Month #12 - Italy Snacks

 This is the 12th and final month and this month is Italy. Italy is pretty well known for its cuisine so this could be interesting. First some trivia:

• The Colossus statue in Florence, in addition to being amazing, has secret rooms. There is a fireplace in the head that, when lit, fills the nostrils with smoke.

• Tomatoes, being products of the new world, were not always used in Italian dishes. Italian pasta was originally topped with honey.
• There were fast food restaurants in ancient Rome. Thermopolia would line a counter with jarred meals for sale. The counters would sometimes be painted with frescoes of available food, acting as the menu.
• Italy produces more wine than any other country - 25% of the wine produced globally. 

And now for the snacks...

1. Amica Snack - Pizza

Review:

Nothing crazy here. These have the feel and texture of cheese puffs but they're rings and not American cheese flavored. There is a slight cheese flavor but it's within a general pizza flavor. And that's about it - cheese puffs that taste slightly like pizza.

They're not bad, they're not great... they're fine. If I'm going to eat saturated fat chemicals, I'll still prefer cheese puffs.

2. Amarettini Crisp Almond Cookies

Review:

These are pretty much what you would expect except for one surprise. You look at that label and you imagine cookies the size of, well, cookies. But these are the size of cookie crisp cereal. The texture is about the same also.

This is the second or third time there was an almond flavored snack that I thought tasted like cherries. And although I can't help thinking it, it's really the other way around. When you buy cheap imitation maraschino cherries, they are often made with almond flavor. But, to me, that's "cherry" flavor all the way, never "almond."

So if you like the taste of maraschino cherry in a cookie, these are for you. Aside from that, I don't have too much to say. I'm not a big cookie guy anyway. The quantity you get is pretty good also.

3. Amica Chips - Paprika

Review:

Who goes to Italy to get potato chips? I mean, honestly.

Well these are pretty good but there is a slight surprise. The flavor called "paprika" tastes almost exactly like Herr's Barbeque flavor chips. Almost exactly. If we are to believe the Italians that this is real paprika flavor then Herr's conception of "barbeque" is 99% paprika. I don't know who to believe!

So, yeah, these are very good but they're pointless since you can just buy the local product.

4. Nocciolato Novi

Review:

This is a chocolate bar with hazelnuts. The chocolate is super smooth (perhaps too smooth) but doesn't have a great flavor. The hazelnuts are good. That's it. Wouldn't recommend it. It's a good thing these reviews don't have a minimum character count. What can I say?

5. Moretta

Review:

Moretta... Sweet Loretta Fan, she thought she was a cleaner but she was a frying pan... the picker! Picture the fingers, greh... okay.

These are two chocolate cake squares sandwiching vanilla cream, all coated in chocolate. It's good, probably the best thing in this batch. Still, it's not so much better or so different from a Yodel or a Tastykake.

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So this is how the year of monthly snacks ends - not with a bang but with a whimper. Look, I know Italian snacks in a potato chip bag are a completely different thing from stepping into a restaurant in Rome but I still expected more from Italy. Where are the confectionary delights? Where are the fancy treats? At what point do I yell "mangia!" to the imaginary person with me? Oh well.

Well, it's been a fun ride. The year is over, thanks for joining me on this long, strange trip. If you would like to buy a year of foreign snacks for yourself or as a gift, the service I used was universalyums.com. Though it was given to me as a gift, I'd recommend them - everything was delivered regularly, there's a nice variety of foods and nothing arrived damaged. Check them out if you wish.