mazing, though the questionable quality of M&M peanut butter drags down the promising connotations of the title.

 

Mini Reeses Pieces - This candy combines the recipe for Reeses Pieces with the addictive size reduction of Mini M&Ms. They're not quite as addictive as Mini M&Ms, but are still quite good as long as you enjoy the taste of normal Reeses Pieces.

 

Kit Kat Inside Out (limited edition) - This candy takes the concept of Kit Kat - White a step further by making the coating on the outside of the bar white chocolate and the wafer in the inside dark chocolate. This new variety Kit Kat is good, though the difference in taste in the wafer is almost too miniscule for one to really notice. Indulge only if you enjoy Kit Kat - White.

 

Milkyway Midnight bar - This alternative flavor of Milkyway is surprisingly good. It bares a ressemblence to normal Milkyway only in its basic structure, as the chocolate, the nougat and the caramel are still there. The difference is that in Milkyway Midnight, the chocolate is dark chocolate and the nougat is vanilla nougat. This may not sound like much of a difference, but it turns out that Milkyway Midnight tastes quite similar to some of the more expensively packaged chocolates out there. Recommended.

 

Overload S'moores - I was skeptical upon purchasing one of these as my initial experience with Overload (a candy that advertises peanut butter cups with cookies on the bottom of them and different varieties of candies on top of them) was one of horrendous disappointment. Overload S'moores advertise the same type of formula, only with marshmellow instead of peanut butter and graham crackers instead of cookies. Unfortunatly, this variety is every bit as bad, so don't be fooled by the tantalizing pictures they use for the packaging. Really disgusting stuff.

[cryptomancer]

The only good thing I have to say about mountain dew is that it contains a good amout of caffeine, (In NZ that is) I tried it in Canada when I was over there and the taste is totally different, No caffeine!!

 

However the supposed '3 times the caffeine of coke' wont make me buy it unless I cant get any of the other drinks that contain caffeine: V, E2 energy, redbull, redeye, redeye gold, bullseye (must drink within a minute of opening for full effect)

lift plus, flame, and of cause.... COKE. NZ still only has classic coke, *grins* Although the new stuff is nice, (sweet!!) and we now get vanilla, diet with vanilla, diet with lime, and diet with lemon.

 

Reese pieces, I love those, just cant get them regularly here. As for M&Ms, standard, mini, peanut, and crunch, are all we can get here. I want Peanut butter ones! I tried them once, yummy.

 

But the two best if you like small bits of candy, Skittles, and Jelly tots (the ones done by Roundtrees, I only ever seen them in SouthAfrica) Those have to be two of the best in my book.

 

KitKat has just got mint flavour here, mmmm , very nice.