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).
Confirmed sighting: Ben and Jerry's Fairly Nuts
Posted: 17:19 Sun 28-Mar-2010. Price: £1.99 (on offer). Location: Tesco, Southampton. Nutritional unusualness: 9% almond clusters, 9% caramel swirl.
"choccieman" reports: Found this just before seeing the previous info on Snackspot about its existence.
With B+J's going completely fair trade some of the packaging has been tweaked and we're treated to this rather nice new flavour. Sure, there isn't quite as much swirl or as many almonds as you want/expect in a B+J's tub, but the taste is still top notch. The current offer price makes it easier to swallow too. Another winner from Vermont, now if only they'd import a few more of those lovely American flavours...
...Cheers "choccieman" - while, in other frozen innovations: there are tantalising mentions online of new Vimto and Refreshers ice lollies and, about half-way through this article, Galaxy Triple Chocolate ("Galaxy chocolate ice cream with swirls of chocolate sauce, coated with Galaxy chocolate"); Nestle's Aero Bubbleball (99p/4, Morrisons, Shepherds Bush) tastes exactly like every other mint ice-cream ever, but with an Aero ball at the bottom; and I've only tried the Vanilla with a Chocolate and Almond Sauce Centre Cornetto Enigma so far (£2.49/4, Morrisons, Camden), but can confirm it has an inexplicably unfrozen Nutella-like liquid in the middle, running most of the way down to what the packaging describes as "the precious chocolate flavour tip".
Confirmed sighting: Kellogg's Krave
Posted: 10:35 Sun 21-Mar-2010. Price: £1.24 (introductory offer, normally £2.49). Location: Ocado. Nutritional unusualness: 26g carbohydrate (of which 15g sugar), 0.5g salt per "30g serving with 125g of semi-skimmed milk".
"Martin Rake" reports: I wouldn't normally get excited about cereal, as I have to confess I'm a creature of habit, Coco Pops or Crunchy Nut. But when I saw these I thought they looked interesting, oh how right I was. Little parcels of wheat with a chocolate filling very much like nutella, they stay crunchy in the milk, and are so tasty! A grown-up Coco Pops at last!
..."Martin Rake" returns with this more indulgent-looking replacement for the likes of Kellogg's Nature's Pleasure - while, in other morningtime meal-occasions: Foodstuff Finds didn't hang around for Honey Monster Banana Puffs to start appearing in pound shops like they have recently, and "Mr Simon" photographed US family restaurant Denny's first "Breakfast Appetizer", Blueberry and White Chocolate Chip Pancake Puppies.
Or, for more ordinary desserts, I was moderately impressed by Dole's Fruit and Rice (£2.19/4, Waitrose, offering Pineapple in Coconut flavoured rice pudding, Mandarins in Orange flavoured rice pudding, or Mango in Mango flavoured rice pudding), plus "Taras Young" provided a bit more on Dr Oetker's Paula Chocolate Pudding, conceding: "Originally, I bought this because of the weird name, and because the dessert itself looks cow-like (chocolate with white vanilla splodges).
It has a surprisingly nice smooth, chocolately taste - I went back for a second packet the next week, all irony forgotten. I noted there were only two packets left, so I can't be the only one. The packaging features a fun cow - Paula - and there is one of four 'collectable' pictures inside the cardboard sleeve. Mine says: 'Paula loves singing! She is the leader of a rap band.' Bizarre but delicious."
Confirmed sighting: Walls Magnum Gold?!
Posted: 11:15 Sun 14-Mar-2010. Price: £2.49 (pack of 3). Location: Scotmid, Strathaven, Scotland.
Zeddy reports: A new Magnum for the masses (I hope the dark choc one hasn't been stopped).
It has a golden toffee exterior that has a hint of Caramac about it followed by the usual creamy vanilla inside. A tasty choc ice, to be sure but cannot beat the dark Wispa-type variety I tried abroad a few years back. Whatever happened to that one, Unilever?
