Meiji Caramel Pucca

When I saw these on the shelf at Kam Man in New York City, the first thing I thought of was classic Pepperidge Farm Goldfish snacks.

Since the entire box written in Japanese, the best I could tell is that it was a pretzel type cracker filled with caramel.



Seeing my little school of Pucca fish, that was a pretty good guess on my part (yes, yes, I AM a genius, thank you). Each fish is like a giant puffy Goldfish. The baked surface is studded with large grains of salt. The cracker itself is not exactly a pretzel--although it sure looks like it--but it's not exactly like a Pocky biscuit either. It's kinda like what would pop out of the oven nine months after a Goldfish cracker had a drunken three-way with a Pocky Biscuit and a Rold Gold Pretzel. (Is it inappropriate to speculate on the DNA possibilities of snack foods?) Anyway, no one's really sure which the baby daddy is because it could easily be either, and the appearance on Morrie isn't scheduled for another month...



Tastewise, the first thing you notice is the salt, then the cracker. The cracker is kindasorta of like a Pocky biscuit that was cooked extra long. It's a little saltier, a little yeastier.

The caramel filling is in the form of a creme rather then a hard or fluid caramel. It's cool on the tongue and smooth-- sort of like the filling in a sandwich cookie. It's on the sweet side, which the salt cuts perfectly. There's a very milky taste to the caramel.

I had only tried the Pucca because it looked interesting but didn't think I would end up caring for them one way or the other. But let me tell you, this snack was insanely addictive. Meiji makes several flavors, so you know I will have to go fishing for some!




PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market, New York City

I purchased these at Kam Man, but my friends at J-List carry this flavor along with others, so be sure to check them out!