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Confirmed sighting: Cadbury's Wishes star
Posted: 20:09 Mon 30-Aug-2010. Price: 69p. Location: The Co-op (eg the Somerfield near Paddington Station on Edgware Rd). Nutritional unusualness: 165 Calories per Star, 10% of profits go to Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Unfortunately, whenever I hear about the Make-A-Wish Foundation I think of news stories like these - anyway, Snackspot doesn't often locate new products ahead of Foodstuff Finds and Jim's Chocolate Mission, but today first-time spotter "Fay Brady" has made that dream come true, reporting: "I found this in the Co-op today on my way for lunch. It is in a gold and purple wrapper. It is a GIANT solid bubbly chocolate star. I recommend."

...That said, Jim and Cinabar do have the low-down on Cadbury's slightly less charitable bid to divide the nation "into two teams - the Spots and the Stripes" (a bit like the Belgian segregation of Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda?), though it sounds like they could have just as effectively split the population into people who think that Cadbury's white chocolate is either "sweet and creamy" or "low quality sugary rubbish".

Apparently there are some new Segsations and green goo-filled Cadbury Screme Eggs to look forward to at Christmas and Halloween, respectively - but, just for now, Zeddy also found this Twix Fino, detecting that: "The product itself has a slightly different flavour than a Twix due to the missing shortcake, replaced by 'crispy wafer (22%)'. It is essentially bits from Mars Planets cobbled together. Not unpleasant but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one again. The pack proclaims 94kcal per 'one piece'. We all eat one half of a chocolate bar, don't we?"

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Confirmed sighting: Budweiser Brew No '66'
Posted: 17:29 Sat 21-Aug-2010. Price: Special offer £2.49 for 4x 300ml bottles. Location: Tesco, Bursledon, Southampton. Nutritional unusualness: 4% ABV.
The manufacturers may have made it "sweeter and less carbonated than standard lagers, claiming the target audience of 'brand-savvy' 20 to 30-year-olds wanted an easy-to-drink lager that didn't leave them feeling bloated", and have implied that this makes it "the iPhone of lagers". But, according to (first-time?) spotter and apparent Budweiser connoisseur, "William": "It's got that Bud Ice flavour about it, but a bit flatter. [I'm] always on the lookout for Bud Ice, this Brew No. 66 looked to fill the spot that Bud Ice may have once filled."

...In less alcoholic alternatives: "gilest" paid £1.30 for these Maynard's Fruit Duos at a garage in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, reporting: "Weird unWine Gums these. Yes they're fruitier, yes they're duo hybrids of flavour merged into a single sweet and actually yes, you can (just) tell the difference between each end when you bite. The red+blacks are lovely, but everything else is a bit never-mind. Hmm." Oh, and Zeddy's recent Swiss sojourn seems to have been partly hydrated by a cocktail of Fanta Mango and 7-Up Grapefruit, prompting the double inquiry: "Have we had Fanta Mango in the UK? I hadn't seen it before and my eldest wanted to try it. Nice and fruity with no artificial sweetners (take note, UK)," plus "Why don't we get Grapefruit 7-Up here!? Kinda like Tang. Sweet yet also tarty."

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Confirmed sighting: Cadbury Bar Of Plenty Honey Flakes and Caramelised Pecans
Posted: 12:10 Sun 08-Aug-2010. Price: £1 (introductory price?)/140g. Location: Morrisons.
"Jim" reports: Overall this proved itself to be a welcome, yet unspectacular addition to the Cadbury Bar of Plenty range. With Cadbury you can always feel safe in the knowledge that you are going to get decent-tasting milk chocolate, but one thing you aren't always assured of is the quality of the filling that goes along with it. [The] cereal element of this bar was implemented pretty superbly, with the honey-coated cornflakes having a very favourable impact on the overall taste. The pecan element on the other hand was not done quite so well, as they lacked presence in both flavour and texture due to their small-sized nature.

..."Jim" pinpoints the problem with this Morrisons-exclusive Kellogg's Crunchy Nut-alike in an excerpt (with permission) from his site - generally, he (and Foodstuff Finds) were more impressed with the possibilities of Chocolate Weetabix. Anyway, in other upcoming lumpiness: ad agency Fallon are credited with inventing with Cadbury's new Spots v Stripes Challenge Bar (due September, and "designed so that consumers can form a team of spots versus stripes and play a game with the pieces"); and Snickers Ice Cream Dark Crunch (£2.99/5 bars, Morrisons) don't seem much different to normal Snickers choc bars - though the summer's not over yet, as Nestle are also plotting "Potz" mini tubs of Aero, Smarties, Rolo and Toffee Crisp ice creams (£1.29 per 220ml).