...You know, I was thinking of doing a special Mother's Day roundup, but was a bit weirded out by some of the limited editions being minor reworks (if that) of Valentine's Day products from Feb. Fortunately, Zeddy found another crock of gold ahead of St Patrick's Day this week in the form of Nestle Gold Le Bonbon Mousse Lait (Euro
3.50, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, also available in Noir), divining: "On my holidays I found these chocolates. They came in a classy-looking little box with tasteful gold lettering. (Ideal to pass off as a thoughtful present.) Basically they are little 'pods' of chocolate with a mousse filling. The milk ones were nice in my opinion (not the other half's though) with a flavour that Nestle haven't deigned to give the UK. They are made in Barcelona according to the packaging. The weather was good too."
Anyway, back with ice cream: these Cadbury Creme Egg Twisted Cones (99p/4, Tesco) appear to be happily co-existing with
2006's enduring Cadbury Creme Egg sticks; Nestle are staying in the game with Aero Double Bubble (£2.39/3), Aero Bubbleball (£1.99/4), and a Caramac ice cream bar; Fairly Nuts ("a caramel ice cream with a caramel swirl and praline almond clusters") is this spring's new flavour from Ben and Jerry's; and Walls also have a premium Cornetto Enigma range ("soft Madagascan vanilla ice cream with a core of rich sauce and inclusions") which isn't quite as inviting as the Almond Praline, Black Forest Flirt, Butter Scotch and Strawberry Tease Cake that their Indian customers can currently enjoy.
Confirmed sighting: Quaker Oats Paw Ridge/ Best (and Worst) of 2009
Posted: 22:18 Sun 27-Dec-2009. Price: £1.99/10 sachets (originally buy one get one free). Location: Morrisons, Camden. Sub-flavours: Original or Honey flavours. Nutritional unusualness: "Finely milled to create a smoother, creamier texture that appeals to children".
Snackspot
reports: More about Paw Ridge in a moment, but it's also the time of year to look back on the best new (not
merely relaunched) products of the last 12 months. My nominations are, by category: (Sweets, biscuits, cakes) Gu Naughties, Kellogg's Totally Chocolatey Rice Krispies Squares. (Crisps and snacks)
Seabrook Hot and Spicy, Pringles Xtreme. (Cereals, pudding, icecream) Ambrosia Crumble Puds, Tickety-Moo Apple and Blackberry Pie. (Drinks and/or alcohol) Rockstar Punched/ Starbucks Dark Berry Mocha Frappuccino. (Fast and/or hot food) McDonald's Oriental Snack Wrap, Banger Bros - feel free to add yours in the comments!
...As for the Paw Ridge, I've been through about 20 sachets this year and didn't manage to microwave any of them to a convincingly porridge-y consistency. Nonetheless, it's been a bumper year for ridiculous product names, with PepsiCo also playing down their involvement in Planet Lunch and their "shepherd's delight - or warning?" Red Sky "me too" upmarket crisps range. It looks like Cadbury Clusters may also be sticking around a while, though it took me almost 6 months of watching prententious cinema ads for Wrigley's 5 before I worked out that they were referring to the 5 senses, 2005 Magnum-style. And obviously it's not a snack per se, but Surf deserve a special mention for their Twilight Sensations "fragranced laundry products" (in Jasmine and black gardenia, or Vanilla and black orchid) - as long as it doesn't lead to extra Nature's Pleasure at breakfast-time.
Confirmed sighting: Ambrosia Crumble Puds
Posted: 23:19 Sun 22-Nov-2009. Price: 69p. Location: Asda, Wembley Park. Sub-flavours: Rhubarb, Apple or Peach Crumbles; Raspberry or Strawberry Jelly Puds. Nutritional unusualness: 13.4-16.8g sugar per individual serving.
