Random Review Roundup 3

Every once in awhile I get to the point where there are too many reviews waiting to be written for me to sensibly deal with them in any meaningful way. That can mean only one thing - it's time for another Random Review Roundup! A chance for mini reviews of products that otherwise wouldn't get a mention. 

Jacob's Oddities Sour Cream & Chive: It seems I can't even keep track of all the products I have reviewed thus far on my blog. I was convinced I had reviewed the Jacob's Oddities range but it appears I was wrong. If you haven't tried them before then give them a go, not because of the odd shapes, but because these little crackers are full of flavour and packed with seasoning. 9 out of 10.

7 Days Double Coconut Croissant: I'd always been curious to try these croissants, which are widely available in newsagents and local grocery shops. Unfortunately my croissant bared little comparison to the image on the front, especially in regards to the filling. Where's the coconut? The croissant itself was very bland and cheap tasting too. 4 out of 10.

BN Biscuits: They're back! Available in chocolate or vanilla, we're particularly fond of these Mini BN in individual portions. Great for kids lunch bags. 8 out of 10.

Tesco Mango & Passion Fruit Dessert Sauce: This sweet sauce adds a bit of tropical fruity zing to ice creams and desserts. 7 out of 10.

Extra Dessert Delights Sugar Free Gum Mint Chocolate Chip: I didn't see the appeal of this range of dessert inspired gum from the US. However, I've become a fan since trying this mint chocolate chip flavour, and I've since bought the Rainbow Sherbet variety too. 8 out of 10.

DIP IN Natural Delicious Dips - Classic Hummus: I was sent this mini dip set of hummus dip and crackers along with the fabulous Oloves (see review here). This dipping set was delicious and a big hit with my kids, I need to find a stockist now! 9 out of 10.

Frey Extra Fine White Chocolate: Every product I've tried from Switzerland's bestselling chocolate brand, Frey, has been of an extremely high quality, and this Extra Fine White was no exception. A fabulously creamy white chocolate with luscious vanilla flavour - just the way I like it. 9 out of 10.

Frey Tiramisu: A dream bar for tiramisu dessert lovers everywhere. This combination of milk chocolate and mascarpone cream is a lovely recreation of the classic dessert. 8 out of 10.

Percy's Pig Pen & Percy in a Twist: Some great sweets from the M&S Percy Pig range, which are both worryingly described as "Percy Flavoured". They both have the same very sweet, fruity, almost bubblegum-ish flavour. The Percy's Pig Pen are classic pencil type sweets of soft filled tubes. The Percy in a Twist are gelatin free fizzy laces.
7 out of 10.

Haribo Starmix Limited Edition Blue Bear'ies: I initially dismissed these for being a bit boring and uninspired, but I underestimated the fact that kids LOVE blue coloured sweets. It's a mystery but it's true. 7 out of 10.

Haribo Smurfs: A welcome re release for these Haribo Smurfs to coincide with the Smurfs 2 film a few months ago. I love the way they have different coloured and flavoured hats, it's very well done and they look great. 8 out of 10.

M&S Beef Burger Handcooked Potato Crisps: I reviewed the Fish & Chips flavour crisps from the same Great British summer range so it was inevitable that I would try these too. They have a fantastic burger flavour, meaty and delicious, but vegetarian too! 9 out of 10.

Starburst Flavour Morphs: Disappointing sweets which are supposed to change flavour as you eat them, such as from Strawberry to Strawberry & Lime. This essentially means that the flavour changes from a sweet fruity flavour to a slightly sour fruity flavour. 5 out of 10.

Angry Birds Tropic Soft Drink: I've previously reviewed the Angry Birds Lagoon (apple and pear) and Angry Birds Space Comet (cola and orange) drinks by Finnish brand Fazer. Whilst I loved both those drinks, this Angry Birds Tropic failed to impress. It's simply described as "tropical fruit" but doesn't deliver any tropical flavour. It's almost like a lemonade but with a slightly tart apple taste in there too. I still enjoyed it as a mixer with some POM Wonderful juice! 6 out of 10.

M&S Limited Edition Penny Pig: These lemon flavoured fruit gums are deliciously soft and moreish. I actually prefer this lemon flavour to the regular Percy Pig sweets. 9 out of 10.

If you've made it this far in the review, don't worry - that's it for now!

Aldi Swiss Chocolate Bar Review

It's not new and it's not limited edition but this Aldi Choceur Swiss Chocolate Bar caught my eye on a recent visit to the discount supermarket. In the past I've overlooked this bar as being the same as a Toblerone. I'm sure most of us in the UK would associate a Swiss mountain bar with the famous pyramid shaped chocolate.  However since reading The Snack Review's Frey Chocobloc reviews, I could see that this Aldi Swiss Chocolate Bar is much more similar to the Frey Chocobloc.

