Hammond's Crackle Crunch

Place purchased: Kitchens 

Price: $3

Number of reviewers: 5

Appearance - 7.0

The Hammond's Crackle Crunch bar consists of "milk chocolate with raspberry popping candy." The 64 g bar is segmented into six pieces, each with dark pink popping candy scattered throughout. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.4

The popping candies have a strong raspberry flavor which pairs well with the milk chocolate. I should also point out that I love raspberry flavored chocolate, so this is a definite winner for me. 

C: Very milk chocolaty and the raspberry comes through as very artificial. 
J: Raspberry flavor is very subtle but good. Chocolate is good.
L: Good milk chocolate. Raspberry is subtle, almost refreshing. 
S: Actual flavor isn't anything exceptional, but this is a cool concept. 

Texture - 8.1

The chocolate bar is crunchy from the popping candies. The popping effect does not happen until most of the chocolate has been ingested and the popping candies are left.

C: Mostly just crunchy. Takes a little bit to get the pop rocks, but it's pretty cool when they start popping. 
J: The popping is very subtle. Nothing like a pop rock. The popping is also delayed. 
L: Who doesn't like crunchies? Be careful, though, they can hurt. 
S: Tingly in my mouth - so cool! I like the crunchy texture, too.

Aftertaste - 7.6

The aftertaste has a more subtle raspberry flavor than when initially eating the bar. 

C: Some pop rocks linger and the chocolate leaves a heavy mouth coating. 
J: Chocolate with popping continuing as the flavor fades. 
S: Sweet. 

Overall - 7.8

Overall, I think the Hammond's Crackle Crunch bar is fantastic. The raspberry flavor works perfectly with the milk chocolate. Also, the popping candies add a delightful textural experience not found in many chocolate bars. 

J: Great flavor and idea, and while popping is subtle, it's probably best it is that way. 

Hammond's Whoopie Pie

Place purchased: Free sample from the Sweets & Snacks Expo

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 7.3

The Whoopie Pie bar has a small amount of white "sweet sugar frosting" filling that oozes out of its dark chocolate shell when the piece is snapped in two. 

J: Runny filling was unexpected. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.7

The flavors starts out as dark chocolate, then the filling takes over with a sweet marshmallow flavor. However, this is only true for the bites containing filling. About half of each piece is solid dark chocolate. 

C: Nice dark chocolate flavor, but the more I eat it becomes a little off, like too sweet. Creamy when get to center. 

J: Filling hides bitterness of dark chocolate, but once that fades it is bitter. 

Texture - 6.7

The dark chocolate has a good bite to it. Though, the filling is very gooey, which makes eating a piece in multiple bites a bit messy. 

C: The filling is very runny, chocolate a little hard. 

Aftertaste - 5.3

The filling is completely lost in the aftertaste, leaving just the flavor of bitter dark chocolate. 

C: Dark chocolate, bitter. 

J: Bitter chocolate. 

Overall - 6.3 

Overall, the Whoopie Pie bar filling was sweet and had a marshmallow flavor, reminiscent of the filling in an actual whoopie pie. Yet, the filling was too fluid and scarce in comparison to the bold dark chocolate. 

Hammond's Cookie Dough

Place purchased: Free sample from the Sweets & Snacks Expo

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 7.3

Hammond's Cookie Dough bar has a milk chocolate exterior, with a thin layer of cookie dough flavored filling in the center. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.0

The only flavor noticeable is that of sweet milk chocolate. The filling does not contribute any flavor to the bar. Even when eaten on its own, the filling only tastes sweet.  

E: Vaguely reminiscent of cookie dough, but too sweet and the flavor is too mild. 

E3: Slightly waxy taste. 

G: I can't taste the cookie dough filling. I had that expectation with reading the wrapper (otherwise I would have thought it was vanilla nougat), but the flavor and taste is good. 

J: Tastes good, but not much cookie dough flavor. Not enough filling. Very sweet.

S: Good chocolate, but I don't taste the cookie dough at all. 

Texture - 7.7

The chocolate is smooth and melts well, and the filling is soft and slightly gooey. 

E: Good balance of chocolate to creamy filling.

E3: Firm, melts in mouth well. 

S: Creamy.

Aftertaste - 7.2

The aftertaste is that of milk chocolate. 

E: Pretty clean, sweet finish. 

E3: Very creamy. 

G: Tastes like chocolate - but I still don't taste the cookie dough filling. 

J: Chocolate, slight cookie flavor starts to come through. 

S: Just tastes like chocolate. 