Snackspot
reports: I think these are already advertised on TV (though disappointingly not with the tagline "Let's get ready... to crumble!") - I wasn't completely convinced by the jelly and custard combinations (which have a larger jelly section and small microwaveable custard compartment), but the crumbles reverse the arrangement so you can heat up the fruit compote and custard, and then sprinkle the slightly salty crumble pieces on the top. All in all, a decent low-budget alternative to the extraordinary variety offered by Tesco's Pudding Place range (£1.50/pack of 2 in Tesco, Finchley, includes an excellent chocolate sponge with pear pieces), and the frankly pricey-seeming Carte D'Or Crafted Patisserie Desserts (£3 in Wembley Asda) - in Madagascan Vanilla and Chocolate Cheesecake, Vanilla and Raspberry Cheesecake, or Chocolate and Raspberry Torte, which are at least an improvement on Walls' previous Magnum Chilled Desserts.
...In more portable pudding formats: while the UK has to make do with the likes of Marmite Cereal Bars and Honey Monster Monster Puffs, "charl" travelled as far as Walgreen's, Lincoln City, Oregon, and Costco, Sheffield, to find that: "Whilst they may sound like the technical term for people who frequent this site, Snacksters are actually small snack bags consisting of cereal and small chunks of chocolate or peanut butter candies. They are nice, but dangerously moreish. Costco had the multipack with the Reese's and Hershey's varities very briefly in the summer (they sold out really fast), but are back in stock now. When we were in the states we also managed to pick up the Hershey's Kisses variety too."
Confirmed sighting: Wall's Twister Choc/ Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Nibbles
Posted: 09:40 Sun 27-Sep-2009. Price: £1?. Location: Newsagent in New Cross, London. Nutritional unusualness: Contains 3% of an adult's GDA of calories.
"alleycat" reports: I was very surprised to find this little ice cream gem in my local newsagent's near New Cross. They never normally have anything strange! This is designed to look like a Twister ice cream but the fruity flavours have all been replaced by 'chocolate complimenting' flavours! You have chocolate and vanilla swirls running along the outside and a lovely caramel ice cream centre. It's really nice actually, and the caramel is very sweet. The whole thing doesn't feel like a "genuine" Twister product though, as this is very soft ice cream (kind of like the stuff they use to make Funny Feet). Twisters normally take long to eat due to the majority of it being "fruit ice" rather than soft ice cream so you can finish the chocolate version in a few bites. Also, I'm not sure of the country of origin as there is English on the front but none at all on the back! Overall it is very nice and I will be going back to buy them all before you lot get the chance! :P
...Thanks "alleycat" - while, in other toffee-style contents, Zeddy took advantage of the 2-for-£2.50 offer on Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Nibbles (495kcal per 100g, 15.6 g of sat fat per 100g) in Sainsbury's, East Kilbride, inquiring: Isn't it strange how there's something indefinably moreish about Buttons that isn't present in a bar of CDM? Or is it just me? They seem to be greater than the sum of their parts. Well, Cadbury obviously thought they could milk this point (geddit? milk?) and thus they have introduced Nibbles. They are a tad larger than Buttons but not a great deal fatter. The caramel present is therefore not overpowering the product (25% according to ingredients). They taste like, wait for it... mini Caramels! Never, I hear you say. Yes, they do! This is where it goes a little flat for me as I am a Galaxy Caramel fan. Cadbury's variety is just too sour for me. Still, a nice little product that I am sure will do very well, especially with the more hormonally challenged creatures of this earth who will no doubt go through a packet or 3 whilst re-running 'Selma and Louise' or its ilk. Laughably (I am, can't you hear me?), Cadbury proclaim they are 'reclosable' at the top of the packet. I can hear Marjorie Dawes with her line of excuses why they don't...
International sighting: Ben and Jerry's Key Lime Pie
Posted: 20:11 Mon 17-Aug-2009. Price: $3.99. Location: Safeway, Shoreline, WA, USA.
"Targaff" reports: Browsing the ice cream shelves for something new to try, I spotted this lurking in the corner of the freezer behind a tub of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough; and indeed, much like its eponymous dessert, which even on this side of the pond is seldom front and centre, this ice cream is secretly delicious. It's described as "Lime Ice Cream with a Tangy Lime Twist, Fluffy Meringue Swirl and Pie Crust Pieces". The meringue is very subtle, bringing more texture than taste (not in a bad way), and I'd personally have preferred Graham Cracker chunks to pie crust, but that's okay! Because the limey bits are fabbo, and when you eat it all together it's just like key lime pie in a tub. And that's no bad thing.
