Snacks Across the Pond

2nd February 2008

Eclipse Coffee Syrup

Filed under: Drinks, From the US — Philip @ 4.42 pm

I like milk. It may not be a particularly popular drink amongst adults, but that doesn’t bother me. I still like to pour a pint of milk in to a glass and enjoy a cool, creamy drink. A milkshake to me is a popular choice in restaurants. I also like coffee-flavoured snacks. I was never much of a drinker of coffee itself until recently, but coffee-flavouring has always been a good choice for sweets, ice cream and, where available, milkshakes. Coffee-flavoured snacks may not actually taste of coffee, in the same way that banana- and other-flavoured snacks don’t, but that doesn’t matter in the case of coffee flavouring. Kerri was awesome enough to send the official state drink of Rhode Island, I kid you not, of Eclipse Coffee Syrup. It is a coffee-flavoured syrup to add to milk to make a coffee milk drink, surprisingly enough. I am excited by this snack.

Taking the seal off the lid to enable me to pour the syrup in to a glass of milk gives me my first chance to smell the syrup, and it is an appealing coffee-flavouring scent that greets me. I have a pint glass full of milk waiting for the syrup to be added, so I put the top back on the bottle and start pouring. Asking me to add ‘2 tablespoons to an 8 ounce glass of milk’ is confusing for me as we don’t measure drinks in ounces over here, which is why I have the pint of milk ready poured. The fall-back position of ‘or to desired taste’ is what I’ll be working towards. I put a few squirts of the syrup in to my milk and decide to go with that for now. A quick stir, and I lick the spoon clean so as not to waste any of the drink. Mmm, tastes of coffee milk. That’s a good start. I now have a glass full of what looks like a really weak latté. Time to give it a proper tasting.

Cor, that’s good. This tastes just like the best coffee milkshakes I have had, but without the thickness of the added ice cream. The coffee flavouring is delicious, and adds to the texture and coolness of the milk wonderfully. I often add Nesquick powdered flavouring to my drinks of milk, generally the strawberry flavour as I don’t like banana flavouring and despite liking chocolate itself chocolate flavouring is distasteful to me. When I have my strawberry flavoured milk I drink the whole glass pretty quickly, as I have the texture and chill of milk mixed with a sweet flavouring. There’s something different about this coffee syrup. I don’t want to drink this quickly. I want to savour it. I want to enjoy every sip, feel all the flavouring pass down my throat. Just lifting the glass to my mouth offers me a smell of the coffee syrup as it sits mixed with the milk, enhancing the whole sensation.

This is a fabulous drink. Rhode Island have the right idea about official state drinks. I’m not even going to look further at the bottle or labels, the drink is clearly the focus here. It’s good. I heartily recommend this product and/or service. I will have to pretend that I never got this in the package so that Kerri will be compelled to send me some more. What are the odds that she doesn’t read this blog?

27th January 2008

Marshmallow Circus Peanuts

Filed under: From the US, Sweet, Sweets/Candy — Philip @ 7.32 pm

I like marshmallow, despite its overwhelming sweetness. I could eat so much it makes my tummy ache, and I generally have to avoid buying foods with marshmallow in them in case I get carried away. It is with some excitement and trepidation that I start on my next snack from the US, Marshmallow Circus Peanuts.

This doesn’t seem like a familiar marshmallow experience, however, as even before the bag is open the contents seem quite rigid, not quite the squidgy substance that I associate with the mallow. Opening the bag, I am overcome with a strong smell of banana flavouring. I’m not much of a fan of fake banana foods. At least, I presume so. I know that years ago I never liked certain banana-flavoured sweets and so have avoided them since. There’s something about the smell of banana-flavoured sweets that makes me think of something almost entirely unlike bananas that repels me somewhat. On top of that, banana-flavoured peanuts? This is a curious snack indeed.

In the interests of science, I tuck in. Grabbing a couple of these fake peanuts from the bag they really aren’t something I would describe as marshmallow. There is almost no give in the snack at all, being a solid orange peanut-shape. Despite my banana-flavouring misgivings I taste one. Hmm, sugary. There is certainly a smell of banana but no apparent taste of it; or there is and my sense of fake banana taste is misplaced. Another possibility is that the chemicals used to colour and ‘flavour’ these sweets, for I cannot bring myself to describe what I taste as actual flavour, swamps what the flavour actually should be.

This is not really marshmallow as I know it, but marshmallow compressed to a stage just before it becomes diamond so that it is a solid chunk of sugar, and the dreaded high fructose corn syrup, that hints at dissolving in saliva. Chewing the sweet doesn’t present anything like eating marshmallow either, but again a compressed sugary substance. Even so, it’s not a terrible experience. There are plenty in the bag, so can be dipped in to for small portions, and I can’t believe that this substance will ever turn bad, despite the best before date printed to make us believe otherwise, so they don’t need to be eaten quickly. In this way it’s a fair enough snack, as it gives your mouth something to chew on and presents some sort of flavour, albeit chemical.

The list of ingredients is essentially sugar or sugar-related products, plus a chemical flavouring and colouring. How they used solely ‘yellow #6′ and created an orange snack is impressive for all the wrong reasons. My favourite part of the packaging is where the manufacturer tries its best to offer an authentic peanut experience, stating that the snack is ‘manufactured on equipment that processes peanuts’. Yes, if you are allergic to peanuts you can eat these fake peanuts and still have a risk of going in to anaphylactic shock. That’s a lovely touch, I think.

1st January 2008

Country Time Lemonade

Filed under: Drinks, From the US — Philip @ 8.09 pm

Country Time Lemonade is a little worrying to me. Let me explain why. On these shores, at least to me, lemonade means a carbonated drink that, except for special cases, tastes almost exactly nothing like lemon. To drink a glass of lemonade is effectively to drink a glass of sugared tonic water. That doesn’t entirely explain why this product worries me. That this Country Time Lemonade comes in powder form coupled with what I think of lemonade worries me as it makes me think that this powder is some kind of sherbet or pop rocks, that I will cause a reaction similar to pouring water on to sodium when I try to make this concoction. Even if I don’t need safety goggles and gloves to make this drink what could a powdered fizzy drink taste like? Crikey.

Of course, it could be that it isn’t a carbonated drink. I dunno. If I think to popular images of the US I remind myself of kids setting up lemonade stands outside their houses, selling lemonade to passers-by for 5 cents a glass. It is entirely possible that lemonade is something entirely different across the pond, and is more akin to a squash drink.

Before I find out, a quick scan of the packaging reveals some interesting information. The ingredients list informs me that the citric acid ‘provides tartness’, and other ingredients ‘control acidity’, ‘prevent caking’, and ‘preserve freshness’. That’s a bit more information that I’m used to, but it seems like a good idea. The packaging also provides its own ‘easy measure cap’, so that I can ensure the correct proportion of dust per, um, quart, whatever a quart is. Thankfully each quart is listed as making four servings of 8 fluid ounces each, and I’m pretty sure I have a measuring jug with fl. oz. on it. Right, one cap’s worth of dust in to some water, and let me give it a shot.

It’s a good thing I spotted that dead spider in my measuring jug, or this review could have been quite scathing.

I measured the powder out, added water, and I even had some ice handy. Luckily, it didn’t fizz, so it’s more squash-like in nature and even promises to be a lemony drink, and nothing like what I know as lemonade. sip, sip It tastes lemony, but a slightly fake lemony. The packaging doesn’t lie when it states that it is ‘not too tart and not too sweet’, and I think it is this timidity that makes it taste fake. A more tart drink would bring a stronger sense of lemon and perhaps be more refreshing too. Were it sweeter it would be more likely to appeal to kids, but it would be too much for me I would think. As it is, the drink is nothing particularly special, although that it came from powder is what makes it interesting. The container is compact and you can make as much or as little as you like at a time, and not have to store large bottles. And the drink is good enough. Maybe I should try it again when it’s not Winter and I have no heat working in my home.

Two points to finish. One is that this snack helps me get closer to my ambition to be the king of hobbies, beating Simon Quinlank finally. The second is that the final direction for making the drink concerns me and piques my interest: ‘do not store in a metal container’. I wonder why not.

10th December 2007

Oreos

Filed under: Biscuits/Cookies, From the US, Savoury, Sweet — Philip @ 10.15 pm

I know Oreos. I have never had them before, but I know of them. I know that they were invented in Baltimore and had a baseball team named after them. They are so famous that Philip J. Fry makes Oreos in the future. Whilst I haven’t eaten Oreos themselves I am aware of the general concept, that of a creamy filling sandwiched between two biscuits to form a crunchy, creamy experience, similar to the chocolatey Bourbons or buttery Custard Creams over here. Oreos seem to be half-way between the two, with chocolate biscuits encasing a light-coloured centre.

How to try them. I could peel the biscuit off the creamy centre and taste the parts individually, or I can crunch in to a whole Oreo and have the complete experience. I shall try the whole Oreo experience to start with.

My, that’s a dark biscuit. It doesn’t smell particularly chocolatey for something so dark, it has a rather pleasant biscuit smell. I also have a sneaking suspicion that Ebony and Ivory was written for this biscuit, and all that talk about pianos was a diversion to hide a sweet tooth.

Crunch crunch! Hmm, there’s not much taste when first bitten in to, but, my goodness, there is certainly some strong taste a few chews in, and it lingers. That’s quite powerful. I’m not entirely convinced I can taste the creamy centre, such is the strength of the biscuit and the thinness of the centre. Needs more creamy goodness! I can see why people peel these apart to eat the sections separately. Our own Custard Creams and Bourbons at least have enough filling to be tasted alongside the biscuit. Or maybe the biscuit is blander, which is probably true of the Custard Cream. Anyway, time to press on!

It occurs to me that the creamy centre offers two advantages. One is that it cushions the bite against the crunchy biscuit. The other is to soften the palate with its creaminess before the heavy chocolate biscuit taste kicks in. Mind you, the strength of the biscuit peters slightly with subsequent bites, or maybe it’s dulled my taste buds more than a vindaloo could.

