Peelers Gummy Peach Peelable Sweets (B&M) By @SpectreUK

I have no idea why you would have peelable sweets. These Peelers Gummy Peach Peelable sweets were recommended to us by a friend who also sells at the comic cons.

 

They are made with real fruit juice, which is something I like in sweets, with added sugar and sweeteners. Being made with real fruit juice makes me feel like I'm at least trying to be good, whilst eating something naughty.

On opening the resealable packet these Peelers Gummy Peach sweets had a half peach shape. I don't really get the peelable quality of these sweets, as on trying it was really messy. Taste wise though these Peelers Peach gummies were spot on. They had a squidgy texture and a lovely fruity peach flavour, not too sweet, in fact just right.

Information on the packet; The 65g bag has 317 calories, with 0.2g of fat, 55g of sugar, and 0.03g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Friars Chocolate Cigars (Amazon) By @SpectreUK

Happy New Year of the Snake. Earlier this year I remembered I've given up smoking for more than twenty-six years. I chain-smoked cigarettes for several years when I was young, and trying to look cool like James Dean or something. I tried every fag on the market, and also every cigar. I also used to have a Cuban Cigar to celebrate Christmas and on my Birthday. My Cuban cigar is still the only smoke I miss. And so Cinabar buys me a chocolate cigar on celebrations instead.

 

There isn't much information on the box about these Friars Chocolate Cigars. Certainly sumptuous in quality milk chocolate, there were three in the box. My first one didn't last all that long, I sucked on it for a while and nibbled the rest. Of course, I started it with the Hannibal Smith quote, "I love it when a plan comes together."

I do love chocolate cigars. They always give my child-like brain something symbolic to enjoy, rather than something that's not particularly good for me, and takes well over an hour to smoke. They're perfect for a celebration, and they always remind me that I did give up smoking, and I never went back.

Tiny Toblerone (Asda) By @Cinabar

I absolutely love the look of this huge bag filled with mini chocolate bars. When I was a child, I used to get so excited about miniature chocolate bars, like the ones in a box called Neapolitans. They were tiny, not like fun-sized bars, but closer to 2cm across and came in a mix of flavours. There’s just something so fun about miniature things, and I used to pretend to be a giant while eating them. Naturally, I was eager to see what these Tiny Toblerone were like.

I opened the bag (which unfortunately didn’t have a resealable top) and found three types of mini bars inside. All of them featured the classic nut nougat of regular Toblerone, but in miniature form and made with three different types of chocolate. When I unwrapped them, the bars were smaller than I’d expected, but each still had the iconic three triangles. I didn’t bother breaking them apart, I just ate them whole!

The white Tiny Toblerone was lovely; sweet, creamy, and indulgent. The dark chocolate one was rich, with lots of cocoa and a deeply satisfying flavour. Of course, the milk chocolate version is the original and, in my opinion, still the best.

Every Christmas, Toblerone brings out massive bars that make fun gifts, but they’re so awkward to eat. After the novelty wears off, you’re left hacking pieces off with a knife and trying to gnaw through enormous chunks of chocolate. I can’t tell you how much I’d prefer receiving a bag like this instead of a giant bar. And yes, I still felt a bit like a giant eating these cute little bars!

Bebeto Freeze-Dried Crunchy Marshmallows (Spa) By @Cinabar

These aren’t your regular marshmallows—they’re crunchy marshmallows. That concept alone sounds a little odd, but with the growing trend of freeze-dried sweets, I couldn’t resist picking up a bag of these Bebeto Freeze-Dried Crunchy Marshmallows from a local shop.

 

Upon opening the bag, I discovered that while they were light and solid, they felt almost hollow—as if tapping them might produce an echo! They were larger than I expected, which made biting into them feel strange at first. However, they soon gave way and crumbled, an unusual experience for a marshmallow.

The flavour was exactly what you’d expect: that sweet, vanilla-like taste typical of marshmallows. The texture, though, was a mix of crunchy and soft, which I found enjoyable as a novelty. Still, let’s be honest—the best thing about marshmallows is their soft, squidgy texture.

