Candy Addict » Sugar-free Candy

Candy Review: Sugarfree Quench Gum

Laurie — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:00:18 +0000

Quench Gum is made by Mueller Sports Medicine Inc. (an even less appetizing-sounding association than regular sugarfree gum’s relationship with dentists). According to Quench’s website, Quench has been around for over 30 years, and this “sports gum” is chewed by athletes from teams like the Cowboys, the Lakers and the Packers.

We’ve previously reviewed the regular version of Quench, but it’s also available in sugarfree – after all, who wants to down a bunch of sugar right after a heavy workout? (Well yeah, me too, but it’s just so counterproductive, OK?) Both versions of Quench claim that they can actually quench your thirst and refresh you after a hard workout.

Gum can stop you from being thirsty? And here I’d been drinking water all these years like a chump! This could be the greatest breakthrough in candy technology since Willy Wonka’s meal replacement gum – and even that was a little iffy in the dessert area, or so I’ve been given to understand.

I decided to test this product’s claims under the optimum conditions: after biking home from work on the hottest summer day possible. Unfortunately, that day never materialized (it’s been a very cool summer), so I decided that today would have to do. Fortunately, despite the lack of cooperation from the weather, my two-wheeled commute left my throat as dry as a five-year-old stick of Juicy Fruit. Resisting the urge to grab a cold one out of the refrigerator, I reached for my pack of Quench instead.

This pack (courtesy of the All Candy Expo) is the Fruit Blast flavor, described on the package as “a mouthwatering explosion in every pack!” This is the chicklet-style blister-pack type of sugarfree gum. Unlike others of its kind, the rectangular, pink-speckled pieces are soft, without the usual crisp candy shell.

The gum has a refreshingly tangy, sour fruit punch flavor, with little crunchy crystals that quickly dissolve for a sort of juicy, moistening effect in your mouth. The tangy flavor was long lasting, and unlike the last sugarfree gum I reviewed, Trident Splash Orange Swirl, not just because of aspartame’s impossible-to-get-rid-of aftertaste. These are sweetened with acesulphame potassium, a milder-flavored sweetener that doesn’t have that characteristic aspartame flavor. (That stuff is also the reason I can actually stand to drink diet sodas these days.)

So it’s pretty tasty stuff, but was I any less thirsty afterward? Well, that’s difficult to say. The tangy sourness and dissolving crystals did seem to stimulate the flow of saliva in my mouth, helping to rehydrate my parched throat and taste buds. It goes without saying that it didn’t actually introduce any new liquid into my system, making it no replacement for actually drinking something if you’re actually dehydrated, but in terms of reducing the sensation of thirst, it does what it’s supposed to. It couldn’t hurt to throw a pack in your pocket for extended workout sessions – as long as you have a big cold glass of water waiting for you once you’re finished.

Quench Gum Website

Buy Quench Gum Online:

at Blair Candy

at Candy Favorites

Candy Review: Trident Splash Orange Swirl

Laurie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:00:34 +0000

Disclaimer: I don’t really chew gum. I’m not really sure why – I enjoy the flavor (while it lasts) and the chewing action, and it’s nice to have something in my mouth to fiddle with while I do other things. When I do chew gum, I’m partial to the old-school bubblegum-style – big, soft pieces that yield face-sized bubbles and pack more sugar than some small chocolate bars. Unfortunately for me, though, it’s the skinny sticks or Chiclet-style pieces of sugar-free gum, usually heavily mentholated and bearing promises of tooth-cleaning action, that are most popular these days.

All that being said, Trident Splash Orange Swirl is definitely not a product I would have bought for myself, but nonetheless, I decided to try and approach this All Candy Expo freebie with an open mind.

Like most Chiclet-type gums, this comes in a foil-backed blister pack. Unlike most Chiclet-style gums, it also comes with the gimmick of a liquid center – something I remember seeing pretty often back in the day, but always in products aimed at kids rather than adults. Inside the blister pack, the little tabs seem thicker than usual – probably due to the extra “burst of sweet indulgence,” as the package calls it.

Removed from the package, the tabs have an orange-vanilla scent, which sounds appetizing enough. However, there’s something a little mediciney about it that actually turns my stomach. You know how when you were a kid, the dentist would let you pick your flavor of that fluoride foam? And the flavors all sounded really yummy, like bubblegum and Creamsicle, so you always picked one of those, conveniently forgetting the important kid rule that the tastier the flavor of a medicinal product sounds, the nastier it’s actually going to be? This gum smells exactly like Creamsicle-flavored fluoride treatment foam. And that stuff was pretty darn vile.