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Semi-international sighting: Lay's Paprika Chips
Posted: 11:42 Sun 01-Aug-2010. Price: £1.50. Location: Asda, Rugby. Sub-flavours: Onion. Nutritional unusualness: I have absolutely no idea.
"Nick T" reports: "Bez!" squeals the pack in crispy homage to the Happy Mondays' finest. Or not. My initial fizz of excitement at spotting Lay's chips on the Asda delivery web site turned out to be a little premature, as when it arrived the words "TV Papryka" gave the game away that this was off the Polish shelf. But no matter, I'm an equal-opportunities glutton and happy to graze anything from anywhere. To me, a new snack from faraway shores is like the surprise discovery of a rather exotic great aunt you never knew you had; you feel elated and proud. So after nodding sagely and going "Mmm hmm" at the unintelligible vowel soup on the pack, I dug in.

And, just as if you had been told that lovely old aunt was a lapdancer, pride turns quickly to disappointment, then disgust. Where's the exoticism? Where's the taste? Lay's make some good crisps, including the lovely Oregano crisps I fill my suitcase with when on holiday in Greece, but these tasted overwhelmingly of nothing and as for the paprika element, frankly I've had spicier Opal Fruits. In fact the Swiss probably do wasabi Opal Fruits that'll blow your head off. So a woeful thumbs-down from me. For the record, Asda also stock an onion variety, but I'll not be bothering.

...Thanks for the warning "Nick" - you may be partly consoled to hear that Hot Paprika and Smokey Bacon (£1.58 in Asda) is the other new kind of Pringles Xtreme, along with the improbable-but-true Spicy Sour Cream and Onion. For slightly milder appetites: 120 Tesco stores "throughout East Anglia and London" are stocking Jackpots - a new, patriotic range of premium crisps made from Essex potatoes (in Lightly Salted, Roast Beef and Horseradish, Mature Cheddar and Spring Onion, Sweet Thai Chilli, or Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar, £1.49/150g bag); Lionel Ritchie is to be pushed "through a glass window pane" to promote Walkers' Extra Crunchy Cheddar and Sour Cream; and Zeddy paid £1.29 for 150g of Finlays Pigs in Blankets potato crisps in Aldi, Carluke, Scotland, grunting: "An Aldi 'own brand' discovered by chance in their limited product/specials area. Essentially pork with more pork and very tasty they are too. Quite realistic with the different flavours easily discernible. Strangely named for a 'Scottish' product, as we know 'Pigs in Blankets' as 'Kilted sausages'."

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Confirmed sighting: Nestle Milky Bar Raisin and Biscuit
Posted: 09:35 Sun 25-Jul-2010. Price: 55p. Location: Sainsbury, East Kilbride, Scotland. Nutritional unusualness: 11% raisins, 5% biscuit, 189kcal, 10.1g of fat per bar.
Zeddy reports: I kept a look out for this since I heard it was coming out. I USED TO LIKE Yorkie Raisin and Biscuit till they dicked around with the chocolate recipe and I have fond memories of Milkybars as a child. So can I just say how filthy this bar tastes!? The combination of ingredients with the "chocolate" gives a most unpleasant taste that reminds me of the butyric acid odour of Parmesan cheese/puke. Needless to say my children wholeheartedly endorse the product. You see children basically don't have any taste. I however will not be purchasing this abomination again.

...Nestle inadvertently give Zeddy permission to reacquaint himself with his breakfast here - I didn't think the bar was that bad, though wasn't overly reassured by the ingredients-for-dummies explanations ("Cocoa butter - made from cocoa beans, Vegetable fat - from tropical plants", and so on). Still, in other variously cocoa-containing compounds: Chocolate Weetabix promises to be a chocolate cereal [...] healthy enough to be advertised to children, though no such claims have been made regarding Kellogg's new Coco Pops Choc 'N' Roll; while Jim's Chocolate Mission prefers Thornton's Lemon Smoothie over their Raspberry Burst summer bars (49p/35g), and also linked to the news that Cadbury's centrepiece this Christmas will be an aerated chocolate and truffle centre Wishes milk chocolate star.

