Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER DARK CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW PUMPKIN


I think this may be a new Halloween offering from Russell Stover. At least, I don't remember seeing it on the shelves before, and I'm pretty certain that I would remember something with dark chocolate.

As is the case with Russell Stover's other chocolate pumpkins, this is only vaguely pumpkin shaped. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but I think it would look a lot more impressive if looked like a molded jack o'lantern. The outer shell is dark chocolate, which contains a marshmallow filling.

When I've reviewed Russell Stover's milk chocolate selections, I've frequently mentioned that their milk chocolate has a richer flavor than that of, for instance, Hershey. The same holds true for Russell Stover's dark chocolate. It has a darker brown color than Hershey's or Nestle's dark chocolate, and it also has a deeper, richer flavor. Perhaps you might even call it a mellower flavor. My initial thought is that the Russell Stover chocolate has a higher cacao content than either of those other companies' dark chocolate, but it could also be something in their manufacturing process.

The marshmallow is the same as the marshmallow I've found in other Russell Stover candies. Very light, very spongy, very sticky. Mild flavor, with a hint of vanilla.

Biting into one of the Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Pumpkins is pretty much the same as biting into any of the other marshmallow pumpkins that Russell Stover has produced. The marshmallow provides a slight springy resistance as you chew, but it also almost melts like cotton candy after just a few seconds on the tongue.

As you might expect, the dark chocolate is the dominant flavor. It isn't overwhelming, though; the vanilla flavor of the marshmallow is just strong enough to make itself known at all times. Together, the two provide a harmonious contrast of flavors.

Okay, this is a Halloween candy, so the usual holiday disclaimer applies here. You should easily see this on the shelves through Halloween. Starting November 1, though, it will be shoved off to one side as the stores start putting out the Christmas candy. This might be the first year that I've seen the Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Pumpkin, but the odds are that we'll be seeing it again for Halloween 2009.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER VANILLA & CHOCOLATE CREME EGG


In my last review, I mentioned that I Russell Stover had repackaged two of their chocolate Easter eggs as "buzzard eggs" for Halloween. The second that I have seen (at least for the moment) is the Vanilla & Chocolate Creme Buzzard Egg.

On the outside, it looks the same as the Marshmallow & Caramel egg I previously reviewed. It's about the size of a Grade A Medium egg. (At least, I think it's the size of a Medium egg. Most of the time, I get Large eggs whenever I buy eggs, so I'm basing my estimation on the fact that these chocolate eggs are just a little smaller than that.) The milk chocolate shell has the same decorative lines that suggest a decorated Easter egg. (Probably using the same molds for both Buzzard Eggs.) And in case I didn't mention it, both of the Buzzard Eggs really are egg-shaped, and are not the flattened ovals that you find in some chocolate Easter eggs.

Inside the shell are two different fondants. One is vanilla flavored, and the other is chocolate flavored. (Or "flavoured," for those of you living in England or Australia.) By the time the product has reached the store, though, the two have started to blend together somewhat. When you bite into one, you can still see the translucent white of the vanilla fondant on one side of the egg, and the more opaque brown of the chocolate fondant on the other. In the middle, however, there is an intermingling of the two.

That intermingling of the two fondants makes it a little difficult to distinguish the two flavors. A more solid center -- say, a truffle filling -- would make it easier to distinctly taste both the chocolate and the vanilla fillings. With the fondant fillings, however, the flavors of the two meld together, rather like chocolate syrup on vanilla ice cream.

Both of the fillings (or perhaps, their combination) are sweeter than the chocolate shell. That sweeter taste serves as a counterpoint to the richness of the chocolate. And the milk chocolate is the same as I have encountered in Russell Stover's other candies. Very rich, very smooth, very creamy.

The same disclaimers that I have used for other Halloween candy apply here as well. The Vanilla & Chocolate Creme Buzzard Egg will be around until the end of October. When November 1 arrives, it will quickly get moved over to a clearance shelf so that the Christmas candy can go on the shelves. More than likely, though, it will reappear for Halloween 2009, as well as making an appearance in the spring in its usual Easter attire, er, packaging.


-jc-

CANDY REVIEW
RUSSELL STOVER MARSHMALLOW & CARAMEL BUZZARD CREME EGG


Last Christmas, I mentioned that Cadbury had decided to get a little more milage out of their Creme Egg by repackaging it with a Christmas theme. I suspect the people at Russell Stover must have noticed this, because for Halloween, they have taken a couple of their chocolate Easter eggs, and are marketing them as "Buzzard Eggs." (Or as the late Jimmy Durante had occasion to say, "Everybody wants to get into the act!")

