When Snacks Attack! 2

Stock & Barrel editor Jack McLaughlin digs into some of the weirdest and wildest candy and treats Butler County has to offer. In the name of content.

By Jack McLaughlin / Photos by Sumner Howells / Story Design by Bryce Patterson

Lay’s Mexican Tomato Chicken Flavor Chips

These are Mexican chicken and tomato chips, in a bag covered in traditional Chinese, being consumed in North America.

Maybe a little confusing, but delicious regardless. The flavor is subtle, but distinct, and unexpectedly complex. Similar to the way Strawberry KitKats mimic the taste of real strawberries (versus opting for an anonymous artificial strawberry flavor), these chips actually taste like tomatoes, with an umami backbone and some interesting, aromatic spice.

There’s a bit of an issue I’m having understanding exactly what they’re going for here (due to the package being in a different language), but I could easily tune that out and eat this entire bag.

Score: 7/10

Strawberry Kit Kat

Because I’d like to retain some of my humanity before slipping into the abyss of Chinese cow-fruit and cricket-pops, we decided to opt for the treats we thought would be better first.

And in this case, we were right.

While I’ll still go for some fake strawberry flavors any day, these offer the satifying crunch and wafer cookie of an American Kit-Kat, paired with an actually interesting fruit flavor. It tastees, quite honestly, a bit like really strawberries. Still milky and smooth from the chocolate, the flavor is tart and slightly and acidic, all of which combines for a top-teir snacking experience.

Score: 8/10

Meji Gummy Choco

As far as packaging goes, these unique candies–held inside a satisfyingly simple, resealable tube–are the clear winners. As far as taste, I’m not entirely sure what to make of them.

Everyone knows that only sociopaths get use gummy bears and chocolate chips as ice cream toppings at the same time, mostly due to the way the flavors and textures combine in the mouth. Well, these snacks are the weird distillation of that combination, as they are quite literally chocolate-covered fruit gummies.

That being said, they’re not bad. Not being able to read the package, there’s a lot I can’t tell, but it I’m almost they boast some sort of added fragrance. While the chocolate-gummy mixture is just as weird as it normally is, the really strong, almost florally and fruit scent actually help the flavor a lot.

Score: 5.5/10

Jelly Cup Cow

As far as packaging goes, these unique candies–held inside a satisfyingly simple, resealable tube–are the clear winners.

The flavors of these–which contain gummies that are covered in chocolate and coated in a candy shell– are nice. I’m personally a big fan of gummies and chocolate by themselves, but not necessarily as excited about the combination of the two (my score reflects this, although it’s just a personal preference). If you are a fan of the gummychocolate duo, though, these are likely a new go-to, even if this means a lot of Jungle Jim’s trips in your future.

The best part about Meiji Gummy Choco actually has nothing to do with gummy candy, chocolate, or cool cylindrical packaging. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what these scents are, but each flavor has its own distinct fragrance. Similar to other Asian candies I’ve tried, there’s an emphasis on floral scents, which is an understated, but surprisingly enjoyable addition to these snacks.

Score: 5.5/10