"Mmhmm," I agreed, mouth bulging with candy.
"It tastes fake," added the missus.
I didn't disagree, but I looked at the ingredients. First on the list: glucose syrup. I was hoping to see "cane sugar" or "honey" there.
At first, this candy feels fake, too—almost like hard plastic. The nougat quickly softens, though, and goes from stiff and rigid to soft and pliable. The nuts are the only elements that remain hard after a few moments in the mouth, and they add the only non-sugary flavor to the product. The taste of honey is detectable, but I wish there were a good bit more of it.
We both agree the almonds are the best part of this sweet snack, and since they're playing second fiddle to a block of vanilla-flavored sugar, they still don't redeem the product entirely, in my opinion. Sonia started enjoying the candy more and more as she tasted the almonds, got used to the unfamiliar texture, and learned that the nougats came all the way from South Africa. I'm not sure why we have to import something that could potentially be little more than wads of corn syrup, but I guess we're just that much more sophisticated for eating foreign confections.
Despite an initial wariness, Sonia will bring a respectable three and a half star score. At $3.49 for 8 pieces of nougat, I think it's a little overpriced and uninteresting. I'd prefer a product that's simply nice big whole almonds with just a thin coating of this candy. Two and a half stars from me.
Bottom line: 6 out of 10.
I tried toasting it and used as Smores. Not bad. I agree it should been a thin nougat covering. That would be better
ReplyDeleteI can’t have chewy/stucky things any more but this seems like a soft version of spanish turrĂ³n- which is amazing and usually packed with almonds with a small portion of honey flavored nougat to hold it together.
ReplyDeleteTtrockwood
Yes turron is mostly Roasted almonds, egg whites, and honey/sugar. This sounds like a cheap knockoff. Booo TJs....
ReplyDeleteIts not corn syrup, its probably glucose fermented from potatoes, wheat, barley, rice, or cassava. Also, all torrone or nougat must be made with sugar, otherwise it would not hold. You wouldn't try to make meringues with honey as a substitute. The nougatier that makes these for Trader Joe's is from South Africa. Nougat is actually pretty difficult to make, don't call it wads of corn syrup.
ReplyDeleteMe encantan sobre todo por lo blando tengo 74 anos y no se comerme uno solo. Si quisiera que fuera mas varato y asi puede uno comprar mas gracias
ReplyDelete