August 5th: Zagnut

Kcal 230 Fat 10.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 31.0g

My interest in this bar derived from its recent appearance in the Hollywood blockbuster 'Hancock' featuring Will Smith. In the film it was depicted as bar that could literally 'knock you off your feet' - thanks to the kind people at 'Sweet Mayhem' I was given the oppertunity to test this for myself.

The Zagnut bar is another part of the ever expanding Hershey portfolio after its acquisition in 1996. The bar is comprised of a peanut butter flavoured centre with a outside coating of crunchy toasted coconut - so what the devil is it doing on Chocolate Mission you ask? Well whilst not containing chocolate, the bar does contain a small amount of cocoa....so why the hell not!??

The bar came in a plentiful 49g serving which was pretty sufficent at satisfying my hunger - it seemed just about the right serving size for the flavours it provided. The bar came in a pretty retro looking wrapper...to be frank I had no real affection or disposition towards it. The bar itself looked intresting in appearance, the toasted outer coconut gave the bar a nice golden look and the inner peanut butter centre looked appertising...one thing that was slightly flawed with the design of the bar was the sticky coating that was used to make the toasted coconut covering stick; it meant the bar was messy to eat and it left a heavy residue on the wrapper. The bar had a nice nutty aroma when opened - it had a pronounced peanut smell with a coconut hint....nice, but nothing too unexpected or anything that heightened my anticipation.

The initial bite into the bar revealed a very crunchy powdery coating of the toasted coconut - once bitten through a moistened but crispy peanut butter layer was revealed. The bars variation of crispyness and moistened centre provided a nice array of textures - the only aspect I didn't enjoy was the powdery nature of the toasted coconut, it slightly irritated the back of my throat. The taste of this bar was very sweet and it obviously contained a high level of sugar - saying this though the peanut butter centre was the dominant aspect of the bar and provided a strong peanut base flavour that had a deliciously balanced salty aftertaste...not quite the creamyness of Reese's but enjoyable nonetheless. The coconut coating was not massivelly present in flavour though was a substantial part of a long aftertaste - this was probably due to the small bits of coconut which were left in the mouth. The taste of the coconut was buttery and milky though really should have been stronger. Despite this its presence didn't detriment the bar in any manner and the initial texture it provided warranted its inclusion.

Overall the Zagnut is a bar that offers a combination of ingredients that provide a pleasant tasting offering. The peanut butter is a of a good standard and the coconut although should be more forthcoming still does provide a nice enough aftertaste. The texture of the bar is like not many others - a crisp coating is complimented by a nice moist centre. It's certainly not the most practical of combinations as it makes for a slightly messy eating experience but it does have some contrastive appeal. The Zagnut is certainly not a 'must try' but for fans of peanut butter this is certainly a bar you would enjoy and well worth trying for yourself.

7.7 out of 10

Head to Sweet Mayhem to find the Zagnut and many other US Candy right here in the UK