Variety Hour- with Tirol!

Tirol Chocolates 

I've reviewed a lot of Japanese candies over the years, but they've mainly been fruit based and more often than not, they're gummies. (My favorite kind of candy.) Japanese chocolate is an area I haven't really explored, and from what I can tell it's quite different than what we have in America. 

I've seen Japanese candy bars, like Meiji or Crunky, but it doesn't seem like they have the wide variety that we have here. Just off the top of my head we have Snickers, Milkyway, 3Musketeers, Skor, Crunch, Heath, 100 Grand, Charleston Chew, BabyRuth...the list goes on and on. From what I can tell, that is not the case overseas. They may not have all that, but they do have Tirol.

Jelly Donut Oreos - Walmart

Jelly Donut Oreos - Walmart 

I know I'm not offering much in the way of variety right now (with all these Oreo reviews in a row), but I had these photos edited and ready to go, so I wanted to knock out this review while they're still (somewhat) relevant. 

Packaging has been discussed to death at this point, "pretty picture, hate the peel-top, etc.," so let's get right into the nitty gritty. Do these taste like an actual jelly doughnut?

Trader Joe's PB & J Bar - Trader Joe's: Voorhees, NJ

Trader Joe's PB & J Bar - Trader Joe's: Voorhees, NJ

We just wrapped up recording for episode 2 of Candyology 101, which was peanut butter themed, and one of the candies we discussed was this sandwich inspired candy bar from Trader Joe's.

In case some of you have never heard of Trader Joe's, it's a privately owned grocery chain that offers products under it's own label, has a selection of fresh produce, and offers a lot of organic and natural products. It's kind of like Whole Foods, but the prices are better, and this place practically has a cult following. (There's even an awesome blog dedicated to reviewing only Trader Joe's products.)  People go crazy for their cookie butter (speculoos) and specialty products, admittedly, I do love Trader Joe's, but I don't think I've achieved cult member status. (I usually go there in the fall because Trader Joe's is the one grocery store that loves pumpkin products more than I do.)

Since I rarely go to Trader Joe's, I really go overboard when I'm there, so to kick off my (very unnecessary) food haul, let's see how this PB&J bar tastes!

Pomegranate & Pear Jelly Fruit Slices Part 3 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Pomegranate & Pear Jelly Fruit Slices Part 3 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Here's the last if my Jelly Fruit Slices! Check out the citrus flavors Here, and the exotic Chili Mango and Pineapples ones Here.

So far, the Chili Mango and Pink Grapefruit were the best of the bunch and I plan on buying more of them next season, but will either (or both) of these flavors make their way onto my re-buy list?  I guess we'll find out!

I don't think I ever blogged about it but, a few years ago, I was quite obsessed with Pomegranates. I'd buy pomegranate candies, juices, and anything else I could get my hands on. The last few years my fruity obsession has shifted to bananas, but I love the tangy flavoring of this ruby-red fruit. I've never seen this flavor offered in jellied-slice form, so I have high hopes for this candy.

The candy slice has a ruby-red rind with a tiny bit of the white candy pith-like coating separating the two layers.  The white portion for this flavor is no where near as thick as the one on the Grapefruit slices, but it's still visible, and the center is a extremely dark berry color. Just like the Pineapple slices, the candy doesn't have any distinctive scent.

I took a bite, and while the texture is the same as the rest of the fruit slices, this specific flavor is impressively rich and very different from any of the other slices I've reviewed. While this is way too sweet to ever be mistaken for a real pomegranate, the fruity flavoring for this candy is rich and berry-like, almost as if pomegranate juice was reduced into an insanely sugary syrup. There is a hint of some tangy and slightly acidic fruity flavoring towards the end, which is really enjoyable and slightly authentic, but I wouldn't say that this fruit slice really tasted like actual pomegranates. Even so, the richness of this candy did leave me wanting more, so I think this will be re-buy-worthy next summer.

Last, but not least, Pear!

The pear slice is a bit different from the others. The center "fruit" portion is a milky opaque color, so it really stands out from the rest of the candies in my bag. To be honest, I'm not sure if this flavor has a layer of white confection or not. I'd assume it does because all of the other flavors had it, but I can't really see it against the milky pear-flavored filling.

I might be crazy, but this flavor felt like it had a much softer bite than the others. Maybe whatever makes the candy opaque also makes it softer? A far as the flavoring goes, this was pretty intense. It started out with intense sweetness of the gritty sanding sugar coating, but once the white jellied candy hits your tongue it's rather tangy. To me the flavoring is like a mixture of Granny Smith apple and Goya Pear nectar. It's really sweet, there is some green-apple-like tartness, and throat burningly sweet pear-y aftertaste. Again, this doesn't taste like biting into a real pear, but as far as jellied fruit slices go, it was really different from everything else I purchased. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I was actually pretty sad when I finished my two little pear slices. I might order one or two of these slices next summer, but I don't think I could see myself ever wanting a bag of this flavor exclusively.

Both of these flavors were really interesting and different, and while I enjoyed the variety, I may only buy 1-2 slices each next summer. I still feel like the Grapefruit and Chili Mango slices are definite re-buys, and I plan on getting a full bag of those next summer to share with friends and family. If you're ever in the Wildwood Area, stop by The Fudge Factory and check out their impressive fruit slice variety. Check out the photo above to see the rest of their fruity flavors that I didn't review!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Citrus Jelly Fruit Slices - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ (Photo Heavy)

Jelly Fruit Slices Part 2 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

I may have gone a little overboard when I was buying these jelly fruit slices. (I just had to have them all!) Although these citrus flavors aren't as interesting or exotic as the Chili Mango and Pineapple flavors I've already reviewed, they were still lovely to photograph.

Today I'm going to give a quickie review on the Lemon, Pink Grapefruit and Key Lime flavored slices. Let's kick things off with a slice of pink grapefruit!

Chili Mango and Pineapple Jelly Fruit Slices - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ (Part 1)

Jelly Fruit Slices - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Two weeks ago I finally went to the shore for the first, and most likely last, time this year. Since I knew I'd only get one day in Wildwood this summer, I made sure to hit up all of my favorite shops and buy tons of boardwalk treats. My first stop, The Fudge Factory.

Some of you might remember that I reviewed some fudge from this shop last year, because it's the best place to get fudge on the Wildwood Boardwalk, and I got a few new flavors to review this year, but I also spotted these little jelly fruit slices. Normally I would pass these by, but there were a bunch of interesting flavors I had never seen before (at least not in jellied fruit slice form) so I had to grab a few to photograph and review.

First up, Chili Mango and Pineapple.