The "Buzzard Egg" name does evoke a haunting feeling suitable for Halloween. I think a slightly more menacing tone might have been struck by calling them "Vulture Eggs," or maybe even "Monster Eggs." This, of course, might just be a matter of semantics and personal preference, so I won't quibble over their choice.

The first Buzzard Egg I saw in Walgreens was the Marshmallow & Caramel Creme Egg. The outside is a milk chocolate shell, about the size of a Grade A Medium egg. Molded on the outside of the chocolate are a number of wavy lines, which is probably more in keeping with the Easter theme. Inside the shell is a "yolk" of caramel, surrounded by a "white" of marshmallow.

As I have mentioned in my other reviews of various Russell Stover products, their milk chocolate has a richer flavor than most of the milk chocolate you might find in the candy aisle. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that Russell Stover probably uses a higher amount of cacao in their milk chocolate than does, for instance, Hershey. But this delves into matters of proprietary secrets, and I rather doubt that I would get anything resembling a straight answer from either company, so this will have to remain a matter for speculation and theory.

The marshmallow manages to be both gooey and spongy. It's too gooey to be able to stand up on its own, but it is still spongier than a marshmallow creme. Visually, it looks like something that might come out of a monster's egg, or an alien's egg -- or even an alien monster's egg. It works well for a Halloween candy.

The caramel is one of the more fluid varieties. Unfortunately, there isn't as much of the caramel as there is marshmallow. Depending on where the caramel is positioned inside the egg, and how you bite into the egg, it can be difficult to detect the caramel, both in terms of flavor and texture.

The Marshmallow & Caramel Creme Egg is a harmonious blend of contrasts, both in flavor and in texture. The milk chocolate is silky smooth on the tongue. It has the right amount of firmness, yielding to force applied from the teeth to let the foamy, spongy marshmallow and luscious caramel flow into your mouth. But as I said, there isn't quite as much caramel in the egg as I would have liked. If you aren't careful, it is easy to miss that golden pool of gooeyness, as both the chocolate and the marshmallow are dominant presences.

In terms of flavor, the chocolate is clearly the dominant one in the Marshmallow & Caramel Creme Egg. The marshmallow is a close second, providing a slightly sweeter taste to contrast with the richness of the chocolate. Again, the caramel's third element of sweetness can be elusive if you don't bite into it the right way. I would suggest taking about a third of the egg with the initial bite. After savoring that initial bite, take a look inside the egg. You should be able to see the caramel along one side of the chocolate shell. Go for that side with your second bite to enjoy the caramel to the greatest degree possible. Then finish the egg with one final bite.

This is a Halloween release, so it won't be around much past November 1. That's the bad news. The good news is that it will probably reappear on the shelves next year, somewhere toward the end of August. And of course, you should also see it in its Easter packaging just before the beginning of spring.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER STRAWBERRY CREAM PUMPKIN


And here I was, thinking I had run out of pumpkins to review. Well, I was wrong. I found one more offering from Russell Stover.

On the outside, the Strawberry Cream Pumpkin is like all of the other candy pumpkins from Russell Stover -- a vaguely pumpkinish shell of Russell Stover's milk chocolate. Inside that shell is a fluffy strawberry-flavored cream filling.

Well, it's supposed to be strawberry flavored. It's a nice bright pink color, but I really don't detect anything resembling the flavor of strawberry in the center. I really couldn't detect any sort of flavoring in the center, come to think of it. It's sweet, but that is about all I could taste.

Fortunately, the chocolate shell does not disappoint. As always, the chocolate is rich and velvety on the tongue. With this particular candy, the chocolate is the overwhelmingly dominant flavor, because the filling provides almost nothing in the way of contrast.

And since today is Halloween, this may have already disappeared from the shelves of your favorite store. But on the off chance that it hasn't, and you have discovered more than a few still available, I would suggest waiting another 24 hours. The Strawberry Cream Pumpkin is definitely one that can wait until it gets discounted.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW GHOST


I'm still trying to think of the right riff on the Ghostbusters theme for this review. I know that the best one would involve some reference to Mr. Stay-Puft, but finding the perfect way to make that reference is still eluding me.

One more candy ghost for Halloween, again from Russell Stover. The Chocolate Marshmallow Ghost looks even less like a ghost than the other candy ghosts I have reviewed. More than anything else, it looks like your average candy bar -- rectangular in shape. On the outside, milk chocolate. On the inside, chocolate marshmallow.

