DIY Candy Apples

I've tried one variant of carnival food with the chocolate banana, why not another one? This one is a particular favorite of mine: something about candy coating mixed with apples makes the vibrant sweetness of apples even more pronounced. And this one has all the fun of being a DIY kit!

I was surprised in this one to see that the candy coating was not a powder, instead a very thick liquid in a packet. Not that I'm complaining, let's me get to the eating that much quicker! The apple candies in here absolutely explode with delicious apple smell, and while likely artificial it's got that richness to it that I'd expect from a real apple, with all the candy sweetness. The candies are a bit thicker than I expected, only changing in shape with a little force, but all the better to stick a toothpick in. From what I licked off the packet, the candy has a very nice sweet taste.

The whole process of putting a candy apple together is quite seamless. The candy coating sticks easily, and the sprinkles stick to that in turn with no mess. The taste of these is absolutely divine. The apple candy is everything I'd want flavor and texture wise, with sweet and rich apple flavors, but not overpowering or too much richness, and the candy aids in making it even sweeter, but more importantly supplying some liquid texture that these would desperately need otherwise. And lastly the sprinkles make it crunchy and soooo satisfying to eat. Everything is so perfectly balanced that I couldn't stop eating these, and I think given infinite amount of these I'd eat them all day! Good thing that's not happening, as I need to stay in hunting shape...

Rating: 10 - AWOOOOOOO!!!

Marukawa Kirby Mix 'n Match Gum

Even though I've gone through the anime snack box, this is Japan, so there's always more on the horizon! Or at my local Japanese market. This one is equal parts cute and iconic being Kirby, and what better way to celebrate a character that can copy so many powers by swallowing them with this gum having many different flavors and combinations? Since Kirby swallows so many enemies to do this, it'll maybe make me feel like I'm doing the same, except the powers I'd get from these... wouldn't be all that interesting.

There are a total of five flavors here, which are yogurt, soda (ramune), orange, apple, and the ever-enigmatic prank gum. That last one in particular scares me, what could it be? The combinations add another layer to this, where I can get flavors like... an orange apple hybrid? Intetive. Also lemonade, apple cider, milk tea, ice cream float, and cola. The last type of mix 'n match snack I had actually delivered on its wacky mixing promises, so maybe I'll get just those flavors here too.

Yaokin Apple Roll

While Japanese candy has introduced me to a lot of unique flavors in types of food, some of them can definitely be a little derivative. Take this one for instance, which seems to be the Japanese version of a fruit roll-up. Not that I'm complaining of course, as those can be plenty yummy with their soft-thin texture and vibrant flavor. Also this one is entirely apple, so it'll be interesting to see which route they take with the apple flavor, as there are a myriad of natural and artificial apple flavors out there.

At first glance, this seems to be much closer to Fruit by the Foot. It also is bright green just like the packaging and the strange looking apple character on the front. It could be color association but the smell seems similar to a green apple Jolly Rancher, so that's what I'm expecting, and 3-ish feet of that sounds quite fine to me!

The gummy is a bit tougher than I've expected and requires a bit of force to get off of the paper, but I guess that's how Fruit by the Foot is too, better than being a mess of gummy and paper in the packaging. The apple flavor is a bit more natural than the green apple flavor actually, which means it's not as much as an in-your-face flavor as a Jolly Rancher, but more subdued and refreshing. It's quite a welcome change. I do wish though that this had just a bit more flavor. As I go through the rest of the roll I'm always left a bit unsatisfied and wanting more, and that itch is never scratched even when it's gone. The roll also sticks to my teeth a bit more than I'd like it to. I like to keep these clean for hunts!

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Kracie Popin Cookin Japanese Festival

After going through the large box of Kracie kits I had, I found another one. Guess this calls for a celebration! Thankfully this kit has everything I need to do that. Four different components here being french fries, candy apples, chocolate bananas, and corn on the cob, so it's sure to be involved but no short on fun.

