04.21.08
White Rabbit Corn Flavour Creamy Candies
I apologize for the shape this week’s candy bag is in. It was a scammed refugee from the local Smithee Awards show which we put on this Saturday. We provide the traditional “Unhealthy Snacks and Drinks of Color not Found in Nature” but over the years, people have gotten it into their heads to show up with something a little extra Smithee to contribute. Not that we mind because stuff like this shows up. And I, being on the Smithee clean up crew, get to snatch it up as a JSFR freebie. Whooo!
However, the people who got into the Corn White Rabbits for the show didn’t necessarily take the care I do in opening packages so it’s a bit more ripped than you might be used to seeing. But it was free! And corn! Corn White Rabbit candies.
So. Corn. Corn taffy. Does that just sound really weird to you? Because it does to me even though I’ve eaten sweet cornbread and sure as shootin’ I’ve had deliciously sweet corn on the cob. And then there’s corn syrup too. So corn and sweet isn’t the anomaly tomato candies were but something about corn taffy just isn’t right.
For starters, when I popped one of these critters in my mouth I got a lot of creamy taffy flavor. And sweet. It was sort of a nice bland vanilla taffy with a buttery sweetness but way up in my sinuses I could feel a hint of corn. Maybe sweet corn. Possibly canned corn. It was hard to tell at first but after a while the corn lost its flavor shy and came out to play. It’s a good solid sweet canned cream corn flavor which wrocks if you are eating creamed corn. As a taffy though, it’s…well…really not a flavor I’d jump to first if I were making flavored taffy. I’m not sure the American palate is properly adjusted for corn flavored taffy so I think I’m going to knock some pea pointage off for the choice in flavoring even though they nailed corn on the head with this one.
I taste tested these out on a couple Guinea pigs and all agreed that there was corn and pretty much all agreed that it wasn’t bad but that they wouldn’t necessarily seek out another corn taffy either. The taffy is a nice solid taffy chew if more on the stiff side of chewy taffy and the sweet but bland vanilla flavor is serviceable. It also has the White Rabbit edible inner wrapper which neither adds nor detract to the experience.
To sum up, corn! And also…corn? Weird. I’d say give them a try and see what you think but I think I’m going to give them an average rating minus a titch for corn (?!?) for a grand total
Rating of 2.5 wasabi peas out of a possible 5 wasabi peas.
toroi said,
September 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I just had one of these, given to me by a colleague who bought them in China. (I think they are Chinese, not Japanese.)
I like just about anything corn-related, so I was really looking forward to trying it. I especially enjoy any candy with a rice paper inner-wrapper, allowing me to eat it, clear wrapper and all.
I wasn’t disappointed. It had a sweet, creamed-corniness that I enjoyed. With just a hint of starchiness that I expect you would experience if you let one of those corn-starch packing peanuts disolve in your mouth.
Anyway, I’m staring at a package of “Skwinkles” that the same colleague gave me earlier today. These are Mexican candies which he described as pineapple licorice tubes filled with tamarind paste and rolled in chili powder.
Boo said,
September 8, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Hi there toroi, welcome to the review. And may I say…Skwinkles? I’m…sorry? Wow, they sound like an interesting experience.
I suppose that if you are a corn nut than these are tastier than I rated them (I have a coworker who has been systematically eliminating the corn White Rabbits I tossed in the candy jar because he loves corn) but I’m not sure I’m all that ready for corn taffy.
You may also be right about their country of origin (don’t have a package off hand to check) but I usually run a little fast and loose with the “Japanese” aspect of the Japanese Snack Food Review. It’s really become more an “Asian Snack Food Review” but JSFR is snappier to say. 🙂