The marshmallow, like the marshmallow in the Russell Stover marshmallow pumpkins that I have reviewed, is a little different from the marshmallows you buy in your grocery store. I believe some of the adjectives I have used in describing it are light, fluffy, springy, spongy, and bouncy, just to name a few. The same holds true for the chocolate marshmallow inside the Chocolate Marshmallow Ghost.

The marshmallow is a light brown color. If you can grab a small fragment of the marshmallow all by itself, you will be able to detect the slightest hint of chocolate flavor. Otherwise, it will more than likely be overwhelmed by the rich flavor of Russell Stover's milk chocolate.

I've given the matter a little thought, and I think perhaps a white chocolate outer shell would work better with a chocolate marshmallow. Give the marshmallow just a little more chocolate flavor, and the two would contrast nicely off each other. Actually, giving the marshmallow just a little more chocolate flavor would be an improvement even with the milk chocolate shell. A slightly bolder flavor in the marshmallow would be an improvement no matter what the marshmallow's flavor is. Russell Stover makes a very rich milk chocolate; it needs stronger flavors in its fillings so that the chocolate doesn't overwhelm the fillings.

The Chocolate Marshmallow Ghost does have a nice compact size. With two graham crackers and 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave, you should have instant s'mores. That is an experiment I will have to keep in mind for after October 31. I can wait until after Halloween to play mad scientist in the kitchen.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER COCONUT GHOST


I thought of opening this review with some play on the theme from the movie Ghostbusters. Unfortunately, a satisfactory one doesn't come readily to mind at the moment.

Another Halloween goodie from Russell Stover; this time around, it's the Coconut Ghost. This particular candy didn't suffer from any blurring of details as the Peanut Butter Ghost did. Then again, it doesn't make much of a difference, because there really weren't any details to blur. The candy is an amorphous shape; a shape that vaguely suggests a ghost. Using a mold that would have put some recognizable details in the chocolate would have worked better, if only from an esthetic point of view.

The outer shell, like all of the Russell Stover Halloween candies I have seen so far, is milk chocolate. (I think I may have said this before, but I would love to see the offerings varied with some dark chocolate selections as well.) The chocolate shell surrounds a mass of sweetened coconut.

The obvious comparison would be to an Almond Joy without the almonds, and it's at least a fair one. The coconut tastes similar to that used in both the Almond Joy and Mounds bars, perhaps a little sweeter. And the milk chocolate that Russell Stover uses falls somewhere between Hershey's milk chocolate and their dark chocolate in terms of the percentage of cocoa solids used. (At least, that is how my rather unscientific tongue describes it to my brain.)

The richer milk chocolate dominates the taste of the candy, but its flavor doesn't totally overwhelm that of the coconut. Unlike the peanut butter in the Peanut Butter Ghost, the coconut has a flavor that is strong enough to stand up to the chocolate. And the coconut's chewy texture is enough to make it's presence known as you bite down on the Coconut Ghost.

Standard holiday disclaimer: Keep in mind that the Coconut Ghost, like the other Halloween candies, will be disappearing soon after the trick-or-treaters have made their annual raids on your homes.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER PEANUT BUTTER GHOST


Well, I have run out of candy pumpkins to review. So, I'm moving on to Halloween ghost candy. First up, the Russell Stover Peanut Butter Ghost.

This particular candy is more or less ghost-shaped. (It's a little hard to tell; it apparently melted slightly on my way home, and any details of the chocolate mold have been blurred.) The outer shell is Russell Stover's milk chocolate, which surrounds a peanut butter filling.

The taste and texture of the Peanut Butter Ghost is not too dissimilar from that of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. There are distinct differences, though. Russell Stover uses a richer milk chocolate formula than Hershey, and its flavor tends to overpower the flavor of the peanut butter. The peanut butter has, for lack of a better term, a little blander flavor than the Reese's peanut butter. I don't know what it might be, but the peanut butter that Russell Stover uses is lacking in something that would give it more of a punch. There isn't anything to strike a contrast with the chocolate. And as a result, it's not as good as it could be.

Nice try, but I will have to say "Booooo!" to this ghost.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER COCONUT CREME PUMPKIN


I think this is going to be the last of the pumpkin reviews. If I'm not mistaken, I have run through all of the various candy pumpkins that Russell Stover makes for Halloween. I should point out, though, that they also make candy ghosts.

The Coconut Creme Pumpkin is a little different from the other pumpkins from Russell Stover. The ones I tried previously had a three-dimensional quality to them. The surface had gently rounded ridges, mimicking the look of a real pumpkin. I thought that one of them might have even had the face of a jack-o-lantern "carved" on the surface, but I could be confusing that with the wrappers. All of the art on the wrappers have featured pumpkins that have been carved into smiling jack-o-lanterns.

