Candy Canes Choklad Wafers
I went to my local Vietnamese Butcher again yesterday. Which means I got to buy something strange and chocolatey – as you do! Not only do these folks do a very nice Greek Lamb Sausage, but they have a strange selection of foods and snacks from around the world. On the grounds that local can be had almost anywhere (not true but it makes a good story), I had to try “Wafers Choklad”.
It is however, a little disconcerting to find these manufactured by “The Candy Canes Company” – I’m sorry but a name like that does put one orf slightly. They turn out to be made by “EVROPA Chocolates, Wafers And Candy Factory”, in Skopje, Macedonia (which I remember as part of what used to be Yugoslavia).
But anyhow – Chocolate wafers – when I was a kid and mum used to buy them, and they would disappear in no time. With hindsight there was never anything very special about them, perhaps it was just the sweetness and layer of stuff inside that was attractive. With this pack at under $2, and a change from a local brand, and with choklad, how could I go past? Perfect to go with my large industrial size mug of tea. Or so I thought.
As you can see from a quick picking apart, we get a pretty thin layer of chocolatey stuff inside the crispy wafery thingies. The ingredients lists cocoa powder (but not how much), along with various hydrogenated vegetable oils, amongst others. Not inspiring. And not much of it.
The taste test has the same outcome as many other wafers. Sweet, sweet and sweet. Not much chocolate here. Fine if you like sweet. Not good, not bad, not memorable either. I’d rather have a Tim Tam.
Seeing as these are exported (going by the back label) all over the world – treat this as a warning. Cheap and cheerful, but not chocolatey.
You had a great misfortune to come around to one of not so good wafer products. “Europa” from Macedonia is not a bad factory mind you and for their plus side one could count their really fine customer support, but the product you chosen is considered one of their cheapest ones and naturally, not so great, either.
You should pay more attention to prices, as for 2$, what would one expect? And Macedonian products made of cocoa or chocolate are among the worse in the world, together with Romanian (heavens save you from ever trying their chocolates), Bulgarian and Turk. However, all these countries have incredible products of other kinds…I would always go to Macedonian brands for peanut, sesame or corn products, Romania for beverages and especially wines, Bulgaria for flower based products (including some types of cookies) and Turk for all kinds of alvas, turkish delights, incredible filled cookies (like Tutku, that’s a great one) and so on…
Point is to never buy cheap, as cheap product means cheap ingredients and if you’re keen in a bit experimenting and building an international palate in cookie and chocolate area, to buy what one country makes best.
In the course of business, I’ve lived in the Balkan area for some time and indulged myself in some incredible products, but from former Yugoslavian countries, I would recommend you to search for Macedonian alvas and peanut butter next time, Serbian Stark, Pionir or Takovo products (Plazma, Fil-Bi and so on), Croatian Kras and Zvecevo chocolates and Vindia puddings…Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro are better in cheese, meat and vine industry (among the best in the world) and Slovenia is more in vine, milk and cheese (again, excellent products).
Hope you could use this. Best of luck next time 🙂