Swedish Fish!

Swedish Fish, while not being the hardest snack to find has over time become one of my favorite candies to eat every once in a while.  These Swedish snacks, originally by Malaco of Sweden are now manufactured by the Canadian based Cadbury Adams Co.

These Swedish fish shaped gummies have a nice semi firm texture with a solid berry flavor.  That is, they're not way too chewy and don't get as stuck in your teeth as other offerings might(like gummi bears).  personally really enjoyed the firm outside texture with the soft interior and always mix these with popcorn during movies to allow for a nice mix of a sweet and salty.

Its a classic treat thats been around since the early 70's, and now enjoys a cult following. :)  If you haven't had the chance to try these just yet, please..Do yourself a favor!  These can be found in just about any grocery store, IKEA, movie theatres, and any Swedish themed store. :)  Lets not forget about all the other flavors as well, from Licorice to mixed fruit!  I love 'em all.  Recommended.

-Sirio

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San Pellegrino Limonata!

Once again we cover a San Pellegrino drink, the last being the delicious Aranciata(Orange flavored) soda.  So what is a Limonata?  Its Italian for Lemonade, but this version will taste much different than your typical lemonade.

As usual the packaging on these is excellent, featuring their trademark peel off lid protector.  Its an excellent feature that keeps the tops clean, and I wish more companies here would follow suit.  The Limonata has a delicious mix of tart and sweet flavor, with very mild carbonation that you'll notice as you take a swig.  The nice thing about this drink is that it also contains no artificial color and uses real sugar, and the difference is quite noticeable.  San Pellegrino Limonata has a much better taste also thanks to the usage of real Lemon juice(around 16-20% of the beverage is from juice).

These are easy to find and are as excellent as the Aranciata, although definitely more on the tart side.  If you'd like to try a mix between Lemonade and soda, you'll love this.

-Sirio

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Kozy Shack Flan : Creme Caramel!

Today I cover Kozy Shack Creme Caramel Flan, a new offering in their line of quality refrigerated products.  Their other delicious offerings include rice, chocolate, and other styles of puddings.  What distinguishes the Kozy Shack brand from the competition?  In my opinion its the flavor, quality of ingredients(no artificial stuff or preservatives), and the homey quality of these foods.  I also just learned that all their snacks are gluten free, so it also appeals to special dietary needs.

This offering just showed up on shelves recently and having not seen this dessert alot in the US, I decided to give it a shot.  The packaging is nice and eye catching, featuring a black box with hints of red, orange and other warm colors.  They really paid attention to making it appealing, and it shows.

In terms of the cups themselves the interesting thing is the way they can be eaten.  You can either eat them straight out of the cup like any other pudding, or flip it over and serve it like a proper creme caramel on a plate(it comes out of the pack very easily).  The attention to this detail definitely impressed us.

Flavor wise?  It tasted like a mix between a Creme Brulee and a good custard, with hints of caramel.  The texture was very pleasant and it was the type of snack you didn't want to eat too fast.  Savory, sweet and velvety, its definitely worth trying if you like any type of pudding treat.  Two thumbs up!  Find it at your local grocery store.

-Sirio

Kathy Kaye Peanut Caramel Cob!

Novelty foods can be a fun experience.  You never really know if the fun food your looking at will have a good taste to match.  I liked the idea of the Peanut Caramel Cob.  It's popcorn, peanuts, and caramel fashioned into the shape of a corn cob.  The green corn husks on the plastic wrapper add to it's clever packaging. 

I opened the top of the plastic wrapper, and slid the cob up, kind of like a popsicle.  The first thing I notice is the smell, it's a very sweet caramel.  I went for it, and took a decent sized bite.  The text on the wrapper did say this was soft and chewy, but... Wow.  This was unbelievably soft, and chewy.  I was expecting something just a bit more crunchy, just based on my past caramel corn experience. Lots of maneuvering was required for me to get this out of my teeth.  Texture-wise, I wasn't the biggest fan, but  the flavor made up for it.  A nice, sweet caramel melted in between crunchy peanuts, and super-soft popcorn.

Basically, the flavor of this snack is pretty good.  But it's the sticky, way-too-chewy texture that was the only con I could notice.  Give this a shot!  I nearly wish they served it at the movies, just don't expect a very crunchy texture. :)

~Rachael

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White Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

 With Halloween not too far away, I thought it would be a good time to try out a favorite candy treat. White Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are a twist on an old favorite. It made it's debut in 2003 as a limited edition treat, and came back in 2004 as permanent product.

The rectangular packaging is familiar, except instead it has a mostly white wrapper, as opposed to the traditional orange. This edition is also similar in that it includes two peanut butter cups. Instead of milk chocolate, these cups are covered in white chocolate. As far as white chocolate goes, I myself can be rather picky when it comes to quality. I have found that only high quality, premium white chocolate makes the cut. (Whereas with milk chocolate, I can be more forgiving.)

This might possibly be the only exception. While not the absolute best white chocolate, it is still not all that bad. It's smooth, and fairly sweet, yet doesn't really have the distinct white chocolate taste. I think this may be partly because the peanut butter taste overpowers it. It seems the white chocolate's purpose is mainly visual. So even though I wasn't particularly wowed by White Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I would still have to say that it wasn't all that bad. I definitely don't regret giving it a go, and I would suggest that you do the same.

~Rachael

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Venom Energy Drink : Killer Taipan and Black Mamba Flavor!

We managed to get our hands on these energy drinks late night in Seattle while wandering around one evening, and ran into some Venom crew handing these out on the street.  This relaunched brand of energy drink decided to focus on a theme to distinguish itself and I think it works.  Venom energy is Dr. Pepper's attempt to elbow its way into the the energy drink market.  These snake themed energy drinks go off the whole idea of 'Choose your poison," which we found kind of clever.

 The two varieties we scored were the Killer Taipan, featuring a really refreshing infusion of mango flavor and the Black Mamba which had a very classic energy drink flavor, sort of like their flagship drink.  Packaging wise these drinks had eye catching colors and the snake eye motif, and were delivered in a really satisfying to hold sturdy aluminum bottle with a screw top.  I really loved the flavor and scent of the Killer Taipan, with its very distinguishable fruity mango flavor.  The Black Mamba was nothing remarkable, tasting similar to the standard Monster Energy beverage.  They delivered a good buzz courtesy of the Taurine, Guarana, vitamins and other ingredients.

I didn't experience any crash later which really surprised me, but heck..props to Venom for creating this line.  I'll be sure to pick one up next time we're up late working.  Recommended for any energy head, the Killer Taipan especially is a must try!

These are really hard to find online, but can be found at most grocery stores and some gas stations.  We'll let you know when these drinks are more widely distributed.

-Sirio