Overall - 7.3

Overall, Hammond's Cookie Dough chocolate bar tastes good, however there is no cookie dough flavor at all. The bar would have benefited by a higher concentration of the cookie dough flavor and a higher filling to chocolate ratio. 

Hammond's Caramel Mocha

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Price: $2.99 

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 7.4

The Caramel Mocha bar consists of a thick milk chocolate shell with a soft caramel filling studded with tiny coffee bean pieces. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.5

The bar tastes mostly like coffee and chocolate. The caramel flavor comes into play at the end. 

C: Get a mild caramel flavor, had warm coffee undertones. 

L: Very coffee, good chocolate, like the caramel in the middle. 

S: Slightly bitter, but other than that I didn't really taste a coffee flavor. Caramel was good, though.

Texture - 6.6

The chocolate shell is somewhat crunchy. The caramel filling is gooey and runny with crunchy coffee bits. 

C: Very hard. Crunchy.

S: Creamy inside. Had a few pieces in it that might have been ground up coffee beans, but the texture felt more like pieces of coconut. 

Aftertaste - 7.4

The aftertaste is of caramel and chocolate. The coffee flavor dissipates before the aftertaste. 

Overall - 7.3

Overall, I greatly enjoyed Hammond's Caramel Mocha bar. There was a good amount of coffee used; not too much or too little. I also liked that the bar is both caramel and coffee, not just one or the other. 

Candy Hunting - 2014 Sweets & Snacks Expo New Products

The National Confectioners Association's All Candy Expo first debuted in Chicago 18 years ago as a way for candy manufactures to exhibit their products to potential buyers. In 2010, other snacks were included, and the name was changed to the Sweets & Snacks Expo. The 2014 expo has more than 620 exhibitors and takes place from May 20-22 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Attendees include retailers and wholesalers looking to purchase candy, suppliers and brokers from the National Confectioners Association, and a small number of the media. I am one of the fortunate members of the media attending the expo. 

Candy and snack companies can submit their new products to the Sweets & Snacks Expo's New Product Showcase to be eligible for the Most Innovative New Product Award. These are just some of the new products submitted so far.

Chuao Chocolatier 

Release date: August 1, 2014

Oh My S'mores bar

"Fluffy marshmallows and crushed honey graham crackers reunite in milk chocolate" 

Ooh Ahh Almond bar

"Crunchy whole almonds, kettle cooked in sugar & sea salt, delight in dark chocolate"

Sweet & Salty bar

"A touch of sea salt, swirled in creamy chocolate" 
(These are currently available as mini bars.)

Pretzel Toffee Twirl bar

"Crunchy mini pretzels and buttery toffee dance in dark chocolate"

Hammond's Candies

Release date: April 1, 2014

Hammond's Whoopie Pie bar

"Dark chocolate shell with a sweet sugar frosting filling"

Hammond's Cookie Dough bar

"Milk chocolate shell with a creamy cookie dough filling"

Haribo

Sour! Gold-Bears

Release date: October 1, 2014

Just Born

Peeps Minis

Release date: May 15, 2014

Available in Chocolate Crème, Strawberry Crème, and Sour Watermelon.

Peeps Marshmallow Minions

Release date: August 2, 2014

Goldenberg's Peanut Chews Bites

Release date: May 14, 2014

Loacker USA

Cremkakao, Dark-Noir, Milk, and White chocolate bars

Release date: October 1, 2014

Pearson's Candy Company

Peanut Butter Salted Nut Roll

Release date: June 1, 2014

All of the photos and information were provided by their respective manufacturer. 

Hammond's Bee Pollen

Bee pollen is a mixture of pollen and nectar collected by honey bees. It is stored in cells within bee hives as food for larva or mature bees (Pitts-Singer, 2004). Bee pollen used for human consumption is collected by setting a trap that removes pollen from bees' legs before they enter the hive (Almeida-Muradian et. al., 2005).

The consumption of bee pollen is due to its presumed health benefits. Bee pollen is regarded as a 'superfood' and contains a number of antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals (Leja et. al., 2007). Additionally, research has shown that the polysaccharide LBPP in bee pollen may have anti-tumor activity (Yang et. al., 2007). 

On the back of the wrapper is a warning for people with bee and bee pollen allergies. Since bee pollen is pollen that bees have picked up from plants, an allergy to bee pollen can be caused by allergies to different types of plant pollen (Greenberger and Flais, 2001). Essentially, if you have seasonal allergies, you should be cautious about consuming bee pollen. 

