UHA Kororo 100% Grape Gummy

There was a bowl of candy.  It had a blog which lived and grew and entertained some people. There was candy to talk about and people to talk to.

Candybowl the blogger ended up in an office with a pile of snacks in one public snack zone. Nobody ate out of candy bowls.  A few posts from home, a tiny stream of visitors that meanders on to this day.  Candybowl has been out of the game.

So when Cadnybowl went to  Japan on vacation and picked up a bag of UHA Kororo grape jelly candy, it was without any consideration of the blog.  That changed.

The gummy is slippery and a little rough  on the tongue.  On sucking one gets hints of an intense and pleasant concord grape flavor, with the uneven mouthfeel of a peeled grape.  On biting the jelly in the middle oozes all over.  It's strong, with a realistic grape flavor. One knows one is eating candy but a very realistic candy.

Denizens of Candybowl (the blog) will recall that UHA produces the excellent Cucu line of hard candies.  This is more like the UHA gummy, which boasts 100% fruit juice (20% is 5x juice concentrate). There's a footnote on this package which appears to say (in Japanese) it's made with 6x concentrated fruit juice for a total of about 6.7 grams or about 16.5% by weight.   Candybowl respects a candy with a footnote.

They're very nice, and it's not a very large package.  So go ahead and get them if you see them.

Impact Mints Strawberry Sugar Free Candy

A few packs of sugar free fruit mints were laid upon Candybowl on his way home from work. The route home passes through a pedestrian zone popular with companies giving things away.  Free newspapers every day.  Toothpaste, mints and eye drops occasionally. 

Impact Mints are made by German health food company sanotact. They come in little tins which are covered in horses.  Candybowl was drawn to the package as it conjures memories of a time and place.  A workplace with women who love horses.

The candy comes out of the gate high and off-balance, with huge artificial berry and sweetener notes.  I guess that's the impact. On continued sucking it starts to turn sour, as if the candy is making amends for the cloying start.  And then it's almost gone.

The chew is very nice after sucking for a while, as the candy breaks into little crunchy shards and then dissipates.   If you chew right away it will be noticeably more difficult, a common issue with sugar free hard candies.

Impact mints will not diminish the longing for your days of vicarious pferdebesitzerkeit.  It's the Ice Cubes of fruity mints.  Give it a pass.

Smith Orange and Melon Jelly

When Candybowl’s mom used to go to the Asian food store, she would sometimes get Botan candies, orange-flavored morsels wrapped in clear rice paper that melted on your tongue.  It was so much fun to take off the rice paper and pretend to eat plastic wrap.  So Candybowl was excited to see these Orange and Hami Melon jellies from Hong Kong's Smith Confectionery listing rice paper as an ingredient.

From first appearances, it appears the rice paper got fused to the outside of the jelly.  It keeps the wrapper from sticking, but definitely not fun.  The other ingredients are pretty uninspiring -- glucose syrup, sugar, agarm and flavoring (probably artificial).

This is not a confection intended to be sucked, although the floating rags of rice paper do tend to confirm Candybowl's fused-to-the-exterior theory.  The bite is nice and stiff, and the jelly breaks down into small lumps in the mouth.  It's all about the texture.

The orange initially releases a bitter zest-like orange flavor.  Deeper down, there is nothing.  The same is true of the melon, where an odd and unfamiliar melony flavor dissipates into the slippery mash of sweet jelly.  Eating both of them together masks the melon flavor.  But why?  Just get the orange.

Overall a fair attempt from Smith Confectionery, which according to this article is one of the last candy companies still manufacturing in Hong Kong and does much of its work by hand.  Try it if you can find it, but don't go out of your way.

Check out My Fruity Gum Blog

It's called Fruity Gums of the World, and will feature (ummm....) fruity gums I come across in my travels.

Check it out.  http://fruitygum.blogspot.com

Kabaya 5-Flavor Umami Candy (Sozai no Umami Ame)

If you listen to the Splendid Table on NPR, you may loathe hearing the words "Umami is the so-called fifth taste."  Umami is the indescribable flavor found in mushrooms, tomatoes, meats, soy sauce, and yes, MSG.  So it was quite a surprise to find a bag of candies with the words "umami candy" on the front.

