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harry potter

Candy News, chocolate

Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs

October 13, 2011 by

I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting some reps from Jelly Belly a few days ago. What wonderful people! And they left behind a single Harry Potter Chocolate Frog for my own personal enjoyment.

It’s the Crispy One, Not the Giant One

I’ve of course been incredibly curious about these. The giant version available at Honeydukes at Universal Studios has gotten a lot of coverage. But those reviews have been mixed — raving about the packaging and size of the frog, but mostly meh on the flavor and quality of the chocolate. Well, I don’t know who makes those, but it’s not Jelly Belly. Fortunately, the Chocolate Frogs available to the rest of us are more reasonably priced and more reasonable in size. It seems that what these lack in heft, they make up for in taste.

Nutrition and Whatnot

Now, I’m a label nerd, so the first thing I look at is nutrition facts. I like to enjoy my treats responsibly. The Harry Potter Milk Chocolate Frog with Crisped Rice is totally doable at 80 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. The other thing that struck me is that there are relatively few ingredients. This is real chocolate, complete with the cocoa butter you’d expect. For the gluten avoiders out there, you’ll unfortunately have to steer clear. The crisp rice is made with barley malt (scourge of foods that would otherwise be edible!)

The Magic Pack

So, the Chocolate Frog is wrapped in pretty purple foil packaging. It’s nothing you’re going to save forever. However, I was totally impressed with the way the important part — the collectible wizard card — is included. It’s enclosed in its own plastic sleeve that’s attached to the top of the wrapper. This suspends the card in the middle of the package, so it’s less likely to get bent or otherwise messed up before it gets to you, or in a backpack or what have you. It also prevents the chocolate from making contact with the card. So even if your frog melts, your card will survive unscathed. I’m sure that plenty of people will just keep the plastic on and build their collections in mint condition. I didn’t realize that the cards were holographic, either, which is a nice touch.

First Impressions

When you open the pack, you get a fragrance that’s chocolate plus a little bit more. Which is fitting, since that’s exactly what you’re about to eat. The chocolate frog itself is cute. It’s not lifelike, but I wasn’t particularly imagining or hoping that it would be. The little frog arms and legs (this guy is all knees) make it clear that you should start by biting off all the extremities.

A Crisped Rice Runs Through It

Since this is chocolate with crunchies (technically known as “crisped rice), I thought it important to compare with other crunchy chocolates. So I broke out a Nestle Crunch and a Krackle. I have memories of absolutely loving Crunch bars, so I didn’t expect the Chocolate Frog to fare very well in a head-to-head. Shockingly, it turned out to be my favorite of the three. The color of our Chocolate Frog matches Nestle Crunch almost exactly, and is a bit lighter than the Krackle. The frog has the fewest obvious crunchies and looks as though it’ll be the creamiest.

Flavor and More Flavor

I started with the Krackle, which built to an almost acidic bitter flavor that kind of turned me off. The Crunch was better, but also finished on an unpleasant note. It’s more appropriate for moments of “I want something crunchy” than “I want some chocolate.” The chocolate in the Frog turned out to be very creamy and not your typical candy-bar fare. It has a consistent, mellow flavor and a mild finish that’s completely devoid of yuckiness. The crisped rice in the Chocolate Frog is far more subtle than in the other bars. As expected, the texture of Krackle is quite a bit granier than the frog, and even leaves a grainy residue on your hands. Nestle Crunch places the emphasis on the crunchies, making it almost a different beast than the frog. In my frog, most of the rice was at the bottom, adding a nice layer of texture without taking over the whole show.

The Verdict

All in all, I was totally surprised by my Chocolate Frog. It includes a nice, quality collectible bonus, which legitimizes the Harry Potter branding. And it’s a genuinely good piece of milk chocolate. I can definitely envision parents eating the frogs and giving the cards to their kids. You can order these now at CandyFavorites.com!

Candy Reviews

Bean Boozled and Bean Disguzzled

September 22, 2009 by
Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Jelly Beans are for the truly daring...

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Jelly Beans are for the truly daring...

Sharability: 10

Eatability: 2

Denture Danger: 6

Convenience: 8

Novelty: 9

Overall: 7

 “You want to be careful with those,” Ron warned Harry. When they say every flavor they mean every flavor – you know, you have [buttered popcorn, and licorice and peach] but then you can get [vomit, pencil shavings, and ear wax] George even reckons he had a booger-flavored one once.”*

And George reckoned right, you may think you are biting into the green juicy pear jelly bean but don’t be too surprised when you the booger flavor coats your tongue and you need to spit it out and get that taste out of your mouth. But don’t try grabbing another Bean Boozled unless you want to be disguzzled, the chances aren’t in your favor of getting a good flavor.

These repulsively flavored jelly beans are not meant for personal enjoyment. These are prank jelly beans. Either buy the box for your harry potter obsessed nephew or buy them to add to the communal jelly bean pile at your friend’s house.

Don’t pick up that black jelly bean thinking it is licorice, you are putting yourself into a 50/50 position between tasting licorice and tasting skunk spray. The flavors are conveniently made so that each real flavor’s color has a corresponding trick flavor. For example, beige ear wax and café latte, yellow moldy cheese and caramel corn, blue toothpaste and berry blue, and green juicy pear or booger.

It is up to you if you want to take the risk of having a horrible taste in your mouth for the slim chance of getting the sweet flavor you crave. But when you do succeed (after gingerly chewing the bean) it feels all the much better. Good luck with avoiding bean disguzzled and laugh at other people who eat one unsuspectedly.

Ah! Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I’m afraid I’ve rather lost my liking for them – but I think I’ll be safe with a nice toffee, don’t you?’ Dumbledore smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, ‘Alas! Ear wax!’

 *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling