Battle of the Cherries { Anoka Minnesota Area Candy Store }

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Hello, and welcome to a very, cherry, version of Sweet River’s blog! We, currently, have three of our favorite, chocolate/cherry, treats on the shelves and, we often get asked, what the difference between them actually is; and, which one is the best. So, the other day, despite knowing what a tough job it was–we decided to taste, and review, each of the treats (for the sake of this blog, of course). It was rough–but, someone HAD to do it, right? Now, we LOVE anything chocolate/cherry so we consider ourselves pretty knowledgeable on that flavor combo; however, that also may make us a bit more picky about the flavors. We encourage you to go on the same cherry mission and let us know if you think we’re right on–OR, if you think we’re way off. For now though, check out our favorite, least favorite, and everything in between.

T W I N  B I N G

The original Bing was first introduced in 1923, and the Twin Bing rolled out in 1973. They are made by the Palmer Candy Company, out of Sioux City, Iowa. The first ingredient in this one is peanuts and, we couldn’t help but notice, that nowhere in the ingredient list does it mention cherries. That’s kinda weird, right? Especially for a cherry candy? The flavor must come in the form of the ‘artificial flavors’ they list. Not surprisingly, this was our least favorite ‘cherry’ flavor of the three. In fact, the cherry flavor didn’t really kick in until the after taste (we LOVE cherry…this was sad). The outside had more of a peanut butter taste than a chocolate taste to us–and it was softish. (Have you ever had one of those chocolate/peanut butter/oatmeal, no bake bars? It tasted a ton like that.) Out of the three of them, this was our least favorite. However, we should mention that we had a three year old helping us with this whole taste-testing job–as far as he was concerned, this was his MOST favorite.

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B I G  C H E R R Y

This treat comes in both regular, and dark chocolate–we tried the regular one. This candy has been being made since 1887 by Christopher’s, out of Southern California. The first ingredient on the package is sugar–so, we were a bit skeptical right off the bat. After the Twin Bing, we were hoping for more cherry flavor–this one does include ‘cherries’ in its ingredient list, so, we were also hopeful. The first flavor that hit us was the peanuts. This one is sweeter, and if you’re a chocolate snob, you might not care a ton for the chocolate outside. This ‘Big Cherry’ boasts that it contains a whole cherry center…and, it does (and it looks super cute). :) Once we bit in though, and started chewing, this was our immediate favorite. The cherry/chocolate balance is right on, and the cherry flavor is big. (Like, big enough where it overpowers the chocolate/peanut thing.) Our three year old helper declared this one his least favorite–we’re learning that he may not be a huge cherry fan.

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C H E R R Y  M A S H 

This is another oldie! The Cherry Mash bar has been around since 1918 and is still produced in St. Joseph, MO., by Chase Candy Company. The ingredient list contains ‘maraschino cherries’, so, we were happy. :) (Also, we love that on the package there is a recipe for the Cherry Mash Milkshake, and the Cherry Mash Sundae.) When we cut this one open, we were impressed with how pretty it was; the cherry portion was huge. We did really like the chocolate/peanut outer coating on this one, but couldn’t get over how similar the cherry center’s flavor was to Twizzler’s cherry licorice. (Er, well, we guess it would be the other way around. Cherry Twizzlers tastes like Cherry Mash.) All-in-all, it was our second favorite. It wasn’t bad at all–but, the cherry flavor left a little bit to be desired. The three year old declared this one really good–but, also said it was his second favorite.cherry mash, big cherry, twin bing, cherry, candy, chocolate, best, taste test, which one, battle, treat, review, anoka, candy shop, twin cities, favorite, little, coon rapids, champlin, brooklyn park, blaine, ramsey, dayton, maple grove, retro, nostalgic, sweet river, shop small, area, near, by, around

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Have you tried any of these three? What do YOU think?? Let us know here, or on our Facebook. We always love to hear from you!