Universal Yums August 2018

Sorry I missed out on July, folks. The weeks just got away from me and I never got a chance to write up a review.

For those who don’t know, Universal Yums is a food subscription service. For $14, $25, or $39 a month, you get 6+, 12+, or 20+ snacks and candy from a different country. Check them out here: UNIVERSAL YUMS

(I purchase this with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

August brings us goodies from the UK! Here’s some trivia for you (answer at the end of the post.) True or False: Another name for the UK is Great Britain.

I have tried everything in the box this month but I didn’t I got close ups of each snack. Sorry about that!

Mackie’s Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar Chips: I think these are more like those composite potato chips - they definitely have that texture. The initial taste of vinegar is good, but it disappears in about 1.7 seconds, leaving you with a boring potato. Meh.

Dean’s of Huntly All Butter Minis Chocolate Chip Shortbread: Holy cats and dogs this stuff is awesome. But, really, how can shortbread ever be NOT good? These have a great, crumbly texture and fantastic flavor. The chocolate chips are few and far between, but this shortbread doesn’t need them anyway.

Walkers Nonsuch Dreamy Creamy English Toffee Bar: Toffee usually makes me think of the hard, crunchy variety we get here. This stuff is a bit different. The notched squares are stuck together in one bar but after you slam it against a hard surface, it breaks apart into individual servings. THEN they actually soften up in your mouth (oh geez) and become chewy. So damned delicious.

Johnny’s Pickled Onion Rings Corn Snack: Where the vinegar chips fail in tang, these make up for it in spades. It’s almost a little overpowering, to be honest. But that didn’t stop me from eating 5 or 6 in a row. They’re kinda like Funyons, but with less crunch, and definitely more sour.

Wagon Wheel Jammie-Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookie with Raspberry Jam: Gah, that’s a lot. I was so excited for this one. I’ve heard the term jammie thrown around in British television and movies, but never really knew what the hell it was. Now I know. And I have to say…I’m underwhelmed. The cookies were hard and dry, the jam barely there, the chocolate was not very flavorful, and the marshmallow was okay. Sorry, UK. You can keep this one.

Mackie’s Haggis and Black Pepper Chips (contains no meat): I love that they have to include that disclaimer…Like the sea salt and vinegar, these chips BARELY have that haggis flavor. I tasted mostly pepper, then potato. Some of you may think this is good, but haggis actually isn’t that bad. Yes, I’ve had the real deal in Scotland.

In the Yum Bag (a small plastic bag holding all the tiny stuff,) we got three things:

Kir Royal Chews Blackcurrant and Champagne candies (contains no alcohol): These were AWESOME. Not sure I could taste the champagne (which is why they were good,) but the blackcurrant was nice. The candies are soft and chewy.

Stockley’s Chocolate Limes (lime candies filled with chocolate): These were wonderful. Hard candy filled with a soft chocolate center. Anyone who thinks citrus and chocolate don’t go together needs to try one of these. So good!

Prosecco Fudge (sparkling wine flavored fudge - contains no alcohol): These tasted like a butter based vanilla fudge but with something…different. That was probably the prosecco, which I’ve never had and wouldn’t know it if it was poured down my pants. Loved the texture and flavor on these.

That does it for this month. Overall, pretty decent selection! The clue for next month has us baffled. It’s probably someplace in Asia, but we can’t really figure out exactly where. Can’t wait to find out!

TRIVIA ANSWER: FALSE. Though it’s a common mistake, these two names aren’t actually interchangeable. The United Kingdom and Great Britain are two different entities: the UK includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while Great Britain includes only England, Scotland, and Wales.

Universal Yums June 2018

Wow, halfway through the year already...dayyuuummmm.

For those who don't know, Universal Yums is a monthly subscription service. For $14, $25, or $39, you'll get 6+, 12+, or 20+ snacks and candies from another country. Cool, eh? Check them out here: UNIVERSAL YUMS.

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

The month of June brings us goodies from BRAZIL! Here's some trivia for you (answer at the end of the post): Brazilian prisoners can reduce their sentences by: A.Weaving baskets; B.Reading books; C.Attending church; D.Exercising.

Lots of yummy stuff this month. While a couple were kinda meh, I have to tell you that all but one or two items have been eaten!