...Thanks "Targaff" (and say hi to "Graham" if you ever spot him in Safeway). Anyway, in other dessert-based developments: Apple and Blackberry Pie was the most original of the Tickety-Moo ice-creams that I tried when Sainsbury were selling them for £2.50/tub (also available in Panna Cotta and Raspberry Pavlova, or Rhubarb and Custard Crumble), though Ambrosia's Crumble Puds and Jelly Puds should offer similar flavours in more traditional pudding formats. I also managed to pay just £1.99 for one of Antonio Federici's Gelatos in Sainsbury's (the Gianduia one tastes just like a big green Quality Street), though expect to pay more when another "self-styled guerrilla brand", Icecreamists take on Ben and Jerry's at Selfridges in September - and, speaking of luxury lines, Thorntons has produced a Mint Chocolate Truffle on a stick for this summer, as well as their perhaps unfortunately-named White Delight.
Confirmed sighting: Haagen-Dazs Cherries and Cream
Posted: 11:10 Sun 21-Jun-2009. Price: £4.19. Location: Blockbuster, Marple.
As luck would have it, I subsequently found a tub in Morrisons for just £2.50 (and have since updated the "awaiting sightings" column), but it was still enough for first-time spotter "freakfire" to get in touch about this impressively cherry-packed limited edition, reporting: Only seen it in one Blockbuster but they prob have them in every store. Surprised this is still under "awaiting sightings"...
...Sadly, I haven't seen any similar price reductions on the Antonio Federici Gelati that Foodstuff Finds seems at least mildly positive about, though I think I paid a pound or less for this optimistically co-branded Conditorei Coppenrath and Wiese
Mandarin Cheesecake made with Kraft Philadelphia in Tesco. And in other loosely dessert-related limited editions: there doesn't seem to be much sign so far of the hilariously topical Credit Crunch Cereal, though I'd be more suspicious if the same wasn't true of the presumably bigger-budget launch of Honey Monster Foods' more "health-orientated" Monster Rocks and Banana Puffs (Monster Rocks recommended price around £1.99).
Confirmed sighting: Walls Magnum Temptation/ Carte D'Or Caramel Cinnamon Waffle
Posted: 12:44 Sun 19-Apr-2009. Price: £3.40 (pack of 3)/ £2.99. Location: Lanark Somerfield/ Hamilton Sainsbury's. Sub-flavours: (Magnum Temptation) Caramel and almonds, or "Chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce plus white Belgian chocolate chunks and brownie pieces in a dark Belgian chocolate shell".
A double-scoop of Zeddy today, opening with: The chocolate Magnum has chocolate ice cream, brownies and white chocolate pieces all wrapped in a Belgian chocolate coating. The ice cream isn't too chocolatey in that overpowering cocoa-type way. The brownies are chewy and the white chocolate pieces are suitably chocolatey (I'm struggling here, aren't I?) This Magnum is quite nice but not a patch on that Dark Wispa'd centre one I found in Spain a while back.
3 to a pack each in a separate little coffin.
...(In case you were wondering, these appear to be an improved form of the trial version "robertster" sampled in late 2007, though the individual boxes remind me most of KFC's Boneless Banquet from the same year.) Anyway, Zeddy seems much more tempted by Walls' Carte D'Or Caramel Cinnamon Waffle, hailing it as: "IMMENSE! Yes that's right. Absolutely delicious! I'm pretty sure I will develop a 'habit' for this stuff. Creamy, caramel-icious and (drum roll) cinnamon-tastic.
This is my product of the year."
If you'd like to have a go yourself: "I'm working with Ben and Jerry's," admitted "Lee Washington", "and thought that you'd be interested to hear that Ben and Jerry's today announced a competition called Do The World A Flavour", where you can win a trip to the Dominican Republic and possibly have your idea made into Ben and Jerry's 2010 worldwide flavour (like what they claimed happened with 2006's Glastonberry). Thanks "Lee", but you didn't think it worth mentioning that this Tue 21 Apr is also Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day?
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