Little Debbie Peppermint Swiss Rolls

Once again that fawn-eyed temptress Little Debbie is coyly looking at me from the corner of my box of Peppermint Swiss Rolls, with a gaze that whispers: "C'mon, you know you want to taste my delicious creamy center!" I tell you, that Little Debbie can be quite beguiling.

Little Debbie's regular Swiss Rolls have been a best seller for the company since pretty much the dawn of time. In fact, if you look closely at pictures of dinosaurs, you might even see one or two snacking on some. That's not to say our little minx Debbie is afraid to try anything new, however. This year she is offering a new variation with peppermint added to the classic roll.



The rolls are sold in boxes of six, and are individually wrapped.



They are the same size as the classic roll. They also have a thin chocolate-like covering. The coating is fairly flaky, which I actually like. It's on the waxy side, true, but it does taste fairly close to chocolate...but that doesn't matter, because as soon as you take even the smallest bite, the peppermint immediately makes itself known.



The chocolate sponge cake is both on the dry and moist sides at the same time. I know that sounds like a contradiction -- and probably not a very pleasant one at that -- and on a freshly baked cake, it certainly would be unpleasant. But I think in commercial snack products, that's actually the perfect medium. If it were less dry, it would probably be greasy -- yet at the same time it's moist enough that it doesn't send you running for a drink to wash it down.

The creme: Honestly, it's hard to say much about snack cake filling that hasn't already been said. I will hand it to Little Debbie in that the creme filling in these rolls seems to be lighter and more whipped than most such cremes. And in terms of texture, I really liked that. It doesn't seem to have much flavor of its own -- but let's be fair; how often does a commercial creme snack filling?



As for the peppermint, as far as I could tell -- having actually dissected a roll and eaten it layer by layer -- purely for the sake of a thorough review and NOT because that is how I actually like to eat Swiss Rolls. No, dear readers, I do these things just for you. So where was I? Meandering somewhere within a run-on sentence that just lost its way? Oh, yes...

The peppermint, as far as I could tell, seems to live in the chocolatey top layer. It is a very strong peppermint. But it is quite sweet, and it does not burn or taste like medicine. Because it's so potent I suspect that these rolls will be more popular with adults than with kids -- unless they are weird kids, as I was (I always liked my mint bold).

All in all, I really liked this as a snack cake. Personally, I could have lived without the mockolate outer coating...but as stated, it is flaky and easy enough to just brush away if you don't really want it. For this review, I am knocking a couple points off the rating for the use of mockolate over real chocolate. I believe a real chocolate coating would have taken these from merely good to truly great. Meanwhile, the mint flavor is bold, and I love the texture of the cake. Definitely worth a try!



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

PRICE:
MSRP $1.79 for a box of six rolls.

CALORIES:
210 calories per roll

ADDITONAL INFO:
Contains wheat, eggs, soy, and milk. Peanuts and tree nuts may also be present.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
littledebbie.com

Stone Ridge Creamery: Polar Bursts Mint Chocolate Chip

Polar Bursts are actually a knockoff version of Dippin' Dots -- which, believe it or not, I have never tried. Back in the late 80's and early 90's, Dippin' Dots would easily be found at malls or arcades/fun centers -- but even as teenager I was an ice cream snob, and I had already created my much-repeated mantra: If I am going to suffer for eating dairy, I will do it only for the best. And in those situations where the choice was Dippin' Dots or something by, say, Haagen-Dazs...which do you think was going to win? Besides, Dippin' Dots proudly proclaimed that theirs was the "ice cream of the future," and I personally liked things the old school way.

Well, here we are, well into the Twenty-First Century, and old school ice cream is still alive and well (and, to be fair, Dippin' Dots is still alive and kicking also). But now we have supermarket versions of the Dots. I will be honest; while I have long thought of giving this style of ice cream a try, it was really the fact that it was on sale for fifty cents that was the final motivator.