Fortunately, though, the flavor doesn’t resemble said dental product at all. I was expecting menthol, but it’s actually just a bright orange soda flavor, almost sickly sweet. The crisp candy shell, soft gum, and gooey center make a nice texture contrast, and they don’t skimp on the goo either, but as is usual for this type of gum, I find the pieces too darn small.

As you chew, the sweet orange flavor wears off fast, leaving just a mild sweetness – and a strong aftertaste of aspartame. The flavor does last for a pretty long time – but it’s the flavor of artificial sweetener rather than delicious orange. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I think some menthol might actually have helped, since it seems to cover up the flavor of artificial sweeteners better than fruit flavors do. A second piece was admittedly better than the first – the aspartame shock seems to wear off a bit after the first piece.

Like other products marketed more as dental aids than candy, the flavor of this gum left a lot to be desired. When the best thing you can say about a product is “it tastes better than fluoride treatment foam,” there’s not really very much to recommend. Thanks but no thanks – I’m sticking with my Hubba Bubba.

Trident Website

Buy Trident Gum Online:

at Candy Direct

at Amazon.com

Candy Review: Oral Fixation Peppermint Mocha Mints

Laurie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:00:56 +0000

My go-to dictionary, the Canadian Oxford, defines “oral,” in part, as “of or concerning a supposed stage of… (infant) development in which the mouth is of central interest.” If this is the case, it would seem that many of us who write for this site never really outgrew the infant stage of development – we’ve never stopped trying to find as many interesting (and hopefully delicious) things to put in our mouths as possible. And apparently, neither have the good folks at Oral Fixation, who continue to provide us with new and increasingly unique flavors of their signature mints.

With flavors like chai, herbal jasmine, and mojito, Oral Fixation keeps pushing the envelope. The lineup has recently been joined by this new Peppermint Mocha flavor, which Oral Fixation’s website describes as providing “the caffeine jolt of a chocolate-covered espresso bean cut with cooling natural mint oil.”

As always, Oral Fixation provides a classy presentation, with their signature flat tin filled with a single layer of fingertip-sized mints. A layer of printed wax paper, in this case bearing a set of red and white stripes reminiscent of a candy canes, protects the mints, keeping them from rattling around and getting all broken. (Have I mentioned how much I love Oral Fixation’s tins? I might just recycle this one into a business card holder, which will have the added effect of making all my business cards smell choco-minty fresh.)

The light brown mints are embedded with the word “fix” on one side, and either the word “choco” or “latte” on the other. They smell mostly minty, with just a hint of chocolate or coffee in the background. Huh, I could swear I once had some sort of scented plastic toy that smelled exactly like these. Holy sense memory!

Chocolate-flavored candies that aren’t actually chocolate are always hit-or-miss, but these have a surprisingly rich, deep flavor, perhaps due to the presence of the coffee. They have a faint coffee bitterness with just a hint of chocolate and the cooling effect of peppermint, without an overwhelming mint flavor. Neither the chocolate or coffee flavor is all that strong individually, but they combine for an almost creamy richness that goes well with the cooling mint. The flavor reminds me of those hard mint candies with the chocolate centers, only classier. And with only 3.5 calories per (artificially-sweetened) mint, this is a chocolate indulgence everyone can enjoy.

In all, these get a thumbs up from me. So if you haven’t already, why not give them a try and start cultivating an oral fixation of your own?

Oral Fixation Website

Buy Oral Fixation Mints Online:

at Amazon.com

Candy Review: Altoids Smalls Sugar Free Mints

Cindy — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:00:31 +0000

Altoids – the name frightens me. I immediately get an image of my head bursting into flames as a small white tablet of destruction sears the inside of my mouth and then wreaks its havoc on the rest of my body. My husband and my mother love Altoids. They laugh at me because I ~~am afraid of them~~ don’t care for them.

Of course I’m talking about the dreaded peppermint Altoids. Whoever created those things must have been a sadistic former Gulag prison guard. Imagine my ~~inconsolable weeping~~ hesitation when I received two packages of Altoids in the mail to review.

