There's an episode of the Simpsons where Homer goes into the Kwiki Mart and asks Apu if he has a new beer which has brew with Skittles candy floating around in it called "Skittle Brau". Of course, no such product exists, but Homer is not dissuaded. He gets a 6-pack and a bag of Skittles and makes his own candy/beer combo.
This scene comes to mind because this Meiji Sweets Gum is a mixture of gum and candy. I didn't realize that it was literally a "sweet" plus "gum". I thought it was just going to be blueberry cheesecake-flavored gum. I guess someone was thinking that gum would be better with a blob of chewy candy in the center.
I picked this up at Inageya supermarket for about 100 yen ($1.07). They also had double caramel and strawberry vanilla on offer, but I'm a sucker for cheesecake. There are 7 pieces of gum in the box, and it's 51 calories for the whole box. Unlike many types of gum in Japan, this isn't sugar-free. It is made with "sugar water", though it also includes Maltitol and other artificial sweeteners.
The cheesecake portion of this is the off-white candy in the middle and the blueberry the gum casing. The first bite has intense blueberry flavor and the cheesecake candy center follows a bit sluggishly behind. The tastes are intense and pretty good at first. The main problem is that the flavor lasts for a maximum of two minutes and dies very rapidly. The gum is soft and fine, but soon it's just jaw exercise. Clearly, this isn't made for long-term chewing. In fact, I'm not sure why this has been rolled out in gum form at all. It would seem more effective to make this a chewy candy through and through.
If this were a hard candy or chewy candy, I'd probably consider buying it again, but as gum, it's not flavorful enough for a long enough period of time. While I was happy to chew this for a few minutes and I liked the taste, I wouldn't buy it again because of the long-term flavor shortcomings.
6 comments:
Commenting again!
I bought the strawberry-vanilla variation a while back and was impressed at first, but, like you wrote, was then quickly disappointed that the flavor died quickly. The strong flavor did take away the aftertaste of the yakiniku I had just eaten, so I guess it did its job. Definitely a gum that is just meant to ease a sweet craving, but not one to chew.
Must admit though...I kind of want to try blueberry cheesecake...I am a sucker for cheesecake as well.
-Katherine aka Tobidasu
Wow, at first blush, that blueberry cheesecake gum seems absolutely disgusting (seeing as to how most folks chew gum for some sort of dental refreshment), but I can see how it just may work (for, like what you said, two minutes).
It's funny because I used to love Asian fruit-flavored gum way back when when the US market had only mint-flavored gum & Juicy Fruit, but I found that the fruit flavor would fade way too soon to be thoroughly enjoyed. But now, the US market has a bunch of "funky/fun" types of gum which also have longer-lasting flavors, hurrah!
-Connie
Blueberry cheesecake should not be made into gum ~ugh. Maybe as a soft candy, but given the lifetime of gum... I just don't see it working.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment!
sweetpinkpixie: I also thought it was meant to take away a sweet craving, though I had hoped it would remove that craving for a bit longer. ;-)
C.: I wonder if initial intensity of flavor (almost unpleasantly intense) is the price one must pay for longer lasting flavor. I find a lot of the longer-lasting flavors almost medicinal initially.
Nicholas: It doesn't seem like it should work, and it didn't! ;-)
Yes im not too sure about that one - but i would love to see sushi made into a bubble gum...
Hi, Edoya, and thank you for your comment. I can't imagine fish gum, but I'm actually surprised it hasn't been made already. ;-)
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