Stone Ridge apparently makes several flavors of Polar Burst, but my store only had Neapolitan and Mint Chocolate Chip. The ice cream is packaged as a single serving in its own little plastic bowl. While it is a generous portion, the only thing I did not like about the packaging is that it has a "yogurt style" foil lid, which means that it is not resealable. (Yes, of course you could always plastic-wrap the top or transfer the dots to a sealable package, but that is not the point.)



Even if I remain skeptical about the ice cream and its packaging, I have to admit that there is something cool about eating something whose original version was created by a microbiologist. I dunno, I guess it's my inner Alton Brown coming out.

So after all of this, how did it taste?

Well, it is a fun way to eat ice cream. The familiar flavor of Mint Chocolate Chips is there. But instead of a creamy (well, hopefully creamy) mouthfeel, there are these cold, melty little beads. It is like eating no other ice cream or ice cream type product I have ever had. The orbs vary a bit in size and that keeps it interesting.



Flavor-wise, the bursts are almost a little too cold. It's not cold enough to cause ice burn in your mouth, but it does numb the taste down. The orbs separated easily, so I don't think it was from being in my freezer, but I could be wrong.

When they do melt down enough to taste them, the ice cream tastes like every other store-brand level Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream on the planet. It's not the most complex chocolate nor brightest mint you will have ever tasted -- but there's nothing particularly wrong with it either.

Once the bursts have melted in your mouth to the point they are no longer as cold (or as orb-shaped), the texture, like the flavor, is like every store-brand level of ice cream out there. It's not super fatty or rich, and it seems as if it is overly aerated. It's serviceable, but entirely forgettable.



It really is all about the shapes and the texture. This has, if nothing else, inspired me to try to track down some of the name-brand version to see if I feel the same way. I can definitely see why kids love these. Try them for the texture novelty, but hard core ice cream fans be warned: you are not going to be knocked out by the ice cream itself.



I rated it at a 6 because of the texture. If it had been only for the ice cream quality, I would place it at a 3.

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICEE
$0.50

CALORIES:
160 calories per 5 fluid ounce container.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
stoneridgecreamery.com

Think Gum

The nice people at Think Gum got in touch with me and asked me if I would like a sample of their gum to review at the perfect time. I'll never lie to you guys: lately, my attention span has been about as good as the dog's in "Up". I sit down to try and write, and it's like "WAIT! There's something shiny!" or "Oooh, Dr. Phil has on moms who dress like they are cast members of Jersey Shore!" or "Damn, gotta go to work!" (Sadly, the glamorous world of food reviews does not allow me to avoid a "real" job.) Well, now is the perfect time, I suppose, so here goes the review...

Some of Think Gum's benefits are supposed to be that it has (I'm cheating and using the package blurb here) "brain-boosting herbal ingredients that are proven to enhance concentration and improve memory." Ummmm, what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, gum...

Think Gum was actually founded by a young whippersnapper named Matt Davidson who came up with the idea for the gum while studying molecular and cell biology in college. Matt went to U.C. Berkeley -- and Berkeley, of course, is known far and wide for its enduring love of all things herbal. Matt happened to be reading a study about how in a particular factory, the factory managers kept track of how the workers performed while working and breathing in different herbal extracts. While to me that sounds like the stuff bad sci-fi movies and conspiracy theories are made of, Matt actually took the time to learn something and paid special attention to the fact that the workers responded well to scents like peppermint and rosemary. He then set about on his own idea, and after a lot of work, Think Gum was born.

All of that is interesting and everything, but how does it taste?

Good question. Each piece contains not only the peppermint and rosemary, but also ginkgo biloba, bacopa, vinpocetine...and guarana, which is a natural source of sweet, sweet caffeine!



Each piece has a thin candy coating. I liked that the candy shell yielded softly and didn't cause crunchy shards to break off like most candy coats do. Actually, it reminded me more of the coating on the Premium M&M's. Rather than being a crunchy candy coat, it's almost a soft, lacquer-like shell. The texture is also a little different from most gums. Sure, it's chewy -- but it is also soft, and it's not sticky.

Tastewise, it starts out all about the peppermint. It's a fresh, earthy taste -- sort of like chewing on a fresh sprig of mint. It's sweet, but not in a candy way. The mint flavor stays at the front and is strongest for about the first three minutes of chew. After that you start to taste the rosemary.



The rosemary side is distinctly more bitter...but in a good way. It takes some of the edge off the peppermint before it reaches the point where you'd get that menthol-ish burn peppermint sometimes causes. It's an herby, robust flavor. The more you chew, the stronger that flavor seems to get. If it gets to be too much for you, or if you just want to recharge it, I suggest simply holding the gum in your mouth for a few seconds without chewing. That seems to "reactivate" the mint, and the gum will taste sweeter again. Between the mint and the rosemary, the flavor of this gum has amazing staying power. I chewed a piece for about half an hour before it started to weaken.

As for feeling like I was retaining things better, or whether my concentration had improved, etc., that's harder to say. I am currently on so much medication that I'm probably the worst person to even try to review it in that context. But I can say that I felt more alert after chewing, and I'm guessing that's at least partially from the caffeine. Each two-piece serving of gum contains about the same amount of caffeine as half a can of soda. And that's not overdoing it. I like that I got a little boost without it being so much caffeine that I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest, or I may want to do extreme sports or party like a drunken frat boy, or any other overly caffeinated cliché you can think of that I didn't.

Overall, I liked this gum a lot for its unique flavor. I like the fact that it's both herby and minty, and manages to pull it off without tasting either like medicine or like chewy dried spices. I also liked the little energy boost I got, and I will definitely keep on chewing!




PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company.

CALORIES:
5 calories per two piece serving.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
thinkgum.com

Mousse Temptations by JELL-O: Chocolate Mint Pudding...AND A JELL-O MOUSSE CONTEST!!

Is there anything better than pudding? OK, yes, there may be a few things better than pudding...but you'd really have to do some serious thinking to come up with them.

Last year when JELL-O launched the Mousse Temptations line, I was lucky enough to be among the first to get a sneak taste. This year, JELL-O has added a new flavor to the line-up: Chocolate Mint Sensation. And once again, they were awesome enough to send me some to try.



I love the texture of the Mousse Temptations puddings. As you've probably noticed, texture is where sugar-free/fat-free puddings often fail, even when the taste is acceptable. But that's not a problem here at at all. They're whipped and airy, and just all around smooth. Maybe this is what eating a chocolate flavored cloud would be like...

OK, we know the texture is good. But how does it taste?

Well, first the aroma: I like that the scent is mostly chocolate with just a hint of mint. I was worried it would be overwhelmingly minty...but I need not have been concerned.

As for the taste, it's terrific. JELL-O has also perfected the flavor of their sugar- and fat-free puddings to the point that it's hard to tell them by flavor alone from their sugar sweetened, full-fat counterparts.

Tastewise, it's a nice deep cocoa flavor. (I am pretty sure it uses the Dark Chocolate flavor as a base). The mint flavor is pleasantly mild. You certainly taste it -- it's brisk and clean and leaves your mouth feeling cool. But at the same time there's no sense that it's toothpastey or medicinal.



Overall, it was quite good. The Dark Chocolate Decadence is still my favorite, but this flavor is definitely comes in next!

AND NOW FOR THE REALLY EXCITING PART...THE CONTEST!!

Yep, YOU can win some yummy JELL-O Mousse...and not just a teeny little taste, but a whole happy lot of it! The good folks over at JELL-O are so nice that they want one of my lucky readers to try not only this new flavor...but also the Dark Chocolate Decadence, the Chocolate Indulgence, and the sugar free Chocolate and Chocolate-Vanilla puddings as well!

Yep, that is a whopping five packs of pudding! And with six individual cups per pack, that's a total of 30 servings of JELL-O Mousse Temptations joy! Really, what more could one want? I dunno about you...but personally if it's a choice between world peace and winning 30 servings of über-delicious JELL-O mousse, I'd be seriously torn.



So what do you have to do to enter and win? Good question!

All you have to do is leave a comment in this post telling about your favorite JELL-O pudding flavor. (It doesn't matter which variety, nor whether it's the kind you make yourself or one of the snack pack flavors). The contest will be open until midnight PST, October 9th, 2010, and the winner will be announced Monday October 11th 2010. See the rules below!

