I think the actual review for this treat is going to be fairly short and simple (see below), but I have observed something about European candy and this is the perfect example of just that. The thing I’ve noticed is that European candy rarely, if ever contains artificial colours. My experience has been that European countries (and possibly the European Union) has some very strict rules when it comes to artificial colours. For many foods this doesn’t really make that much of a difference, but for candy it’s very noticeable.

The reason is that candy is often a food that is not only designed for flavour, but also for visual aesthetics. For better or worse, the history of candy is filled with treats that are bright and bold looking as well as tasting. It’s also an industry that often cares more about flavour and looks over health. This candy is a great example of just this issue. The package suggests that you’re going to get a bold, sour apple taffy, but when you open it, it’s as dull a green as humanly possible. The candy visually is pretty much the opposite energy wise as the package. I don’t know this for sure, but I imagine that there was a time when this candy (or other similar candies) where also bold in colour as well as flavour. In other parts of the world where they don’t worry about artificial colours as much, this would be an eye popping green candy, but not in this case.

I’m not really judging if this is a good or bad thing. I’m not an expert when it comes to food colouring and how it affects your health. I can say that this is not an attractive candy, and that many other candies I’ve seen coming out of Europe often are also not as bold as other places. Again, no judgment, just an observation.

As for reviewing this candy, other than the colour, this is a simple piece of sour apple taffy. It should be noted that I’m not a big fan of fake apple flavours, but I do enjoy sour treats. This taffy is fairly sour, but not sour enough to erase the fake sour apple flavour. So needless to say I wasn’t a huge fan of the flavour, but I feel like it’s a very personal choice. If you enjoy fake apple flavours with a bit of a sour kick you’ll probably love it. Also, as usual with other taffy treats from Swizzels Matlow, the texture is superb, soft enough to bite through, but tough enough to be enjoyable.