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Thorntons Chunky Chocolatey JumblesKcal 378 Fat 18.1g Carbs 49.9g (per bag)
'Vanilla fudge, raisins and pieces of toffee, generously coated in Thorntons milk chocolate'
These eccentrically named Chunky Chocolatey Jumbles came in a 180.0g pouch. As you can see from the photo, the pouch design work was Thorntons's more mass marketed packaging style (an avenue I don't think Thorntons should be pursuing!!). I took comfort from the look of the inner chocolates, which looked very appetising and made the contents easily identifiable by their size - small raisins, medium sized fudge bits, and large toffee pieces.
The milk chocolate that coated each of the three different constituents was of a 30% recipe and did a better than fair job of establishing a creamy, chocolatey taste to each piece. In terms of texture the chocolate was also just a little bit better quality than your average offering, and had a smoother melt than most mass produced chocolates. Out of the three different inner 'Bits and Bobs, the fudge pieces were definitely my favourite, followed by the toffee and then the raisins. Typically the order in which they were portioned most, was flipped reversed to my order of preference. Indeed, there was an abundance of the rather bland tasting raisins, quite a few toffee bits, but then annoyingly very few pieces of fudge.
Overall this wasn't the best bag of treats I have ever had from Thorntons, but this was mostly down to the portioning of the mix rather than the quality of the actual chocolates. Suffice to say, if the contents had been more weighted towards the fudge rather than the raisins, then I probably would have enjoyed this product more than I did. If you are after a Thorntons offering with a little bit of selection then I think you would ultimately be happy with these.
7.8 out of 10
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Thorntons Melts CaramelKcal 51 Fat 2.6g Fat(sats) 1.6g Carbs 6.4g (per chocolate)
'Milk and white chocolates with caramel fillings'
My first look at the the Thorntons Melts range was in February 2010 in the form of their 'Praline Melts' - See HERE. Nearly exactly a year on, Thorntons have released these new Caramel Melts, a product I was very keen indeed on trying. Now whereas I was criticising the look of the packaging style above, the aesthetic appearance of this Melts product was a lot more to my liking. The outer packaging and foil wrappers created a premium, yet inviting feel, and the chocolates looked very decorative with their swirled milk and white chocolate shells.
Despite appearing the more visually sophisticated product, the chocolate used for these Melts Caramel was actually the same as the Jumbles above. This was no bad thing of course, the 30% cocoa recipe contributed more than it's fair share to the taste, and the creamy sweet cocoa flavours were once again fully adequate. I wish I could have as much praise for the caramel fillings, however they just weren't quite as flavoursome as I had hoped. Their liquidy viscosity had a soft, pleasant mouth feel, but flavour wise they didn't match up to several similar products I have tried. Lacking any sort of salt or strong butter tones, the taste created was more notable for it's accentuated sweetness. The lack of definitive flavours from the caramel meant these weren't the most satisfying chocolates ever.
Overall these Melts Caramel weren't bad in any sense, but in a market where competition is fierce they did little to suggest that they should be considered up there with the best of them. In a nutshell what I'm trying to say is these are fair standard chocolate caramels, but there are better alternatives out there which are just as readily available. For that reason I can't be giving a ChocolateMission recommendation.
7.4 out of 10
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Thorntons Chocolate Smothered FudgeKcal 129 Fat 6.6g Fat(sats) 3.8g Carbs 16.4g (per 25.0g)
'Soft fudge smothered in milk chocolate'
Last but by no means least, this 380.0g pack of Thorntons Chocolate Smothered Fudge was definitely my favourite of all the three I have shown you today. As you can see from the photograph, the box packaging had more of a classical, traditional feel about it compared to the two offerings above. Whilst I was more approving of this, I was less impressed by the fudge pieces which had dusty, scuffed surfaces that gave the impression that the chocolate wasn't particularly fresh. This was something also picked up on by relatives who also got a chance to try these.