I’ll happily finish this bag of Bebeto Freeze-Dried Crunchy Marshmallows (freeze-dried space food, anyone?), but my next marshmallow purchase will probably be the classic variety.

Giant Jammie Dodger (Spar) By @Cinabar

The only thing that could improve a Jammie Dodger is, naturally, more Jammie Dodger! So, when I spotted this Giant Jammie Dodger at a local Spar, I couldn’t resist picking one up for an afternoon treat with a cup of tea. Right away, it felt satisfyingly hefty, truly a supersized biscuit. Once home, I measured it and found it’s a generous 8cm in diameter.

The biscuit itself is pleasantly thick, with a decent layer of jam in the middle. The balance is spot-on, with the raspberry jam’s flavour shining through. The biscuit has an extra crunch thanks to its thickness, yet still delivers that familiar sweet, buttery taste. Although the jam might look like it should be thicker, the flavour is all there, blending perfectly with the biscuit.

This was a delightful pick-me-up for the afternoon, and since it’s a single biscuit, I didn’t even feel guilty indulging! Though it’s definitely a novelty, this Giant Jammie Dodger hit the spot perfectly.

Quick Milk Magic Sipper Strawberry (Asda) By @Cinabar

Why aren’t there more exciting milkshake flavours out there? I’m really struggling to find new varieties. It is hot, and it is milkshake season. Could someone please tell me where I can even find a vanilla syrup? In my search, though, I found these Quick Milk Magic Sipper Straws in Strawberry. I mean, I know these are meant for children, and I know I’m a grown adult, but I don’t care; I’m loving milkshakes at the moment, and this was something new for me to try.

I opened up the packet and found five plastic straws; these ones are not recyclable in my area, which was a bit disappointing. They are filled with pink milkshake graduals, each semi-sealed at the end. So that the graduals don’t fall out but the milk can run through.

My glass isn’t that big. For example, a can of drink holds more liquid than my glass; if I pour myself one, I have to finish part of the drink from the can itself as it doesn’t fit. What I’m saying is that my glass is not that big. I filled it with milk and popped a straw in. I gave it a try, and the first sip was a magically sweet strawberry flavour; it was lush. I have a sweet tooth, and this was working for me. A few more sips, and the drink went rather milky. I took the straw out, and before I had reached half way on the milk, the straw was running on empty. It was nearly so good, but this Quick Milk Magic Sipper Strawberry just didn’t work for the whole glass. Oh well, I guess I am still searching for the perfect milkshake mix.

Gamer Gummies Space Invaders (Game) By @SpectreUK

I remember gaming nights in the past when we played many different video games in the same room together, there were new and retro games, and we snacked on all manners of crisps and nuts, chocolates and gummies.

Life seemed so much less complicated then, and much more fun. Gaming online took over, and became more about the pains and scars of life rather than the sheer fun of games, of beating each other in duels to the death, racing hard, and hunting down bad guys, and of course gorging on snacks.

I loved Space Invaders as a kid, and still like to play it now. However, these Gamer Gummies Space Invaders will be snacked on during my regular snacking time of just after dinner when I watch something on the box, and munch on snack food for pudding, before my evening hot soak in the tub.

Made by Powerbears with 20% real fruit, there are six flavours of gummies in the packet. Blackberry had a weak blackberry flavour. Kiwi Lime was more kiwi than lime, still pretty faint in flavour though. Plum red was very faint in flavour. Orange had a faint orange flavour. Pomegranate tasted a little bit like strawberry, but not much. And sadly, Pineapple had a faint pineapple flavour. I was pretty disappointed by these Space Invaders Gamer Gummies. I think I'll stick to face twisty sour gummies instead.

Information on the bag; The 125g packet contains 328 calories per 100g, 0.5g of fat, with 44g of sugar, and 0.1g of salt. Made with no artificial colours and natural flavours. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Marvel White Chocolate Oaty Bars (Iceland) By @Cinabar

I bought these Marvel White Chocolate Oaty Bars, and I suspect everyone else who bought them did, as the packaging is bright and covered in Marvel characters. It really stood out on the shelf. I am always up for a bit of novelty, and I love super heroes, so why not? I also have a cereal bar most days. I opened up the box and have to say the wrappers of these cereal bars didn’t disappoint either. All of the bars are the same inside, but the wrappers were lovely and bright, and each had a different superhero character on it. They are fab.

