We all know chocolate-covered almonds are 70 per cent about the chocolate and 30 per cent about the almonds. So what happens when you replace the almonds with something a bit more out-there? Is it possible to coat something in chocolate and not have it taste great?
In short, yes.
When I think edamame, I think of the fresh green soybeans that get turned into a tasty bean salad. Like that, they’re just fine. No, I don’t crave them in the middle of a shift, or wake up screaming from nightmares where I live in a world without soybeans. I don’t harbour any ill will toward edamame, but I’m not in love with the things.
But holy crow, do I ever dislike Trader Joe’s dark chocolate edamame.
I don’t want to be mean about this, but they taste like the smell of freshly applied Band-Aids. No fooling. If you suck on them, you don’t notice the nasty taste until you hit the centre. But once you hit the dry-roasted soybean core, yuck. Terrible.
So, lesson learned. I’ll be sticking to chocolate almonds.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: $3.49 for a 284-gram (10 oz.) tub at Trader Joe’s in Seattle.
Value for cash money: Not worth it.
Availability: U.S.A.
Nutrition?: 200 calories per 40-gram serving. On the good side, each serving contains 7 grams of protein, 5 grams of fibre, and a reasonable amount of iron. On the bad side, each serving contains 30 per cent of the daily value of saturated fat.
The verdict: I reeeeeaaaallly don’t like these. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Huh!?!! Well, if they can cover grasshoppers, ants & such in chocolate…*rolls eyes*
Oddly, I’ve never actually tried chocolate-covered grasshoppers, ants, bees, etc. As a kid, I remember hearing rumours that such a thing existed, but I never had a chance to eat any during my prime gross-out grade-school years. 🙂
I just bought some – I loved them!!! So much so, that I think I will have to reserve them as a once in a great while purchase.
Same here; I think they’re great.
Somethings are better on their own then they are together. Like chocolate and mint. Great separate, terrible together. But do you know two words that are definitely great together? Trader joes!! Love it so much. Wish we had one in Edmonton.
I know! The Trader Joe’s I visited in Seattle was eye-opening. So many strange things! (And, for the purposes of this site, enough tasty material to eat and write about for years to come. 🙂 )
The original Whole Foods in Austin is like Disneyland for those of us that get excited about food. I thought I was in heaven. Huge and Beautiful.
I was very skeptical, but found them delicious. Absolutely, have NOT had the same experience as you’ve posted.
These are the most delicious snack I think ever tasted. You’re high on some other kind of bean.
To each his own I guess, but my whole family (wife, 3 boys and myself) LOVE TJ’s dark chocolate edamame. Maybe sucking on them as you suggest would not be that good, but eating them straight is DELICIOUS! Sorry man, but I think the rest of us respectfully trump you on this one….
Ha! Well, fair enough. I’m surprised by how many people seem to adore these. I’m going to chalk this up to different strokes for different folks. 🙂 It’s funny how people can taste things in a completely different way. Thanks for commenting!
I actually really like these. At first, I was really disappointed. They were just… weird. Then, they got increasingly addicting.
But, a couple things. I, like you, apply the term “edamame” to fresh (or frozen… basically uncooked) soy beans. I don’t think dry roasted soy beans, which are what these are, can be called edamame. Back before “edamame” was known by everyone in the US, I used to buy “soy nuts” from Whole Foods – dry roasted soy beans to be snacked on like nuts. They were a little weird… kind of nutty but with a crunchy and almost flaky texture. THAT is exactly what is in these. And without chocolate, they’re fine, if not everyone’s cup of tea.
Would I buy these again? Probably not. I would find chocolate covered almonds even more addicting. But I’ll certainly happily eat the whole container I have now.
That said, your description of them tasting like freshly applied band-aids is VERY insightful. As much as I hate to admit it, that is an absolute perfect description. (Then why do I still like them?) However, I think that actually has to do with the particular dark chocolate used, and NOT the soy beans. The dark chocolate is a little odd… I actually began to wonder if it was extended with some sort of dry fruit paste, like figs of plums or something. There is a vague tangy fruit leather flavor to it.
I’m also of the opinion that other chocolate-covered things are much more to my liking. Chocolate-covered almonds? Amazing (and those fundraising kids know it, too). Ditto for raisins and peanuts. But these chocolate soy nuts did nothing for me. Even when I sucked the chocolate off the beans, then crunched down on them directly as a way to isolate the taste, I just couldn’t move past the band-aid flavour. 🙂
(Aside: if you’re ever off caffeine, carob-covered raisins are also pretty good.)
Oh, and as for them using the edamame name, I’m guessing it has something to do with edamame being all the rage these days. Fresh or frozen edamame now seem relatively easy to find at ordinary grocery stores. They also sound somewhat exotic, which makes for good marketing.
TRADER JOE’S HAS DISCONTINUED THEM!!!! I AM ADDICTED AS WELL! THEY CANNOT BE FOUND ONLINE EITHER! LET’S ALL PETITION TJ’S TO BRING THEM BACK, PLEEEEEASE.