Daim Chocolate!

While perusing our local Ikea the other day, we came across these tiny treats.  The bright, fire engine red bag with blue lettering had caught our eye.  Daim originated in Sweden and Norway in the 1950's, and was made to be a treat similar to a product produced by the American company, Heath.  Daim is now owned by Kraft Foods.

The large bag contained the bited sized, individually wrapped pieces.  As I sampled a piece, I noticed the outer milk chocolate coating is super smooth.  It melted off of the crunchy center really easily, perhaps maybe a little too easily (it left a bit of chocolate on my fingers).  It's sweet, but not overly so.  The crunchy center is said to be an almond caramel bar, but I must admit I didn't really taste the almond., just  a toffee/caramel.  Flavorwise, it is rich and decadent. 

It is described as crunchy, and man, they weren't joking!  It also has a bit a sticky characteristic to it.  For example, while biting into it, you definitely get a crunch, but then it starts to stick to your teeth a bit.  But the pleasing taste makes up for the stuck-in-your-teeth texture, even for someone with a big aversion to such foods, like myself.  These treats can be hard to come by, so if you happen to be at your local Ikea sometime, keep on the lookout for these! :)

-Rachael

Buy this snack! :)

Cheetos GIANT Blue Color Changers!

This snack specimen was procured through a rare trip to a far off Wal-Mart, and though at first glance it appears to be a regular bag of Cheetos chips, closer inspection reveals that this is something a little different.

What makes these Cheetos special? As the package claims, not only are they GIANT, but they are also engineered to turn your tongue blue upon consumption. Looking over the package more, you will also learn these are available only for a limited time, and this snack appears to tied into Halloween, as there are bats flying into the picture on the front, as well as what appears to be a fence similar to what you would find around a graveyard or perhaps a haunted mansion at the bottom. There is also a sign in the bottom left proclaiming the curious and slightly baffling phrase “Saturday Night Come Alive”.  Chester Cheetah is seen in the middle, over-excitedly licking a GIANT Cheeto ball.

So, how about the snack inside? Well, upon tearing into the bag, you are greeted with unassuming, albeit large (think big marshmallow sized) Cheeto balls. Popping one between my mighty jaws, I found the texture to be a little coarse, almost threatening to scrape my mouth as I ate…The taste is about what you would expect from a puffy type Cheeto snack, though I found the flavor to be a little subdued, and the texture is what I would notice the most while eating these. As for the color changing properties, they do indeed change your tongue blue, though more of a pale hue, rather then the deep dark blue as modeled by Chester on the front of the package.

Overall, well, these are cheetos. Of all the cheeto brand snacks, these are probably my least favorite. The rough texture, weaker taste, and tongue tinting additives did little to win my favor. I would suggest sticking with the superior Natural Cheetos, or any of the other cheeto branded snacks for that matter.  Still, if you want something novel, these are to my knowledge the only cheese flavored, cheetah endorsed snacks that can turn your tongue blue available.

-John AKA 'Mystery Snacker'

These are limited edition, so look for them in your grocery store!

Uncle Jerry's Handmade Pretzels!

Its been a long quest for me to find the perfect packaged pretzel, and I've been looking far and wide for a delicious alternative to the standard grocery store pretzel.  What comes after the factory made pretzel?  Handmade pretzels, each twisted by hand.  Uncle Jerry's is a good example of this process, and its truly levels above the competition.

So how are these pretzels made?  Without oil, shortening, preservatives and any of that artificial nonsense.  This results in a really authentic, homey quality to these pretzels.  They are baked on a stone hearth and are made the same way they have been for the last 100 years, since the recipe first originated.  They are also quite big, halfway between an Auntie Anne's pretzel and grocery type pretzels.

Uncle Jerry's was nice enough to send us three varieties of pretzels, their Extra Dark, Whole Weat Low Salt Sesame Seed, and Special(their flagship offering).  We gave all the pretzels a try and each had different opinions on our faves, but heres the basic rundown:

Extra Dark

Offered a slightly more deep flavor, with a smokier taste and finish.  This was way crunchier than the others, and anyone who likes a slightly burnt flavor to their snacks will love these!

