For the Love of Candy

Name: Twin Cherries
Manufacturer: Haribo
Rating: 4.5/5

I love buying Haribo products, because I know I’m going to love them. This is no exception.

I have to admit I love cherries. The fruit, the flavor, the appearance–I have tons of cherry-themed things. So when I saw these picking them up was a natural.

This are rather large, maybe about the size of two quarters stacked on top of each other, in a classic cherry shape and color; green stems and two red cherries. They have a bright, delicious cherry scent that carries into the flavor–rounded, slightly piquant, less artificial than many cherry candies. The consistency is yummy too, chewy but not so gummy that your jaw ends up hurting.

I recommend these highly.

Name: Tootsie Roll Pop Drops
Manufacturer: Tootsie Roll
Rating: 4/5

I’m so glad they started making these again. I practically squealed when I saw the package in the supermarket checkout line; they were one of my favorites when I was a kid.

Tootsie Roll Pop Drops (henceforth known as TRPD) come in orange bags branded with “Tootsie Roll Pops Without a Stick.” That’s pretty accurate. TRPD is penny-size hard candy filled with Tootsie Roll, just like the pops of the same name. They come in the same flavors as well–chocolate, cherry, blue raspberry, orange, and grape. The hard candy is the same tangy and delicious candy found in the pops. The only problem is the amount of filling–some pieces have a nice quantity, others have almost none.

4/5 without a doubt–these are so good. I just wish they’d work out the filling issue.

Name: Satellite Wafers
Rating: 4

I have no idea who makes these–they were selling them in ziploc bags at my local Ben Franklin. I had heard of them, however, and am thrilled to taste them finally.

Satellite wafers are shaped like little UFOs and made of the same stuff that cake cones are made of. An edible styrofoam, if you will. My wafers came in four colors–orange, blue, white, and pink–but there was no real difference in taste, just a subtle, melting sweetness. The inside of the wafers are filled with little sour candy pellets that taste a little like Kool-Ade or lemonade powder. They’re quite crunchy and yummy.

There’s nothing here to make them sound like anything special, but I swear these are addictive. I don’t know if the melting/sour combination is what does it, but I highly recommend picking these up.

Name: Roca Buttercrunch thins–dark chocolate
Manufacturer: Brown & Haley
Rating: 5/5

Oh my gosh, these are SO good. I got them in my Easter basket, and have been savoring them–slowly-since.

 Most folks are familiar with the Buttercrunch toffee popular around the holidays. This is like a slimmed down version of this–a wafer of toffee mixed with almonds, covered with 60% Cacao dark chocolate. The toffee is sublime with a delicate texture, and the subtle bitterness of the chocolate complements it perfectly; the chocolate-to-toffee ratio is just right. I love the package as well–each wafer has its own place in a tray which is slipped into a cardboard box.  It does well to protect the candy and keep it fresh.

Here’s the final part of my round-up. I want to thank my neighbors again for the delicious candy–I’ve had a blast reviewing it, and I hope the information has been helpful for you guys two.

Candy one is another Mirabelle offering, the Salzburger Mozarttaler. This is a large medallion wrapped in the signature gold foil with Mozart’s portrait; the Mirabelle logo is embossed on the medallion along with some flowers. The shell is of a smooth, rich milk chocolate; the inside is composed of marzipan and a white chocolate cream. The marzipan in the Mozarttaler is a little fruiter than I would have liked, so I’m giving this a 3.5.

I’m not sure who made the next candy. The label on the front–which had a charming illustration of a girl and some flowers– reads “bad ischl das Herz de Salzkammergutes”. I have no idea what that means, but for further reference, the wrapper is silver foil and it’s a palm-size piece of chocolate in a heart shape. As with the Mozarttaler this candy has a shell of good quality milk chocolate, but the inside is a hazelnut crunch that was so delicious I had a difficult time not eating the whole thing at once. A definite 5.

I hope to try some more Austrian candy someday–they have a real gift with chocolate.

Okay, so it’s now technically Sunday, but I guess it works, because I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter/Belated Passover. As my present, here is part two of my Austrian Goodies!

My first candy is a round chocolate truffle by the name of Echte Salzburger Mozart Kulgen, and its by Mirabelle. It’s in a gold wrapper with, appropriately, a portrait of Mozart on it. This is one of the most intricate candies I’ve had. The outside is a delightfully rich dark chocolate, followed by a white chocolate creme, a milk chocolate creme with the suggestion of hazelnuts, and then marzipan. There’s a very slight fruity tinge to the whole thing, although I wasn’t able to tell exactly where it came from. That was my only complaint with this candy, and what knocked it down to a 4/5; there were so many layers I had a hard time differentiating between them.