For no particular reason, I decided to start with the Hulk. Inside the bar is a bit plainer-looking. It had a drizzle of white chocolate. 

I gave it a try, and the flavour was nice. It was sweet with plenty of oat flavour, but the white chocolate was also pleasing, taking centre stage. Texture-wise, it is firm but not hard, and that worked well. There was a bite in it without it being hard. The bar is really nice, but the packaging is gorgeous. These Marvel White Chocolate Oaty Bars would make a lovely lunch box snack or bring a smile to any adult for an afternoon snack too. 

Chocolate M&Ms Minis (Asda) By @Cinabar

I regularly complain about the lack of new M&Ms in the UK, mainly because I'm very jealous of the flavours that get released around the world and miss us out. But here we have a completely new UK-based M&Ms product; obviously, it is just chocolate flavour, but I’ve started to realise you have to take the wins where you can get them. These are Chocolate M&Ms Minis, regular chocolate M&Ms but shrunk in size. I poured some out, and the child in me felt like a giant. The chocolates were tiny; they did have the M logo on them, but it was small and a bit feint in places, but it was there.

I grabbed a few and ate them; there was something very fun about the texture and the size. They are nice to munch on, and as there is more crunchy shell per chocolate, they were somehow crispier. The flavour was also more sweet as there was sugar in the coating, which made it tasty too.

I think these Chocolate M&Ms Minis would be perfect for baking projects; just imagine how nice these would be in chocolate chip cookies. If the sun ever turns up, these would be a nice topping on ice cream too. A sprinkle of these on some vanilla ice cream sounds a bit like recreating one of the fast food restaurant ice cream sides. Or, you can do what I did, which was just scoff them watching Wimbledon; that works too. 

Heinz Classic Barbie-cue Mayo Barbecue Sauce (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

Oh my, what have I let myself in for now? This bright pink sauce is the new Heinz Classic Barbie-cue Mayo Barbecue Sauce in celebration of Barbie's big anniversary this year. I do love barbecue sauce, especially with burgers and chips. I also love mayonnaise, which goes well with pretty much anything from any flavour of crisps, to chips, potatoes and any meat and salad besides.

We watched the new Barbie film recently, and I'm sad to admit I wasn't a fan of it's surreal elements. Anyway, with my new Heinz Classic Barbie-cue Mayo Barbecue Sauce at hand, I decided to try it on a chicken and tomato sandwich to begin with. As you can see from the photograph, it's hard to miss the colour of this sauce.

I tasted this barbecue mayo sauce on my finger first and noticed its smokiness, sweet barbecue and mayonnaise flavour. It went rather well on my chicken and tomato sandwich, and left me with a really moreish taste in my mouth afterwards. Later I tried it with KFC style chicken and chips, and loved that too. I'll try it with a burger and chips next. Don't be out off by the colour, this is a great barbecue and mayonnaise sauce.

Heinz The Godfather Pasta Sauce (Waitrose) By @Cinabar

When Heinz made this new product, I guess they were making an offering I couldn’t refuse. Sorry. Inspired by the legendary movie, we have a new sauce in town: Heinz The Godfather Pasta Sauce. I picked this up because of the novelty and the film reference. There is authenticity, though, and it is made as per Peter Clemenza’s instructions in the film. 

I made a mistake here; I thought this was a jar of pasta sauce, and as such, I also bought a packet of meatballs to have with it. It turns out it wasn’t a jar of pasta sauce in the sense that it was a sauce that needed meat; it was a complete package with mini meatballs already in it. So we ended up having a lot of meat in the ratio with this! The meatballs in the jar are small and not like the drawing of the front of the jar, or indeed, the ones I added. 

