REVIEW: Popcorn M&M’s

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Popcorn M M s Bag

When I tore open the share size bag of these new Popcorn M&M’s that have milk chocolate with a crisp rice center, I was immediately transported to a movie theater.

Or, if you look at Blue on the package, it is to the stands of a football game chowing down on a chocolatey popcorn treat. The scent of these is outstanding as they do nail the essence of a creamy, buttery milk chocolate concoction.

However, please don’t get your hopes up too too much as the smell doesn’t fully translate to the taste of them, unfortunately, but it does get pretty gosh darn close.

Now, if you had asked me how these were when I first stumbled upon them at a random gas station in central Pennsylvania, I would have given them a 10 out of 10 and told you to drop everything, seriously drop EVERYTHING, and do whatever you need to do to indulge in these. It’s been a few days, so I have had time to come back down to Earth from the high of finding them unexpectedly and experiencing their intense aroma.

Popcorn M M s Colors

These come in perfectly themed colors of dark brown, neon yellow, and off-white to mimic the product they are trying to emulate. These being M&M’s there is, of course, the glorious hard candy shell to bite into first. The main flavor of these is definitely chocolate, and you can tell it is prevalent throughout the bite. And, technically, if you look at the packaging, these are CHOCOLATE popcorn flavored treats.

There is a definite butter flavor with a hint of salt, at least as far as I can tell, but it is very light. As I ate more, the flavor seemed to diminish, and I could see potentially without the shell colors, bag, or smell someone could mistake these for regular crispy M&M’s, although a very creamy milk heavy version.

Popcorn M M s Split

One component that is a slam dunk, or field goal, I guess I should say based on the sponsorship is the crisp rice core. It adds another crunchy texture in addition to shell, and this being a lighter one definitely reminds me of the crunch that popcorn would give.

All in all, these are delicious M&M’s with a light popcorn flavor as I have already downed 2.5 share size bags singlehandedly. I also applaud Mars for thinking outside the box with this inventive flavor. I just wish the butter flavor (and maybe the salt) was dialed up a few more notches as it would have truly knocked these out of the park flavor-wise. (Eeek sorry, would have made the flavor make an amazing touchdown flavor-wise, keeping with the theme.)

P.S – I wish Blue would have been chilling in a movie theater auditorium seat instead of with a football and eye black. I get the sponsorship, and that popcorn is a snack at stadiums, but not having a movie theater connection seems wrong.

P.P.S. – Rather than Blue holding a bucket of chocolate popcorn, shouldn’t it be a mixture of M&M’s and popcorn since that is what I originally thought they were drawing inspiration from when hearing about this flavor. Although maybe that is too meta and also means Blue is a cannibal. Eeek.

P.P.P.S. – Let’s not end on thinking about cannibalism, these are milk chocolatey with a hint of butter goodness, try them!

Purchased Price: $1.75 (2 for $3.50)
Size: 2.83 oz. Share Size Bag
Purchased at: Sheetz
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 27 g (1/3 of bag) – 130 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Starburst Fruit by the Foot

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Starburst Fruit by the Foot

What is Starburst Fruit by the Foot?

General Mills’ popular fruity kids treat that has no actual fruit now has varieties that taste like the original Starburst chewy candies — Cherry, Strawberry, Orange, and Lemon.

Starburst Fruit by the Foot Wrappers

What flavor you get in each wrapper is printed in dot-matrix style on the shiny packaging. Oh, how I miss hearing the melodic sound of dot-matrix printers. If you’ve never heard one, here you go. Just leave that playing in another browser tab as you read the rest of the review.

If you’ve never had Fruit by the Foot, which has been around for almost **GASP** 30 years, every roll has about three feet of fun.

How is it?

Starburst Fruit by the Foot Rolls

How these taste can be summed up with the following anticlimactic statement — they taste like their respective Starburst candy. But instead of having to chew on candy pieces that can be somewhat tough like the rope you would gnaw at that’s wrapped around your wrists so that you can’t escape from a laboratory where they do secret experiments on humans to determine how long a person can tolerate the sound of a dot-matrix printer, these are easy-to-chew thin strips of sugar and natural flavors.

I don’t know if this is the sugar talking, but these satisfy my sweet tooth and taste buds. But, now that the sugar is wearing off, if I want candy that tastes like Starburst, why don’t I just buy actual Starburst and also give my jaw a workout.

Anything else you need to know?

