Month#4: Russia Snacks

Oh the timing! The snacks for the month of March are from Russia! I get that companies plan these things out months in advance, perhaps years in advance, so this is just one of those things but it is funny.

Let's learn about Russia.

Faberge Eggs originated in Russia when Czar Alexander III commissioned Peter Carl Faberge to make a decorative egg for the Czar's wife. The most valuable one is $33 million today.

Russia has more land area than Pluto.

It wasn't until 2011 that the Russian government recognized beer as an alcoholic beverage.

The coldest inhabited town on Earth is Oymyakon in Russia. Temps in Winter are generally around -58° F. The record low there is -96° F.

Out of every 5 Nazis killed in World War II, 4 were killed on the Russian Front.

Finally, the statue The Motherland Calls in the city of Volgograd is 128 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and is the world's largest statue of a woman.

1) Kamchatka Crab Potato Snack

Review:

When I think of Russian food, one thing that doesn't come to mind is crab. But apparently that's my own ignorance. The North-Eastern edge, being next to Alaska, is obviously crab territory.

And what of these snacks? They remind me of the various "seafood" Japanese snacks. The "seafood" taste added to potato-chippy snacks is disgusting to me. I can't take it. These are at least an improvement in that the "crab" taste is not very crab-forward. These are slightly potatoey, slightly crabby but mostly salty. It's a "pass" from me.

2)

Review:

Mushroom Croutons. I will reveal my bias right off the bat - I am someone who doesn't like mushrooms and doesn't like croutons so you can probably guess what I'm going to say.

But you're wrong! The opinion I just attributed to you is wrong!

The surprising thing about these is they taste exactly like chicken-flavored ramen in cracker form. It's weird. Exactly. It's good though. Not something I'd eat regularly but I like chicken-flavored ramen so I'm calling it a win.

3) Yarche! Roasted Peanut and Caramel Candy Bar

Review:

The name pretty much tells you everything: chocolate, peanuts, caramel. It's like a Snickers Bar but with way less caramel and way more peanuts. Other candy bars tell you they're packed with peanuts but THIS is packed with peanuts. In fact, my first impression was that it's too many peanuts. But then it grew on me. Once you get the caramel and peanuts mixing in your mouth, it's pretty pleasant.

I'm not big on Snickers to begin with, but a lot of people are so maybe check this out. A marginal thumbs up for me.

4) Boiled Condensed Milk Waffles

I'm a big fan of Stroopwafels. If you haven't had Stroopwafels, you must try them. On first glance, this would appear to be the same kind of thing and so I was excited.

You get two waffles and my first instinct was to pull them apart and eat them seperately but I was unable to - theirs a brown substance holding them together indicating they're supposed to be like a sandwich. I assumed the substance would be maple syrup flavored but it's actually brown like caramel... but it doesn't taste like caramel either. I'm unable to determine what it is or what it's supposed to be but it's some sweet syrup stuff.

So, like I said, I'm a fan of Stroopwafels, but whereas Stroopwafels are crispy, these more closely mimic actual waffles, being soft and spongey bread substance. And I don't know about you, but eating spongey bread from a pack that's been sitting on the shelf doesn't really appeal to me. It doesn't help that I don't even like real waffles to be too spongy, I go for more of the "crisp" spectrum. So I don't like these but your opinions may vary.

[Note: After this review was complete, I noticed some people suggest you toast it for a few minutes. I didn't see that until it was too late.]

5) Bon Time Vanilla Ice Cream Nougat Choco Bar

Review:

Now, for us in the States, "ice cream" is not a flavor so this whole thing is an intriguing proposition. What does a candy bar filled with "ice cream nougat" taste like? Well, "ice cream" is a translation of "plombir" which is a special rich type of Russian ice cream that I've never had. So it supposedly tastes like plombir.

This is a chocolate coating over a fluffy nougat. Texturally it's very similar to a York Peppermint Patty. 

The inside doesn't taste like ice cream but that was impossible anyway, it seems to me. It is good though. It's a sugary, vanilla-ey, gooey filling. Very good but too small.

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So that's it for this month's snacks. It was a middling field but I think the winner is probably the Yarche! chocolate bar. I hope you enjoyed it, please hit the Like button, please bell the Notification button and subscribe to the comments!