It is well known that I am a white-chocolate apologist. Bellyache all you want about it not being “real” chocolate; I love the sweet, creamy, melty texture of good white chocolate, and I’ve never shied away from defending my position. No, it’s not single-origin, bean-to-bar, hipster-artisan fare, but that’s fine. That just leaves more for me.
I’ve also repeatedly written about the heavenly pairing of chocolate and orange, whether in liquid or solid form. The citrus and chocolate combination makes me feel all warm and cosy, and I associate it with the November and December holiday season.
So, combine white chocolate, orange, and cosy holiday vibes, and what do you have? Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the white chocolate edition of Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
Whack and unwrap
The white chocolate Terry’s Chocolate Orange has been on my radar for a few years, but every time I buy one to review, the holiday season sneaks up on me and takes over my life, and I find myself in January with an uneaten orange on my desk and a promise that next year will be different. It feels wrong, and just plain mean, for me to post a review for something right after the availability window has ended.
As a recap, the standard Terry’s Chocolate Orange is a sphere of chocolate that, like an actual orange, is made up of a bunch of individual wedge-shaped sections. Imagine peeling a mandarin orange, then pulling apart and eating the individual sections one by one. In Canada, it’s a Christmas tradition to have mandarin oranges around the house for snacking, and the chocolate orange replicates this experience — though you normally only have one or two chocolate orange sections at once, and not the whole orange.
Just like a regular Terry’s Chocolate Orange, there’s a participatory element to the treat that kids and aggro gym bros alike will appreciate: you have to whack the chocolate orange against a hard surface before unwrapping and eating it. When the orange is made, the orange “sections” are stuck together on a chocolate core, and whacking the orange against a concrete floor (or similarly hard, non-dentable surface) breaks the sections away from the core, freeing them to be individually plucked from the wrapper. Could they have done this at the factory? Sure. But where’s the fun in that?
What’s it taste like?
There’s an ideal middle-ground between fancy chocolate and cheap chocolate, and Terry’s threads that needle nicely. Of all the Terry’s Chocolate Orange types I’ve tried, I think this one is my favourite.
The white chocolate is as sweet and rich as you’d expect. It melts wonderfully in the mouth, releasing sweetness as it turns to nothing. The orange flavour itself is, as per the surprisingly short ingredients list, “natural orange flavour,” and that’s what it tastes like. It doesn’t have a soda-like, artificial orange twang to it. There’s just enough orange essence in the mix, and it floats through the sweetness, dissipating softly as the chocolate dissolves. Because it’s so sweet, anything more than three sections in one sitting may feel like overkill. Which also means it’s perfect for sharing, provided you can find someone not above enjoying white chocolate.
The Details
Price: $4.99 for a 147-gram chocolate orange at a Canadian Tire in Edmonton, of all places.
Value for Money: At this price, excellent. A standard Terry’s Chocolate Orange commonly runs in the $6-8 range in this part of the world.
Availability: The white chocolate ones aren’t common, and they’re only around for a couple of months — if you can even find one. Not long ago, the milk chocolate and dark chocolate oranges were only available around Christmas, but I’ve seen them in pharmacy candy aisles in the middle of summer, too. They’re also started making Terry’s Chocolate Orange bars. Is nothing sacred?
Nutrition: 200 calories per 5 segments (37 grams). That maths out to 795 calories if you eat the whole thing at once, without sharing. You probably shouldn’t do that.
Verdict: Delightful. Sweet, rich white chocolate and zesty orange, in a seasonally limited product that’s hard enough to find that you’ll appreciate it that much more.