This candy, from newcomer Kabaya, has five flavors: soy sauce, matcha (green tea), ginger, brown sugar, and sesame.

Searching for the Umami, Candybowl dove in straight for the Shoyu flavor.  The initial flavor note is reminiscent of a red tea candy.  But after a moment, the soy sauce flavor kicks in.  Oh baby.  Put soy sauce on a sugar cube, and this is it.  On crunching, the flavor gets more complex, with notes of brown sugar and even pecan pie.  Complex and yummy.

Next, Candybowl went for the Matcha. Earthy, grassy, and delicious, almost the equal of the Ujinotsuyu tea candies featured on the candybowl oh-so-long ago.  A bit less complex, but very very nice.

Sesame was just as delightful.  The initial flavor notes are reminiscent of the black sesame soup sometimes served as a dessert in Hong Kong.  But chewing brings in flavors of toasted sesame seeds (there are real black and tan sesame seeds).  And -- dare I say it -- the fifth flavor.  Mmmmmmm!

The crunch is excellent, dissolving quickly and leaving a small amount of delicious gum on the tooth.

How can you possibly go wrong with this candy -- lovely, realistic flavors and an excellent texture?  And soy sauce to trick the unwary!  Candybowl is in love.  (Also riding a bit of a sugar high, but in love nonetheless.)

Asahi Cheesecake and Peach Tart Milk Candy

This pastry-flavored sweet comes to us from Asahi, a company better known outside of Japan for its beer.  In Japan and elsewhere in Asia it is also known for a variety of foods -- sugary drinks, mostly -- that are anything but super-dry.

Candybowl tried the peach tart flavor first.  The initial flavor is intense peach, slightly more realistic than the insipid peach schnapps but not by much.  There is a slight cream note, but the dominant flavor is peach.  On chewing, the cream flavor emerges, along with a chemical note not unlike an odor Candybowl remembers from 5th grade industrial arts.  The overall impression, however, is not at all unpleasant.

The cheesecake flavor is much more realistic.  Not only a good creamy flavor, but also that slight lemony tartness that one gets in a good, dense cheesecake.  After the crunch, the sourness intensifies and a note of graham crackers emerges, coating the mouth in a lovely, cheesy grunge.

Grunge.  This candy leaves a significant amount of gum on the tooth.  Too much.  Add to that this candy is slightly rough-hewn, and one is left with the impression that Asahi does not think we will notice form and texture.  We do.

The verdict?  Buy a bag, eat the cheesecake ones, put the peach ones out for your guests.  And brush well after consuming.

UHA CuCu Watermelon Salt Vanilla Candy

When Candybowl was young, he went to a summer day camp run by hippies.  Not hula-hoop-twirling, dirty-dredlock-wearing hippies, but just good snaggle-toothed, granola-eating folk into whose hands we were placed for a chain of hot summer days.

There was some weirdness, like the belief that powdered milk was healthier than fresh, or the picking up and inspecting of insects, or the grunge at the bottom of the swimming pool.  But most of it we just accepted as normal.  Like cutting the white parts off of the watermelon rinds other kids had sucked clean earlier in the day and tossing them into an aquarium so we could pickle them.

Of course, there was nothing normal about making watermelon pickles in an aquarium.  For good reason.   First, aquariums are nasty places in which fish and reptiles do terrible things.  Second, aquarium glass breaks easily.  So when we were all supposed to be eating yummy pickled watermelon rind, instead we were picking pieces of broken glass out of the broken aquarium and rinsing the rind, and hoping to god that the pieces we were eating wouldn't kill us.

Which is why the new Japanese fad for watermelon salt candies evokes a sense of longing in Candybowl.

This morsel is part of UHA's CuCu line.   Like all of UHA's candies the texture is flawless.  On sucking, one gets mild and very pleasant watermelon notes with just a hint of vanilla.