If thin fruity flavored strips aren’t your thing, I imagine if you wanted to recreate the Starburst chew with these Fruit by the Foot, you could unravel each strip, peel it all away from the paper, roll it up again sans paper, and squash the whole roll into a solid square block. Although, this has probably been done thousands of times since Fruit by the Foot has been around for almost 30 years.

Starburst Fruit by the Foot Squished

UPDATE: I was bored, so I decided to attempt what I wrote above with a strawberry roll, and it’s still easier to chew than a Starburst. But when eaten like that, it tastes less like a Strawberry Starburst. Weird. Instead, there’s a generic strawberry candy flavor.

Starburst Fruit by the Foot Promise

A box comes with six rolls, and mine came with two strawberry, two cherry, one orange, and one lemon. That appears to be what’s in every box, which I’m glad about because I’d take advantage of Betty Crocker’s Red Spoon Promise if mine came with two lemon rolls.

Conclusion:

Starburst Fruit by the Foot is a candy that’s mostly successful at tasting like another candy.

Purchased Price: $2.58
Size: 6 rolls
Purchased at: Target.com
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 roll) 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Apple Pie Kit Kat

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Limited Edition Apple Pie Kit Kat

Kit Kat is back again with another new limited edition flavor.

The new Apple Pie Kit Kat has hit store shelves in an appropriately bright yellow package to proclaim its arrival boldly. They are unmistakable sitting next to their red-wrapped counterparts. When I saw them beckoning from a Walmart’s seasonal display, I could not help myself and instinctively grabbed a handful.

Upon arriving home, I stowed the Kit Kats in the refrigerator. I am of the mindset that the candy bar tastes significantly better when cold. The crunch is even more satisfying once the candy has chilled for a bit. I impatiently waited for them to reach a suitable temperature and dug in.

Limited Edition Apple Pie Kit Kat Fingers

They have a gentle aroma of warm spice, but no hint of apple. The first thing I tasted, however, was a kiss of apple flavor. Thankfully, it was reasonably accurate and mild. Foods flavored to resemble apple can often be overwhelming and artificial. This candy had a perfect level for my preferences.

Beyond the faint apple taste, the familiar apple pie spices came through. It was a subtle selection of spices, but I definitely detected cinnamon and ginger. The creaminess invoked pleasant thoughts of apple pie à la mode.

Limited Edition Apple Pie Kit Kat Wafers

The coating seems to be where all the flavor comes from. It’s a delicate white chocolate base that lends itself to both apple and spices quite well. The interior wafer is typical Kit Kat fare.

For me, Kit Kat nailed this one. The flavors are all present enough to make it clear that this is an apple pie flavored candy. I would have been fine with a little bit more of the spices, but any more apple would have been too much for me. If you are looking for an overwhelmingly apple flavored candy, this is not it.

I recommend Apple Pie Kit Kat, provided that you set your expectations appropriately. A little slice of Americana wrapped up in the form of a Kit Kat is a comfort too good to pass up right now.

Purchased Price: $0.88
Size: 1.5 oz package
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 package) 220 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge

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Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge

What is the Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge?

There’s no official connection between Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean and Jelly Belly’s Bean Boozled line of jelly beans. Yet, I imagine we have Mr. Bott to thank for not knowing if the next candy confection we eat is chocolate pudding or canned dog food flavored.

Similarly, I like to imagine we have a pyromancer to thank for the Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge, which features five chili flavorings of escalating spiciness.

How is it?

I was impressed to notice the ingredient statement included actual chili puree from each of the chili varieties. Perhaps the R&D process for these involved less magical fire manipulation and more Magic Bullet Blender manipulation. Either way, I’m encouraged to think these beans might offer the kind of authentic chili flavor a heat seeker like me wants.

Sriracha

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge Sriracha

I pop a single bean into my mouth, and there’s a quick spicy bite at the back of my throat, just like actual sriracha sauce. The heat is immediate, but its rapidly quenched by sweetness. These would never be included in a normal mix of jelly beans, but if they were, I’d think the amount of spice was surprisingly bold. As a spicy novelty, they’re fairly tame.

Jalapeno

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge Jalapeno

There are some grassy, vegetal flavors from the puree that set these apart from the sriracha. The spice level is similar, but is better balanced by the jalapeno flavor and so seems milder.

Cayenne

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge Cayenne

These have a slower buildup of heat, with a deeper burn that fills the mouth. I must admit that I was a bit nervous going into the Fiery Five Challenge, but this middle entry has a very manageable amount of heat. Bring it on, Jelly Belly.