The winner will be asked to submit their email address via a comment (don't worry, it will NOT be published), so that I can contact them for mailing information. Your information will be shared ONLY with Hunter P.R., which will be shipping the winner their prize directly.

Rules and other important contest info:

* The contest is open to U.S. residents only. (My apologies to my Canadian and overseas friends.)

* Only one entry per person.

* The winner will be chosen by me at random by whatever means I find amusing at the moment -- quite likely by some method involving cats.

* The winner will have until October 19th to contact me, or a new winner will be picked.

* Again, the winner's shipping information will NOT be posted, and will be shared ONLY with Hunter P.R, which will be shipping the prize package directly to the winner.

Good luck!!



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

CALORIES:
60 calories per cup.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Sugar free.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
kraftfoods.com

Haagen Dazs Dark Chocolate Mint

I won't lie -- this has been sitting in my freezer for a few months. Oh, I kept telling myself I was going to get around to reviewing it...and then something else would come along and catch my eye, and...well, long story short, no review.

Tonight I just felt like ice cream for dinner...and hey, guess what was in the freezer.

I really liked the "plain" dark chocolate flavor Haagen-Dazs introduced as a limited edition last year. It has since made a normal part of the regular line, so I was hoping that it would be the same dark chocolate used for the base of this flavor.



Just as I hoped, it was in fact the same base. It's a really deep cocoa. And at the same time it's creamy and smooth.

The mint is where the flavor lacks. It reminded me a lot in terms of taste to the Five Mint. It also reminded me a little too much of a toothpaste mint. While the texture is as creamy and rich as you could ever hope for ice cream to be, there is something about the mint flavor that makes me think "chalky" -- even though the texture is nowhere near it.



I think this flavor would probably work great for milkshakes -- or maybe mixed with another flavor for balance. On its own...eh, I would prefer to stick with the plain dark chocolate.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

CALORIES:
250 calories per 1/2 cup.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
haagen-dazs.com

Wrigley's 5 Gum React: Mint

I've been staring at this pack of gum for about two months now. Oh, I am ever going to chew it? I would say to myself...and then promptly start a review of something else. Well, today is just a gum-chewing sort of a day, I think.



The two newest entries into the 5 line of Wrigley's are both simply called React. One is packaged in black and orange and is fruit flavored (and reviewed here). The other is this pack, which is black and blue and flavored with mint. I don't know why they didn't bother to actually give each flavor more of an individual name, but it is what it is. Maybe it was dreamed up by people who still think that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are the same person.



In any event, just like its orange sibling, each stick is wrapped in a spiffy black wrapper (which I love because it matches all of my clothing), and the gum itself is a pale gray that turns darker as you chew it. It also smells to high heaven of Ben-Gay. Seriously, why?!? Mint is a good smell -- so why muck that up and make me think of my own shriveling arthritic hands?

Smell aside, the taste is more to the wintergreen side than like Ben-Gay in stick form -- but there also seems to be a tiny hint of spearmint hiding in there that adds sweetness and takes away from the almost burning strong mint it stars off with. In fact, once the initial burst of wintergreen dies out, there is about a three minute window of sweet mellow mint. Then, once that wears off, it dies down into what can best be called generic mint.



The flavor does last an incredibly long time, and the look of the gum is interesting enough. If you are a fan of wintergreen flavor, this may be your dream gum. For me, I didn't love it. It's not Solstice (I just love that flavor), but it does taste better than I would have expected from the Ben-Gay smell.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICE:
$1.25

CALORIES:
-5 calories per stick.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains soy lecithin, phenylalanine, aspartame, sorbitol, acesulfame K.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
wrigley.com

Chocomize Custom Chocolate Bar: Ahhh

I really love the idea of custom created chocolate bars. And I could literally spend hours coming up with different bars (and I have!), so when the folks at Chocomize contacted me and asked if I would like to give their bars a try, I could not resist.

I did several bars. Some of them are pretty interesting in terms of ingredients -- at least I think so -- but I also wanted to try something simple, because sometimes simple is really best.

The "Ahhh" bar is made up of a dark chocolate base, with dried cranberries and crystallized mint leaves.



The bar itself looks beautiful. The colors of the cranberries and the mint leaves are really vivid and allow the smooth and dark-looking chocolate to show through in little patches. The bars were well molded and arrived in perfect shape.

The ingredients are embedded in what is technically the bottom (or underside) of the bar. The top is simply molded and very, very, glossy.



I am going to rate this based on the individual ingredients rather than the bar as a whole -- because, after all, I chose how I paired the ingredients. The ingredients could be great but if I put them together in a less then stellar combination, it wouldn't be fair to hold that against Chocomize. (And if it's a brilliant combo, then I get all the credit! (Kidding...kidding...no, kinda not)



The dark chocolate: It's a 56% dark chocolate. Not the deepest, darkest chocolate by any stretch, but it does have a good flavor. It's got strong coffee notes, and a sweetness that I wasn't expecting -- but it's not so sweet that there isn't a slightly bitter edge. Honestly, it reminded me more of a deep milk chocolate than a true dark. The melt is very smooth and it feel silky and cool on the tongue. I tend to like my dark chocolates, well, darker -- but this was pleasant and it would be a good gateway dark for newbies who want to expand beyond milk chocolate.

The cranberries: These were great! Very plump and sweet and also very fresh. They were even still soft!

The crystallized mint leaves: They look quite pretty and they were not overly sugared. You could still see the details of the veins in the leaves. The flavor is mostly sugar (well, duh), but towards the end you do get a tiny hint of mint. Don't expect a full-on peppermint rush like you would get from, say, a classic candy cane -- think more of what's muddled into your mojito. But that's exactly what I was expecting, so I was pretty happy with being right. (I just happen to like being right a lot.)



Not to toot my own horn (and not basing the rating on this either), but I have to say that cranberries, mint, and dark chocolate is a pretty damn good combination.

This bar has definitely got me looking forward to my other Chocomize bars.

The folks at Chocomize also want you to give you a chance to make your own bar (or try my combination). So visit them at chocomize.com and use coupon code "Gigi" at checkout to get 10% off your order!



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

CALORIES:
118 calories per 1/5 of a bar.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain traces of milk, nuts and gluten.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
chocomize.com

Bendicks Bittermints

Once again, we have the fantastic Cinabar of Foodstuff Finds to thank for this review. As part of our amazing U.S./U.K. candy swap, she sent me this adorable tube of Bendicks Bittermints.

The tube is filled with individually wrapped patties. The patties consist of a firm peppermint fondant enrobed in a whopping 95% dark chocolate! 95% is some seriously deep stuff -- and even Bendicks' own website describes it as being "almost too dark." But the candy also features the stamp of the British royal family, and I like to think that maybe eating these candies is what put the hot into Prince Hot Ginge (AKA Prince Harry):



...and hopefully not what sucked the hot out of Prince William. Seriously, how the hell did this:



...turn into this?:



Anyway...what were we talking about again? Oh yeah...candy...anyway...



So, Bendicks Bittermints. The tube-sized version is slightly smaller than the size of our mini York peppermint patties. When you open the tube, there is a very intense chocolate/mint aroma that wafts up and pimp-slaps your senses (but in a genteel way).

Breaking the patty in two, you can see that the chocolate layer is just thick enough to give a nice seal to the mint fill, but it's not a thick shell. The mint fondant itself looks sort of like an Arctic white chunk of hard cheese. It's sort of dry and crumbly looking -- if you were expecting smooth or fluffy, you are in the wrong place.

Do not let looks deceive you. The chocolate is indeed extremely strong; it's a little dry, and the flavor is mostly of cocoa. It's sort of earthy, and it's not sweet at all. But before you get to the point where you are wondering why you ever bit into it, the mint kicks in.



It is a powerful mint! It's like an Altoid to the tenth power. In fact, at first it's almost too strong. It's not a sweet mint, either -- it's strong and herbal and clean, but it doesn't taste medicinal. It melts smoothly, even though it feels grainy when you first bite in. And it melts fast on the tongue.