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Confirmed sighting: Laverstoke Park Farm Buffalo Milk
Posted: 09:55 Sun 18-Jul-2010. Price: £1.99/750ml. Location: Sainsbury's, Finchley Road, London. Nutritional unusualness: 4.9g sugar, 8g fat (of which saturates 4.2g) per 100g.
Snackspot reports: Following news of "a new tea bag especially designed to be used with soya milk" (and previous discussion of Goat's Milk For Dogs and Cats), I couldn't resist grabbing a TetraPak of this when it was reduced to clear at 99p. And don't be put off by the MS Paint-style portrait on the front (is it supposed to be proprietor Jody Scheckter? It looks more like Niki Lauda...) - this really does live up to the packaging's claim of being "very white, beautifully smooth", and "perfect for milkshakes, on breakfast cereal and in coffee". No doubt that's partly due to a fat content approaching that of Evaporated Milk or "Light" Single Cream, but you even get mozzarella-like blobs appearing in it as it starts going off, plus it doesn't taste too strongly of buffalo, either.

...Anyway, in other dairy derivatives: Nestle are generously giving adults "permission to reacquaint with" its new Raisin and Biscuit Milkybar (due end of July, 52p), and it sounds like the possibly-imported Twix Topix may be officially launching here in September as the Twix Fino. Which just leaves Zeddy's ongoing haul of: Lindt Noir + Lait chocolate (4 Francs, Geneva Airport - "Mmm, I really had to try this out when I spotted it in the shop. The two varieties of choc complement each other so well. I had to be so selective when over in Switzerland or I would have bankrupted myself in the purchase of all the chocolate."); Camille Bloch Ragusa Noir (1.95-4.90 Francs, around Interlaken - "This was my other half's favourite bar whilst on holiday and pretty stunning it was, I have to confess. Essentially, dark chocolate coated, dark choc and hazelnut filling that was very rich but not in the least bitter. Those Swiss don't half know how to charge for services and products though. Look at the variations in price we found."); and Movenpick Maple and Walnut chocolate (3.40 Francs, Geneva Airport - "Hmmm, 2 of my least favourite ingredients for chocolate. Still, it was sufficiently different that I had to buy it. Now eating it may be another matter entirely...")

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International sighting: World-wide wasabi round-up
Posted: 09:02 Sun 11-Jul-2010. Price: 3-3.50 Swiss Francs. Location: Migros supermarket, Interlaken, Switzerland.
Future posts should reassure readers that Zeddy didn't survive solely on horseradish-based snacks while in Switzerland, but there's no arguing with his main thesis on Dar-Vida Snacks Wasabi (bread pieces - pictured here): "Those crazy, crazy Swiss! They love their wasabi (and why not?)" Migros also stock their own-brand Wasabi Popcorn ("Hey, hey, hey! Now you are talking. Butterkist eat your heart out. Nice and fiery. Not what you expect from popcorn."), plus the intriguingly-branded Plan B Funky Chips Wasabi-Taste ("Mmmm! These were good! Pretty hot and tasty. Much better than Pringles' attempts and a lovely lurid green shade to boot.")

...Obviously the UK's slightly behind in this field, though Zeddy also located Golden Cross Party Mix Jalapeno and Sour Cream potato snacks (£1 in Asda, Hamilton, Scotland), relating: "Back home and doing the 'big shop' on my return from hols. These were on special at the front of the shop. They are not hot like a jalapeno would be but still have the 'earthy' flavour the peppers have. Very moreish, with different shapes of potato snack within the packet." While first-time spotter "Seamaster" agreed with previous assessments of the Fiery Wasabi Pringles, spluttering: "Being utterly addicted to wasabi peas as the ne plus ultra of salty snacks, I emitted a whelp of girlish glee when I happened upon these in my local Tesco Metro. Sadly, they're absolutely vile. On this occasion I was quite able to pop and promptly stop. The bizarre ginger after-taste alone is enough to cause retching on an industrial scale. Be warned."

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Confirmed sighting: New Covent Garden Food Co Melon Gazpacho
Posted: 18:45 Sun 04-Jul-2010. Price: £2. Location: Sainsbury's, Swiss Cottage. Sub-flavours: Normal tomato Gazpacho. Nutritional unusualness: "Honeydew and Cantaloupe melons blended with cucumber and tomatoes".
Snackspot reports: People still go on about the refreshing properties of a hot cup of tea on a summer's day, but no-one's successfully extended that claim to a steaming bowl of soup. Anyway, New Covent Garden Food Co haven't been daunted by the lukewarm reception to their previous fruit soups, and have added this "Enjoy hot or cold" concoction to their range. Despite - or because - it resembles a liquidised salad with ranch dressing, I actually quite liked it, though going from the reactions in this podcast (10:40 onwards), it may be an acquired taste - even by comparison to these Neuro Sonic and Neuro Bliss shampoo-lookalikes, and Sappe's Aloe Vera drink with Aloe Vera cubes increasingly imported into bits of West London.