Scuffed surfaces weren't enough to put either myself or anyone else off sampling these, so the taste test commenced without a moments hesitation. I needn't repeat what I have to say about the taste of the 30% milk chocolate, but the melt was noticeably a touch grainier compared to the two products above. This was all about the fudge though, and boy was it good. Each piece was bursting with brown sugar, butter and vanilla flavours which were bedded in a consistent undercurrent taste of creamy sweet condensed milk. The 380.0g bag was considered excessive to begin with, but by the time all four of us had tasted our first few pieces we were delighted there was plenty to go around.
Overall you obviously have to enjoy the sweeter things in life to enjoy these Thorntons Chocolate Smothered Fudge, but if you fall within that category I'm sure you would love these. Previous experiences with Thorntons's fudge products made me aware that they were very capable in this area, and this offering only went further to cement this in my mind. ChocolateMission recommends!
8.2 out of 10
Posts
62 comments:
Jim believe me this isn't a complaint but what is with all of the Thorntons reviews lately? Last year it was like you thought it was a hassle to even try any of their chocolates. This year you seem to be doing more of them than any other people? Anything you want to share with us mate?
Oooh this is so unfair. If I ate all this stuff I would be a right porker. Are you very overweight because of this blog?
Well at least they made some effort making those caramel melts look cool. I love the marbled effect on the chocolates it always looks so good.
I get how they create the effect for chocolate bars (flat things) but I would have thought it was impossible to do for curved truffle pods. Hmmmm.
Thanks for the reviews Jim have you ever done a bits n bobs post for just one brand before? I think its worked nicely here. I would have been disappointed to see one of these take up a whole review day. Well, maybe not the fudge :-) Seriously don't get me started on how much I adore Thorntons fudge. We are talking serious Nommage here.
Rxxx
These are some more ace reviews mate well done.
You have talked up the fudge enough for me to seek it out and try. Since your twisting my arm I think I will have to hit the shops today ;) I will have to keep it out of reach of my sister though, she has a soft spot for anything fudge related lol.
That fudge doesn't look that fresh. It must have been old or something.
I've not seen the jumble chocs before. If anyone does find a place to reliably buy them please can you let us all know, I would like to try them soon.
Hey J,
You enjoy the football last night then? I thought it was a really good match. It was good to see two of the top teams properly going at it for once.
Im loving this surge of thorntons reviews you have going on at the moment, they are always interesting because I never know quite what you are going to say. When I see Hotel Chocolat I know 99% of the time you are going to be writing about how great something is. With Thorntons a full on rant is just as likely as a glowing recommendation which makes things all the more exciting for us lot.
Cheers
N
Do you like banana? If you do I would suggest you try their milk chocolate with banana chocolate. It comes in the Ritter looky like wrapping.
Man more Thorntons? Talk about about a love in :) LOL only joking mate I know you ar far from their favourite person (that was what you said a while back anyway).
Out of these three I think the most interesting thing are the jumbles. I do like Thorntons fudge, but if you can get it inside that big pack alongside anything else it sorta defeats the object buying it on its own. Thats unless you are obsessed by it lol.
I work in marketing and this blog demonstrates perfectly where Thorntons have gone 'wrong'.
Look at the packaging of each product.
All of them are different, thus no consistency. People don't know who Thorntons are anymore. Are they the brand you give as a luxury present (middle one)? Are they one that you buy yourself as a cheap snack (top one) or are they a classical brand you share with close family and friends (bottom one)? The answer is no one knows anymore.
most importantly Thorntons dont seem to know themseleves.
I share your passion for their fudge mate. It's stupendous, a very common purchase for our household at Christmas time.
If they took out the raisins and replaced them with chocolate coated peanuts that mixture would be epic man. For the minute its a no sale with those raisins.
What sort of prices do all these things fetch?
Judging by the looks of them I would rank them most expensive to least expensive as 1. Melts 2. Fudge 3. Jumbles.
That is judging just by what the packages say to me.