Fortunately, they were not of the peppermint variety. Instead I’ve been able to sample the wintergreen and cinnamon flavors from the new Altoids Smalls Sugar Free line.

Now these aren’t new flavors, but they are being sold in a new small size. The tin is about 3″ by 2″ which means it can fit nicely in your pocket or purse. The mints themselves are smaller too – about the size of a corn kernel as opposed to the normal lima bean size. (Yeah, as if you Candy Addicts ever eat lima beans.) These Altoids Smalls are sugar free, unlike their larger cousins. They’re sweetened with sorbitol and sucralose, and according to Wikipedia they contain a pork gelatin. You vegetarians will just have to resist.

The Wintergreen Altoids Smalls are a pretty blue color and, in my opinion, deliciously fresh. They have a nice typically wintergreen flavor and are not hot or overpowering like the peppermint Altoids. They have a bit of a “sting” in a pleasant sort of way. Their breath-freshening capacity is very good. Just one of the tiny mints left my mouth feeling as if I had just brushed with an expensive toothpaste and rinsed with a stinky brown mouthwash. (And I mean that in the best possible way.)

Because I live in a household of “non-returning borrowers,” I was not able to personally sample the Cinnamon Altoids Smalls. Of the two tins that arrived in my mail, my husband took one and my five-year-old took the other. Yes, my five-year-old. He prides himself on liking “the hot stuff.” I asked my husband for his opinion of the cinnamon flavor. He describes it this way: “There’s an intense burst of cinnamon flavor at first. It doesn’t overpower you with too much cinnamon or heat but has an excellent taste. Every time I ate one, it left me wanting another.” So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. (Don’t tell him I said that.)

Why I ended the last two paragraphs with a sentence in parentheses, I do not know. Unusual prose aside, the new Altoids Smalls Sugar Free Mints are a delightful bit of tasty freshness that will slip into your pocket.

Altoids Website

Buy Altoids Small Sugar Free Mints Online:

at Amazon.com

at Candy Direct

Candy History: Orbit Gum, Then and Now

Jim — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:00:24 +0000

Image from Gasoline Alley Antiques

I’ve always enjoyed studying history, especially U.S. history. When I learn something new I’m amazed at how ignorant and totally clueless I can be, even when it comes to something as simple as gum.

For years I thought Orbit gum was a relatively new product from Wrigley. Wrong!

Orbit has been around since World War II when Wrigley began shipping all of their gum production overseas to the Armed Forces. With no JuicyFruit, Spearmint or Doublemint available for civilians in the U.S., Wrigley introduced Orbit.

After the war, in 1946, Wrigley brought the big three back to the States and phased out Orbit. It wasn’t until 1976 that Orbit returned – only to Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands – as the first sugar-free gum ever released under the Wrigley name.

In 2001, Orbit returned to the U.S. with the introduction of Spearmint and Wintermint flavors. 2007 brought the Mint Mojito, and today Orbit Mist features “MicroBursts that deliver a hydrating sensation.”

I recently tried the Mint Mojito and the Mist Mango Surf. (Although we reviewed the latter just recently, I thought it might be worth another taste.)

Orbit Mint Mojito: The stick smelled of spearmint and bathroom cleanser. At first chew there was a strong yet unidentifiable citrus high note. After 30 seconds of thoughtful chewing, a subtle lime flavor whispered within a faint and pleasant spearmint. After about five minutes, it was something not quite lime and not quite spearmint. The confusion was rather amusing, but like a doomed relationship, the intriguing beginning couldn’t survive the long haul. Still, not a bad chewing experience.

Funny thing, later that evening I enjoyed a real Mojito at a rooftop beach bar. (Hey, I was on vacation. See, even during my down time I’m out there working for all you Candy Addicts. My pleasure.)

Orbit Mango Surf: The stick smelled of cough syrup and cinnamon-apple potpourri. (I’m not making this up.) On first chew it was crunchy – yes, crunchy! A very strong and authentic mango high note that dissipated as the “MicroBurst” crystals softened. Where the Mint Mojito was soft, the Mango Surf was tough, more akin to a bubble gum texture. The mango flavor subsided considerably after two minutes but was still present and provided a mildly enjoyable chew.

Ingredients in both gums were identical, but the Mist contained erythritol (a natural sugar alcohol found in fruits and fermented foods), sucralose (super-sweet artificial sweetener marketed as Splenda) and gelatin.

