Candy Review: Dark Chunky

Monday, January 5, 2009 - by Robby

I have to confess that before reading Jamie’s review of Chunky, I had only eaten one in my entire life. Why? Well, I think Stewie Griffin from Family Guy said it best:

“Yeah, that’s what kids want in their candy. Fruit. Why don’t you put sunflower seeds in the Ding Dongs while you’re at it?”

But because of Jamie’s professed love for this underrated candy, I bought one shortly after her review. Now, kids might not like fruit in their candy, but as an adult (sorta), I found my tongue had grown accustomed to the flavor I had once disliked.

I wasn’t in love with Chunky, but felt the two of us had patched up a hole that had separated us for so many years. I also believed that would be the last of our meetings. Boy was I wrong.

This past weekend, I popped into the Dollar Tree store to purchase some GooGoo Clusters. To my surprise, stationed right next to them was the new Dark Chunky. I was caught off-guard since I hadn’t heard anything about this product’s release. Though I felt Chunky was O.K., I wondered if dark chocolate was the missing element in the equation.

Unwrapping the piece, my nose was greeted with a strong chocolate aroma, containing hints of coffee. It was so strong that my roommates, who were in another room, popped their heads into the kitchen and asked me if I had chocolate. It’s a good thing the Chunky Giant is so big that you can easily share it and still be satisfied.

Breaking off a piece, I could see the trademark pieces of roasted peanuts and raisins embedded in the trapezoidal frame. The taste was… very, very, very rich. Had I not known it was a Chunky Bar, I would have guessed there was alcohol in it. Maybe there is a high concentration of chocolate liquor (the liquid you get from processing cacao beans – it’s not alcohol) or perhaps the dark chocolate is European bittersweet chocolate (bittersweet chocolate contains the highest chocolate liquor concentration, and European brands are traditionally around twice as high in concentration).

Despite the potency, the chocolate is still fresh and enjoyable – if you can handle such a behemoth of intensity. I will say that this is strictly a chocolate bar/block that has fruit and nuts in it as opposed to a fruit and nut chocolate bar. What’s the difference? Well, Chunky (original) is the latter, as the whole thing is chock-full of raisins and peanuts. Dark Chunky only retains a fraction of the amount of raisins and peanuts, and both are relegated to the bottom of the bar.

In the end, I actually prefer Dark Chunky to the original. What can I say? I am a sucker for dark chocolate over milk chocolate, no matter how overpowering the taste might be. Just be forewarned, lovers of the original – despite its striking resemblance to the milk chocolate variety, in taste it is a whole different candy.

Buy Chunky Products Online:

• at Candy Crate
• at Old Time Candy
• at Candy Direct
• at Amazon.com