I expected a lot of components in this kit, and that's exactly what I got. Three different mats, 5 packets of powder, some yellow soft candy, sprinkles, toothpicks, and a shovel-spoon (my favorite!). The cutting board mat in particular seems rather excessive, but I guess it's nice to create the mood.

Meigum Colorful Seeds Soft Candy

So many flavors in this one little package, how exciting! True to it's name, Colorful Seeds seems to have... a lot of color. Three colors to be exact. It's comprised of orange, ramune, and grape candy. It even encourages you to mix the flavors together, for flavors such as orange soda, grape soda, and... apple? How does that work from combining orange and grape? Meigum is a genius if they can get that one to work.

As expected, purple, orange, and white candies lie within. The ramune candies have both a different shape and texture from the others as it's in tablet form and grittier. Sniffing the bag... is a wild experience. So many fruity flavors colliding with each other. Maybe apple is lurking within there somewhere?

Starting with the orange one, it has a texture to it that I absolutely LOVE. Reminds me of Sprees, the way it puts up a little resistance to my canines as they make their way through and unleash the layers of orange flavor. The flavor is what you'd expect from an orange flavored candy, a little tangy and a little sweet, not the most natural tasting ever but quite pleasant. The grape one I like even more, the flavor really pops out and has this really nice rich taste to it, like I was biting through a slightly chewier grape. Lastly the ramune one. The texture is vastly different, it's that chalky texture where ramune bursts in my mouth with its light airy flavor. It's really nice and refreshing, and no liquid required!

As for the combinations... grape soda combines the refreshment of the ramune and pop of the grape and it is quite amazing! Orange soda actually seems very accurate to its name, as the tangy orange flavor gets a little lightness and coolness to it with the addition to the ramune. And the moment of truth? Somehow the combination of grape and orange actually does remind me of apple. The two seem to neuter each other out in a way that creates a light crisp apple flavor. I'm actually shocked by this. What kind of mad scientist came up with this??? This is so impressive! The three together... it's pretty chaotic and really hard to tell what's going on. You'd think it makes apple soda but then you get the grape and orange soda flavors in there too...

I wasn't expecting to like this that much, but after discovering the apple combination this is truly something special. Meigum managed to make this candy both delicious and fun!

Rating: 10 - AWOOOOO)O!!!

Kit Kats - Rum Raisin, Shinshu Apple, Tokyo Banana

Another trio of fruity Kit Kats, this time with some more out of the ordinary flavors for Japanese fruit candies. Rum raisin is the most confusing one, as I typically think of raisins as being purple or brown but the packaging and picture on the package is decidedly blue. Maybe Japanese raisins are made from blueberries? Apple and banana are more standard flavors but in the context of a crispy wafer snack not too often seen, and both of them have their regional flairs with Shinshu and Tokyo.

Surprisingly, despite having a packaging seemingly fit for a blueberry, the rum raisin Kit Kat looks and smells more like one of the sake ones. I definitely get a bit of an alcohol smell along with a fruity smell, but I can't exactly decipher which fruit that is. I'd say it's closest to grape, but then wouldn't that just make this wine? What is rum made out of anyways? ...sugarcane, huh.

Unlike the sake kit kats though, the fruity flavor in this one is more pronounced than the alcohol flavor, giving it a much sweeter taste with a side of rum. The fruit flavor does actually taste somewhat like a mixture of grape and blueberry. It's probably one of those but my tastebuds are not distinguished enough to pick it out. Overall despite not being a fan of alcohol taste I quite like this. It's more sweet and refreshing than anything, like chilling out on a summer day, by the pool, not a care in the world. Can those days come quicker already?

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

Pine Awadama Fizzy Candy Red

This may be the most enigmatic thing in the December Japan Crate because I can't see what it is from the wrapper, and all I know from the infozine is that it's apple flavored and fizzy. Though I did look up what Awadama means and it translates to "bubble ball." So I'll assume this is one of the many Japanese hard candies associated with soda. At this point I think there are more associated with soda than not over there. What is it about the two that are so similar? I have no idea.