Review: Snickers (Mars)

The (pea)nuts, caramel and chocolate is a classic trio which is offered by many manufacturers, such as the Lion bar with peanuts, I reviewed earlier. Perhaps the most famous is Snickers form Mars. A variation on this theme is also done by Ritter Sport which I reviewed here. I think it is hard to find a really bad bar with this trio and I would certainly be hard pressed to name one, even if the quality can vary widely. In other words it is the sort of bar that most manufacturers do reasonably well.

With this in mind I was excited to revisit the Snickers bar from Mars, which I haven’t had for a long time. Snickers is described as a “Milk chocolate with soft nougat (14%) and caramel centre (27%) with fresh roasted peanuts”

I do not think the wrapper is particularly pretty and the image does not, in my view, do justice to the bar. The peanuts on the wrapper, however, do give a good idea of what is offered. The shape is that of a standard bar in this category. The milk chocolate has a somewhat darker colour than expected for a milk chocolate. Cross section view is OK, though no peanuts are visible. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

The bar has a powerful aroma of roasted peanuts which is nice, though there is a clear burnt tone which is rather unpleasant. Neither chocolate covering (which is quite generous) nor caramel is discernible through the powerful aroma of roasted peanuts, which is very disappointing. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

If the aroma let down, the texture of the bar certainly made up for it. Roasted peanuts provide good texture which is nicely complemented by soft and chewy caramel, also nice melt. Also, the melt is good, if a little slow. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The flavour is mild and sweet the caramel and peanuts coming clearly through. The chocolate, however, is not very distinct and this is really too bad. Here I think is a good opportunity for improvement. With the chocolate flavour so absent I cannot give this more than 6, 5 for flavour. Also, I was not able to taste any nougat (or hazelnuts for that matter – but perhaps it is “peanut nougat”?), which is otherwise quite powerful. Despite these shortcomings, one can readily appreciate that this bar is popular for what it does well, namely the mild and sweet flavour and soft chewy caramel.

Average: 6, 875 out of 10