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One of my husband’s (J) coworkers has recently moved here from the UK. She brought back candies and J snagged Fruit Pastilles and Smarties to share with us.
The Fruit Pastilles reminded me of a stiff (or frozen, minus the cold) gummy bear covered in large sugar particles. I found it odd that they were in a wrapper and foil, similar to the packaging of LifeSavers. I was expecting the consistency of a LifeSaver (hard candy), but they were much softer. Despite the extra sugar coating, these candies were not exceedingly sweet and seemed less sweet compared to most US candies that I’ve had. (Remember that I have limited taste ability, but I can tell sweetness levels that aren’t relying on small molecules to trick our brains into thinking the thing is sweeter.)
Smarties were next. In the US, we have a candy called Smarties, but they are a sweet, chalk-like, round disk. Side note, Smarties were an important part of keeping me awake during lectures from a prof who could cure insomnia. These reminded me of a large, flat M&M, but less sweet compared to an M&M. The sugar shell is thicker compared to an M&M. The chocolate, in consistency and flavor, seemed different as well. The Smarties packing is a cardboard hexagon, which is neat.
The last thing I thought was interesting was the nutritional facts and comparing how they are written and organized to what we have in the US. I’ve included the Know Your Servings from Smarties and Nutritional Facts from a box of Raisins. Both use 2000 as the daily value/reference intake. UK has more details and numbers in a table while US has grams per serving and % daily value. Other differences include salt vs sodium, labeling or not labeling cholesterol, etc. Looking at the packaging further, I think another difference is calling these sweets versus candies, but I’m not entirely sure.
The Fruit Pastilles reminded me of a stiff (or frozen, minus the cold) gummy bear covered in large sugar particles. I found it odd that they were in a wrapper and foil, similar to the packaging of LifeSavers. I was expecting the consistency of a LifeSaver (hard candy), but they were much softer. Despite the extra sugar coating, these candies were not exceedingly sweet and seemed less sweet compared to most US candies that I’ve had. (Remember that I have limited taste ability, but I can tell sweetness levels that aren’t relying on small molecules to trick our brains into thinking the thing is sweeter.)
Smarties were next. In the US, we have a candy called Smarties, but they are a sweet, chalk-like, round disk. Side note, Smarties were an important part of keeping me awake during lectures from a prof who could cure insomnia. These reminded me of a large, flat M&M, but less sweet compared to an M&M. The sugar shell is thicker compared to an M&M. The chocolate, in consistency and flavor, seemed different as well. The Smarties packing is a cardboard hexagon, which is neat.
The last thing I thought was interesting was the nutritional facts and comparing how they are written and organized to what we have in the US. I’ve included the Know Your Servings from Smarties and Nutritional Facts from a box of Raisins. Both use 2000 as the daily value/reference intake. UK has more details and numbers in a table while US has grams per serving and % daily value. Other differences include salt vs sodium, labeling or not labeling cholesterol, etc. Looking at the packaging further, I think another difference is calling these sweets versus candies, but I’m not entirely sure.
