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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch
First, the description: Real Junior Mints (tm) made with a real candy crunch. Are there fake Junior Mints (tm) out there ... is this an issue? There are other dark chocolate peppermints out there, sure, but is there anything that’s trying to occupy the Junior Mints (tm) niche? What makes them Junior Mints anyway? Is it the dark chocolate and flowing fondant? Because the Junior Mints Deluxe had the Junior Mints name. So it’s not size or proportion.
The thing I have the real hangup on is the “CRUNCH!” that they advertise. The little image on the box shows what looks like a Starlight mint, which is basically a hard candy with peppermint flavoring ... they’re good crunched up and put in things (see my list o’ uses for Candy Canes). At first I though they were nonpariels, which are little spheres of sugar found on SnoCaps. But on closer examination they weren’t. They’re too irregular. So I read the ingredients: Sugar, Semi Sweet Chocolate, Corn Syrup, Flaked Corn, Yellow Corn Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Corn Starch, Confectioner’s Glaze, Modified Food Starch, Peppermint Oil, Invertase, Invert Sugar Syrup, Artificial Color (Red 40) and Corn Syrup Solids. In an effort to figure out what these nibbles are, I’ve boldfaced those ingredients that are not found in regular Real Junior Mints (tm). Seems like we have some red polenta or something. Definitely not crushed Starlight Mints (like those little candy flakes on the Peeps Peppermint Stars). One thing I’m quite sure of, they’re not that tasty. They don’t dissolve like a bit of candy crunch should, but they do remain crunchy no matter how long you roll them around in your mouth! They just don’t look that good. They look like they fell in something. I like traditional Junior Mints, they’re pretty! Usually so slick and dark, these are lumpy and malformed. The taste is pretty much the same but the crunch isn’t crunchy enough, doesn’t add any pep to the whole thing. If it was real candy (you know something that you’d actually buy and eat separately ... tell me you’d eat flaked corn, yellow corn flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and corn syrup solids!) then I think they’d have something. I haven’t been particular fond of the other versions of Junior Mints so far: Pastel, Inside Out or Heart Shaped (only because the red ones tasted weird). I think I’ll just stick with the Real Junior Mints from now on. Nicole of Baking Bites reviewed them earlier this month. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:47 pm 
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2008 by Cybele MayPlease do not use my photos on your own site without permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop StudiosPowered by ExpressionEngine
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I thought the mint grit added an interest to these taste-wise. I liked them....
oh man, i love jr mints and i was totally psyched to try these. i think they’re a fine addition to the holiday lineup (although i agree that they are not exactly photogenic...)
the “crunch” is interesting without overwhelming the jr mint experience… so i thought it was a decent twist on an old favorite
So it’s *not* the “real candy crunch” promised on the packaging, is it? “Real candy crunch” should involve “real candy”!
Besides, don’t we need that corn to make ethanol?
Bah, humbug--these sounded so promising!
I was anxiously awaiting your review of these. I’m so bummed! I had such high hopes. Love your red polenta comment though!
eh, ill take Haviland Thin Mints or just good ol peppermint bark if i want the 2 chocolate and peppermint combined. i do agree, these look like they were dropped in something, or someone spilled wood shavings in while they were being panned. bleh.
Does anyone know where I can buy these? I have a huge junior mint fan on my xmas shopping list that would go nuts over these.
So I was out questing for peppermint peeps yesterday, which I couldn’t find ANYWHERE, and ended up buying these to console myself, only to come home and find this! I agree that it’s sad they aren’t as pretty as the original, but judging by the amount left in the box, I think I like them.
Sounds like the crunchy bits are similar to the crunchy middle of a Butterfinger, going by the ingredients.
i love love love this! my family loves junior mints, and we all agree the flavor in this is even better than the originals. the “crunch” is like smashed up pieces of candy canes in the chocolate. sooo good.
I’ve had a box of these for a couple-few weeks, now, but could not get inspired to review them. I was actually waiting for you to write them up and I’m glad you did - I couldn’t have said it better. I’m totally with you - they’re a big nothing. I don’t see the point - the crushed mint is undetectable once in mouth.
They add nothing diffrerent or interesting to the candy other than the holiday packaging - oh yeah, and a bunch of nasty, unnatural additives. Nothing says Feliz Navidad like a big mouthful of hydrogenated oils.
Flaked corn - is that so different from the Ritter Sport bar with cornflakes? But that was my fourth thought. My first thought was “ick!’ and my second was “Candy corn is not real corn, but this is!” [quote from a Junie B Jones book], and my third was “Michael Pollan should know about this.” But then I thought “Ritter Sport Knusperflakes” (which rocked your world, according to that review :^).
ack, what happened to the formatting? Oops!
**I LOVE THEM** - very hard to find but did so at “FIVE BELOW” store! They should be on Oprah’s “MY FAVORITE THINGS!!!!”
Where are these deals lamping. I need some deals ...son.......
Where can I find these deals mo....
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