Chocolatey Jumbles look amaze :O :O :O
Whereabouts do they sell those?
x x x
ChocolateMission recommends!
Those are dangerous words. I feel compelled to buy everything you say that about :P
Overall these Melts Caramel weren't bad in any sense, but in a market where competition is fierce they did little to suggest that they should be considered up there with the best of them.
....so in effect you are saying that the cheaper stuff like cadburys caramel is better + less expensive. Noted.
I bought those jumble things once before from Sainsburys and thought they were brilliant. The next time I went to buy them though they had sold out and it didn't even look like they were selling them anymore :( It didnt upset me too much cause I just bought somethng else, but had they've been there I would have bought them again.
You are right about the fudge btw. Its been great since I can remember.
I never knew they made a different flavour to the praline melts. When did they start making those caramel ones. Im guessing they cant be new because they don't carry any 'new' badging or anything. I know how keen any brand is to put that on it's packaging lol.
@Mark I don't think Thorntons need to make any massive changes to their range. All they need to do is make it all clearer as to what is what, and what role each thing they make plays. This is a random idea but they could introduce subranges like ...
Thorntons .... for sharing
Thorntons ..... for luxury
Thorntons ..... for yourself
What do you think?
Why have you been so selfish Jim? Lets get some new competitions going :P 3 reviews in one is pure greed.
FYI they also make those Jumbles in smaller packs not just the big pouches. I know this because I bought some yesterday lol. Yummy yummy.
Dx
You can say what you want about thorntons chocolate being dodge but no one can deny that they don't make sweet fudge.
I've not tried much in the way of their caramels, though by the sounds of it could do with a little work lol. Good on you for doing more British reviews mate. They always go down better than the foriegn items you write about.
I found it funny how thorntons recently blamed their poor recent results on the bad weather
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12477561
Thats been like the stock excuse for any company that had bad end of years. Out of all the different shops that could blame it on the snow I would of thought that Thorntons would have been least affected since they now sell their products EVERYWHERE lol.
Did this PR company send you anything else Jim? Are they going to keep sending you things or is this all just a one off?
I bought those caramel melts thinking they were going to be some high quality caramel chocs. Sadly I was wrong, like you say the chocolate is ok but the caramel is bland bland bland.
I would just settle for bog standard galaxy now. I would advise people reading this to do the same.
Mark/Nick
Its nearly impossible to identify what Thorntons want to be seen as their premium lines. Half the time their prices and products don't even match up. They need to simplify things and make it all a load clearer. Thats my two pennies worth.
Damn you Thorntons. Why did you have to ruin a perfectly good product byt putting useless raisins in there. I just know that if I buy a pack I'm going to have raisins overload on my hands. I'm always unlucy like that :(
I want to stamp your ruling of the throrntons fudge with a big second person verification. Im no big fan of thorntons chocolates but I could eat their fudge all day long. Lol that is a bit of an exaggeration but you get my point. They do the most amazing rum and raisin fudge ever though I dont think its going to qualify for this site cause it doesn't have chocolate on it. I say give it a review anyway, trust me you wont be regretting it.
The oozing going on in that caramel pic is just too much for me to handle. I think I'm going to get a static shock licking my screen in a minute.
Lol at Kim. I have no idea how they made the swirly effect. It does look great though.
Why do you think they don't sell the fudge in smaller sizes? 300 grams is way too much to eat out and about.
There is such a big gap in the market for someone to nip in and make a decent fudge based chocolate bar. The fudge bars cadbury make are too piddly they are more just for small children. There is room for someone to nip in and make a common place bar just like the Mars or the Snickers I think.
Lol mark I 100% agree with everything you say there mate. Jim has been saying that sort of thing for ages now, lol you and him should have a good talk =]
Out of these three I would just settle for the fudge. The jumbles look nice enough but the fudge bits are my favourite so I would be more inclined to just buy a big packet of it.
