Month #3: France Snacks

 AHHHHHHH! The... French... snacks have always been known for their excellence. There is a California snack by Paul Masson...

This month's set of snacks is French Snacks. Before we get started, let's learn a little about France.

There are no stop signs in Paris - there are traffic lights and roundabouts but no stop signs.

In the 1970's a group of wallabies escaped from a zoo and still today you can find wallabies in the forests around Emance.

All French pharmacists are trained to identify mushrooms.

Every year at the French city of Dunkirk, 40,000 people attend the Dunkirk Carnival to have raw herring dumped on their heads.

1) Bret's Potato Chips Flavour Aioli

Review:

I'll be honest, I don't know what aioli is. I've heard the term a lot and I'd bet I've even eaten it but I don't know what it is. According to the internet, aioli is generally mayonnaise with garlic but in France, where it originated, it's garlic emulsified in oil.

These are mostly like American potato chips, they're even ruffled, but they are distinctly French. Firstly, they're much crunchier than American chips - I don't know the reason, just that they are. Secondly, there is a strong aioli flavor. 

I'm not crazy about these but I'm not crazy about any potato chips so... But they're pretty good.

2) Corn Snack - Cheesy Flavor

Review:

Judging by the photo on the package, they appear to be like Bugles. I don't know if you can tell that from the picture, I apologize, it came out blurry. But they're not exactly like Bugles, they're more square shaped though curvy. They do taste like other corn snacks you might have had, though. The texture and composition is like Munchos, there is a hint of corny Bugle-ness and there is also a hint of cheese.

There is only a hint of cheese... at first. As you go, the cheese grows and grows until it's the only flavor. And now that it's strong, I can tell you it's very French cheese, it's none of that faux-cheddar that we assume when we see "cheese" on a label. This is a more sophisticated cheese in one's fried corn snack.

Overall, I'd put these in the middle-of-the-road category. They are crunchy and salty and fulfill their minimum snack requirements but there's nothing really great about them.

3) Mini Strawberry BonBons Chewy Candy

Review:

The term "Bon Bon" has mystified me at various parts of my life. When I was little, my grandmother had chocolate-covered ice cream treats called "Bon Bons" but then that term was applied to things that were very different, this candy being the latest example.

But now it makes sense. "Bonbon" is the french word for candy but in the rest of the West usually refers to chocolate confections. The name derives from "bon" which means good. 

These are little pink spheres covered in powdered sugar. They're that artificial strawberry flavor and chewy but on the hard end of the chewy spectrum. They taste pretty exactly like strawberry Mentos so you can buy Mentos and get the same effect. Good though.

4) Sablés Pur Beurre

Review:

Yeah, that's right, I typed the e with an accent mark above it. So what? Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

These are shortbread cookies, obviously. They are very shortbready, very buttery, very good. The American equivalent of these is Pepperidge Farms Chessmen. Chessmen are one of my favorite cookies but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these are better. Of all the snacks in all the reviews I've done these are contenders for the top snack.

What makes a good cookie is highly subjective, of course, but if you like Chessmen, try these and see which is better. These are worth typing the e with an accent. I regret nothing!

5) Truffles Bar by Mathez

Review:

As the wrapper suggests, there's no "bar" involved, it's 4 chocolate truffles.

How to describe chocolate that is the same as, and different from, every chocolate I've ever had? I will try.

It starts out as dry and powdery - as if you're eating clumped baking chocolate. But as it melts in your mouth it becomes smooth - ultra smooth, the smoothest chocolate I've ever had. And it's cocoaey like hot cocoa. It's amazing. Top marks, amazing chocolate.

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And that's it. We'll see you back here for Month #3.