After a little bit of digging, I now see Orbit in a whole new light. That’s the beauty of history.

Orbit Gum Website

Buy Orbit Gum Online:

at Candy Direct

at Amazon.com

Gum Review: Orbit Mist

Cindy — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:00:42 +0000

Orbit Mist is a new line of gum from The Wrigley Company. It’s touted as a premium gum and contains little crystals – called Micro-Bursts – that the Orbit website says will “deliver a hydrating sensation to consumers.”

Now I can only assume that it means “to consumers who purchase and chew Orbit Mist.” When I first read the description, I had a vision of Orbit Mist boxes shooting “hydrating sensation beams” at random consumers in the grocery store. “Hello, ma’am, welcome to Food Land. How are you?”

“I’m good, tha-” (*Hydrating sensation beam fires.*) “Ohhh, I suddenly feel so… moistly healthy…”

Oh, ah-hem, I’m supposed to be writing a review. Sorry…

Wrigley has graciously sent me the three new flavors of the Orbit Mist line to try. Two fruity flavors – Watermelon Spring and Mango Surf – and one mint flavor – Peppermint Spray.

Watermelon Spring – With the first chew, this lime green gum gives a very strong watermelon flavor – followed by a flood of sourness so strong that I was squinting my eye like Popeye the Sailor Man. I’m no fan of sour candies so I was happy when the sour flavor faded in less than a minute. Tiny crystals in the gum must be tiny sour factories, though, because every time I crunched one, a little more sourness came out. Besides that, the main flavor is a sweet, mild watermelon. It’s a nice, pleasant flavor – not overly strong. Reminiscent of kids’ watermelon-flavored gums (like Hubba Bubba) but nowhere near as overpowering. Lasting factor is good – I chewed for over an hour.

Mango Surf – I was a bit hesitant to try this flavor since I don’t particularly care for mango (natural or artificial). As a dedicated Candy Addict, I pressed through my fears and popped a piece in my mouth. I was expecting a rush of sour flavor similar to what I’d experienced with Watermelon Spring. While the Mango Surf crystals did release sour bursts for the first minute or two, the pucker-factor of this orangish-yellow gum wasn’t nearly so intense. The sweet flavor that lasted for about an hour was typically mango and happily mild. I never felt assaulted by the mango-ness of it. A pretty good flavor.

Peppermint Spray – Mint gums are my forte… what can be better than a quick, tasty way to freshen breath after a meal loaded with garlic, onions, and oregano? Okay, so I don’t eat onions. I do prefer spearmint, but this Peppermint Spray from Orbit Mist was quite enjoyable. It had less heat than the new Wrigley’s Spearmint while retaining a strong peppermint flavor. It’s actually inspired me to want to chew more peppermint gum. (Please don’t tell my package of Stride Spearmint.) Like the other Orbit Mist gums, the flavor lasted a long time before I was ready to spit it out.

Orbit Website

Buy Orbit Mist Online:

at Amazon.com

at Candy Direct

Gum Review: Search for Spearmint Mini-Roundup Part 1

Cindy — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:00:02 +0000

Spearmint leaves image from katrinket at Flickr
Some time ago, I bought a package of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum only to discover that the flavor had been changed dramatically. To put it mildly, the spearmint flavor I knew and loved had careened downhill and crashed into a muddy, mucky river. I wrote a review of it and a review of Wrigley’s other “improved” flavors. Since then I’ve been on a search to find a spearmint gum that matches my expectations of a good, mellow, sweet spearmint.

I’ve been slightly overwhelmed by the number of brands and varieties of spearmint-flavored gum. Without even looking very hard, I’ve found nine different varieties. Who knew spearmint could taste so many different ways? Trident alone makes three kinds of spearmint gum. It’s mind boggling.

It has been quite an adventure tasting all the varieties and thinking about the nuances in their differences and similarities. I’m feeling like quite the gum expert lately. And I have the freshest breath in the county.

Today I’ll tell you about five of the gums I’ve tried. To save your palate from overexertion, I’ll save the rest for another post.