Anyway, I cooked some pasta (not spaghetti, oops), made the sauce with large meatballs, and served. The pasta had a lovely aroma, and I could pick up on the garlic, tomato, and really nice herbs. 

Taste-wise, it needed the proper meatballs; the ones included were small and not that flavorful. With the large meatballs, it worked well. The flavours were fresh and rich, and the contrast of meatballs and tomatoes was lovely. This sauce worked well. I’m not sure I’d buy this Heinz The Godfather Pasta Sauce again, though, just because of the mini meatballs inside the jar. They didn’t add value, and I’d rather add the meat element myself. 

Sparkle The Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate (Aldi) By @Cinabar

I have bought another novelty hot chocolate, and it doesn’t get more novelty than this; Sparkle The Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate. I found this in Aldi as part of their Dairyfine range, and it did make me smile. Here we have a white chocolate unicorn, filled with marshmallows and milk chocolate drops. The idea is that you drop in hot milk and have an amazing hot chocolate, which is really quite simple.

So once home, I opened up the box, heated some milk in the microwave, and set up the TV, ready to show the latest episode of Dragon's Den. I put the unicorn in the mug, and it nearly filled it! This is a big chunk of chocolate. 

I added the hot milk, and it soon melted from underneath and shrank into the mug. 

The top melted too, and out popped the chocolate drops, and the marshmallows rose to the surface. The best part of this hot chocolate was that I then added a spoon to the mix and found that the whole thing dissolved and mixed super easily; this was not expected given how much chocolate there was.

The flavour was yummy; it is very sweet and very creamy, as a white hot chocolate should be. The addition of the chocolate drops was brilliant, as it enhanced the cocoa flavour and brought a bit of balance. The marshmallows were lovely too; they looked pretty and added a nice bit of sweetness to the drink. 

This Sparkle The Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate made me happy and was something I would buy again. It would make a lovely gift or treat in an Easter basket, even if it isn’t bunny-shaped. 

Pigs In Blankets Quiche (Aldi) @Cinabar

Today is the big day in Aldi. They have launched all their special Christmas items. Some are crazier than others. One of the new items is the Pigs In Blankets ice cream that they have launched. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but my store didn’t have any anyway, so I guess that cleared up the dilemma as to whether I should buy it. I did have a good browse and decided to pick up this Pigs In Blankets Quiche for tea.

I heated it up in the oven and gave it a try. Now I have to say, if you stop and think about this, a ‘pigs in blanket’ is bacon and sausage, and what I’ve effectively bought here is a bacon and sausage quiche, which, when you break it down, is not half as exciting as it sounds to start with. Having said that, this had a delicious meaty flavour, salty bacon, and herby sausage meat. It was a bit of a meat feast in quiche form and made for a simple but tasty tea.

Yes, the flavour of this Pigs In Blankets Quiche is a bit of a novelty, and there weren’t even any pigs in blankets in it, but I’d still buy it again as it was just so nice and meaty. I’m still not sure about the ice cream.

Christmas Pudding Wensleydale Cheese (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I had a shopping list when I went into Morrisons, and I can assure you that Christmas Pudding Wensleydale Cheese was not on that list. Cheese wasn’t even on the list, but this time of year brings strange impulse buys. We walked past the cheese section, and this one literally had a bow on it. How could I resist?

When we came to give it a try, we decided we would have it with some other meats and cheese as a quick and easy dinner. I’m never one hundred percent sure of the correct strategy for opening waxed cheese, so I got a sharp knife and just cut through the middle of the whole thing. From there, you can peel off the rest of the wax.

Inside, you can see the cheese is clearly packed with goodies and fruit. I gave a piece a try. Wensleydale is a creamy cheese and can very much work with a sweeter flavour (it is often paired with cranberries this time of year). The Christmas pudding taste was absolutely out of this world. It was all there, raisins, rum, spices, and citrus. It was absolutely delicious, and the flavour of the dessert was well balanced with sweet, spicy goodness. The creamy cheese shone through too, and it mellowed the spices perfectly.