Place purchased: The Peanut Store, Holland, MI

Number of reviewers: 4

Price: $4.00 

Appearance - 6.3

The dark chocolate is somewhat crumbly; there were small chocolate fragments coating the bar when I opened the wrapper. The chocolate is studded with plenty of bee pollen balls. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.9

The bar is made from good quality dark chocolate. The honey adds a slight sweetness to the bar, while the bee pollen does not contribute much to the overall flavor. 

C: Bitter and sweet at the front. Honey flavor towards the end. 
L: Honey flavor really stands out against the chocolate. 
S: I didn't really taste anything besides dark chocolate. 

Texture - 5.0

The chocolate had a good bite. However, the bee pollen balls were initially powdery and dry, and then became more sticky the longer they were chewed. The texture of the bee pollen reminded me of compressed dextrose candies like Smarties. 

C: The chocolate was creamy with crunchy parts. 
L: Pollen sticks to teeth. 
S: Interesting. Different than anything I've had before. The pollen pieces are crunchy but kind of soft at the same time. 

Aftertaste - 6.5

I did not notice much of an aftertaste. 

C: Honey and dark chocolate taste. 
S: Slightly metallic. 

Overall - 6.0

Overall, I thought the good dark chocolate was ruined by the addition of bee pollen granules. The bee pollen adds no flavor and has a strange powdery and chewy texture. Though, Hammond's Bee Pollen chocolate bar could be suitable for someone interested in consuming bee pollen for its health benefits. However, anyone with bee or pollen allergies should stay clear of this chocolate bar.

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Almeida-Muradian LB, Pamplona LC, Coimbra S, and Barth OM. 2005. Chemical composition and botanical evaluation of dried bee pollen pellets. J Food Compos Anal 18(1): 105-11. 

Greenberger PA and Flais MJ. 2001. Bee pollen-induced anaphylactic reaction in an unknowingly sensitized subject. Ann Allerg Asthma Im 86(2): 239-42. 

Leja M, Mareczek A, Wyzgolik G, Klepacz-Baniak J, and Czekonska K. 2007. Antioxidative properties of bee pollen in selected plant species. Food Chem 100(1): 237-40. 

Pitts-Singer TL. 2004. Examination of ‘pollen balls’ in nests of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. J Apicult Res 43(2): 40-6. 

Yang X, Guo D, Zhang J, and Wu M. 2007. Characterization and anti-tumor activity of pollen polysaccharide. Int Immunopharmacol 7(3): 401-8.  

Hammond's Pigs N' Taters

 

 

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 5

Appearance - 7

The wrapper looks great. Red bacon pieces are visible after biting into the chocolate. Wait... bacon is not bright red... 

J: Classy looking wrapping; high end.
L: Not very original. Kind of boring. Pink fake bacon bits look unappealing. 
S: Love the name! The bacon in it looks kind of gross. The packaging isn't particularly creative. 

Flavor and Taste - 5.2

The chocolate bar smells smoky and meaty- exactly like a dog treat. After looking at the ingredient list, I discovered the cause of the dog treat odor. Artificial bacon bits. No real bacon in this bar. Luckily, the bar does not taste as bad as it smells. The flavor starts out smoky from the fake bacon and then ends very salty. I could not bring myself to try more than one piece of the bar, because it smelled so off-putting. 

C: More bacon flavor, but get saltiness from potato chip. 
J: Aroma of pet treats. Chocolate is good. Bac-Os and chocolate, such a fake flavor!
L: So gross. Salty dog treat with some smokiness. 
S: Very salty, but I kind of like it. Not too much of a bacon flavor. 

Texture - 6

The bar is made of smooth chocolate with small, crunchy pieces of potato chips and artificial bacon bits. 

C: Reminds me of Bacon Bits - both taste and texture. 
J: Weird crunch.
S: I like how it crunches in my mouth. 

Aftertaste - 4.9

It has a salty and slightly smoky aftertaste. 

J: Smoky aftertaste.
S: Good aftertaste. Saltiness that goes away quickly. 

Overall - 5

I have had great chocolate bars containing potato chips and bacon, and I have had good chocolate bars from Hammond's. I was very excited about a chocolate bar containing both potato chips AND bacon. Sadly, this Pigs N' Taters bar contains absolutely no bacon. For $2.99, I would expect real bacon pieces, not artificial bits that smell like Beggin' Strips. I still have about half the bar sitting in my desk. Nobody will eat it. 

J: I would not buy this. 

S: Fun idea, but a little too salty and doesn't taste like bacon at all.