All this talk of fudge just reminds of holidays down to the west country when I was a teenager. I used to insist that we buy the biggest box of clotted cream fudge possible to take back with us. No matter how big the box was it never used to make it past the day we got home :)
Next time I pass Thorntons I might pop in to rekindle some old memories. Thanks for the fabulous reviews Jim.
@Fran I swear everytime I buy a pack of Revels I get ten times the amount of raisins than any of the other flavours. They are so annoying, they must be the cheapest or something.
The design of that pouch looks like something a cheap supermarket would make. What are they thinking?
The design of the box below it looks ten times better. They should stick to the classics and the premium looking stuff. The rest just cheapens what they do.
p.s. title race is back on now Jim ;) You guys thought you had it in the bag huh!
I wish my bowl of boring old porridge was a bowl of jumbles lol.
That would be such a good idea for a cereal if they mixed them in with cornflakes. Lol sorry for the randomness.
The pic of the caramel looks amazing. The way the caramel is seeping over the edge looks gorgeous.
The first ones made me think of something else: Zotter Balleros. I've tried a few Zotter products lately and, so far, I'm very much impressed (hint: try Zotter drinking chocolate). The Balleros Sour Cherries are next on my "to try" list.
I like raisins. But I like them to be plump and juicy and tasty, not small and bland.
Those Caramel Melts look very nice, a lot better than the Praline ones.
@Mark I think you make a really good point. Thorntons do so many different things nowadays it's hard to establish what they want to be seen as.
@Anon you can buy Jumbles from OneStop convenience stores. My one sells them but I haven't bought them yet.
I thought the praline melts sucked so I wont be going anywhere near those caramel ones. Twist my arm and I might give those Jumbles a try though lol.
Personally I think that 300g's of fudge is too much anyone. I'm one of those people that would be happy with a few chunks of it and then wouldn't need the rest. I would end up throwing a good lot away I think.
I fully endorse this all round approval of the Thorntons fudge. It's marvellous.
Yay, some decent Thorntons products for once :) I like the sound of all of these to be honest. The Melts sound good although didn't Thorntons bring out a range of caramels the other year? Are these any different Jim?
The fudge sounds great, Thorntons really know their stuff when it comes to fudge and toffee. Maybe they should focus more on them than boxed chocolates. I think the fudges look scuffed because they would have been loose in the packaging, that seems to happen with most loose chocolates. I think that's why some bagged chocolates have a waxy coating, to prevent it happening (Revels, Counters etc).
@Mark - that's an interesting point and I agree. From what I've read, Thorntons do realize they have a problem and are changing their focus. I can't remember how exactly. I do remember seeing that they are changing the design of their stores.
You are bang on about Thorntons fudge it is very good, and as far as shop bought stuff goes it is the best I can think of off the top of my head.
I still don't think you can beat homemade fudge though. The last time I made it I melted down some 70% lindt and dipped the chunk of in it. I can share the recipe with everyone if you like?
If you are going all keeno with the Thorntons reviews may I please suggest you review the new cookies they make. They were supposed to be selling them in supermarkets but the only place I have seen them so far is in their shops. I have tried two of the types so far and I would say the triple chocolate are the best. The praline ones were a let down for me. Don't be fooled.
If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said we would have been lucky to see three thorntons reviews in a year yet alone a single post LMAO.
The melt caramels are the ones I would be most likely to buy out of the three. I do like fudge but I much prefer softer caramel. The melt chocolates do look tres funky :-}
How freaky - I was in Tesco on Sun & I picked up the Thorntons Melts Caramels but then decided to get some Caramel Nibbles instead! From your review I def made the right choice! :) My mum's a complete fudge monster so am going to get her some of the Thorntons Fudge - which I'll have to sample too of course. Love the triple review Jim :) x
Mark I appreciate your marketing background but dont you think that you are thinking about this all too much.
I know Thorntons have a very complicated range at times but wouldn't you rather they have more to offer rather than just a few selective things. I would much prefer that their range is large rather than constricted.
