Fujiya Big Milky Balls (QR)

My New Year's fukubukuro continues to be a snack review albatross around my neck. Yes, it's past the middle of the year and I'm still working my way through those surprise bags of processed food. As time goes by, the less thrilling stuff gets just that much older, and though the name "big balls" sounds impressive, these are really just large gumball-size wads of white taffy candy. The big selling point for them is that they are 1.7 times their previous size. Woohoo?

These are standard taffy balls in many ways. When warm, they are soft and easy to chew. When cold, they are hard a chore for the jaw. I first sampled these in February and remember having them stick to my teeth and tax my muscles quite a bit more. In July, they're not nearly such a hassle. The main difference is in the flavor which is rather buttery and fatty compared to similar things I've sampled back home. There isn't a strong flavor, which probably isn't a bad thing since "milk" flavor in Japan often means actual "milk" and not "vanilla". That often means "powdered milk" taste, not good farm fresh delight.

These aren't bad at all, but any sort of taffy candy is essentially grandma's territory and hard to get too excited about At only 23 calories per ball, it's not a bad way to get something sweet in your mouth for awhile, but eating just one makes my teeth ache and this isn't my sort of candy. I figure that it'll probably take me the rest of the year to get around to finishing the remainder of this small bag.