The power of the mint doesn't wane for a good five minutes. And by the time the bite is starting to die down, you find yourself reaching for another...and then another...and yet another... Yeah, these things are just plain addictive.

Many thanks to Cinabar for causing me to add another candy to the Can't Keep In The House list! (Jim also reviewed them and gave them high marks. Read his review here.)



PURCHASED FROM:
Gift from Cinabar of Foodstuff Finds.

CALORIES:
55 calories per patty.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains soy. May contain traces of nuts.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
bendicks.co.uk

McDonald's Shamrock Shake

Once a year, McDonald's bestows upon us what a much younger Gigi thought was just the single coolest shake ever: The Shamrock Shake, in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

The Shamrock shake is a shade of bright green that reminds one of freshly rendered Leprechauns -- and, as you can probably guess, it is mint flavored. Until today, I don't think I have had one since roughly 2003.



The shake smells a bit like a breath mint..and actually it kinda tastes like one too. It reminds me a lot of those Starbright mints (the classic red and white swirled disk mints found often when leaving doctor's offices or restaurants). It's a brisk peppermint that is mixed with vanilla. It's good, but it's such a strong mint that it almost comes off as medicinal. Drinking this shake "straight" reminds me of why in the past I always preferred to have the Shamrock base mixed 50/50 with the chocolate shake. (I would have ordered it that way this time, but I considered that cheating on the review). Personally, I think the mint tastes much better mixed in with something else than it does on its own.



The texture is good. It's very thick, but still easy to get through the straw. It's a really aerated base, so it's almost fluffy at the same time.

I admit, Older Gigi is not nearly as fond of this shake as Younger Gigi was. (Although the addition of chocolate would have helped.) It's not bad, but kinda like an overly eager date -- it just comes off as trying too hard. If it were just a little more subtle, that would make a huge difference.



PURCHASED FROM:
McDonald's

PRICE:
$1.99 small size (12 oz)

CALORIES:
420 calories per 12 oz shake.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
mcdonalds.com

York Pieces

I have wanted to try these since Cybele reviewed them, even before they were actually released. (She is cool like that!) I love York Peppermint Patties, and I had been a fan of the now discontinued York Bites (which were exactly what the name implied -- a little bite sized version of a York Peppermint Pattie -- and again I am going to refer you to Cybele's review thereof).

Because I had read Cybele's review, I knew that these Pieces were going to be more similar to the seasonal mint M&M's than to an actual York patty. I had been hoping for the classic York mint fondant to be encased in a hard candy shell. But instead, it is dark chocolate that's flavored with mint. *Sigh* Don't get me wrong; it still sounds good, but I am pining for what might have been. (Yes, I know Junior Mints sort of fall into that mold. And I like Junior Mints. I am just a bigger fan of York overall, and besides, Junior Mints don't have a hard shell.)



Each York Piece is about the size and shape of an M&M. I liked the fact that before I even opened the resealable bag, I could smell the mint.

There are only two colors -- blue and white -- both of which have the same flavor. And while the colors themselves are a bit dull, the shells are as sweet and as crunchy as one could hope for.



Yes, I know I said I was initially sad that the centers were merely a mint flavored dark chocolate and not actual mint fondant. But I'm going to take that back because they did such a good job with this. The mint flavor is classic York. It's cool and brisk, but there's still a sweetness there.



The dark chocolate is a little bitter -- but I think that's good, because it balances the sweetness of the mint. While you know this is clearly a chocolate candy, it really is the mint that shines. The only thing I didn't love about it is that the chocolate seems dry. It doesn't have the greatest melt, either...no doubt because of that dryness.

But even with the less than great mouthfeel (it gets chalkier the more you eat...not, of course, that I gobbled enough of them to find out...), the taste is just so good that these are now my official mint chocolate lentil of choice.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICE:
$2.99

CALORIES:
170 calories per 50 pieces

ADDITIONAL INFO:
May contain almonds and coconut. Kosher.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
hersheys.com