Driving across the state of Missouri, you see a lot of strange, unappealing, offbrand snacks in service stations. (I am not prejudiced against offbrands ok. Some of my best friends are offbrands.) Anyway I was sure buying these flavored pork rinds would be another of the many mistakes. However (and this all depends on whether you would buy pork rinds in the first place) this Chili-Lime flavor of the Turkey Creek Fried Pork Skins were excellent. It took reminding myself of what I was eating in order to stop crunching. My animal instincts were in full force. ‘Twas the right amount of heat and citrus for any snack. To many, pork rinds are disgusting. And part of me is in that camp. Still, I can eat them just like I can eat bacon occasionally. I think the ingredients in this bag could definitely be a little better (based on my memory of the label). I haven’t compared this brand with others so it might be in line with the standard pork rind process.

This is the flavor for this snack. While Spitz Dill Pickle is THE flavor for sunflower seeds, from now on Chili-lime is hereby the official flavor for pork rinds. Others either cannot properly mask the gameyness or they just burn your face off. (Update: They have a Salt & Vinegar version. We may have a contender here, I’ll see if I can get some.)

A word about the packaging. My opinion, they are undermining their snack ideas with subpar packaging. The design is too obvious with the outlined pig, lime and pepper illustration on the transparent bag. Maybe they are targeting people who really love pork rinds, but as a pork rind skeptic, I almost didn’t buy these due to the cheap design. Perhaps they could experiment with an opaque light brown or white packaging, putting some thought in the typography and pointing out the uniqueness of this flavor. Also the Turkey Creek bag logo needs some help. They are paying a lot of money for the full color logo to be shown and it doesn’t work on the bag well. Maybe I will eventually develop brand affinity for them, who knows.

This sweet bread has a sugary coating that adheres to itself creating a flaky thick ’shell’ of sorts. Add the chocolate chips and you’ve just given energy within the perfected texture.  Love it. Love it. Love it.  The softness of the bread and an outer crispness from the sugar crystals are two competing textures that balance well. Some photos here hopefully prove that it’s at least worthwhile treat. You can pick Melonpan up in packages at the grocery store in Japan or freshly baked in the donut / bread sections too. There are many flavors and styles of these and they are part of popular culture in Japan. Last comment, Melonpan like donuts don’t really offer nutrition. It’s all about enjoyment, and I suppose the fleeting energy from empty calories.

It’s not advisable to chew ice if you ask any dentist. But Ice Box is to it’s credit softer ice in a cute convenient box. And it’s hard to not want to have another once you’ve found this snack. Unlike many snacks in Japan that just disappear, we have found them at 7-Eleven and the grocery stores in Japan for several years, though more available during the warmer months.

Finally I’ve found a flavor I enjoy enough to spend money on a can. The Pringles Sea Salt and Pepper, at least in this Japan edition have met the criteria. They do not have an overwhelming pepper taste, though you can see plenty of pepper grains on the chips. This is good because some snack chips with pepper do overwhelm. I hope I can find these stateside sometime again. Pringles are fun every few months or so  in moderation.

Here’s a pic of this bad boy with the 7″ diameter.

I loved the dark chocolate used. It was a Dove-like chocolate, not too thick coating with enough delicious bitterness to it. That’s where it beats most other chocolate/nut bars IMHO.

The bar felt lighter than it looked likely due to the popcorn inside. That was a pleasant surprise for me. It is a good filler I think. Much better than being stuffed with more sugary goo or peanuts. Basically it’s less sweet and a hint more salt flavoring comes through. It might have less salt than other bars, but made more noticeable in this bar. Best to get the exact sodium comparison if you car. I didn’t.  It’s more healthy I suppose with the ingredients than other bars, but it’s obviously still a candy bar so don’t kid yourself.

Anyway I’ve been letting up on my sugar intake lately. Not because of calories, but just overall health consciousness. Still I’m glad I splurged for this snack. It was fun and seems to be easier to eat in multiple sessions because of the nice tray included in the package. Were they thinking of that, or was the tray just to prevent breakage? Doesn’t matter, it worked.   See if your local Target has this bar if you’re interested. Apparently the Moose Munch brand is from Harry and David, but I can’t find this candy bar on the site at the time of writing. Other websites that talk about this bar, show me that it’s been around for a while. But I think the latest graphics on the bar are better than previous designs. I care about that kind of thing for some reason.

The reason why honey at least in the United States shouldn’t and can’t be labeled organic is that we are too industrialized. And the bees who are buzzing from field to field before aren’t carrying passports before they get to the hive. That means all the farmland they’ve been buzzing over, it is assumed was cultivated with pesticides. Not too appealing unfortunately.  I’m not giving up on honey just yet, but it’s nice to learn a little about it. This honey article from the San Francisco Chronicle is where I learned a little bit more. Check it out if you want a sweet taste of honey politics, regulations and label lies.

But I think it was a good try. Crack open one of these in your hands and it creates a new layer of atmosphere where no life can exist. You have been warned. Don’t fret Rold Gold/Frito Lay, I still love your snacks, but I must ‘wave’ goodbye to this particular one forever.