Cory Pao Dimel (Chocolate Covered Honey Bread): My first mistake was tasting this after a really sweet treat in the box so this, in comparison, tasted disgusting. I tried it again the following day and it was just so-so. I think the honey with the combo of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg threw it off. The bread part was also SUPER dry. That said, I had all of them eaten two days later. So...there you go.

Amori 1000 (Chocolate Covered Wafer with Coconut Filling): This was very tasty. Little on the over-sweet side but not too bad. The chocolate was smooth and the coconut filling was pretty awesome. Not a heavy treat by any means, either. Very light.

Docigoma Gurt (Yogurt Gummies): I know that sounds weird but trust me, these were the best (for me) out of everything. The gummies were more like gum drops (as opposed to gummy bears) and the flavors were very nice - not very sugary either. Strawberry, peach, banana, and coconut - YUM!

Squil Churrasco (Barbecue Corn Puffs): More like corn discs but with a puffy texture! I don't know how they do it but these tasted like pork fat with a mild corn after taste. Very light, great flavor, not too salty.

Delicitos Pimenta (Pepper Crackers): These were kinda blah. Apparently, the malagueta pepper is the hottest thing in Brazil and it's used a lot in cooking. But us Americans aren't ready for it so we got these jalapeno crispy crackers instead. And they don't have a lot of flavor and there's barely any jalapeno heat - which is as hot as I can stand, so if I'm bitching about it being too mild, that's pretty weak. 

Bananada com Chocolate (Chocolate Covered Banana Bar): HOLY HELL this was terrible. The pamphlet stated that Brazilian bananas are the best in the world but most of them stay there. If this treat is any indication of their flavor, THEY CAN KEEP THEM. The texture was fine but the banana flavor tasted like it was too ripe or almost rotten. UGH.

Frutabella Amendoiks (Chewy Peanut Bar): This had the same texture as the banana one but the flavor was like peanut butter fudge, just not overly sweet. Very, very good treat!

TRIVIA ANSWER: B. Reading Books. It' not quite a "get out of jail free" card, but it's close! Prisoners in Brazil can reduce their sentence by four days (up to 48 days per year) for every book they read and write a report on. In addition, some prisons allow inmates to reduce their sentence by pedaling stationary bicycles to product electricity. (BLOGGER COMMENT: I'm pretty sure that was one of the forced labors in the Russian gulags but I could be mistaken...)

According to the clue, we think it might be Taiwan next month. We'll see!

Universal Yums November/December 2017 Review

As per usual, I got a little behind on my reviews. Partly from hubby's busy season at work but also I stared Invisalign in August. As of October, my teeth hurt pretty much all the time. Snacks that are too crunchy or chewy are impossible for me to eat so I can't try everything and I want to give as thorough a review as possible. Well, I still have 5 more months to go with Invisalign so I figured I'll do the best I can during that time and get back to detailed descriptions in the summer. 

For those who don't know, Universal Yums is a monthly subscription service. For $14/$25 each month, you'll get 6+/12+ snacks from a different country. Check them out here: UNIVERSALYUMS

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

NOVEMBER - TURKEY

Here's a little Turkey trivia for you (answer at the end of this section): We have Turkey's diverse climate to thank for bringing about which popular spring flower? A.Easter lilies; B.Daffodils; C.Tuplis; D.Azaleas

First let's look at the stuff I haven't tried:

Today Croissant with Thyme, Basil, and Olive Oil: Interesting fact, without the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) the croissant never would have existed. The empire planned to attack Vienna in 1683 during the middle of the night using underground tunnels. The bakers in the city could actually hear them coming, since they were already awake and at work. They warned the Austrian army who fought off the attack. No reward wanted, the bakers instead baked bread in the shapes of crescents (the symbol on the Turkish flag) to celebrate the victory. How cool is that? Though I have to say the description on this snack didn't intrigue me and it felt VERY weighty for such a small treat. If the hubs ever eats it, I'll let you know if it's any good.

Clip Sesame Stick: Basically these seem like your basic breadstick completely covered in sesame seeds (they're based on the sesame encrusted bread normally served for breakfast). Crunchy sticks of bread are just too difficult for me but I image these taste pretty good.