Habanero

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge Habanero

Now we’re getting somewhere. The heat is still very tolerable, but I had to do that thing when you suck in air through your mouth to cool the tongue. The fruity sweetness balances the spice to provide a pleasant experience.

Carolina Reaper

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge Carolina Reaper

I was getting a bit cocky up until the habanero, but that one was spicy enough so that I’m apprehensive going into this one. I pop it into my mouth and immediately taste Tabasco. It’s spicy enough that I actually get up from my seat and start searching the kitchen for something to cool my mouth. By the time I arrive, the heat had diminished enough so that ice water sufficed. The Carolina Reapers are certainly very spicy, but I declare victory over the Fiery Five Challenge.

All at One Time

Do you think more people eat jelly beans individually or willy nilly by the handful? I’m more of a one-by-one, guy myself, with some artful flavor mixing after I’ve sampled them all.

In the spirit of challenge, I take a handful and glance at them to make sure there’s a generally representative mix (and maybe not too many Caroline Reapers) and shovel them into my mouth.

…

Uh oh.

You know that scene at the end of Terminator 2, where the T-1000 falls into the vat molten metal, loses control of its mimicry, and then randomly morphs through all the forms it’s taken throughout the film? That’s what this is like. The heat of 15+ beans is much greater than when daintily sampling them one by one, with each bean’s distinct flavors randomly rising and falling.

Ice water won’t be enough, and I don’t have ice cream, the gold standard chile cure. Full-fat Greek yogurt does enough so that I’m not flailing around like a robot assassin from the future in a foundry, but only time completely cools my mouth.

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Fiery Five Challenge Game

Anything else you need to know?

I work in food manufacturing and have participated in hundreds of sensory panels during my career. Let me tell you that the surest way to remove all joy from a food you love is to eat small bites of it every day for years.

This can actually be helpful because the question you’re supposed to be answering when sampling a sensory sample isn’t “Is this good?” or “Do I like this?” but, “Does this taste like it’s supposed to?”

I bring this up because I enjoy imagining the sensory testers in the Bertie Botts and Bean Boozled factory tasting vomit flavored beans and asking, “Do these taste enough like vomit? Or should they be more vomity?”

Conclusion:

The fact that Jelly Belly was able to get real chile flavor into these is impressive. Despite that, this isn’t the kind of product you eat because they taste good. They’re a fun challenge, and you knew if you were up for it even before you read this review. Go with that when deciding to purchase or not.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 3.5 Oz (99 grams)
Purchased at: Received from Jelly Belly
Rating: 7 out of 10

Nutrition Facts

110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Snickers Oats (Thailand)

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Snickers Oats

What is Snickers Oats?

Official word is that these are Snickers bars (nougat, peanuts, caramel, chocolate coating) with oats added. Sounds simple enough. I’m actually surprised these haven’t surfaced earlier.

Now, I’m no fan of oatmeal (and by that, I mean I can’t stand that devil’s pancake batter) but I have been known to polish off a container of oatmeal cookies in one sitting when there weren’t other cookies around. They’re not my go-to, but I always think “oh, right – these are pretty good,” when I’m actually eating them. I wasn’t sure if these would be oat-meal-y (blech) or oat-cookie-y (mmm-kaaaayyy).

Snickers Oats 2

How is it?

These are true to the description – Snickers + oats. The nougat is supposed to be the garden variety, but to me the texture was denser and the flavor was more cake-like.

When I cut away the chocolate coating, the inside was PACKED with oats. With the caramel and chocolate coating, it amounted to a cross between a middle-of-the-road granola bar and a middle-of-the-road oatmeal cookie. The combination left me kinda meh. It’s somehow less exciting than a plain Snickers. In fact, I would deem these the Colin Robinson of Snickers bars – I sorta dozed off and don’t really remember eating the rest of it. It might have stolen my life force.

Snickers Oats 3

Anything else you need to know?

I have not seen these in specialty stores, so ordering online is the way to go if you really must have the blandest Snickers.

Snickers Oats 4

Conclusion:

If you wear a lot of beige, regularly comment on the weather, and listen to Nickelback (yeah, I know, it’s an easy and dated joke, but I’ve yet to encounter a rabid Nickelback fan who’ll fight back), you’re gonna love this Snickerzzzzzzz bar. Novelty junkies – steer clear.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: (2) 20-gram mini bars
Purchased at: Mexican Candy Lady
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 mini bars) 184 calories, 7.6 grams of fat, 3.2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 milligrams of cholesterol, 78 milligrams of sodium, 25.4 grams of carbohydrates, 1.4 grams of fiber, 18.9 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

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