Eclipse by Wrigley – In a pack of Eclipse, you’ll get 12 little pieces of gum. The pieces measure only about 1/2″ by 3/4″ – they’re like little pellets. The initial feel when I begin to chew one is similar, almost identical, to those little square gums I used to get for a penny out of candy machines… right down to the “crunch” required to begin chewing. (Were those Chicklets or a cheap imitation?) After crunching it open, my mouth was immediately flooded with heat. An amazing surge of fire spread through my mouth and into my throat. Ahhh! Within 20 chews, I could feel the heat up my nose too. It’s very reminiscent of eating a peppermint Altoid. The first time I chewed Eclipse Spearmint, it was so hot, I had to spit it out in just a couple minutes. The second time I persevered through the heat, and surprisingly a little sweetness came out after a few minutes of chewing. The heat was still too much, though, so in the trash it went.

Ice Breakers Ice Cubes with cooling xylitol by The Hershey Co. – Ice Cubes are funny little square cubes – a shape I’ve never seen in any other gum. They require a little initial crunch to start chewing, nothing too jaw cracking though. Much to my dismay, they have lots of crunchy ‘crystals’ inside. Like I’ve said before, I don’t want my gum crunchy. The flavor, while decent, was gone unbelievably fast. I started chewing at 4:34 and all traces of flavor were gone by 4:52. No exaggeration. The Ice Breakers Ice Cubes box says “Whoa!™”

I totally agree – Whoa! Where’d the flavor go?

Stride by Cadbury – Stride comes in a thin, large rectangle package like all these new-fangled gums. (What was wrong with the little rectangle pack?) Remember on movies and television shows when a proud grandparent or new daddy flips out a long row of wallet photos to show any unsuspecting soul nearby? That’s what I thought of when I flipped open the Stride pack. The top flap “holding area” releases two gum-holding flaps. Each flap has seven little “bits” of gum, for 14 total pieces.

The bits (I can’t bring myself to call them sticks) are about the size I can remember Trident being when I was growing up. About 1/4″ by 1/2″. They are soft and easy to chew – a big plus as far as I’m concerned – and a sweet juice is released with the first chew. The flavor is very good, smooth and sweet… no heat whatsoever. It’s long lasting too. I’d say I chewed for at least an hour before the flavor started to fade. We have a winner here – I like Stride very much!

Extra by Wrigley – These ordinarily-shaped sticks of gum have a pale green color and the strange initial flavor that I’ve always associated with Extra brand gums. There’s an underlying sweetness that is pleasant, but it’s barely detectable under that unusual flavor that I can’t even give a name to. After quite a few chews, a bit of heat started to ooze out of the gum. Nothing major, nothing I can’t handle. Shortly after the heat came out, the sweet flavor was gone. Not a hint of it remained.

That weird flavor, though? Still there. After a while, I think I actually got used to it because the gum started to taste decent. Not so bad that I wanted to spit it out… but not so great that I want to go out and buy another pack. Sorry, Extra, get rid of that weird taste and we’ll talk.

Trident Xtra Care – Does anyone besides me think it’s strange that Trident markets three different versions of spearmint gum? It is even weirder that all three versions taste dramatically different? For today, I’ll tell you about Trident Xtra Care Spearmint, which for some reason isn’t listed on the Trident website. Only Peppermint and Cool Mint are listed, but I assure you that I have a lovely emerald green package of Spearmint in my hand – see the picture?

The Trident Xtra Care package flips open just like the Stride package, but the pieces of gum are larger. They are narrow ’strips’ more than an inch long and about a quarter inch thick. They’re a little tough to start chewing – not crunchy at all, just tough. Immediately, though, a sweet flavor is released. It’s a mild spearmint flavor with plenty of sweetness and only a hint of warmth. In a way, it’s almost too sweet especially for the first few minutes of chewing. The flavor lasts a decent amount of time but not as long as other gums. Trident Xtra Care claims to “strengthen and rebuild teeth” – an interesting, if unusual, bonus to gum chewing.

There you have it – pellets, cubes, bits, sticks, and strips. Quite an array of gum variety. I figure anyone could find a spearmint they like in this list, but I’ve got four more to bring you next time.

Buy Spearmint Gum Online:

at Amazon.com

Candy Review: Kickbrix Energy Chews

Diana — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:00:48 +0000

Have you ever woken up in the morning, dragged yourself into the shower, then slowly gotten ready for work because you are so darn tired? I’ve had those days before, and they are horrible. I go through the day, not quite able to wake up and just wait for the day to end. When I have those kinds of days, I sometimes have an energy drink in order to give me a boost.