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the responses today on these Thorntons goodies. You may have guessed that I have been sent a fair few products from this agency so a Bits n Bobs review to display them all seemed a logical thing to do. That is the reason for the recent upsurge in the amount of Thorntons reviews you are seeing.
There has been some very interesting discussion regarding the Thorntons strategy at the moment. There is a very interesting article posted on the news page that you guys might be interested in.
Anon - Nope not overweight in the slightest, far from it infact. Not only do I share/give away a lot of the stuff I get given but I also probably take a healtheir approach to my diet due to the nature of this blog.
Rachel - I think Cadbury have had their own BnB post before. If you haven't seen it then there is definitely one in the backlog.
Nigel - Haha yes the football was rather entertaining wasn't it. I can't say I was happy with the result but it makes Sunday all that more important to us. I just hope that Vidic missing doesn't hamper us too much. Thanks for your nice words about the Thorntons review chap.
Matt - I have that banana review already written chap. Its in the backlog :D Expect it soon.
Mark/All - I think you make some very good points chap. I think it is more the point that Thorntons need to make their range archietecture a lot more transparent rather than cutting it short in terms of what they offer. If it was up to me I would cut some of the seasonal products they do as they tend to be the poorer quality things I have tried. Their classics (like the fudge) and their premium lines
are what they do best, they should focus on them.
Richard - If you look on the website chap you should be able to see the prices which these all cost. They all come in different sizes so they wont be directly comparable.
Anon - I have seen Jumbles in Waitrose and in Thorntons shops.
Katie - I'm glad to hear that you respect my judgement that much :D Perhaps you should pick and choose a bit more though. I do recommend an awful lot of products these days haha.
Scott - Are you sure you can buy them in Sainsburys? I just looked on mysupermarket and they didn't appear in stock.
Colin - I think they are new you know. I only saw them for the first time a week or so ago. I can check that for you with the PR team though.
Nick - That is certainly one way they could segment their range. There are loads of different ways they could do it ... they just need to pick one and run with it. At the moment they just have loads of different parts making up and over complicated portfolio.
Mysterio - There will be some competitions coming soon dont you worry.
Daisy - Indeed they sell 40.0g packs in Waitrose dont they.
Steven - I think everyone suffered to a degree with the cold weather. Like you say though, you would have thought that the mass confectionery brands would have been less effected due to them having larger distribution channels. It will be interesting to see what the likes of Hotel Chocolat did in the back end of the year and how much they are going to talk about the weather effecting people making it to their stores.
Anon - The same PR company just delievered a whole new lot of goodies today. Expect some more reviews coming your way over the next few weeks.
Jamie - Indeed the pricing can often be as complicated as the communication on the packaging.
Paul - The rum and raisin does sound pretty good. Let me do some investigating to see if there is any cocoa involved in the mix. I sure hope so from what you say :D I might just buy some anyway considering I enjoyed the original fudge so much.
Ashley - Haha be careful. My old man will be pleased to read his photos have gone down well again. It never fails to put a smile on his face.
Kieran - If you look at the website they do smaller bags of 180.0g with fudge. Also the jumbles come in snack pack sizes.
Linda - I can share those exact memories with you. We used to go down to Devon/Exeter all the time during my younger years. We were never massivelly keen on fudge but there used to be one small shop that we used to buy from now and again. They used to do some of the most insane flavours.
Chris - I agree with you entirely chap. See what I said above about them focusing on the classic/premium lines. I think they are the strength of what they make. They should indeed just focus on them.
Lisa - That is a potentially very unhealthy cereal you have yourself there :D It could be nice every now and again though.
Ana - I had the whole range of Zotter drinking chocolates in my posession last year but I never got around to reviewing them. I will ask the guys at Zotter again if they are willing to send them through again (the last lot got given away in a competition!).
Emma - Don't throw them away :D Give them to family and friends ... believe me you win a lot of fans that way haha!