The crunch is delightful, releasing a burst of saltiness and just a little caramel.  The watermelon flavor intensifies, but only slightly, more like an increase in sourness without additional fruitiness.

And no broken glass.  An odd and pleasant treat from CuCu.  Try them as soon as you possibly can.

Sapporo Hokkaido Butter Caramel

This sublime, western-style butter caramel comes to us from Sapporo "Gourme" Foods. 

The caramel is rough-hewn and textured, giving it the appearance of a handmade candy-store candy.  However, the ingredients are not altogether traditional.  Although it contains real milk and sugar (presumably from Hokkaido) it also has millet jelly, shortening, and flavorings.

The initial flavor note is overwhelmingly sweet toffee.  There is one odd note present, reminiscent of dust from the inside of a wooden box.  Perhaps the wooden box in which they found the caramel recipe.  I don't know.

This is a soft candy, so all the action is in the chewing.  This confection has excellent texture.  Soft, not sticky, but a bit grainy.  It releases sweet.  burnt caramel notes, followed by a burst of buttery toffee flavor.  A bit too sweet, perhaps, but overall a very tasty candy. Only a tiny bit of residue left on the tooth and even this dissipates quickly.

A very nice, if conventional caramel from Sapporo Gourme' Foods.  Pick one up if you can, but don't go out of your way.

Amehana Sumiyaki Coffee Soft Milk Candy

This roasted coffee candy comes to us from CandyBowl newcomer Amehana.

According to the package, the outside is coffee powder, and the inside is a milk coffee soft candy.

CandyBowl was expecting a sweet flavor like the coating of a piece of of tiramisu.  Instead, the coating is actual dried coffee powder, which makes sucking a bitter affair reminiscent of the all-nighter stunt of eating a spoonful of freeze-dried coffee.

This is a soft candy, so there is no crunch.  Instead, this is a firm but soft, waxy confection.  During the chew, a nice, slightly bitter coffee note emerges, followed by a sweeter latte flavor.  The candy leaves a small amount of goo on the molars, but it quickly dissipates. 

With more chewing, a slightly artificial taffy flavor comes through, but the coffee flavor remains intense and milky.

This is a very nice first effort from Amehana.  Try one.

UHA 100% Fruit Juice Gummy

Here is a fruit gummy candy from UHA, a company no doubt well known to followers of the Candybowl (the blog, not the bowl or the blogger).

Make no mistake: this is not a super-soft Kasugai gummy.  Instead, it has a firmer bite closer to a Rowntree fruit gum.  Adding to the textural delight, each candy is shaped like the fruit whose flavor it bears.

Candybowl tried the grape, orange, and peach.  Grape had a very realistic concord grape flavor reminiscent of the Kanro Grape candy.   Peach, too, was fairly realistic.  Orange, on the other hand, had a slightly medicinal flavor without real orange juice or zest notes.

The 100% juice claim, while impressive and borne out by the flavor of at least some of the candies, is a bit of an optical illusion.  According to the package, each candy contains 20% of a 5x fruit juice concentrate.  The remaining ingredients is a mystery, as the printing on the package is clear on white and quite illegible.

Another delightful candy from UHA.

Senjaku Premium Vanilla Candy

Candybowl (the blogger) has been impressed by the offerings of Senjaku, and was therefore excited to come across this confection.  It features images of ice cream on the outer package, and promises mellow milk flavor and flecks of real vanilla. 

The eager anticipation was, sadly, unjustified and unrequited.

The outer surface is rough on the tongue, but not unpleasant.  Sucking the candy reveals initial taste notes of artificial vanilla and condensed milk.  However, the milk flavor is neither as pronounced nor as realistic as the Senjaku High Concentration Milk candy, and the vanilla flavor is one-dimensional.

This is one tough pebble to chew, and leaves an unacceptable amount of residue on the tooth.  While avid readers know Candybowl is prepared to overlook a bit of gumminess, this candy simply fails the test.  It lacks other redeeming qualities that might justify giving it a break on texture.

Senjaku can do, and has done, far better.  Try their milk candy instead.