In contrast, the Coconut Creme Pumpkin has a shape that can only be described as being a "generic pumpkin" shape. By that, I mean that it is a more or less round shape with a protrusion representing the stem at one end.

The outer shell is milk chocolate. Inside is a fluffy, coconut-flavored creme filling. There are a few bits of shredded coconut here and there in the filling, but for the most part, the coconut is in the flavor.

This might be a coconut candy that Steve Almond would like. While, as I said, there is a small amount of coconut in the creme filling, I don’t think there is enough to elicit the effect that Almond has likened to dental floss. (Of course, he might feel that any amount of coconut would produce that effect, so he would of course have to have the final say on that matter.)

The flavors of the milk chocolate and the coconut blend well together. With the Coconut Creme Pumpkin, the combination is not what I would call earth-shattering. Instead, I would call it agreeable. The two flavors get along amiably on the tongue, and the contrasting degrees of sweetness are pleasing to the tastebuds.

I have been slightly disappointed by one thing in Russell Stover's selection of Halloween candies. All of the pumpkins that I have seen have had outer shells of milk chocolate. During the Easter season, Russell Stover produces various candy eggs. Some of them have milk chocolate shells; some have dark chocolate shells. (I think the ratio is 50/50, but I will probably have to wait until Easter again to confirm that.) Why can't they do the same at Halloween?


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER CARAMEL & MARSHMALLOW PUMPKIN


Okay, so far, I've reviewed a marshmallow candy pumpkin from Russell Stover (two of them, in fact), and a caramel candy pumpkin from the same company. So what else could Russell Stover do in the way of candy pumpkins? Well, how about a pumpkin that combines the two?

Inside the by now familiar pumpkin-shaped shell of milk chocolate is a combination of both vanilla marshmallow and caramel. The marshmallow takes up most of the inside of the pumpkin, but that is volume alone. If you go in terms of weight, the two seem to be about equal.

At first, I thought I would compare this to the GooGoo Cluster, minus the peanuts. That's not a particularly accurate description, though. The marshmallow in the Caramel & Marshmallow Pumpkin (try saying that three times fast) is much too light and fluffy. It has a certain springiness; so springy that you almost think your teeth will bounce off the pumpkin as you bite into it. The marshmallow in the GooGoo Cluster, on the other hand, is denser, less spongy. When you bite into one of those, your teeth s-l-o-w-l-y sink into the Cluster.

The caramel is rich and chewy, just as it is in the pumpkin where the caramel is flying solo. But I have noticed one thing with the caramel in both of the Russell Stover pumpkins featuring caramel. In both cases, the caramel is smooth, yet I get a certain sensation of graininess in my mouth. It is not an unpleasant sensation, but it is a rather odd one.

And since I did mention the GooGoo Cluster a couple of paragraphs ago, I should note one other thing. In my reviews of both the GooGoo Cluster and the GooGoo Supreme, I described biting into both as a pure sugar rush. That isn't quite the case with the C&M Pumpkin. Yes, it's sweet; it just doesn't hit you the same way. Which might be a good thing if you are serving them to the little ghosts and goblins at a Halloween party.

And as I have already mentioned, you have a deadline for locating these particular goodies. They will be around through the end of October, but even if there are some few stragglers that survive the Halloween candy rush, they won't survive very long after that. Discounted prices and Christmas candy muscling its way onto the shelves will see to that.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER VANILLA MARSHMALLOW PUMPKIN


Most candy companies would be satisfied to be selling one marshmallow pumpkin during the Halloween season. Not, however, Russell Stover. As I mentioned a few days ago, they have an Orange Marshmallow Pumpkin, and to go with it, there is also the Vanilla Marshmallow Pumpkin.

Structurally, the Vanilla Marshmallow Pumpkin (hereafter referred to as the VMP) is the same as the Orange Marshmallow Pumpkin (henceforth known as the OMP, because typing out the full names is starting to feel just a little silly). A milk chocolate shell in the shape of a pumpkin is formed around a marshmallow center. The only difference is that the marshmallow in the VMP is a brilliant white rather than a blazing orange, and it is vanilla-flavored.

Well, I should probably say that it is nominally vanilla-flavored. I might have detected the slightest hint of vanilla here and there, but the overwhelming flavor in this candy comes from the milk chocolate. As I have mentioned in other reviews, Russell Stover uses a rich, indulgent milk chocolate in this candy; the same as in its other candy pumpkins.

