Sugar Savvy

Pocky is a delicious, sweet treat from Japan. The original version is a thin cookie stick dipped in chocolate. It’s a delightful little snack as there are several sticks to a package, meaning more time can be spent enjoying the taste. According to Wikipedia, Pocky eventually got it’s name from the sound it makes when you snap one of the sticks off in your mouth. I’m not entirely sure that’s the sound I hear but that could be because I’m too busy experiencing the taste to notice. Pocky has been around for over 40 years and in that time has experimented with numerous flavors. Unfortunately, living in Canada means that we only get a sampling of those flavors but I try nearly every one I find.The first kind Michelle, J and I reviewed is Pocky Kurogo or Five Black. The cookie stick is essentially the same as the original flavor but the coating consists of five different black foods crushed up (with white chocolate, I assume). They are black pine nut, black soybean, black karin, black sesame seed and unpolished black rice. I honestly have no idea what flavor qualities these items possess on their own, except black sesame seed, which I have enjoyed in sesame seed cookies also from the Asian grocery. Pocky package open, we all agreed that the smell was reminiscent of those sesame seed cookies but also smelled of something on fire. My advice on maximum enjoyment? Don’t smell the inside of the package, the burning quality I spoke of could put you off. But beyond that, these Pocky were delicious and not too sweet and didn’t taste like burning. J ate his in a large fist, he liked them that much. His mouth comically protruding with cookie stick ends, he said that was the way they should be enjoyed and that he could eat them all day. At least that’s what I think he said.

Next up was Pocky Goka or Five Fruit. The fruits in question are peach, apricot, jujube, plum and chestnut. Other than jujube, which I’d never heard of before, these fruits generally taste fine to my palate. But I must admit I tend to not be a fan of fruits mixed together, no matter what fruits they might be. I mentioned this at the tasting and ended up on a diatribe about what I’ve coined ‘soup culture’, the phenomenon that seems to be steadily occurring everywhere you look as nothing is ever presented in it’s simple, individual form anymore. Instead we seem to be inundated with everything mixed together as if no item can stand alone. That having been said I’m sure it didn’t help the tasting that it was well over 30 degrees in my house that day and these Pocky sticks had gotten melted and stuck together. The Pocky were so unappetizing that for the first time ever in our Pocky adventures, no one wanted to eat more than one and the remainder ended up in the rubbish bin.

Luckily we were rescued once again by my friend Michelle who seems to always have alternative snacks hidden somewhere (I’ve started calling her “Pockets”). We cleansed our palates with the truly delightful, and now most certainly my favorite, Pocky Honey & Milk. I’m not really a big fan of honey but it’s use here made for a deep and rich taste experience. An excellent alternative if one desires something sweet that isn’t chocolate flavored. Also a plus is that these were the least expensive of all we’d bought, by at least $2.

Pocky also comes in fancier (and more expensive) varieties. We tried the Pocky Coconut, which features milk chocolate with coconut pieces around the cookie stick this time. If only my dear grandmother were still alive, I’m sure she’d eat these every day. The smell inside the package was heavenly and the taste was like a dream. If you’re a fan of coconut, these are for you. Well worth the slightly higher price, you won’t likely be disappointed.

Finally our Pocky tour took us to another Glico product, Paripo, which is similar to Pocky in that a package contains many sticks. The sticks however are more like a thinly rolled Pirouline (cylindrical wafer cookie) with a filling inside. We tried the peanut butter variety and all enjoyed it very much. J said he preferred these with the filling on the inside instead of the coated Pocky cookie. To me there was no preference as I think both snacks are too different to compare. Michelle likened the peanut butter filling to the filling inside a Pirate cookie (Pirate cookies by Christie here in Canada are oatmeal cookies with peanut butter filling.) I agreed with her even though it’s been forever since I’ve eaten Pirate cookies. But the peanut butter taste inside the Paripo took me right back to my childhood with it’s unnaturally smooth consistency and incredibly light peanut butter taste. I would definitely recommend these.

I can only hope that my next visit to the Asian grocer will yield as many delicious purchases. And with any luck, they’ll have more new flavors of Pocky.