A friend of mine from the USA gifted a box of American sweets for my birthday a few weeks ago. I thought it would be cool to go through everything and share my thoughts on its contents.
Firstly, I think the exterior of the box itself should be spotlighted. It looks brilliant, doesn't it? As you can see, the company that packaged the gift is called Heavenly Sweets. I checked out their website and they sell a lot of packages like this containing treats from America and Britain.
So, after showing you the front of the box and repping the folks that sell these things, it's time to show you what I was met with upon opening the present.
'WOW,' was my first thought. And that is just the things on top. I would soon find other items underneath.
In this post, I'll go through every single thing inside the package and share with you what my immediate thoughts were after I ate them.
There were only two things I have had before. I opted to go with those items first.
I've gone on the record many times in the past to share the fact that I love Reese's products. IF I was being unfair, I'd say that the Reese's Cups wins straight away. But - I am fair enough to disqualify the Reese's from this taste test only because I have had them before.
I have had some nice and very bad jelly beans in the past. These were FAR FROM being the worst (I had zany Harry Potter beans sometime within the past five years or so).
Reese's NutRageous Bar
The same goes for the Reese's NutRageous bar. I have had these bars many times in the past. I always seem to pick one (or more!) up whenever I shop at the Co-Op. Before finding them in British shops, there was a time when I'd add them to my orders from websites that sell US confectionary.
I cannot think of an exact similar product in the UK. However, I would say they are close to being like a Cadbury's Picnic bar. Albeit without the dried grape but with peanut butter.
I would recommend anything Reese's.
Onto everything else...
Laffy Taffy (Cherry)
This was a small chew. Cherry is one of my favourite flavours, so it comes as no surprise that I enjoyed this.
The texture felt more creamy than the chewy sweets I am used to... if that makes any sense.
Warheads Cubes
These cube-shaped sweets came in a foil bag. There was a mix of sour and sweet flavours. Regular visitors are sure to know that blue raspberry and grape are my favourite flavours when it comes to American candy. I didn't really get the 'grape' taste in the purple cube. However, I absolutely did when it came to sampling a blue cube. I also dislike watermelon-flavoured candy. I stumbled upon those ones a couple of times. Eurgh!!
As I tried out the bag, I was reminded of some penny sweets I used to buy on the way to school back in the 1980s. They were cube-shaped, just like these, and they also had the same texture. However, the 80s product was all sweet unlike these which had a mix of sweet and sour.
Also - I cannot recall those penny sweets from my past having any flavour to them. These absolutely do.
Top Pops (Strawberry-Lemon)
The next stop on my journey was a Top Pop which had a strawberry-lemon flavour. Upon seeing the lollipop, I was reminded of a Swizzels Drumstick. It was just like one texturally. I thought the mix of strawberries and lemon was something like I had experienced during those times when I'd do drink mixes from the USA: I'd get a sweet sensation followed by bitter and vice versa.
Top Pops (Strawberry)
Just like the above, this was another chew on a stick. This one, with the strawberry flavour, was 100% sweet, though. As funny as this sounds, I preferred the previous flavour because of the contrasting sensations I experienced with the sweet and sour mix.
Warheads Sour Jelly Beans
These sweets weren't like regular jelly beans. They didn't have the same look nor texture. They come in a range of flavours.
The best flavour of these Warheads Jelly Beans were... unsurprising to some.... Blue Raspberry!
Lemonade Dots
I had never tried the American style of gumdrops before receiving these gifts. I'm actually quite surprised at not having done so. These are somewhat different to what I am used to.
These Lemonade Dots are shaped like lemonade cups and come in many colours (flavours!). There are strawberry lemonade, lemonade, blue raspberry lemonade (yes, the best one, but they were all very nice!) and cherry lemonade.
At this point in the project, I consider Lemonade Dots to be in the lead...
Laffy Taffy (Sour Apple)
I had a cherry-flavoured Laffy Taffy above. Apple is one of my favourite flavours, so I decided to save that one until after the cherry flavour. Unfortunately, I'd say this wasn't as 'sour' as promised! Therefore, cherry wins the in-battle between the two Laffy Taffys in this selection of sweets. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this sweet.
Oh, but hold on...
Laffy Taffy (Grape)
I didn't realise that the long purple sweet in the box is also from the Laffy Taffy brand. It had the same texture as the other two smaller chews. This one was longer. Unfortunately, I didn't have a stronger grape taste as I had anticipated. Cherry wins that little in-battle between the Laffy Taffys.
Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge (Sour Cherry)
Oh wow, this chew was VERY, VERY sour indeed. It was strong enough it made my tongue tingle. I cannot recall any chewy bar act in that way before. The sourness in this bar more than made up for the lack of a 'sour' experience with the sour apple Laffy Taffy. And then some. You know, after trying this, there's only one way to go next. It's...
Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge (Blue Raspberry)
This, just like the other Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge, is extremely sour. Even though this should be my favourite chew, because it's blue raspberry flavour, I think the sour cherry is slightly better of the two in this range of sweets.
At this point, the Toxic Waste chews (particularly the sour cherry flavour) are very close to Lemonade Dots in the running for top spot...
Sour Punch Rainbow Straws
When I saw the packet of Sour Punch Rainbow Straws, I thought to myself 'I've had those before'. However, I was incorrect. Upon opening them, I recalled that the things I had a few years ago were rainbow belts. These were more like laces.
They had a sticky texture along with the fizzy dusting. The best flavour was (OBVIOUSLY!) blue raspberry although the yellow, sour lemon, one came a very close second.
Charleston Chew
I was made aware of Charleston Chew bars many years ago, but had never seen them when I've bought imported US goods. After seeing the box contained one of these chocolate-coated marshmallow/nougat bars, I knew what should be in the main event slot of this project.
I was made aware of Charleston Chew bars many years ago, but had never seen them when I've bought imported US goods. After seeing the box contained one of these chocolate-coated marshmallow/nougat bars, I knew what should be in the main event slot of this project.
The wrapper exclaims that I should 'Try Frozen!' Go on then..
After leaving the bar in the freezer for close to an hour, I pulled it out.
The strawberry-flavoured nougat was quite brittle when I took bites out of the bar. However, as I chomped away, the food became more like a nougat: chewy!
As I chomped away, the strawberry flavour struck. As did the chocolate albeit the strawberry was the predominant of the two tastes.
Putting this bar in the freezer beforehand did make the experience even more interesting because it gave me a strong followed by soft and chewy texture. I'd rather go through those contrasting sensations with one bar than just the one, so the recommendation on the wrapper worked out well.
The Best of the Lot?
I thought the Lemonade Dots would be the sweets which came away as the winners. However, that was before I tried the Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge and Charleston Chew bars.
After sampling everything in the box, I took some time to contemplate which item I liked the most and thought there was something about the Charleston Chew. The more I reflected, it became clear to me that it reminded me of something from my childhood.
I used to love a bar called Lovell's Milky Lunch. It, like the Charleston Chew, had a nougat/marshmallow centre that was coated in chocolate.
Here's what Google told me about the Milky Lunch bars:
They obviously contrast with the Charleston Chew having a strawberry flavoured centre.
I cannot help but wonder what a Lovell's Milky Lunch bar would have been like had I done what the Charleston Chew wrapper told me to do and freeze it.
So, that's it: Charleston Chew is the winner. Lemonade Dots draw up a very close second. And then I have to go with the cherry flavoured Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge, over its blue raspberry stablemate, because of how crazy it felt to try it. It was like a Wham bar on steroids!
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