Phil - Indeed Thorntons came up trumps here. Its so much nicer writing positively about them rather than having to look on them in a negative light (the reviews are easier to write believe me!). If you look under the Thorntons tab you should be able to find the 'extremelly gooey caramels' they made. Whilst these melts weren't anything spectacular I would say they were definitely a step up in terms of quality (I believe they still make those extremelly gooey ones!). Why not give their fudge a try and tell me what you think chap. I think its one of the best things they do myself.
Joel - Please so share the recipe. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it.
Tim - I will be posting my reviews of their cookie range next week chap. All four flavours infact.
Roxy - On a cost to quality ratio I do indeed think you made the right decision. Cadbury Caramel can only be matched by Galaxy caramel in my opinion. Both are as cheap as they come, yet utterly delicious. You can't ask for more than that I don't think.
Phew - thanks again for the feedback. These reviews on the British brands always spark some great debate. If you have any more thoughts please feel free to let them loose on everyone :D
JIM
I wish I hadn't looked at this site now. I really want some fudge.
I never get cravings for it but you have done the trick here. Grrrrrr
Great post love thank you. In South Africa they have a very popular chocolate called Chokito. That is a mish mash of fudge chocolate and cereal, its very good. If Nestle had any sense they would make it available in this country. This is nestle we are talking about though.
Maggs
@ Jim
Yes I definitely bought them in Sainsburys before. It was months ago now and I haven't seen then since.
The rum and raisin fudge doesn't have any chocolate in it but I would still like to see you review it.
You could bend the rules this once couldn't you ;)
Hey J
The game should be a good one yeah. It looks like your manager has gone and put his foot in it again :-) When will he learn lol.
I wont show my face on here if we lose on saturday lol.
Cheers
N
Fantastic reviews mate. It's my Dad's birthday this weekend and I think a box full of Thorntons fudge could well be in order (he loves btw). Do they do anymore flavours instore do you know? I think he would prefer fudge dipped in dark chocolate rather than the milk stuff here.
What is your next post going to be about?
Marks and spencer do a brill fudge bar btw. It's an awful lot like the one that they do in thorntons but its just a wee bit bit smaller. I buy it every so often.
I'm not too keen on the jumbles just because I don't like the sound of some of the pieces being hard and some being soft. I have sensitive teeth so biting in to something hard when im expecting it to be soft isn't ideal to say the least. I will just stick with the fudge for the min.
Thank you for the reviews.
If you look at this link it says that they sell Jumbles in both Asda and Sainsburys
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/asda-compare-prices/Chocolate_Bags_Bars_And_Multipacks/Thorntons_Chunky_Chocolatey_Jumbles_180g.html?ShowSwitchSMBar=3
1.89 is pretty steep compared to the rest of the sharing bags you can buy now.
I bought some kit kat popcorn yesterday. Amazing!!!!!!!!!!
All your recent Thorntons reviews must have got you into their good books for them to be sending you stuff again. The only product I've tried of these 3 is the fudge and it's really good. When I was younger I associated Thortons with Special Toffee and fudge and I think they should focus more on these instead of loads of various boxes and pouches of average chocolates.The bag of Jumbles sounds like it could be worth giving a go, except I'd hope the raisins were portioned less than you got. As always, thanks for the review. Your picture of the fudge looks particularly yummy.
They are currently doing a 2 for £3 on the Jumbles in Sainsburys. Take advantage whilst you can ppls. That is a big discount on the second pack. Lol it will save you having to share.
Slip the guy a bit of cash and all of a sudden hes the biggest thorntons fanboy going. This blog is so transparent and all you muppets lap it up. Get real.
I want to see the cookies now :( Why do we have to wait until next week. Come on Jim treat us to an extra review matey.
Thornton's Fudge is by far my favourite. And the chocolate smothered variety is indeed my ultimate guilty pleasure - as far as I'm concerned the only way to produce a better quality fudge is to break out the saucepan and make your own! But my word, Thornton's fudge is by far the best. <3 I don't think it's been rated highly enough here in all honesty.
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