Whole Wheat Sesame Low Salt

Delicious and light and with a subtle salty flavor and slightly earthy hints.  It was fun getting the hints of sesame in between bites.  Less crunch than the others!  This was my all out fave.  I love my pretzels to not be too salty and these delivered.

Special

Smooth, crunchy, salty and absolutely delicious.  Their classic offering did everything, with their delicious Dark finish.  Wonderful with mustard, and if you're old enough..A frosty glass of beer.

Overall, these were just fantastic.  The handmade quality of these really shines through(no two pretzels are the same) and they deliver a really homey taste, as if our own grandma baked these up for you.  If you love pretzels, these are absolutely worth a shot!  We commend Jerry's Pretzels for sticking to the traditional way of making pretzels, you'll notice the difference the first time you bite into one of their delicious pretzels. :)

-Sirio

Buy this snack :)

Gamer Grub: PB&J!

Biosilo Foods was kind enough to send along a couple of their products to us, part of a line called “Gamer Grub”. These are trail mix like snacks that come in resealable pouches, intended to alleviate greasy fingers, as well as keep the snack fresh.  The snacks came in two different flavors; here I am reviewing the PB&J.

First, I will just start by saying one thing: this snack is delicious! It is a mix of peanut butter chips, peanuts, strawberries, jelly nuggets and “sweet bread” chips. The combination is very pleasing, and really does taste like eating a PB&J sandwich, albeit a little sweeter (but not too sweet). The mix of textures is also great, providing a good combination of crunchy and chewy.

The package works well, allowing you to pour the snack into your mouth, and thus, as is claimed, helps avoid greasy fingers and thus greasy game controllers.  I found myself constantly eating this snack, and was worried I would run out before I had a chance to test it out whilst gaming, as this seems to be its recommended use. I went ahead and consumed the final tasty morsels while finishing up Halo 3: ODST. The snack performed well, and certainly kept my taste buds happy while the covenant aliens felt my wrath. Everything went well; and I like to think the yummy snack contributed to my reaching the end credits. Sadly, I received no achievement for finishing the game under the influence of Gamer Grub.

Don’t resist, try this snack out now!

John T. aka Mystery Snacker

Buy this snack! :)

Vosges Haute Chocolate: Mo's Bacon Bar!

One of my friends recently told me about this bacon chocolate bar she had tried.  Huh?  Bacon and chocolate?  I am a big fan of the sweet and salty (or savory) combo, but even this sounded a little out there.  So naturally, I had to try it for myself.  Vosges Haut Chocolate was nice enough to send us some samples of their Mo's Bacon Bar, in both the milk and dark chocolate varieties.  The founder of the company, Katrina Markoff, came up with the idea of integrating bacon and chocolate while eating chocolate chip pancakes and bacon one morning.  She found that the sweetness of the chocolate chips and syrup were perfect in complementing the saltiness of the bacon.

The 3 oz gourmet bars come in a durable, paper container.  Sealed in an aluminum wrapper, the bar is portioned out into smaller pieces, that break off easily.  At first glance, it looked like a regular ole' chocolate bar.  There were no bits of bacon on the outside, but after I took a bite, there it was.  I found that while the bits of bacon were pretty small, they nonetheless packed a good punch.  The applewood smoked bacon is heightened in flavor by alderwood smoked salt.  It's not overpowering, but just right. 

I'm happy to find myself really liking this snack.  It takes a lot of will power to not eat the entire bar in one sitting, it's that good.  The milk chocolate is 45% cacao, while the dark is a good 62%.  Both are equally delicious.  I personally prefer dark chocolate in general anyways, but if you prefer milk, then go for it.  I highly, HIGHLY recommend this gourmet treat for everyone, but especially for the bacon fanatics.

~Rachael

Buy this snack :)

Reorganizing!

We're currently doing some revamping behind the scenes, reviews will be back soon as we sort and organize for the next batch of reviews! :D  Expect alot of cool gourmet, artisan, snack reviews and news starting again tommorow!

-SnackOverload Team!