Let me try the components separately. Before I do that, a quick diversion. The packaging is quite neat, with an easy open pull tab that actually both opens easily and reseals effectively, which I noticed when plucking a second biscuit from within. I am suitably impressed! This is technology that we could borrow over here. Although I have to admit to being a little ignorant of the state of the British biscuit packaging I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that a biscuit tin or jar is still required to decant all the biscuits of a pack in order to keep them fresh. The Oreo packaging is a neat, self-contained unit.

Back to the biscuit itself. Twisting the biscuits with opposite torque pulls the two biscuits apart from the creamy filling glue with little effort, although the centre adheres to both bits of the biscuit and is not found whole on one half. Scraping the filling off and tasting it reveals it to be mostly tasteless but sweet, with more of a fondant texture than the creamy fillings I’m used to here. It may simply be a sweet counterpart to the bitter biscuit, let me see. Yes, that seems about right. That’s a strong biscuit, and any flavour in the filling would be lost when eaten as a whole. I’m sure I couldn’t eat too many of the biscuits without the filling either. The two halves seem quite enough by themselves, and the filling by itself doesn’t really do anything for me. The Oreo as a whole is pretty tasty, but I think I’d prefer a Bourbon to be honest.

6th December 2007

They’re Whoppers!

Filed under: From the US, Sweet, Sweets/Candy — Philip @ 4.20 pm

Next up from the package of awesomeness that Kerri sent are Whoppers. I must admit that I’ve had Whoppers before, on my last visit to the US. Picking out some sweets to eat I noticed these, looking to be identical to our own Maltesers. That is, the chocolatey balls of sweetness look identical, the package itself is a curiosity, being a milk carton. As Whoppers are marketed as ‘malted milk balls’ I am assuming that the milk carton packaging is intentional. I never though of Maltesers as being milky, though. And there’s a reason for that.

Although there is a distinct resemblance to Maltesers, Whoppers are not Maltesers. The basic idea is the same, with a small ball of sugar surrounded by a milk chocolate shell, and I like the idea. Whoppers, however, unlike Maltesers, are actually milky in flavour. There is a certain sweet, milkyness to them, which can go by unnoticed if Whoppers are eaten in isolation to the UK sweet, but is quite obvious if Maltesers are tried side-by-side with this US snack. The difference in flavour is notable whether one crunches down on the chocolatey ball, or lets the whole ball melt in the mouth and dissolve down one’s throat. I’m torn between the two methods of eating them myself. The first causes an explosion of flavour that combines the milky, malty centre with the chocolate, but ploughs through them at an alarming rate; the second prolongs the whole experience, allowing the chocolate and then the malty ball to be savoured in all their glory, and makes the packet last for longer too.

I got Chrid, who had not tasted Whoppers before, to try them out and his reaction showed a benefit of the milk carton packaging, in that the sweets can be chugged, like milk, straight from the carton. Dammit, don’t Bogart the Whoppers.

Chrid chugs my Whoppers

I can’t say whether I prefer Maltesers or Whoppers. I like both, but haven’t got any Maltesers handy to compare them to directly. Whoppers are jolly nice, and great for a snack. The large packet size is, I would say, a good thing. Instead of being compelled to eat a whole albeit small bag of Maltesers in one sitting, the milk carton packaging allows one to dip in for a handful every now and again and close the packet up, just as one would a normal milk carton, without the balls spilling everywhere. The packaging also allows for a lot of space to add recipes for pies and milkshakes, with the Whoppers acting as textured sugar, so I doubt I’ll try them out, as well as a wonderful claim that the sweets contain ‘30% less fat’ along with small print that this is in relation to ‘the average of the leading chocolate candy brands’ that makes it so vague as to be nearly meaningless. It’s a nice thought, though.

30th November 2007

Cape Cod Potato Chips

Filed under: Crisps/Chips, From the US, Savoury — Philip @ 6.32 pm

All Natural!

No Preservatives!

The packet is quite enthusiastic about that, which can only be a good thing for my inaugural snack in this diplomatic exchange.

The crisps smell good when the bag is opened, and taste good! The flavour is what I would call ‘ready salted’, which really just means ’salted’. It’s a hangover from the days when crisps were put in to bags unsalted and a sachet of salt was added for you to salt them yourself. ‘Ready salted’ just means that you don’t have to do that any more.

These are tasty crisps. They’re pretty much like the regular small bags of crisps that we have over here, but with a bit of extra crunch. They certainly are crunchy, even after several weeks crossing the Atlantic on a steam ship. That could be from the ‘traditional kettle-cooked’ approach, as kettle crisps here are crunchier too. It also gives the crisps more or a potato flavour, something to savour rather than just to munch on.

These crisps contain zero grammes of ‘trans fats’, which is a good thing as I can eat the rest of the packs without putting on weight. Probably. On the back of the packet I am given ‘Nutrition Facts’. Facts! Not the ‘nutritional information’ we get, but good hard solid facts about what I’m shoving down my gullet. I should hold on to one of the bags so that I can compare it more thoroughly to a UK-based crisp packet.

The salt is making me thirsty. I’ll have to try one of the drinks soon.

I give the Cape Cod Potato Chips a thumbs up.

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