Sugar Savvy

Reviewed this week:  Yan Yan Strawberry Cream Snack, from Meiji Seika, Singapore

Ingredients:  Wheat flour, vegetable oil & shortening (palm & canola oils), sugar, lactose, whole milk powder, leavenings (ammonium bicarbonate & sodium bicarbonate), yeast, cheddar cheese (contains milk, cheese culture, salt), salt, strawberry powder, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural colorings (beet red E162, beta-carotene E160 & caramel E150A), artificial strawberry & yogurt flavorings, citric acid, enzyme (papain)

Package copy and appearance:  A round cup that reminds me of a sideways Kraft cheese and cracker snack packs with the little red plastic sticks.  Descriptions include “fun lines”, “fruity strawberry cream”,  and “your favorite strawberry-flavored dip.”  The cracker sticks have a huge variety of phrases and cute animals imprinted on them.

 Tasting notes:  Crackers are texturally balanced between cookies and cracker.  They provide a mostly neutral background for the cream.  As for the cheddar cheese?  That’s a bit of a mystery.  I assume it is in the frosting, but the strawberry cream tastes like artificially flavored strawberry frosting.

 Verdict:  The strawberry frosting is a little gross.  I also tried the vanilla and thought it tasted much better, but still reminded me of eating packaged frosting.  There is a chocolate version, which is probably tastier.  But because of the cute words on the sticks, I think this could be a cute treat for the kids.