With so many different energy products out there, it kind of gets overwhelming sometimes. There are energy drinks, energy shots and energy pills to choose from, so many products that sometimes it’s hard to decide what to use. I’ve never been a fan of energy pills; in my experiences the energy pills give me so much energy that I have to keep moving around or else I feel like throwing up. Instead I prefer energy drinks, but sometimes I don’t want to drink all those calories.

I had a chance to try Kickbrix energy chews. I was excited to try these because sometimes energy drinks are too much for me; I never finish a whole can and feel like I’m wasting my money. These chews seemed perfect; they are small, chewable and only 25 calories. Plus, their website looks pretty awesome.

However, good looks and marketing may be all these chews have going for them. They come in two flavors; Berry Blast and Citrus Blast. I decided to try Berry Blast, only because anything berry can’t be that bad, right?

When I first opened the package, the first thing I thought of was Starburst. These chews look just like them and even had the same texture as a Starburst. They were soft and chewy, but as I continued chewing, I immediately thought that Kickbrix tastes like something the dentist would give me just before getting a dental impression. It had a minty taste, and left a fresh gum-like taste in my mouth. The berry flavor was somewhere in there, but not very prominent. It also had a sour taste to it.

While chewing, I noticed that it didn’t break apart in my mouth like some candies do. It reminded me of those wax bottles that I used to eat when I was young. I couldn’t chew it for very long because the flavors in this chew did not mix well together. I ended up spitting it out. But surprisingly, I didn’t have to wash my mouth out because as soon as it was out of my mouth, it felt like I had just brushed my teeth. I guess that minty taste worked in its favor.

As for energy, I’m not sure if I didn’t chew it long enough or what, but I didn’t feel any sort of energy boost from it. My guess is that I would probably need to actually chew it for awhile and ingest it before experiencing any type of energy from this product, but I didn’t even last that long.

Has anyone else tried Kickbrix? If so, what did you think? How would you compare them to any energy products that are on the market today?

Kickbrix Website

Candy Review: VE2 Energy Gum

MichelleG — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:00:28 +0000

One of the treats I got from the All Candy Expo was this pack of VE2 energy gum. It’s candy with a conscience – the packaging is very minimalist and it says, “To save trees & make less trash this package avoids using a paper sleeve wrap.” I love the idea that a medium which traditionally relies on packaging for impact can be promoted in a environmentally friendly way.

Developed over a period of 2 years by an ER doc, one packet of VE2 is equal to five cups of coffee. The press about VE2 claims that you can absorb caffeine through your oral membranes faster than via digestion – so in theory VE2 gives you a quicker energy hit than your usual energy drinks. I’m one of those people who can drink a can of coke or a espresso before bed and still fall asleep with no problem, so I viewed this gum review as a bit of an experiment.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. As soon as you pop a tablet out of the blister pack the peppermint smell is almost overwhelming, and slightly medicinal. Once you start to chew it, the peppermint taste becomes ridiculously strong… as in, chow down a couple dozen Altoids at once strong. Honestly, it was all too much for me. Considering that it takes two tablets to get the hit of one energy drink, and I couldn’t really fathom chewing more than one piece for fear of burning my mouth, I couldn’t really complete the experiment.

For journalistic purposes I enlisted some friends to try this gum out. The package says to chew for at least five minutes to get the full effect, but given that I could barely chew it for five seconds, I needed some other opinions . Even those who like peppermint found it to be really strong – almost off-putting, really. Those who managed to chew it for longer than a minute all reported a definite buzz – so at least the caffeine in there (listed as the first ingredient) is working.

There are a whole lot of reasons why chewing one of these would be way better than sucking down an energy drink, so I was disappointed not to be able to really give it a full try. Given that I couldn’t get past the flavor, it would be nice if there was some other option other than peppermint available. Until then, I think I’ll leave this stuff to the doctors.. .who might have some emergencies of their own if they’re chewing this stuff.

VE2 Energy Gum Website

Candy Review: Baskin-Robbins Soft Candy

Monica — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:00:17 +0000

I have many a fond memory of Baskin-Robbins from childhood: the free birthday cones, the baseball helmet sundaes, the hard, hard scoops that could be shot clear off your sugar cone and onto the lawn with one overzealous lick. Not to mention the choices – oh, the choices! All 31-plus of them! And I reveled in my flavor selection: Rocky Road, Rainbow Sherbet, Cookies ‘N Cream… the world was my hot fudge-covered oyster (notably not one of the aforementioned 31-plus). But I have to admit, in all my ice cream eating moments, never (ever) did I think to myself, “Mmmm, this ice cream is good, but it would be really good if only I could chew it.” So it is with a bit of skepticism that I opened up my box of Baskin-Robbins Soft Candy.