Other than the color and flavor, the marshmallow is the same in the VMP and the OMP. Light, fluffy, springy, spongy, bouncy -- I think I have used all of those adjectives previously, and I am using them now because they still fit. When I reviewed the OMP, I mentioned the idea of using one to make some s'mores in the microwave. I could easily do the same with the VMP as well.

I might be mistaken, but it seems that Russell Stover doesn't use the same pumpkin molds for all of its candy pumpkins. I think I saw two slightly different pumpkin shapes for the different pumpkins. I might have been imagining things, but if I’m not, it is a nice touch.

I suppose if I ate enough of the Vanilla Marshmallow Pumpkins, it's possible that even I might get tired of them. Since they are a seasonal item, though, that shouldn’t be too likely to happen.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER CARAMEL PUMPKIN


As you perhaps may have noticed, Labor Day has come and gone. We have seen yet another Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, and Atlanta has survived yet another Dragon*Con. At least, I think it has. In absence of any news to the contrary, I will have to assume that Atlanta has survived yet again. But I’m going off on a tangent (or perhaps a cosecant).

The Halloween candy has begun appear on the shelves of your favorite supermarket, pharmacy, and department store. It looks as though I need to start reviewing now. I think there may be quite a few confectionary delights awaiting my analysis.

This time around, it's another candy pumpkin from Russell Stover Candies. Inside this pumpkin-shaped shell of milk chocolate is a caramel center.

I'm still trying to decide how to describe the flavor of Russell Stover's milk chocolate. Yes, I have said that it is richer than the average milk chocolate you encounter in the stores. But as Buffy Summers once said, "Can you vague that up a little?" Unfortunately, the right adjective is proving more than a little elusive at present. I am confident enough in saying that Stover's milk chocolate contains more cacao solids than your average store brand. In fact, I think that if you took the milk solids out of this milk chocolate, this would be coming very close to being a dark chocolate.

Inside, the caramel is firm -- firm enough to provide a solid support for the milk chocolate shell, yet still soft enough to yield to the teeth. As you bite into the pumpkin, you feel your teeth sinking into the caramel. This is the type of caramel that I like the best. It stays in place, and more importantly, it doesn't ooze excessively. (Okay, it doesn't ooze at all; that's what I really like about it.)

As is the case with most of Russell Stover's Halloween candies, they are sold by the piece. (Well, I suppose I should say that I haven't noticed any of their candies being sold in bags.) So instead of buying them for any and all little hobgoblins that come knocking on your door, it might be a better idea to buy them for just a few special trick-or-treaters when Halloween rolls around.


-jc-

Candy Review
RUSSELL STOVER ORANGE MARSHMALLOW PUMPKIN


At Easter, we get chocolate bunnies and eggs. At Halloween, it's chocolate pumpkins. Some of them are familiar, but slightly altered, like the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups that magically morph into Peanut Butter Pumpkins. (No fairy godmother involved, by the way.) Then there are the candies that are brought out just for the season.

If you haven't guessed by now, this particular offering from Russell Stover is one of the latter. On the outside, it's milk chocolate, and roughly in the shape of a pumpkin. Make that a rather flattened pumpkin. Inside is a marshmallow filling, both orange flavored and orange in color.

I suspect that when I mention the name "Russell Stover," you are more likely to think of boxes of chocolates. And I'm also guessing that you probably think of a chocolate that might be a notch or two above your average candy bar. Well, that's a fair assessment. The milk chocolate does seem to have a richer flavor than the usual offerings from Hershey, Nestle, or Mars. I would guess that the chocolate contains a slightly higher amount of cacao solids, but I would have to run an analysis to confirm that guess. And since I have neither the facilities nor the technical expertise to run such an analysis, I will rely on the far less accurate analysis that my tongue can provide.

I mentioned that the marshmallow center was orange flavored. It's just the barest hint of orange flavor, though. Just enough of a hint to nudge the tastebuds, and spark a few synapses along the neural pathways. By contrast, the orange color of the marshmallow is quite vivid, and most definitely noticeable after you take your first bite of the pumpkin.

The marshmallow has a light, springy, spongy feel as you bite into the candy. A spongier feel than what you would get from a your average Jet-Puffed marshmallow. Depending on what you might be expecting when you take that first bite, it could be a little disconcerting. I will confess that I had the thought of putting half an Orange Marshmallow Pumpkin on a graham cracker, and putting it in the microwave to make s'mores. It would be interesting to see how well it would perform.

Because of the holiday nature of candies like these, I already know that they are limited editions. Better get them quick, because at the stroke of midnight on October 31, these pumpkins turn into . . . well, they get marked down so that they will vanish even more quickly.


-jc-