Kracie Tounyuu Aisu (soy milk ice cream) Matcha – クラシエ 豆乳アイス ソイ・抹茶

So sorry for the hiatus! I haven’t had time to review for ages, as work has been hectic, but I finally had a moment to myself and chose to devote it to sampling another delicious dairy alternative: soy milk ice cream. This is always on sale at the Coop near my workplace, although I’ve never spotted it anywhere else, and comes in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry and Matcha. Naturally I plumped for green tea, as I’m always curious to see how well this unique flavour translates into different substances such as chocolate and ice cream.

The relatively small 110ml pot stands out in the freezer cabinet thanks to the vivid green and gold of the lid. Soy milk constitutes a mere 30% of the ingredients, but I double-checked and confirmed that it doesn’t contain dairy. Not only could this cater to lactose intolerance, it is also cholesterol-free, so pretty healthy as far as frozen desserts go. I was a little unsettled by the almost radioactive hue of the ice cream depicted on the lid, so was relieved to find that the inner contents were a much more familiar and natural milky green tone.

There is no scent to speak of but the green tea flavour burst through immediately when I tried the first spoonful. As with many matcha products that have a milk base, the taste is at the mild and delicate end of the spectrum, with an understated hint of herbal, earthy tea leaves. So does it differ from ordinary ice cream? Well…not really. There is a sense that something is different, perhaps that it is less rich, but there is none of the curious aftertaste notable in un-flavoured products such as untreated soy milk or soy yoghurt. Consistency-wise it is creamy and rather soft, meaning that it begins to melt after only a few minutes. I tend to favour the much denser consistency of gelato, so found it a little on the wet and airy side for my taste, though it was thick enough that I knew I was eating ice cream and not a stiff milkshake for example. The overall sweetness is subtle so that it feels light and refreshing and probably wouldn’t be sickly at twice the size.

I enjoyed this: it’s fairly low calorie, not too sugary and the matcha flavour is recognisable. The only thing that might cause me to neglect it in favour of other products in future is the soft texture, as it’s not really the kind of dessert that you can sink your teeth into. Kracie’s soy ice cream is certainly a decent substitute for dairy cream. If you’re looking for a good ‘matcha ice cream’, however, I’d recommend going for something with a more concentrated flavour, such as Meiji’s green tea range.

6/10

Kracie Tounyuu Aisu Soy・Matcha  110ml  148kcal

Dole Banana Mix + Sono Manma Yuzu – Dole 実感 果実グミ バナナミックス ＋ ライオン菓子 そのまんま ゆず

I’m continuing the fruity theme with two more chewy treats, starting with Dole’s Banana Mix gummies, which are actually manufactured by the well-known Japanese confectionery company Fujiya, famous for their milky sweets and loveable mascot Peko-chan (though none of that is evident from this summery and simple packaging)

The inclusion of collagen in these seems to me to reflect the remarkable popularity of this substance, which I’d only ever  thought of in conjunction with cosmetics, as an ingredient in Japanese sweets, drinks and even nabe. Banana Mix derives its flavour from real banana puree, as well as mango and pineapple juice.

Each piece is shaped like the Dole logo and for the most part the letters can be made out, though there were a few slightly bruised ones. Golden yellow in colour, they are more evocative of pineapple than banana, while the scent is a fruity blend of mango and banana. The gummies are loosely coated with sugar, by which I mean that none of the grains are embedded into the surface in the way of Fruit Pastels for example, and are soft and smooth beneath the sugar crystals.

Initially there is a burst of acidity, no doubt meant to represent the pineapple, which fades as the sugar dissolves, giving way to a mellow banana flavour, tempered with mango. Background notes of pineapple are only faintly detectable. The gums are nicely chewy, with good elasticity thanks to the collagen, and flavoursome to the last. Curiously, the underside feels marshmallow-y, almost like the white mallow of a Haribo fried egg, whereas the face of the Dole symbol is smoother and firmer.

Flavour-wise banana definitely dominates, but it tastes so good that this is far from a criticism. The pack looks small and weighs in at around a mere 42g, yet it contains a generous serving and can be made to last a good while. If you’re looking for a banana-based snack then I’d definitely recommend this over any dairy-based product, as the undiluted fruity taste is much better than in any banana chocolates or milk drinks I’ve tried before. Given the prominence of the banana, my only criticism would be that it might have worked better to create a mix of three individually flavoured gums – banana, mango and pineapple respectively – especially as the pineapple was hardly noticeable and therefore not really worth including.