My next selection is by Zauner, and it’s called “schokolade-galettes”; it’s not too hard to tell what schokolade is, and I’m going to guess that galettes is a way of saying wafers, for that’s exactly what these are, chocolate wafers about the size of a dollar coin. The presentation is stunning–they come in a gold box with a gold tray inside, wrapped all over with a pastel ribbon and a burgundy sticker with the candy shop logo. The wafers come in three flavors. The dark chocolate was my favorite. The chocolate is rich, intense, and has almost a liquour flavor because the flavor is so strong. It manages to avoid become overpowering, and the little wafer bits mixed in provide a delightful contrast. The white chocolate has the same wafer bits and has a rounded, milky flavor that keeps from becoming sickly. The milk chocolate is robust, rich, and is mixed with small nut slivers which add a delightful earthy flavor and texture. These are a definite 5; each flavor is great, there’s a generous number of wafers in the assortment, and they complement each other well.

Part three comes next week. Hope everyone had/has a great holiday!

Austrian Candy Round-Up II will be posted tomorrow. Why? It’s Good Friday and I have to be all good and fast. Tomorrow, however, I will eat lots of yummy Austrian chocolate and report back to you guys.

Welcome to a three-part series on Austrian candy! My excellent neighbors spent ten days there and brought me back some wonderful candy (they’re so nice). There’s so much of it, in fact, that I’m splitting the reviews into three parts.

Note: I’m not familiar with Austrian brands, nor do I speak German; my one phrase, “Guten Nacht”, isn’t very helpful when it comes to candy making. So I’m going to transcribe what the labels say. If any of my wonderful readers has more familiarity than I do and wants to lend a hand, please do!

Candy One is a hard candy. It’s about twice as big as a piece of Pez and of a similar shape, including the indentation in the middle. It comes in a silver wrapper that reads “Firn” in red. The candy itself is clear and has a dark filling; it smells quite refreshing, almost licorice-like.
The taste goes with the aroma–crunching the candy releases a delightful peppermint taste with hints of anise. The dark filling is, to my surprise, chocolate–it tastes delicious and melds with the outside shell better than I would have thought. This unusual combination gets a 4.5

Happily, I have a little more information about Candy Two, thanks to a four-language flyer in the (elaborate) package. This candy is a truffle called Original Salzburger Mozartkugel, and it’s been in production since 1890. The package is amazing–the three truffles are wrapped in foil and encased in a fluted paper tube which is then put inside a cardboard tube with the logo. There’s a delightful sharp chocolate scent.
The construction of the truffle is perfect–a solid chocolate shell filled with a chocolate truffle and a small bit of marizpan. The chocolate melts perfectly and has a delicious, intense chocolate flavor with a hint of liquour. I’ve never had marzipan before but this is delicious–an intense almond flavor with a slight grit that provides a delightful contrast to the smooth texture of the chocolate. A definite 5.

Name: Toffifay
Manufacturer: Storck
Rating: 4.5/5

I’ve been dying to try this for awhile, and Gretchen gave me some as part of my bday gift. Yay!

This candy is a bit complicated, so some description is required. The base of a piece of Toffifay is a cup made from caramel it is filled with, in order, a hazelnut, chocolate hazelnut cream, and chocolate on the surface. It also smells divine, like a  Riesen with added hazelnut.

The caramel is yummy–stiff, buttery, but yielding to bite. The hazelnut cream is equally as delicious, although the dollop of chocolate on top is a bit lost, competing for attention as it is with so many other layers. The hazelnut is divinely crunchy, fresh, and flavorful.

I knocked off .5 of a point because of not being able to taste the chocolate–I know, I’m too picky–but I give this my wholehearted recommendation. I also suggest eating it in several bites instead of just popping the whole thing in your mouth–the different textures in the different bites make for an enjoyable experience.

Name: Gold Bears
Manufacture: Haribo
Rating: 5/5

Spoiler alert! These are, in my opinion, the Cadillac of gummi bears. They’re just the right size–about the size of a thumbnail–firm and chewy, springy, and the flavor is quite intense and almost natural. Why didn’t I try these sooner? Also, they’re fat free. Yay!

Haribo bears are very easy to spot, as they come in a gold and clear bag with cute drawings on it.  There’s five flavors/colors, which I shall helpfully break down below:
Orange/the obvious: Very citrusy, surprising amount of depth
Clear/pineapple: My favorite. Very authentic and refreshing to the palate
Yellow/lemon: Very nice! Even had a bit of a tang to it
Red/cherry: Nice and juicy, not at all medicinal
Green/lime: Citrusy and sweet; not as tangy as I’d like, but avoids the cleaning fluid taste

Haribo has come through for me twice so far–I can’t wait for the next product of theirs I review.