Mockolate products have an awful reputation, but it isn’t as if it’s not deserved. Despite what the candy companies are spouting in an attempt to appease/brainwash their constituents, there is a noticeable difference between a real piece of chocolate and mockolate.
But to immediately write off all mockolate products would be a disservice to a handful of candies out there. You see, mockolate can work well under certain circumstances. The most successful mockolate products I have encountered were always candies that weren’t considered chocolate, but wanted a chocolate flavor.
To me, no product accomplishes this as well as Tootsie’s namesake product, the Tootsie Roll. Having been doled out since the late nineteenth century, these babies hold a niche in the candy universe.
Tootsie Rolls were developed because their creator, Leo Hirshfield, wanted to sell a chocolate candy that was resistant to heat. As taffy, Tootsie Rolls are naturally more resilient to temperature. Because of this, the chocolaty-chew could be shipped throughout the year and across the globe, making it an instant success.
The taste of a Tootsie Roll is both simple and complex. The most obvious component of the flavor is cocoa, but subtle traces of orange add to the piece’s complexity. Tootsie Rolls incorporate a slight bitterness to them, a trait of real chocolate, that is quite nice with the muted sweet factor.
My only qualm with Tootsie Rolls is that some are very fresh while others are as hard as week-old bread. Still, I never encountered a sticky Tootsie Roll, which is somewhat of an oddity in the taffy world.
An interesting note about Tootsie Rolls is that each piece is constructed of remnants from the previous day’s batch (just like Boudin sourdough bread). So, theoretically, every piece of Tootsie Roll candy contains a smidgen of the classic from over a century ago.
I’ve never been the sort to go out and buy these – sans the flavored Midgees, ’cause those rock – but I have never turned them down. As far as chocolate-tasting products go, these are top of the line for when you want that cocoa blast in your mouth, but aren’t in the mood for the real thing.
Buy Tootsie Rolls Online:
- at Candy Crate
- at Candy Direct
- at Old Time Candy
- at Amazon.com
Yeah, the fruit and vanilla-flavoured ones are the best – unfortunately, where I live you can only get them as part of the Halloween assortment with regular Tootsie rolls and Tootsie Pops.
March 31st, 2009 at 9:31 am