Coris SonoManma Peach Fuzen Gum and Kanro Fruit Rich Peach Candy

The peach on the bottom candy reminds me of "Call Me By Your Name." If you haven't seen it, don't ask. The defilement of fruit is just too disturbing to relive.

Like a runner struggling after a long, hard run to reach the finish line, I am slowing down on my progress with my ZenPop box, but I am determined to finish! However, I'm being slowed down by plans to take a very brief trip for vacation and the looming specter of grand jury duty. If I seem to be in a hurry, you'll understand why.

The pairings on my double reviews are not random. They make a sort of pointless logic to my mind. This one is a grouping of "stuff designed to keep your mouth entertained for a long time" or "stuff designed to remove bad tastes from your mouth." Choose whichever one seems more suitable.

The maker of the peach gum, Coris, specializes in dagashi (kid's snacks) and I've only reviewed a few of their items previously. If this gum is any indication, they are designed to be short-lived joys. The immediate sense is that this is the nicest, softests bubble gum I have ever had and it has a good, natural burst of peach flavor both from the gum itself and the little dab of goo in the center.

For about three minutes, this is a great chewing experience. After that, the flavor is tapped out and you're done. At that point it's time for another little ball of (peach-shaped) gum, or to focus on blowing bubbles. I can't say it's reasonable to expect a gum designed for kids to go the distance in flavor, but I never claimed to be reasonable.

Kanro's "Fruit Rich" peach candy is a decidely more adult and long-lasting experience. The candy is less sweet and intense than the gum, but it unfolds beautifully on the tongue and it's far easier to enjoy than sucking on a peach pit. Oddly, this includes herb extracts and menthol, but I couldn't taste those elements at all. Their inclusion means this is designed for soothing sore throats as much as for occupying a bored mouth.

If this were sugar-free, it would have my undying love rather than a brief flirtation. My teeth cannot only tolerate so much bathing in sugar before they cry "Uncle." So, while I'm happy for the lack of artificial sweetner aftertaste (or even present taste), I have to be careful not to overdo this lest I develop a cavity.

Coris Peach Gum:

Karno Fruit Rich hard candy:

Coris Kinako Lumps

A lot of the snacks I review are variations on familiar food themes. Even something as uniquely Asian as a bean cake can be roughly approximated as a cake full of mashed beans and the reader can grasp the idea. Occasionally, I come across something which defies comparison, and then I have to wrack my fevered brain for a way to describe it that successfully conveys what it is. Of course, I could just give up and compare it to something vaguely similar and spare my neurons the overtime work.

These kinako dama ("lumps") candies, produced by a company called Coris that specializes in cheap kid's snacks, are definitely a horse of a different color. Coris is a relatively small company and you see their flavored lozenges that resemble a chalky lifesaver in the kiddy sections of many convenience stores and markets. This kinako snack was a new find for me so I picked it up when I saw the little packet for a mere 20 yen (24 cents) at Lawson 100. I also can't resist anything as elegantly named as "lumps".  The little bag holds 3 marble-size candies and each candy is 20 calories.

Each little ball is soft enough that you can squish it with your finger, but firm enough not to easily lose it's shape or be bruised. When you bite into it, it's sweet and has a relatively powerful kinako flavor, but is not overwhelming. The texture can be best likened to a grainy taffy without the stringy, chewy, sugary parts. It's like thick Play Dough in some ways.

The web site for these stresses that they are made with flour, and I think that these are really pretty much flour, sugar and kinako (toasted soy flour). They literally are little dough balls. While I enjoyed the taste of these quite a lot, and they certainly aren't unpleasant in any way, the overall texture just didn't do much for me. They are squishy enough to be like cookie dough, and not firm enough to really feel like candy. This is a new product and it'll be interesting to see if it catches on well enough to be around next year at this time. I liked it, but once was enough for me.