Torku Cocoa Helva: I'm pretty sure we've had this type of sweet from half a dozen other countries. It's dry and crumbly but melts in your mouth. This is a sesame paste based sweet. According to the info card we DID get something similar in the Israel box so I just never got around to trying this one.

Miniki Turtacik: This was my favorite treat this month. The cookie was nice and the tangerine jelly was tart and sweet. Don't think I got much flavor from the sprinkles but that's okay. Divine cookie.

Baharatli Ulker Krispi Kraker: I was worried this might be too crunch but it definitely had a texture more like a Ritz, maybe a titch firmer. The flavor was great, too. Nice and salty and the spices were wonderful (onion, parsley, garlic, thyme).

Ibon Yogurt Candy: We got the banana flavor and it was yummy! It could have been chewy but I ended up sucking on it to soften it up and then my teeth could grind it down a bit. Very tasty.

Toffix Mastic: Mastic is made from tree sap and it takes a year to extract! It's a very unique flavor but I really enjoyed it. Tasted a little like bergamot (which is an oil from the bergamot orange peel) but really it's hard to describe the flavor. Did the same thing with the Ibon - I just sucked on this until it got soft (holy hell, really, Peggy?). Another tasty treat.

Miniki Milk Cream Chocolate Bar: This reminded me of a 3 Musketeers so much but a lot sweeter. If that's even possible...Nice soft texture but way too sweet, even for me. Not my favorite.

Torku Sade Mevlana Seker: These candies are nearly identical in texture to a butter mint (if you've never had one of those, you NEED to try them). These are made from sade (bergamot oil). Bergamot is used a lot in perfumes so when I say these things taste like perfume, that's why I mean. But not the alcohol and other additives - just like a slightly sweet and bitter mixture of orange. It's really unique and they are my 2nd favorite treat from Turkey!

TRIVIA: C.Tulips. We credit the Dutch for tulips but they actually originated in Turkey. Tulip bulbs brought to Europe from Istanbul in the 1500s were so intensely popular that by 1634 they had caused "tulipmania" in Holland. Aside from tulips, Turkey is also home to approximately 9,000 other species of plants!

DECEMBER - EVERYWHERE!

To wrap up 2017, the final box for UY contains a variety of snacks from a variety of countries - BUT NO REPEATS. Fucking A, man! Still have some trivia for you! (answer at the end of this post)

TRIVIA: Latvia claims to be the home of the very first_______? A.Christmas tree; B.Christmas stocking; C.Christmas carol; D.Christmas lights

(as of typing this I haven't tried any of these treats yet - I hope that will change over the next day or so)

Garlic Straznicke Bramburky: These garlic chips are from the Czech Republic. Apparently garlic is thought to provide strength and protection and it's put under the chairs of your holiday guests. They're nice and thing chips so they're easy for me to eat. And they taste like garlic butter. Sooooo nice....

Brevas con Arequipe: Colombia includes figs as an essential part of their Christmas dinners. And this fig is stuffed with arequipe, caramelized condensed milk (kinda like dulce de leche). It's a little too sweet, even for me, so I can't say it's a favorite. At least it wasn't sticky!

Golden Flake Dill Pickle Chips: Leave it to America to turn a not-so-popular German Christmas ornament into a best seller. Woolworth's sold German ornaments since the 1880s but the fruit and veggie shapes (particularly the pickle) were not in high demand. So a salesman made up a story about German folks putting a pickle in their trees and the first person to find it would have good fortune in the coming year. How can we be so inventive and so gullable at the same time? And these do taste like straight up dill pickles. Awesome! But I can only eat a few at a time because the briny flavor does get overpowering.

Hillier's Mini Christmas Puddings: In Australia, Christmas pudding is a hold-over tradition from their UK roots. This candy has the traditional fruits, nuts, and spices used in the pudding (sans the bread) and wraps it all in chocolate. Hillier founded the first Aussie chocolate company and was known for his creative chocolate fillings, as well as injecting his candies with booze to sneak it past the local governments!