These candies come in two flavors: Mint Chocolate Chip and Very Berry Strawberry, and in both regular and sugar free varieties. They’re quite small – smaller than a Tootsie Roll – and rectangular. And they’re individually wrapped in foil reminiscent of my Viactiv Multi-Vitamin Chew (highly recommended as a vitamin supplement, less so as a sugary treat).

And soft they are. If nothing else, these things deliver in that department. Softer than both a Tootsie Roll and a Starburst chew, it took me a number of squeezes before I finally landed on Play-Doh. That’s about how soft these are, if you can imagine. (The sugar free ones actually were not quite as soft, falling somewhere between Play-Doh and Starburst on the hard/soft continuum.) But this is where the uniformity ends, so here’s how the individual flavors played out for me:

Mint Chocolate Chip Original (left) and Sugar Free (right)

Mint Chocolate Chip
The package, once opened, smelled deliciously like Andes mints. Upon unwrapping the foil jacket, however, I was greeted by a frightening sight: that pretty seafoam-colored picture on the bag is very deceiving, Addicts, because these things are alien green. Yes, alien green. And weirdly translucent. And shiny and sticky and greasy. (All of my favorite things!) Fortunately, they smelled like the Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream of my youth, which allowed me to shut my eyes tight and pop one in my mouth.

To my surprise, it actually tasted a lot like the ice cream I remember, right down to the hint of textural complexity provided by the minuscule chocolate chips. And although I have difficulty appreciating the ice cream flavor disassociated from its frozen, melty goodness, I suppose this would be a nice option for those of you who’ve always dreamt about carrying ice cream cones around in your pocket.

Sugar Free Mint Chocolate Chip
Unlike their sugar-laden counterpart, these candies actually resembled that picture on the bag, with their soft green coloring, opaqueness, and relatively matte finish. They had good flavor up front, but were more crumbly in the mouth than the original and tasted a little chemically and overpoweringly minty at the end. Overall, they’re not as true to the Mint Chocolate Chip flavor as I might want.

Very Berry Strawberry Original (left) and Sugar Free (right)

Very Berry Strawberry
I’ll tell ya what, Baskin-Robbins sure figured out how to make their packages smell good. Both this and the Sugar Free bag smelled intensely of ripe, sweet strawberries. In fact, they smelled just like my car did a couple weeks ago when I went grocery shopping before work and left my berries in the trunk all day. (Incidentally, best I-left-food-in-my-car-story ever.)

These ones were much prettier, looking very much like pink Starbursts with tiny red specks; however, they were still greasy, sticky, and Play-Doh-y. Now, I’m not a big strawberry ice cream fan – I prefer my fruit flavors not to be cut with creaminess – so I didn’t have high hopes, but I was pleasantly surprised when a nice berry flavor kicked in about halfway through the chew. Unfortunately, the candies were so small and dissolved so quickly that it didn’t last for very long.

Sugar Free Very Berry Strawberry
Sadly, the mid-way burst of flavor that saved the original’s rep didn’t come to fruition (ha!) in the sugar free version. Interestingly, this resulted in a flavor more akin to strawberry ice cream though, so if you like that, I guess it could work in your favor. This one, like the Sugar Free Mint Chocolate Chip candy, had a strange texture that almost felt like crumbly, crystallized sugar.

So I’m not a huge fan of these but if they really scream out to you for some reason, I’m gonna go ahead and say that this is really a go-for-the-full-sugar-version-or-go-home kind of situation.

Editor’s Note: I thought these were pretty darn foul. Admittedly, I only tried the regular mint version, but I thought the flavor was weak and the strange little bits of texture did absolutely nothing for me other than make me wonder if they hadn’t mixed all the ingredients completely. Then again, I was never a huge fan of the ice cream version, so they may well be more appealing for folks who like the original form.

Baskin-Robbins’ Candy Website

Buy Baskin-Robbins Candy Online:

at Amazon.com

at Candy Direct