Rather than having a peaked shape, the Aldi Choceur Swiss Chocolate Bar is flat and rectangular from the top with triangle shaped pieces. It looks just like the Frey Chocobloc and I just love this appearance and shape.

The Aldi Choceur Swiss Chocolate Bar is described as "Premium Swiss Milk Chocolate with Honey & Almond Nougat". The milk chocolate is made with 34% minimum cocoa solids. It certainly has a lovely rich chocolate smell with honey undertones as soon as I unwrapped it. I wasn't sure what to expect from Aldi chocolate but I'm glad to say this was just as good as any Swiss chocolate I have tried, it has a rich nutty flavour and creamy texture which is delicious but quite sweet.

There are lots of nougat pieces, especially along the bottom of the bar. They have a lovely chewy but melt in the mouth texture. It doesn't stick to your teeth or give your jaw a workout. It adds an instant honey flavour and a sweet chewiness but then melts away, leaving the smooth chocolate notes to linger in your mouth.

The Choceur Swiss Chocolate Bar weighs in at 100g which is larger than most single bars of chocolate but smaller than a traditional Toblerone bar. It only costs 89p which I think is an absolute bargain. If you're a fan of Swiss chocolate then you have to give it a try. Seeing as the Frey Chocobloc is not available in the UK yet then this is a great alternative.

A few comparative photos of the Aldi Choceur Swiss Chocolate Bar next to the Frey Chocobloc Air (which is much smaller than the standard Chocobloc's and has extra holes!):

Aldi                                       Frey

As an aside, this is part of the Choceur range from Aldi. They also have a more "upmarket" range called Moser Roth and a kids range called Dairy Fine. What do you think of the chocolate ranges from Aldi? Let me know if you have any recommendations!

Frey Chocobloc Air

One of the great things about reading blogs is finding out about brands that otherwise would not enter my periphery. For example I wouldn't even be aware of the existence of Frey Chocolates were it not for The Snack Review's posts on the subject. The fact that Frey are the number one chocolate brand in Switzerland is kind of mind blowing considering the other chocolate makers at work in that country. Yet it remains a largely unheard of company in the UK. The Chocobloc Milk, looked especially interesting to me, it is reminiscent of a Toblerone with it's triangular and geometric design.

Although I had heard that Frey chocolate can sometimes be found in discount stores, I was still surprised to find this six pack of  Frey Chocobloc Air in a 99p Store. All six bars were taped together with a red band saying "Swiss Chocobloc Multipack".

Out of the packaging it looks very similar to the other Chocobloc bars I have seen, in terms of the triangular shaping. There is however one major difference - it's full of quite large holes, especially along the edges of the chocolate segments. It gives it quite an odd look, almost as if it is slightly unfinished or didn't quite sit in the chocolate mould for long enough. I suspected I might have a flawed chocolate bar bit after opening a few they all have the same holes so it seems an intentional design by Frey. I can kind of see why it would be designed this way, this is an aerated bar after all, so the voids emphasise the airy nature of the chocolate within.

It's still quite an impressive chocolate to look at, I do love the design of the chocolate pieces. It's a bit of a shame that the holey bits detract from the overall sleek look. It's hard to convey a sense of scale in photos but this bar is actually quite small and light. It weighs only 27g which is really diddy in comparison to something like the Wispa which weighs 39g.

The wrapper of the chocolate shows an almond, a honeycomb and... bubbles. It's a lovely image which conveys the inner workings of this bar. There are no almond pieces as such, just lots of little pieces of nougat, which are very tiny. They are too small to add to much chewiness to the bar, like you get with Toblerone. Instead the bar retains it's lightness despite the inclusion of nougat. The nougat pieces, despite being small, do provide a subtle honey flavour which has caramelised and nutty undertones.

The chocolate flavour is good too. It has that unmistakably Swiss quality to it, very sweet and creamy with a slight nuttiness. The whole chocolate is full of tiny holes which give it an extremely light flavour and consistency. It really does have a velvety melt in the mouth quality. I love aerated chocolate like Wispa so this is a feature that appeals to me anyway. The overall flavour is very similar to a Toblerone but whereas Toblerone's are extremely dense and heavy, the Chocobloc Air is light and airy.

Overall I'm very impressed by the Frey Chocobloc Air. It has a minimum of 34% cocoa solids, compared to the measly 25% in a Cadbury's Wispa. If you see these in a discount store then snap them up!