This Christmas Pudding Wensleydale Cheese may be a novelty in cute packaging, but it also works impressively well, with spot-on flavours. I will be buying another of these for the Christmas cheese board, as I just loved it so much.

Harry Potter Butterbeer Sweets (CandyMail) By @Cinabar

I think we all know I love a novelty snacking item, so I couldn’t resist adding a bag of these Harry Potter Butterbeer Sweets to my last candy import order. They are based on the drink from the Harry Potter films, Butterbeer. I know they sell butterbeer at some tourist places, like Warner Brothers Studios, and that version is liquid and non-alcoholic but very sweet. I haven’t tried it, but I wanted to get an idea of the flavour.

I opened up the pack, and the aroma was immediately one of strong caramel. I knew these were going to be good. Each sweet is shaped like a beer tankard with a handle, and they were a little squidgier than I thought they would be. Flavour-wise, they are a complete, strong hit of rich, buttery caramel. They are super sweet, but in a good way, the end flavour almost has a creme brûlée burnt sugar flavour. They were really nice. The texture is fairly soft and lightly chewy. These Harry Potter Butterbeer Sweets might be based on a novelty idea, but they are a quality batch of sweets that are very tasty, especially if you have a sweet tooth like me.

Baron Von Greenback DDH IPA Beer (The Wee Beer Shop @WeeBeerShop @sureshotbrew) By @SpectreUK

One of my favourite bad guys ever is Baron Silas Von Greenback from Danger Mouse. This Baron Von Greenback DDH IPA was was created by Sureshotbrew. This India Pale Ale was double dry hopped with Idaho 7 for a floral, mango and pink grapefruit flavour. At 6.5% in volume, I reckon this IPA will have quite a kick to it as it washes down my fish, chips and battered sausage takeaway from our local Chippy.

This golden misty pale ale had a bitter fruity smell to it, with notes of mango and grapefruit, and a touch of floral hops just before the sweet pale malts. There was certainly a mango fruity crisp bite on first taste with a touch of pink grapefruit, and then a floral flavour behind that fruity taste, followed by sweetness from the malts.

I really enjoyed drinking this beer with my takeaway. It brought a smile to my face thinking about never missing an episode of Danger Mouse when I was a kid. We also watched the recent series that came out a year or two back, and thoroughly enjoyed that too.

Original Stormtrooper S.N.I.P.A. (Space Craft Beer) By @SpectreUK

May the fourth be with you! Okay, so it's the third of May, but tomorrow is the fourth, so close enough. I was bought a few speciality Stormtrooper beers a while ago for a present. I have always loved Star Wars, and lately have really enjoyed the new Disney series's, such as Obi Wan Kenobi and also The Mandalorian.

One of my favourite childhood memories was sitting down in an old Odeon to watch Return of the Jedi. A kid somewhere behind burst into tears when he saw a Gamorrean Guard, and he had to leave the cinema. Another memory was more recent when we were at a Toy Fair in Birmingham. A squad of Stormtroopers walked passed us as we were entering. One of them recognised the rebel logo on Cinabar's t-shirt and told her off for wearing it.

This Stormtrooper S.N.I.P.A. or Situation Normal India Pale Ale was 4.4% in volume, and was made from US West Coast hops, so there should be flavours of gooseberries, grapefruit and mango. I do usually enjoy a West Coast IPA, so I'm looking forward to this beer, even if it does seem to be for the bad guys. And let's face it, I'm a lover not a fighter.

On opening the can there was quite an explosion of blaster fire from inside. A seasoned beer can opener, I didn't lose a drop. This Stormtrooper S.N.I.P.A. was not very disciplined and was pretty difficult to pour without it blowing up like a dodgy Motivator.

This pale gold IPA definitely had a predominant gooseberry aroma, with a little grapefruit and pale malt to finish. On tasting the bitter crisp fruity hops cut through my tastebuds like a Blast Door, and then those sweet pale malts shone through to the finish like a Lightsaber duel to the death.

I did rather enjoy this Stormtrooper S.N.I.P.A. with my hotdogs for dinner, even if the situation was not normal on pouring it, however I have to say, "down with the Empire," if any rebels are reading this communication.

Bar of Crisps Cheese and Onion Chocolate (Chocolate Moments) By @Cinabar

Yes I know, who thought of this? I like crisps, I like chocolate but I am not sure how I feel about them in the same product. Especially cheese and onion. I bought this bar because it is a bit out there, and I can’t resist a novelty. It was inspired by those times you sit on the sofa munching crisps and chocolate at once. Personally, I have crisps, then chocolate, the chocolate being the dessert, right?

I opened up the bar and could smell the cheese and onion. Oh boy. I gave the bar a try and I’l start with the positives. It has an interesting texture, I like an interesting texture. It was fun to munch on. The chocolate it is made with is lovely and sweet and smooth and clearly of a high quality. The negative: it has cheese and onion crisps in it. Yep, cheese, onion and chocolate are not natural bedfellows, who would have thought it. I shouldn’t criticise this Bar of Crisps Cheese and Onion Chocolate bar does exactly what it says on the tin. If you know someone who eats their crisps and chocolate together though, this would make a great novelty stocking filler for Christmas.

Freeze Dried Twinkie Cake Bites (A Taste Of The States) By @Cinabar

There is so much I don’t get about this product, including its concept, but I’ll try and start from the beginning. Ok, I’ll start slightly from the side, bare with me for a minute. If you have ever watched Zombieland, one of the main characters spends some of his time in a zombie apocalypse searching for the last Twinkies on earth (it is a comedy) while fighting zombies. Twinkies are an American sponge finger with vanilla cream. They do have limited editions and they are easier to find in the UK than they used to be. The running joke in the film Zombieland is that Twinkies last forever. They don’t, of course, as in real life, they have use by dates. Perhaps this is why they have tried freeze drying them, to make them last longer, and this is the result?

These Freeze Dried Twinkie Cake Bites look a little bit home made, but who has a freezer dryer in their kitchen? It is one Twinkie sliced, dried and popped into a resealable bag. I haven’t eaten much freeze-dried food but what we have tried has the same feature, the items are very dry and lightly crunchy, slightly rehydrating when you chew them. I guess it is like the freeze-dried strawberries you get in cereals, if you try them before the milk hits.

I took one of the slices of the Freeze Dried Twinkie Cake Bites out, gave it a try, and it had a weird texture. It was both a little dry and still wet enough to be chewy. That was not what I was expecting. I got stuck on the idea that the texture was wrong and it stopped me enjoying the product. I didn’t like the texture. This is the second time I’ve tried something where the texture has put me off, the other being the ready-made pancakes, despite me usually loving weird or interesting textures in food. I worry me not liking this might just be me, but it really is not something I’d buy again. I’ll take a fresh Twinkie any day over this.

Snickers Caramel & Bacon Edition (Candy Mail) By @Cinabar

What new atrocity is this? Why would anyone think putting bacon in a Snickers is a good idea? Well, apparently, this limited edition Snickers Caramel & Bacon is from Brazil, and as mad as it sounds I couldn’t help but buy it, so I’m judging myself too. I have tried bacon and maple syrup before and did like it, so maybe this will work out. The wrapper is a bright orange and this camouflages the rasher of bacon on the right of the wrapper a little, like they are slightly in denial themselves.

I opened up the bar and it looked normal enough, there were no obvious hints of bacon and nothing in the aroma. The bar looked small overall. I think it is smaller than a UK Snickers, but perhaps similar to a multipack sized bar. I gave it a try and and for the first few seconds of chewing I was absolutely convinced it was a normal Snickers bar, until this wave of smokey flavour hit. It wasn't that strong, but there it was, a tiny bit meaty and a rough smokey taste that was blending into the chocolate. As it wasn’t that strong, it wasn’t that offensive, and I could sort of see it working with the flavour. A smokey chocolate isn’t that bad, I finished the bar. I was still left wondering why though. It isn’t the sort of thing I’d buy again, but sometimes I complain that there aren’t enough crazy flavours in the world, so thank you Brazil for being brave and bringing out a curious bar.