Candy Bar Lab

I previously reviewed Annabelle’s Rocky Road - an American made candy bar with chocolate, marshmallows and cashews. I was underwhelmed by that product, so I’ve been on the lookout for a great rocky road candy bar since. So, I was really excited when I received this Australian made rocky road bar last week. From the packaging, I could tell it’s different from Annabelle’s. Instead of using a solid slab of marshmallow enrobed in chocolate, this version has big pieces of marshmallow mixed into a slab of chocolate. And instead of cashews, VooDooo’s version has peanuts.

Structure
Whole marshmallows and roasted peanuts in milk chocolate, cut into rectangular slabs.

Texture
This is a very non-uniform product. There are different sized marshmallow and peanut pieces mixed throughout. The chocolate is really thin in some places and really thick in others. Along the outside of the bar, the chocolate barely coats some of the marshmallow pieces. I think VooDooo might be making these by hand, rather than using automatic machinery, but I can’t confirm this.

Taste
The marshmallow and peanuts are fine. The chocolate - a huge disappointment. It’s really sweet and flavorless. It barely tastes like chocolate actually. If I were served this candy bar blindfolded, I would have guessed that it had white chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

Verdict
VooDooo Rocky Road was a big let down. I had high hopes from the packaging and first look that this would be a great candy bar. But immediately upon biting in, it was clear that the chocolate was sub-par and that ultimately killed it’s chances of getting a thumbs up from me.

Flavors that work for ice cream generally work for candy bars too. Cookies and Creme, Peanut Butter Cup, and Mint Chocolate Chip are all delicious as ice cream and candy bars. Hershey’s Take 5 reminds me of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, which is one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors.

Structure
From the bottom up, Take 5 is two segments of hard waffle pretzels, peanut butter, caramel and chopped peanuts.  Each segment is enrobed in milk chocolate.

Texture
You’ll first notice the crunchiness of the pretzels, then the crumbly peanut butter and finally, the creamy caramel that sticks in your teeth and outlasts the rest of the components. The chocolate coating is very soft, but smooth. Overall, the Take 5 is a bit on the dry side, but that’s to be expected from a product consisting of peanut butter and pretzels - I don’t really fault them for that. Just keep in mind that this is a product that goes well with something to drink.

Taste
This is a salty candy bar and really tastes a lot like a plain old chocolate covered pretzel. However, the caramel, peanuts and peanut butter all add further deliciousness that elevate the Take 5 beyond it’s classic candy cousin.

Verdict
There’s so much going on with this candy bar. It’s crunchy, salty, sweet, chewy and just plain good. Though Hershey’s is using fake chocolate with this product, that wasn’t a deal breaker. The pretzel, peanut butter, and caramel do most of the heavy lifting, while the chocolate seals everything in and plays a supporting role. Don’t get me wrong though, this candy bar would be even better if it had real chocolate.

The Peanøtt Kubbe (”Peanut Log”) is a Norwegian product manufactured by Freia - a subsidiary of Kraft Foods. This bar didn’t stand out much amongst the dozen or so candy bars I currently have from Norway. The ingredients list - chocolate, peanuts, and toffee -looked good enough, but it’s not exactly exotic; we have bars like that here.

Structure
The inner toffee core is first surrounded by a layer of dark chocolate and next by chopped peanuts and milk chocolate. The package contains two segments.

Texture
I was expecting the toffee center to be firm and chewy. To my delightful surprise, it was very soft and smooth. The milk chocolate is soft and creamy, while the dark chocolate is a bit harder and the chopped peanuts provide crunch. All together, there are many textures and they work together wonderfully.

Taste
The flavor is deep and complex. The toffee center has a burnt caramel flavor. The dark chocolate cuts the sweetness of the milk chocolate and adds to the uniqueness of the overall flavor (I can’t think of many candy bars with dark and milk chocolate). Of course, both of the chocolates used are high quality and taste great. Finally, the roasted peanuts add to the mix by providing a nutty background flavor.

Verdict
The Peanøtt Kubbe is an amazing candy bar with many textures and flavors all working well together. It’s one of the best candy bars I’ve ever had actually. I’d say this one is even worth buying online and having it shipped, but I can’t find a place online that sells it. If you ever come across one, either online or off, do yourself a favor and buy it.