That Time We Tried Snacks From… United States Of America

Not so long ago, my wonderful friend Penny Berry sent me a whole bunch of treats from the USA. We really enjoyed our super-sweet treats from the States, so when we got our hands on more American goodies, I was really excited.

If you’ve never heard of Snackcrate before, I highly recommend them. Matt signed up to the ‘mini’ boxes to try foods from all over the world, and by the time his second box arrived, I was giving him a not-so-gentle nudge for us to go halves and upgrade to the ‘original’ box which contains 10-12 tas

ty treats from various countries. With the sweetener of saving him 15% on what he was currently paying, plus more treats and priority shipping, he willingly agreed. Oh yes, my business negotiation skills were finally paying off 😉

Today, Matt got his next box and we can’t wait to try, but you’ll have to wait for that post next week, We also have the ration pack to try which we still haven’t got stuck into. If you want me to source some other goodies for us to try and review, do let me know your suggestions in the comments.

So without further ado, let’s get stuck in!

I really like that these boxes come with a cool little pamphlet and flyer that tells you about the country you have received, that’s a cool touch. The boxes are chosen at random and you don’t know what country you will receive snacks from, until the day. The pamphlet contains some general information and some fun trivia facts about the country. I learned that America is absolutely mahoosive (more than 40 times the size of the UK!) and Christmas was illegal in the States until 1836 due to it’s Pagan connections. I know, wine, music, festivals and huge meals.. us Pagans are just the worst 😉

So What Else Was Inside?

Unfortunately there is an absence of photos as Matt couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Now that I’m dibs in and he understands what I do, he’ll be slowing down a bit next time 😉

Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn

Cheese-powder coated popcorn. The pamphlet says “once you start, you can’t stop!” but I definitely could stop. Make no mistake, I love my popcorn so I was totally up for this, but I wasn’t really detecting any cheese. When it comes to popcorn, I’m all about Butterkist’s Cinema Sweet (buy that stuff for movie night and I’ll be your best friend for life!), but I’ve been curious about flavoured popcorn for a while. I’m sure it’s possible to do it right, but unfortunately, this wasn’t that time. Smartfoods win kudos for a light snack though. Even if this wasn’t very flavourful, it was light and didn’t feel heavy at all. Bonus points for that.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

I didn’t even get a sniff of these. but to be totally honest, I’m okay with that. I’ve tried these before, and at the risk of losing every American person who has ever read or followed my blog.. I do not like peanut butter. I like peanut M&M’s, but not peanut butter. To me, Reeses are a waste of perfectly good chocolate.

Can I come out from hiding yet?

Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream

Interesting! They’re crisp, they’re light, they’re all good stuff. The flavour was good, but I couldn’t fathom why it needed cheddar and sour cream. In the UK, those two kind of make up two halves of two different flavours; cheese and onion (love!) and sour cream and chive. These snacks are kind of like McCoy’s crisps in the UK, but with a milder flavour. Being a huge McCoy’s fan myself, these were still a hit with me, but I wanted more of a stronger flavour. American friends, if you can get your hands on McCoy’s crisps, definitely give them a go. McCoy’s curry “chips” are my now not-so-secret addiction!

Sour Punch Straws

Wow, okay America, these are sharp. I’m not a huge fan of sour candy (or sweets as we call them here), but I can rock it. I didn’t want to try drinking fizz with them as I don’t drink much soda, but I tried some tropical squash and the result was definitely not good. Maybe it was the combination of real fruit flavours and artificial flavours? I’m not sure. They were fine on their own, just not with a British beverage. The green apple was my favourite flavour – I love all things apple!

Cheez-It

These were good, but not crazily cheesy. A nice little cracker with a distinctive flavour, but perhaps more savoury than cheesy. Having grown up on Cheddars and Mini Cheddars, I wasn’t going to be swayed too easily. A good effort, but sorry America, your allies from across the pond win that round.

Airheads

These have got to be my favourite! Why are stores not selling theses in the UK?! We can get Pop Tarts, Tootsie Rolls, Reeses, Hersheys chocolate and even Lucky Charms, but Airheads? Nope, I’ve been deprived! We got the blue raspberry flavour, which is cool with me because I love blue raspberry flavour slushies (I am such a big kid at heart!). I ended up pulling little pieces off of my half, determined to make it last for as long as possible.

I did think the Airhead had a slightly waxy, unusual texture. I imagined it would be more like Wham! bars in the UK, which is a much smoother, stretchier taffy with sherbet and sugar crystals, but I was wrong. I’m still going to hunt down some other flavours though, you know, for a fair review.

What surprised me most was..

I have to be honest, artificial flavours, colours and preservatives are a big no-no in the UK, so I was skeptical about foods containing something which I know is quite prevalent in US foods. That skepticism was undeserved though because for so long as I didn’t try running artificial fruit flavours alongside real fruit flavours, I wouldn’t have known the difference!

Alright lovelies, that’s it for this time. Have you tried any of these tasty snacks before? Which ones were your favourites? Also, please don’t forget to let me know any other recommendations in the comments, I always love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Stay safe & have fun,

Helen xx