Takaoka Blueberry Chocolate Candy

Yet another in the torrent of blueberry candies coming out of the Japanese market comes to us from Candybowl newcomer Takaoka Chocolate Company.

As seen in the photo, it is a smooth and shiny ball.  It is also one of the smallest candies featured on this blog since Kanro Natury Berry.   The outside is blueberry-flavored chocolate and seems to have some kind of wax or lacquer on the surface, accounting for the sheen.  As a result, there is almost no flavor on sucking.

The morsel is soft to chew, and the blueberry chocolate shell mixes with a blueberry paste center to form a tasty fruity treat.  The berry flavor, however, is not entirely realistic and is muted somewhat by the chocolate.

This confection contains some artificial color and vegetable oil, however its main ingredients are sugar, cocoa powder, milk and milk solids, and blueberries.  Why blueberries?  Ask the Japanese.

A very nice debut from Takaoka.

Ribon Noko Nama Blueberry Candy

Shortly after completing the entry on Ribon Strawberry Yogurt, Candybowl discovered another dense-filling sweet from blog newcomer Ribon.

The outer package suggests this candy may be aimed at those seeking the purported health benefits of blueberries, since it boasts 25% blueberry juice, and an entire bag contains 880µg of vitamin A, and 230mg of blueberry extract.  Puzzlingly, it also contains 175mg of Nikko Maple extract.  Which must have some appeal to somebody.

The outer shell is not very refined, but that does not detract unduly from the mouth feel.  The initial flavor notes are blueberry, sweet, and mild Elmer's glue.  Nothing bad there, but also nothing to knock one's socks off (unless one wears socks on one's tongue).

On crunching, the berry flavors intensify.  Not a strong blueberry flavor, but a nice fruity paste.  Speaking of paste, this thing really sticks to the tooth.

Not nearly as nice as the strawberry sweets, but eating one is a small and delicious price to pay for the dubious health benefits of real blueberries.

Ribon Noko Nama Ichigo Fresh Strawberry and Yogurt Candy

This filled sweet comes to us from Candybowl debutante, Ribon.  It comes in two flavors -- strawberry and yogurt.  If Candybowl reads the outer package correctly (a big if), this candy contains 50% fruit juice.  It also contains cream from Hokkaido.

Candybowl tried the strawberry first.  On sucking, the morsel released mild strawberry flavor and hints of honeysuckle.  The mouth feel was excellent, and Candybowl could have sucked it for a long time.  But the candy demanded to be bitten.

On crunch, the delicate candy shell gave way to a creamy center.  Shell and center melded into a nice facsimile of strawberry milkshake.  It left very little residue, possibly because Candybowl sucked so long.

Moving on to the yogurt candy, it released a refreshing yogurt notes and slight citrus flavor, almost like a lemon square.  On chewing, the strawberry center overwhelmed the yogurt flavor.  This time, the residue was a bit excessive but still pleasant because of the strong fruit flavor.

A respectable and very likable candy from Ribon,

UHA Tokuno Dense 8.2 Choco Candy

Here is another dense milk candy, this time from UHA.  Unlike the Senjaku Hokkaido candy recently reviewed on this blog, this one has chocolate.  And it makes a big difference.

Also unlike the Senjaku candy, the main ingredient in this confection is sugar. However, the second ingredient is starch syrup (which Candybowl assumes is like corn syrup). After that, it's milk, cream, chocolate, cream, condensed milk, butter, etc.

The form is not as elegant as UHA's cucu candies. This may owe something to the engineering required to get the choco into the dense milk.  Initial taste tests were excellent. Clean, fresh, sweet milk. The flavor is not terribly strong on sucking, but there are no off-notes to detract.

On chewing, it explodes with chocolate flavor, releasing a chocolate syrup that creates the confectionary illusion of a hot fudge sundae inside your mouth.  Wow. 

This is a very nice candy.  Try one now.

Senjaku Hokkaido High Concentration Milk Candy

Candybowl remains miffed that when a milk candy last graced the bowl, nobody took it. Things are different this time -- that package featured a cow, but this one does not.

