My wonderful cousin sent me a text about a new series of chocolate bars from Dairy Milk that I had to check out. They had fanciful names like Honey Roasted Cashews and Hazelnuts, Pretzel and Peanut Butter, and Toasted Coconut and Cashews. Neat, right?
The strangest part of this concept is that, in my mind, Dairy Milk is a resolutely stodgy sort of milk-chocolate treat, an acoustic performance compared to the rock spectacle of so many other chocolate bars. Sure, there might be some nuts or fruit thrown in here and there, but I’ve never thought Dairy Milk to be a risk-taker’s bar. It’s the kind of perfectly OK, conservative chocolate bar you’d enjoy between rounds of tennis at the country club, careful not to get any flecks on your white monogrammed polo shirt.
And yet, in doing a bit of digging on the interwebs, I was shocked to learn just how many Dairy Milk varieties there are in the wild, wild world. For a list, check out the Dairy Milk section on this Wikipedia page. I mean, Boysenberry Shortcake? Lemon Cheesecake? Cranberry and Granola? Hardly old-boys-club material, these. They’re flamboyant, even!
So I picked up a Honey Roasted Cashews and Hazelnuts bar at Safeway, and gave it a try. Why not?
The Pitch: “Milk chocolate, cashews and hazelnuts.” That’s it. There’s not even a website listed on the packaging. What the hell?
The Look: Like a Dairy Milk bar. Purple is prominent on the wrapper, as is the Dairy Milk logo. Slick, yet understated. Appeals to a different audience than hipper, cooler chocolate bars. The chocolate itself is a standard milk-chocolate brown with large chunks of nut visible through the chocolate’s flat bottom surface. It’s divided into little squares, which can be portioned out for calorie-control or sharing.
The Taste: The hazelnut comes out swinging, an equal partner with the sweet milk chocolate. There’s no shortage of nut in this bar. The cashews are there, but they’re a bit buried under the hazelnut. If you let the chocolate melt away in your mouth, you can individually appreciate the pieces of nut.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: $2.46 for a 100 gram bar at Safeway in Calgary.
Value for cash money: Good.
Availability: Safeway, certainly. I imagine they’ll be showing up in other pharmacies, grocery stores and corner shops soon enough.
Nutrition?: Per 9 squares (43 grams): 240 calories, 14 grams of fat, 25 mg of sodium, 1 gram of fibre, 3 grams of protein. Also, 8% daily value of calcium and 6% daily value of iron.
The verdict: A nice twist on the nuts-and-chocolate bar from a brand I clearly underestimated.
I found this site..by odd chance, i cannot remember HOW i found it or what i searched for, for this to turn up, but my god man, you have me craving food from all the over world. I love international food and new stuff.
Got Any ideas? I’m in Ontario and I DO have a Bulk barn!
Thanks for visiting the site! One of my favourite parts of Bulk Barn is the UK import section. Many, many tasty things, and usually for a reasonable price. They’ve also got a great selection of baking stuff. It’s my go-to shop when I run into a new recipe with an unfamiliar ingredient that seems kind of old fashioned. Crushed vanilla wafers? That’s where I found ’em. 🙂
Sadly, since moving to Calgary five months ago, I haven’t been to Bulk Barn. They have one location in town, and it’s not particularly convenient to get to. I know I’m just going to have to suck it up and make the trek. Where else am I going to go to get cheap ground walnuts in bulk?