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Stitch's Candy Jar - Japanese Kit Kats
18 years ago
General
We Americans are notorious for our collective sweet tooth, so why is it that all the cool candy comes from places other than America (pop rocks and freeze-dried ice cream notwithstanding)?
Case in point: Kit Kats. If you're from the States, when you think of a Kit Kat, you think of a rectangular sandwich of chocolate and crispy wafers, segmented into four breakaway sticks... it's nice, but not anything to get excited about. It wasn't until the recent trend of 'special edition' candy bars (meaning, candy that isn't around long enough for you to enjoy it more than once or twice before it goes away forever) that the good folks at Nestle deigned to break up the chocolately monotony by giving us white chocolate (floor wax with crispy wafers), mint (not bad, but only available for one month out of the year), caramel (it's that really fake kind that sort of disappears into the candy when you eat it) and occasionally orange (tasty, but good luck finding it).
Our other American Kit Kat innovation? The 'Big Kat', which is not surprisingly just the same as a regular Kit Kat stick, only it's really freaking big. It's the Humvee of Kit Kats.
Now let's jump around to some other countries and see what they... holy crap, they've got hazelnut Kit Kats in Germany? Kit Kat Caramacs in the UK? Honeycomb Kit Kats in Australia? Peanut butter in Canada? Tiramisu? Cookie dough? Dark chocolate with caramelized cocoa nibs? Damn it, but that 'Big Kat' thing is sounding duller by the minute.
Which brings me to Japan, which is without a doubt the epicenter of Kit Kat-y innovation. Even green mint and peanut butter sound pretty bland when you consider the flavors the Japanese get to enjoy. Kiwi Kit Kats? Melon Kit Kats? Grape? Vanilla Bean? Azuki? Cherry blossom? How am I supposed to enjoy my plain ol' boring American Kit Kat when I know that there are Japanese people eating cherry blossom Kit Kats on the other side of the Pacific?
Fortunately for me, though, there's a Japanese supermarket in my neck of the woods, and they have an awesome candy aisle. No, they didn't have Kit Kat Gold (dark chocolate with cocoa powder coating), or café latte with Hokkaidō milk (what I wouldn't give to try that)... but they did have strawberry, raspberry, and apple: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a9.....er/KitKats.jpg
I was so happy I didn't even blink at the $6 price tag (per bag, that is... and that little box containing just two apple-flavored sticks was $5). So, was it worth it? Here's my quicky breakdown of the snacking experience:
Raspberry - Individually wrapped (as is virtually all Japanese candy) double sticks of subtly-flavored chocolate covering a sandwich of faintly pink wafers. The fruit flavor is almost more of an aftertaste than anything, but it's pleasant and blends well with the cocoa.
Strawberry - Whoa, much more intense berry overtones. Double sticks again, this time with somewhat darker pink wafers that have a strong taste of a fakey (but not unpleasant) artificial strawberry flavor. Tastes kind of like chocolate-covered strawberry bubble gum.
Apple - This is the one I was most keen to try, and it's certainly the most unusual. It's a single large stick consisting of the standard chocolate-coated wafers, but with a top layer of some kind of creamy, apple-y stuff. Interestingly, there's a custard overtone that makes the candy taste more like cherimoya fruit than anything.
Hopefully, I'll find some more flavors to try in the future (azuki Kit Kats, where are you?)
Case in point: Kit Kats. If you're from the States, when you think of a Kit Kat, you think of a rectangular sandwich of chocolate and crispy wafers, segmented into four breakaway sticks... it's nice, but not anything to get excited about. It wasn't until the recent trend of 'special edition' candy bars (meaning, candy that isn't around long enough for you to enjoy it more than once or twice before it goes away forever) that the good folks at Nestle deigned to break up the chocolately monotony by giving us white chocolate (floor wax with crispy wafers), mint (not bad, but only available for one month out of the year), caramel (it's that really fake kind that sort of disappears into the candy when you eat it) and occasionally orange (tasty, but good luck finding it).
Our other American Kit Kat innovation? The 'Big Kat', which is not surprisingly just the same as a regular Kit Kat stick, only it's really freaking big. It's the Humvee of Kit Kats.
Now let's jump around to some other countries and see what they... holy crap, they've got hazelnut Kit Kats in Germany? Kit Kat Caramacs in the UK? Honeycomb Kit Kats in Australia? Peanut butter in Canada? Tiramisu? Cookie dough? Dark chocolate with caramelized cocoa nibs? Damn it, but that 'Big Kat' thing is sounding duller by the minute.
Which brings me to Japan, which is without a doubt the epicenter of Kit Kat-y innovation. Even green mint and peanut butter sound pretty bland when you consider the flavors the Japanese get to enjoy. Kiwi Kit Kats? Melon Kit Kats? Grape? Vanilla Bean? Azuki? Cherry blossom? How am I supposed to enjoy my plain ol' boring American Kit Kat when I know that there are Japanese people eating cherry blossom Kit Kats on the other side of the Pacific?
Fortunately for me, though, there's a Japanese supermarket in my neck of the woods, and they have an awesome candy aisle. No, they didn't have Kit Kat Gold (dark chocolate with cocoa powder coating), or café latte with Hokkaidō milk (what I wouldn't give to try that)... but they did have strawberry, raspberry, and apple: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a9.....er/KitKats.jpg
I was so happy I didn't even blink at the $6 price tag (per bag, that is... and that little box containing just two apple-flavored sticks was $5). So, was it worth it? Here's my quicky breakdown of the snacking experience:
Raspberry - Individually wrapped (as is virtually all Japanese candy) double sticks of subtly-flavored chocolate covering a sandwich of faintly pink wafers. The fruit flavor is almost more of an aftertaste than anything, but it's pleasant and blends well with the cocoa.
Strawberry - Whoa, much more intense berry overtones. Double sticks again, this time with somewhat darker pink wafers that have a strong taste of a fakey (but not unpleasant) artificial strawberry flavor. Tastes kind of like chocolate-covered strawberry bubble gum.
Apple - This is the one I was most keen to try, and it's certainly the most unusual. It's a single large stick consisting of the standard chocolate-coated wafers, but with a top layer of some kind of creamy, apple-y stuff. Interestingly, there's a custard overtone that makes the candy taste more like cherimoya fruit than anything.
Hopefully, I'll find some more flavors to try in the future (azuki Kit Kats, where are you?)
Remember Cookies and Cream Twix? I know I do. :(
I did just try one of those mint Three Musketeers bars... interesting, but a tad dry, like minty insulation foam.