7/10

Dole Jikkan Kajitsu Banana Mix  42g   131kcals

Next up, something for the health enthusiast: Sono Manma Yuzu

So what is it? Well, ‘sono manma’ basically means ‘as it is’ or ‘unchanged’ and yuzu is a kind of orangey-yellow citrus fruit, slightly larger than a satsuma and with a bitter and sour taste that falls somewhere between lemon and lime. Consisting simply of candied yuzu peel with a little preservative and extra vitamin C thrown in, this makes for a relatively healthy snack (so it’s not 100% unadulterated but there are no artificial colourings or flavourings) Sono Manma is produced by Lion, a prodigious manufacturer of gummies and other such candy.

The sugary fragments of varying sizes resemble ordinary citrus rind sold as a baking ingredient, except with a glittery sprinkling of sugar. As you can see, most pieces are from the outer skin which has darkened to a burnt orange tone as it’s dried, but there are a few pale yellow morsels of soft inner flesh. The intense citrus aroma reminds me of the dehydrated orange slices sometimes used in pot pourri.

The peel has about the texture of that found in marmalade, giving a good resistance when bitten into, a little chewy but quickly softening in the mouth, though the exterior is naturally much drier and slightly hard in places. On the first tasting it’s refreshingly bitter, instantly cleansing the palate, but this initial effect is reduced with every mouthful as you grow accustomed to it, allowing the sweetness of the sugar and the zesty citrus to filter through to the foreground.

I ate this last thing in the evening and liked how the bold, bittersweet flavour of the yuzu stayed with me, although I think the stimulating quality of the citrus would also make this an excellent mid-morning pick me up treat and could even be used as a garnish on cakes and desserts.

7/10

 Lion  Sono Manma Yuzu   86kcal

Mentos Sour Mix – メントス サワーミックス

Like various other products such as KitKat or Hi-chu, Mentos is something that I was familiar with in England, but which has a much wider array of available flavours here in Japan. While the ongoing cold weather makes me long for hot milk cocoa and warm caramel, being off dairy has forced me to go in search of fruitier treats, hence Mentos Sour Mix.

Mentos, if you didn’t know, are chewy, hard-shelled little discs, which come in a roll of approximately 14 pieces. The Sour Mix packaging features a rather psychedelic zigzag pattern and cute cartoony artwork in bright popping colours, and contains two of each of the following flavours: lime, raspberry, pineapple, strawberry, green apple, grape and orange.

While the bold distinctive colours of the wrapper make it easy to distinguish between the different flavours from the outside, the actual sweets within have a much paler, slightly washed-out hue, making it more difficult to tell them apart (though my camera saturated the colours a little so the distinction is clearer here). However, inside the paper the sweets are arranged in the order shown in the illustration, so if you start from one end and work your way in then you can be certain about what you’re getting.

I didn’t have the presence of mind to recreate the line-up depicted on the packet, so here, from left to right, you can see lime, grape, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry and orange. I had been keeping these in a cold room and upon first attempt at biting into one it was so hard and brittle that I nearly broke a tooth and the sweet which should have been chewy simply snapped cleanly in half, practically frozen to the core. Of course they would still be fine for sucking, but I found that placing them near a heater for a few minutes softened them up to perfect chewing consistency.

So, a quick run-down of the flavours.

Lime: Probably the most accurate of all the flavours; good sour citrus notes with a distinct bitterness.

Grape: The least recognisable of the seven, mild, juicy and sweet with only a faint sourness.

Pineapple: Nice tropical aroma but unfortunately lacking the tangy sweetness of the real thing, being closer to citrus in taste.

Raspberry: Excellent scent and instantly recognisable flavour. The sour hit works well to recreate the sharpness of the actual fruit.

Green apple: An initial honeyed sweetness that gives way to a sour burst as you reach the centre – rather like a sharp Granny Smith encased in a ripe russet.

Strawberry: Somewhat similar to raspberry yet less acidic; a fruity yet mild flavour.

Orange: Lovely aroma and very flavourful; it somehow seems juicier than the rest, only slightly sour.

I liked orange, apple and raspberry best, as they provided the most distinctive and fruity notes, though every piece had a gratifyingly firm chew and long-lasting flavour. My overall impression was that these weren’t particularly sour, but based on the packaging I don’t feel like they set out to be so. Having seven different varieties in one pack is very appealing to me, as it keeps things interesting and creates a pleasing assortment of colours, though I’ve bought and enjoyed ordinary single-flavour Mentos before. Currently grape is available in an individual pack but the lines vary throughout the year.

6/10

Mentos Sour Mix 14pcs  146kcal