Just a short flight of roughly 14 from England to Brazil and boom we have arrived at our next Snack Crate!
The package was absolutely packed with an array of snacks, but peanuts and corn seem to be important ingredients in their snack world. I’ve also noticed that the bags seem to have less air in them than I am familiar with.
This led me down a path to investigate why those chip bags have so much air! Well first of all apparently it is not air, but nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas does protect the delicate crisps, but its most important role is to preserve the freshness through a process called nitrogen flushing. The manufacturer sucks out the oxygen-rich air, immediately replaces it with nitrogen gas, and seals it before the nitrogen can escape.
A little science lesson for us all, now back to the snacks!
DRUM ROLLLLLLLLLL….. the CLTaste Test results are in!
#1 Lacta Bis Oreo
March 6th 2021 was National Oreo Cookie Day, so of course we reserved this treat for what I have deemed the most important food holiday of the year. Oreo double stuffed cookies are my absolute favorite, so I had low expectations that these would delight me as much as an oreo.
These individual packages of delight are the perfect balance of chocolate wafer cookies with thin layers of white chocolate. They captured the taste of the oreo perfectly, but instead of the traditional snap of the chocolate cookie combined with the creaminess of the inside this had a light crunch throughout.
Imagine having the texture of a Keebler Strawberry Wafer covered in a thin layer of white chocolate and the delightful taste of an OREO. Pure bliss in a small little wafer.
I am thankful these are not sold in America because I would buy an entire pallet!
#2 Cheetos Assado
HOLD UP! These are absolutely delicious! This Cheeto has the texture of a cheese puff, but less aerie. They are described as covered with “requeijao,” which is a cream cheese with a taste similar to sour cream. When I consulted the Google, requeijao is said to be similar to mild unsalted ricotta cheese. These puffs didn’t taste of sour cream, but had the flavor of a mild soft cheese. They did have that signature Cheeto thing where the powder sticks to the end of your finger tips, which was much appreciated! These cheese puffs rank at the top of my list. I could eat this flavor over traditional any day…and yes they are definitely better than the flaming hot ones.
#3 Trento Allegro!
Described as a light, crisp wafer filled with peanut butter coated with a thin layer of white chocolate. Usually I am not a white chocolate fan because it is usually too sweet, but this strikes just the right sweetness with the overwhelming delight of peanut butter. The peanut butter flavor was strong and the wafer made it a lighter. It tasted similar to the American white chocolate Reese’s cup, but lighter.
#4 Ruffles Churrasco
These are perplexing…They are Churrasco flavor, which is Brazilian BBQ. They look like a normal ruffles chip, but they have a pungent smoky taste. What I have noticed about foreign chips is they don’t just capture a singular flavor, but an entire complex meal – It really is an impressive feat. They have perfectly captured the taste of opening the grill and smelling that delightful caramelization on the outside of a burger. If I didn’t have a burger at my disposal I could eat this chip and be satisfied. The craveability of the chip is quite high because my taste buds are trying to understand the flavor, so I kept eating more. The taste is so strong it lingers on…
#5 Tira Teima Queijo
The general consensus is the texture is identical to fried wonton strips. These are an awesome snack! They have a lightness and crispness that makes the little squares a delight to snack on! They smell overwhelmingly cheesy, but have a more subtle taste. As I write they have become more and more desirable. I really enjoyed this snack and would absolutely choose to eat again.
#6 Santa Helena Pacoquita
Visually, it looks like a soft block of peanut butter fudge. Texturally, it has the lightness and grittiness that is most similar to the inside of the peanut butter cup. It’s on the dry side. It tastes like honey-roasted peanut butter, but sweeter. It’s delicious, but not a very exciting treat.
#7 Trento Bites Ao Leite
These are the gobstoppers of chocolate – chocolatey filling surrounded by a crunchy wafer house in a chocolate coating. The texture is similar to the Pepperidge farm chocolate filled wafers if they were dipped again in chocolate. Each layer was very thin and balanced. The issue lies in the quality of chocolate. It’s not great. Each bite contains only 38% cacau, which puts it in the milk chocolate range but it has a dark chocolate aftertaste. They are described as rich, but we did not get a rich flavor of chocolate from the small bite-sized pieces.
#8 Tortuguita Baunilha & Brigadeiro
Chocolate from Brazil is just terrible. It tastes incredibly artificial. The Baunilha creme inside was abundant with little crunchy bits. The combination was tasty. The turtle filled with the brigadiero filling was just chocolate sprinkles. It had a great crunch, but again the chocolate of Brazil is just meh. The only thing keeping these treats from falling down the list is their adorable turtle shape. The turtle is a cute touch.
#9 Club Social Recheado sabor Queijo, Tomate, E Manjericao
With the tomato and basil on the package I expected the grown up version of cheese and crackers. The crackers were buttery and the cheese filling tasted like the Kraft dry shaker parmesan cheese. You know, the one with the green cap that sits in your refrigerator and never spoils, yeah that one.
#10 Pe De Moca
Described as being similar to peanut brittle (wrong) that features crunchy peanuts (correct) covered in sweet toffee (wrong). “A perfect blend of salt and sweet.” WRONG. This had no flavor other than peanut…unsalted peanut. The nuttiness of the peanut took over the whole bar. I was expecting a snap when the word brittle is used, but this was soft. The sweet toffee was too soft and contributed nothing other than binding the wad of peanuts. The block was dusted in sanding sugar, but it didn’t add any sort of sweetness. By the look of it I expected it to be more flavorful, sadly it was a dud.
#10 Pipocas Açucaradas Emilia
Described as, “sweet popcorn, similar to kettle corn found in the United States, but with its own district flavor.” I detest their comparison to kettle corn, not even close to the delightful sweet and lightness of kettle corn. The distinct flavor they reference is the taste of American Honey Smacks…they even look the same too with their light unappealing color. The texture is that of stale popcorn crossed with a packing peanut. Ranking these at the bottom is even too high, not good.
Brazil’s snacks were largely a letdown. As colorful and bold as Brazil is as a country the snacks didn’t pack the same type of flavor punch. Where in the world will Snack Crate take us next?
Stay Tuned, and of course, Stay Messy,
The Okayest Chef (& her CLTII sidekick)
The Okayest Chef 