...If you're above legal drinking age, I think Brothers Tutti Frutti Pear Cider is the Opal Fruit-flavoured standout amongst the current crop of St Helier Real Lager Shandy and Kopparberg Frank's Alcoholic Ginger Beer, though none of them really match up to presumed market-leader, Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Anyway, in other imminent imbibements: Crabbie's-makers Halewood International aims to go beyond "the 'female-focused' adult soft drink market with a blokey beer-style brew called Iron Press" (in apple or lime flavours, £2/500ml); AG Barr argues that the first non-carbonated drink in the energy sector will be their "flavoured with lemonade" Rockstar Recovery (£1.19/500ml); and there's tantalising evidence that Midlands KFCs are trialling yet more Krush'ems variants, with flavours like Strawberry, non-alcoholic Appletini and Virgin Mojito.

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Confirmed sighting: Hairy Bikers Chicken Tom Yum Crisps
Posted: 19:36 Mon 28-Jun-2010. Price: £1.75/150g. Location: Waitrose, Leicester. Sub-flavours: Keralan King Prawn with Coconut, Lemon and Olive Tagine, Prosciutto and Blue Cheese. Nutritional unusualness: No manufacturer's name given (but it's Burts).
With any luck there'll be some World Cup bargains to be snapped up this week so, in the wake of some remarkable findings from "Magnetic Ham Sandwich", here's "Nick T" with the low-down on the Hairy Bikers' (Waitrose-exclusive?) efforts: Manufactured telly partnerships haven't come very far since Pinky and Perky. The Hairy Bikers are equally wooden; likeable enough chaps but their bogus matey double act is about as authentic as Hale and Pace. Funnier though, I'll give them that. Spin-off branded food was inevitable, and this small range of crisps comes in beautiful packaging which, if you put your hand over their grinning metallic faces, just screams "Eat meeeeeee!"

Happy to oblige. Open the bag and you'll be rewarded with a good quantity of attractive russet-coloured crisps, dotted with cheery flecks of herbs and spices. The aroma is surprisingly light, but this belies a mass of complex flavours. There's a dominant sour tang which I suspect salt and vinegar fans will enjoy, also a fair attempt at chicken flavour, some sweetness and a pleasing background heat.

It's a great combination, and I'm delighted to report that no sop has been made to the frothy, boggle-eyed low salt activists. I'm really looking forward to sampling the rest of the range, so a jaunty tip of the hat to Burts. But where are the true independent artisan crisp-makers? Burts are multi-million pound exporters: they deserve their success, but endearing slightly geeky zealots? Hardly. What of Tyrrells I hear you say? Are you kidding? Their high-minded stance of never dealing with the multiples vaporised when the venture capitalists took them from behind. Let's hope Pipers and Salty Dog/Darling Spuds keep the faith.

And as for a telly partnership where friendship shone through? They were ladies, they were fat, and there were two of them. Can you guess?

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Confirmed sighting: KFC Coffee Krush'ems
Posted: 20:35 Sat 19-Jun-2010. Price: £1.79. Location: KFC opposite Gloucester Road tube station, London. Nutritional unusualness: Contains "a shot of espresso".
Snackspot reports: I've long lamented the UK's lack of proper coffee slushie drinks - in the US, for instance, McDonald's iced coffee appears to be so irresistible that newsreaders always like to have one handy. Anyway, the Gloucester Road KFC are running a trial where they follow the normal procedure for a Caramel Crunch Krush'em but add an espresso shot (from the coffee machine?) at some point - which I suspect would be delicious, apart from the fact that it's full of gritty butterscotchy pieces. With any luck these'll get a wider rollout (as seems to be currently happening with KFC breakfasts), and we'll all get a chance to try them - though "without bits" would be my serving suggestion.

...McDonald's UK, meanwhile, is stealthily celebrating its "official restaurant of the 2010 FIFA World Cup" status by joining forces with an official England sponsor to create - a milkshake that tastes a bit like a Mars bar. In other cold comforts: Baskin-Robbins "is introducing its four top-selling lines into Morrisons across the UK" (ie, Cookies and Cream, Hokey Pokey, Mint Choc Chip, and Praline and Cream, £3.99/500ml); deep in this article is the detail that this summer's new Carte D'Or tubs are Raspberry Cheesecake and Coconut, in addition to the TV-advertised Rum And Raisin; and I've seen (but not tried) Snickers Dark Crunch ice cream bars starting to appear in supermarkets, while the Black Cherry variant is the suprising highlight of Muller's Greek-style yoghurt corners (£2/6 in Asda, also in Summer Fruits and Honeyed Apricot, though I think they missed a trick in not naming the flavours after different kinds of Euro debt crisis or something).

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