Past Times

When a label says ‘since a particular year’ that either means it was so good they never thought of changing the original recipe, or it was something someone who actually lived during those times would like. Fry's Cream bars seem to be one of the latter cases. 

The candy bars I picked up this week were two varieties of Fry's Cream bars, originally made by J.S. Fry and Sons, and now produced by Cadbury's as a retro item of sorts. There are three varieties - chocolate, peppermint, and orange - and some no longer existing ill-fated varieties such as Pineapple Cream and Fruit Medley. Luckily for me, the local shop only had the chocolate and peppermint varieties, saving me from having to try the undoubtedly unholy chocolate and orange combo (somehow works in a jaffa cake, fails in all other things chocolate and orange flavored). 

The wrapper on both of these candy bars proudly states 'Since 1761'. This appears to be a poor effort by Cadbury's to co-opt nostalgia for a once-family owned brand that underwent what was certainly a hostile corporate takeover in the early 1900s. It also does not bode well for my chocolate tasting experience. Do you know what else they found delicious in 1791? Aspic, for one, and a whole host of other disgusting things.

To start - the Chocolate Cream. This is a throwback and probably deserves to remain a throwback. This bar consists of a creamy center surrounded by nice and thick dark chocolate. The consistency of the cream is jus runny enough to be smooth, but stays nicely within the chocolate shell - all in all, kind of like the Latvian delight Oli brought back from Riga. However, this is where the similarities end. The chocolate on the outside is far too sweet, and the filling tastes like one of those weird eastern European chocolates that tastes alcoholic, yet strangely does not contain any alcohol. The overly sweet and odd-tasting filling (one colleague said it tasted like soap) and sweet chocolate is a really awful combination, and one I don't think I'd try again. I also had a hard time giving away the leftovers - one work colleague delightedly exclaimed that her mom 'loves these', only to then make a face while eating it and give up on the rest of her square in disgust. The filling is nice and smooth, and I like the chocolate to filling ratio, but I just can't get over the taste.

0.5 bars.

The Peppermint Cream, however, is a whole different kettle of fish. It's the same concept as the Chocolate Cream, but with the perennially wonderful peppermint and chocolate combo. The filling is a completely different texture - still creamy but with a more fluffy consistency. It's like a perfect marriage between the runniness of an After Eight and the chewiness of a Peppermint Pattie (two of my favorite chocolates, if it's not already been made obvious). The peppermint filling is also a lot less sickly than the filling in the Chocolate Cream. Unfortunately, the gross Cadbury's Bourneville chocolate exterior is still too sweet, and I don't think I'd be able to finish a whole bar (I only got a third of the way through). To its credit, though, I had much less trouble offering up the leftovers from the Peppermint Cream than the Chocolate Cream.

Good in a pinch, and it IS the best flavor combination going - 2 bars.

So, in total, an average of 1.25 bars. Not so hot.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to mention that the Chocolate Cream and the Peppermint Cream were in fact the last two candy bars at my corner shop, meaning I am free to try a whole host of new and wonderful things. I'm going to check out the stock at other stores around work, but suggestions for bars to try and donations from exotic foreign locales are both very welcome. I still have yet to try the delights of a Curly Wurly (remarkably hard to find these days) and a Wispa Gold, brought back in triumph late last year, and will be travelling to the disparate foodie locales of Seattle (what WON'T they flavor with bacon?) and Poland (likely to be slightly more tame). 

Methinks 2012 is going to be an exciting one for chocolate tasting! Let's just hope it goes better than this week's offering. 

Bar-o-Meter