The japanese character on the front of the packages means "dense." As in high-concentration. Not a description of the people who couldn't figure out that a cow signifies milk (not meat) flavor.

There's nothing fancy about this candy. Perhaps reflecting a Hokkaido peasant lineage, this milk candy is rough-hewn and unrefined in appearance.

The only taste is sweet, delicious milk. Looking at the ingredients list, it's clear why: this candy contains milk, whey, condensed milk, and cream. Indeed, if Candybowl reads the package correctly (a big if) it contains 35% milk. The candy loses marks for having corn syrup as its main sweetener, but there's nothing unnatural in the flavor.

The crunch is very nice, with an acceptable amount of gumminess. The flavor intensifies into notes quite reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. Mmm ... ice cream.

Mmmm.....

Kasugai Gokusho Shogi Low Calorie Candy

Here is a low-calorie candy from Kasugai. It comes in two flavors, grape and lemon.

Sugar free candies have vastly improved over the past few years, and this candy certainly follows that trend. It contains a low-calorie sweetener called erythritol. Candybowl is happy to try anything once, and is happy to report this sugar substitute gets it done.

Almost. The first reaction to the grape candy is "very tart." Artificial grape, like Now & Laters. It is clear that "no sugar" means no mercy from the sourness. But since they are just one calorie each Candybowl tried the lemon, which is supposed to be sour, and it was.

The crunch is fantastic. Chips slough off at the slightest contact with a tooth, and pulverize into a clean (and very tart) sand. No residue at all.

Good candy.

Kanro Changing? Candy

Leave it to the candy geniuses at Kanro to come up with such an unconventional boiled sweet. This changing candy offers three flavors -- grape, apple, or soda flavor followed by a plunge into unknown flavor territory.

Starting within the realm of the knowable, the apple candy tasted initially like apple. Not totally realistic apple flavor, but close enough and without some of the chemical notes that can afflict some artificial apple flavorings. Upon sucking, another fruit flavor, slightly more realistic, melted through. Candybowl will not say what it is, for it would then no longer be a surprise.

This morsel has a slightly rough appearance, but is smooth on the tongue. The crunch yielded no surprises, and left an acceptable amount of residue on the tooth. Having waited for the second flavor to come through on the sucking, Candybowl discerned no additional flavors in the center.

A fine offering from Kanro. Try one and see where it leads you.

UHA Matcha and Azuki CuCu Candy

As Candybowl has noted, UHA's Cucu line includes some of the most elegant hard candies around. So it was a pleasant surprise to find this Matcha and Azuki bean candy. Matcha is powdered green tea, and azuki is a red bean often used in Japanese desserts.

Initial flavor notes are very mild green tea and cream. Upon further sucking, slight notes of bean emerge. The crunch is, of course, excellent. This is where the bean flavor really shines, overtaking the tea and forming a delicious, earthy blend.

The package features a dog made out of cubes of candy. Why not?

Another great candy from UHA.

Sakuma Lemon Koritto

This lemon candy is understated, with its unassuming cellophane twist package. However, it ranks among the finest confections Candybowl has encountered.

It has an attractive triangular form, and is adorned with an "S," presumably for Sakuma. According to the diagram on the package, the outside is lemon flavor and the inside is "saku saku milk." (Before the mind starts racing, Candybowl would like to point out that online translation of sakusaku is "crispy.") It is mottled yellow because of its white filling.

This sweet is smooth on the tongue, releasing a pleasant, mild lemon flavor that reminds Candybowl of lemon italian ice. There are no odd notes, just natural lemon. Which is unsurprising, considering that one of the ingredients is lemon juice.

The candy crunches beautifully, releasing a burst of milky flavor. Although crispy milk usually is a sign of problems, in this case it completes a very nice candy. The added flavor note is not fresh milk; perhaps powdered or condensed would be a better analogy. A tiny but very stubborn lump on Candybowl's molar is the only thing keeping this candy from perfection.

An excellent debut from candymaker Sakuma.