Candy Bar Lab

A lot of bars have been released under the Snickers brand - Cruncher, Almond, Peanut Butter, Hazelnut, Maximus, Xtreme, and more. You’d think sometime before last year, Mars would have thought to slap some dark chocolate on the world’s best selling bar. Maybe they were waiting for the American palette to come around on dark chocolate.

Whatever the reason for the delay, I could not have been more excited when I started seeing commercials for the Snickers Dark. But for reasons as inexplicable as Mar’s, I personally waited a while before trying out Snickers Dark. Considering classic Snickers has always been my favorite bar and that I prefer dark over milk chocolate, I had high expectations going in.

Strucure
The middle is a nougat layer topped with layer of peanuts and caramel. The core is completely enrobed with dark chocolate.

Texture
Classic Snickers bars are great because they have perfect balance between all of their components textures. Snickers dark is no exception with its chewy nougat, soft caramel, and crunchy peanuts. Interestingly, the dark chocolate is very soft. It doesn’t have the typical snap you may expect from other dark chocolates. This is a long-winded way of saying that Snickers Dark retains the exact same textures as its milk chocolate sibling.

Taste
The bitterness of the dark chocolate definitely alters how you perceive the rest of the ingredients. Most notably, the saltiness of the peanuts is accentuated. I was delighted to discover how long the chocolate flavor lasts, more so than milk chocolate in the regular version.

Verdict
In one of the least surprising conclusions you’ll ever read about on this blog, I’m giving this bar a big thumbs up. I was not able to personally decide if I like dark better than milk chocolate Snickers, but I’m certain that I love them both.

Just about everyone I work with has a blog. Most focus on web development and design. When I recently began telling them that I’m writing a blog devoted solely to candy bars, most were intrigued. One of my co-workers was even awesome enough to buy me a candy bar, which I of course promised to properly review on this blog. So here it is, the Nestle Crunch Crisp.

Structure
The center consists of alternating wafer and chocolate creme layers, which aretopped with a layer of milk chocolate and crispies. The entire bar is enrobed with a thin shell of milk chocolate.

Texture
The wafers are very crisp and the chocolate cream is soft - exactly how it should be. I expected a powdery texture like those cheap sugar wafers I was once addicted to, so I was pleasantly surprised. The top crispies don’t stand out. They have to be there for branding reasons, but I wouldn’t have missed them. Most importantly, Nestlé made this bar the perfect thickness. I panned Kit Kat Caramel for being too thick. Crunch Crisp didn’t make that mistake.

Taste
Nestlé chocolate has a unique flavor. When I was a kid, I loved it. Now, I find it to be a little too sweet and it has a distinct burnt caramel aftertaste. I probably should have eaten this in two sittings because the off flavors became unpleasant by the end.

Verdict
I really liked the texture of the wafers and chocolate creme; more than I disliked the chocolate flavor. If given the choice between this bar and a regular Nestlé Crunch, I would choose this. Therefore, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Nestlé candy bars.

While scanning the candy assortment at Blockbuster this past weekend, something unusual caught my eye - a Pop Rocks brand chocolate bar. It’s been years since I’ve eaten Pop Rocks, but I think I remember liking them at the time. My first thought was that this is probably a strawberry flavored Pop Rocks center covered in chocolate. I think the red lettering on the wrapper threw me off because upon further investigation of the wrapper, I could not find any indication of a flavor other than chocolate. I’m not convinced that mixing Pop Rocks with chocolate is a good idea, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try this candy bar out.

Structure
To my surprise, this is in fact a molded bar with the carbonated sugar crystals (Pop Rocks) incorporated throughout.

Texture
Overall this is most like a Nestle Crunch. The crystals are small and crunchy. The chocolate is dry and crumbly - pretty terrible. This is really cheap chocolate. It’s probably been sitting on that Blockbuster shelf too long and the carbonation must have decayed the chocolate in the packaging. What’s the half-life of Pop Rocks? Hold on a second… what the hell is this? A few seconds after biting in, I feel what I believe to be an aneurysm. There are bubbles exploding in my brain. And it won’t stop. I experience a full 20 seconds of unpleasant popping in my cerebral cortex before it starts to die down and settle in the back of my throat. That was not cool. I put the bar down and ponder for a moment what just happened. I’m hesitant to go back, but I can’t let one bite suffice. Maybe it just caught me off guard. I prepare myself and take a second, smaller bite. And once again, I’m bombarded with crackling bubbles.

Taste
The little chocolate flavor there is vanishes within seconds. The crystals are completely flavorless, which is what makes the whole thing so weird. With each pop, no flavor is released. There’s no citric acid or anything else to counter the sensation. I imagine this is what Crystal Drano tastes like.

Verdict
This is without a doubt, the worst candy bar I’ve ever had. I couldn’t make it past the second bite. A half hour later I’m still feeling a little sick. Needless to say, I won’t be recommending this bar.