Candy Bar Lab

I generally poke around for some interesting facts about the candy bars I review before I post. Sometimes, like in this case, I find a useless factoid worth sharing. Did you know that back in the 80’s, the former manufacturer put actual nickels in the PayDay packaging? I suppose this was a play on the term “PayDay”. Not surprisingly, it only last a few years. I doubt it made a difference to buyers and seems like it would have been more of a pain than it was worth.

Structure
A caramel center covered in peanuts.

Texture
On paper, it should work. A soft center covered in crunchy peanuts. But it fails because there aren’t enough peanuts and the ones on there are a bit soft. Peanuts are supposed to be REALLY crunchy and these just aren’t. Worse, the center feels more like fudge than caramel - it’s a bit grainy.

Taste
PayDay successfully combines sweet and salty, which to me is one of the most satisfying combinations imaginable. The peanuts obviously bring some flavor to the mix as well. Again, the caramel center is disappointing. It doesn’t have any actual caramelized sugar notes. It does have a lot of artificial vanilla flavor, which isn’t good.

Verdict
Conceptually, PayDay should be a great bar. It’s obviously a classic that’s been around forever and to many, I’m sure it’s a favorite. However, it needs fresher, higher quality peanuts and a smoother center with less artificial vanilla taste.

I purchased this German candy bar a few weeks ago and have been anxiously waiting to try it out. The excellent packaging for the Ritter Sport product line is the first thing that caught my eye. It’s distinct, simple, and successfully conveys what’s inside - which is a milk chocolate bar “chock full of whole roasted hazelnuts”. They’re not kidding either. Judging by the packaging, there must be 40+ hazelnuts in this bar.

Structure
A square, molded milk chocolate bar with 16 small square segments - each embossed with the Ritter Sport logo. Whole hazelnuts are liberally distributed throughout.

Texture
It’s really thick (enough to conceal the whole hazelnuts), but easy to bite through. The milk chocolate has a nice feel to it; very smooth and not at all grainy. The hazelnuts are nicely toasted and thus, provide a great crunch. Smooth chocolate and crunchy nuts are a classic, heavenly combination and this bar doesn’t disappoint in delivering that combo to it’s fullest potential.

Taste
This is a straightforward, two tone tasting experience. There’s milk chocolate and there’s hazelnuts. Nothing else thrown in to confuse it. The hazelnuts taste fresh, like they were toasted right before being sealed in. The milk chocolate is good, though I noticed it wasn’t intense. In a way that’s good because it balanced well with the hazelnuts, but the chocolate flavor was fleeting. In the end, I think it all worked.

Verdict
This is a very simple, yet really high quality candy bar. Most importantly, the packaging doesn’t lie. There are a lot of hazelnuts in it, so you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. I’d definitely buy more of the milk chocolate with hazelnut bars, but I’m also going to try to get my hands on the 22 other Ritter Sport varieties.

In the UK and the Middle East, the Dove brand of chocolate is known as Galaxy. This particular product from them seems very similar to a Flake and possibly an Aero. It seems that outside the US, people like air in their chocolate. I’ve never seen anything like this regularly sold over here in the States. I previously enjoyed Mint Aero, so let’s give this one a try.

Structure
The whole bar is very long and thin. The center consists of thin layers of milk chocolate, separated by pockets of air. The layered centered is enrobed with a thin shell of milk chocolate.

Texture
It crumbles a lot. I had to put my hand below my mouth to keep the small pieces from falling on the floor. The scraps of chocolate do melt quicker in your mouth than a big hunk of solid chocolate would. Overall, it’s very light and delicate.

Taste
It tastes like milk chocolate. In terms of quality, I would put it a half-notch above Hershey’s. Dove (i.e. Galaxy) is marketed as a high-end chocolate, but I’m not convinced it’s all that good.

Verdict
There’s nothing particularly offensive about this bar. It’s just boring. I like plain chocolate bars, but I usually reach for something higher in quality if that’s what I’m going for. If the only distinguishing feature of the bar is that it has a unique texture, it should improve upon the regular feel of chocolate. I’m not sure that Ripple accomplishes this.