Jabri Baklava: Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated on the last day of Ramadan and is known as the 'sweet' holiday. This is where you will find baklava during the celebration. Subhi Jabri & Sons is a famous restaurant in Amman, Jordan, where you will find this brand of baklava. If you've never had this confection before, WHAT THE EVER LOVING HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Yugwa Candy: South Korea has been making this candy since the year 918. Dayuuum. The making of this treat is regulated by the SK government and it MUST be made by a Korean Food Grand Master. Mr. Kim Kyu-Heun is the master who made the batch for this box. He's been studying the practice of yugwa making for over 20 years. And while I respect the tradition here, the snack itself doesn't really taste like much. Kinda like rice cake air with a little chewy sugar coating.

Mince Pie Candy: This English candy is based on the original mincemeat pie popular during the 12th century, sans the meat. You will find traditional spices of the time (cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg) plus chocolate. I didn't really get the chocolate flavor off it but the spices were wonderful.

TRIVIA ANSWER: A.Christmas tree. Germany is usually given credit for the Christmas tree but the first recorded use was in 1510 in Riga, the vapial of Latvia! Maybe we should be singing, "Ak, Ziemassvetku eglites" instead of "O, Tannenbaum"?

That wraps up 2018! Hope you all stick around for my less in-depth reviews for a while and I promise I'll be back at full strength by summer (barring any horrendous complications!).

Universal Yums August 2017 Review

For those who don't know, Universal Yums in a monthly food subscription. For $14 or $25, you will receive 6+ or 12+ snacks and candies from a different country. How fun is that? Check them out here: UNIVERSAL YUMS

I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones.

This month comes to us from COLUMBIA! Here's some trivia for you (answer at the end of the post):Colombians like their hot chocolate mixed with: A.Cheese; B.Alcohol; C.Chili pepper; D.Strawberry marshmallows

I haven't actually tried all the snacks this month, and probably won't be able to in the coming months either. With my Invisalign and rubber band hooks, I'm trying to avoid super crunchy and sticky foods. But I'll tell you what I can about what I have been able to taste!

Tocineta Lime & Bacon Chips: Mother of God these were awesome! I suppose they are what pork rinds taste/feel like but with lots of lime flavor on top. Too much for the hubs but I loved them.

Castipan Veleno: This is a thick guava paste in block form called bocadillo. I think it had a little sugar crust on the outside, too, but it wasn't that noticeable. The guava was fantastic!

Supercoco Candy: I didn't try these because when I unwrapped one, it was so sticky. It's a nut based nougat so...there you go. I bet they're good though.

Bianchi White Chocolate Bar: Another one I didn't try because it's nuts and caramel covered in chocolate. WHICH IS MY FUCKING JAM, DUDES! Oh well...*sad trombone*

Piazza Chocolate Barquillos: Basically a tube wafer coated with chocolate on the inside. You can see through the tube so it's not a solid fill but it was lovely. The chocolate had such a smooth sweet texture and flavor. Probably one of my favorite wafer tube style treats in a long time.

Rizadas Mayonesa: Believe it or not, Colombians like to dip their potato chips in mayonnaise. May seem weird but I get it - I dip my fries in tarter sauce when I have fish and chips. These actually smelled a lot like mayo but I didn't get that flavor off them. They just tasted like regular chips to me. Good but regular.

Bon Bon Bum Lollipops: Pronounced BOOM not BUM, the largest candy manufacturer in Colombia makes these pops. The passionfruit candy is TO DIE FOR. So good. Once I hit the bubblegum center, though, I had to stop. 

Rizadas Picanticas: Colombia's version of a spicy potato chip, these had just the right amount of heat. I don't like super hot foods. And apparently neither do the Colombians. Spice is used sparingly in their cuisine, which is fine with me. These were delicious!

Coffee Delight: I actually did have one of these hard little candies - I just forgot to take a pic. The flavor on these was slightly less sweet than many other coffee candies from around the world. Very tasty!

That's it for August. I pretty much loved everything I ate, and I'm sure I would have loved the rest, too. Oh well. The clue for next month, and from the spoilers I saw on IG, is for Pakistan in September!

TRIVIA: A. Cheese. It's typically consumed with hot chocolate in Colombia. And by "with"
we mean put inside. A couple blocks of cheese are placed into the warm mug until it heats up to a gooey, cheesy, chocolate-y delight.