Bamba Peanut Snack with Hazelnut Cream Filling

Yes I know. These crispy snacks sound a lot more like miniature biscuits than a savoury snack. But I found them on the same shelf as the savoury crisps. Honest.

I put some in a bowl at work without an explanation or description and it seems that everyone thought they were getting something sweet. Well, they are sort of sweet. You get a soft crunchy corn outside which is salty, and a creamy hazelnut filling - a bit like Nutella - which is sweet.

I rather liked these. And it seems most of the taste testers did too. Even though they felt cheated at not getting a mini sweet biscuitty thing.

But I wish I had read the ingredients list more carefully before this 60g packet was finished (it didn't take long). I failed to notice the rosemary. I didn't notice any rosemary in the taste. Either I must remain forever baffled or I have to buy another packet. As if the house wasn't full enough of crisps as it is.

Another ingredient, and one which sounds a bit dodgy to me, is cellulose. Which  is used to produce paper. And glue. And mainly produced from wood pulp and cotton! OK, let's not suppose that these peanut snacks are made of wood pulp. Of course not. But it does sound odd doesn't it?

Suitable for vegetarians, no cholesterol, no food colouring. Kosher. Contains 0% Vitamin A and C, 0% calcium and 0% iron. Isn't that a strange thing to have in your Nutrition Facts? Contains genetically modified cornstarch and soybean.

I wonder about the long and obviously complicated process used to make these crispy peanut snacks. Not to mention the food miles. I think perhaps I won't get a second packet.

Made in Israel by Osem which is owned by the Swiss multinational food and beverage company Nestle. They get everywhere don't they?

Bamba Peanut Snack

My lovely friend Giraffe Fan taste tester very kindly bought me a 25g packet of Osem Bamba peanut snacks to try.

Giraffe Fan taste tester tells me this is what Israeli children eat. Apparently she ate them too as she hung around with a load of Iraeli kids when she was growing up. I asked suspiciously if she would still eat them and she indicated that yes, she certainly would. She has a wide, sincere smile.

I asked because (very sorry) the packaging design is so ghastly I was not encouraged to try these at all, but rather put off. The dreadful cartoon baby is really rather... dreadful. Honestly I can't imagine why any company would choose such an image to advertise their product. Once again the product is not really aimed at me but I still don't see why the baby motif would appeal to children even if it is brandishing weights.

Anyway, to the snack. The smell is very strongly peanut (49% on the ingredients list) but not salted peanut. The finger feel is smooth and rather soft, and there's no flavour dust. Fairly crunchy, the snack seems to be a reconstituted mix of peanut and corn. Initially there is not much taste but the texture is smooth and velvety, quite unusual, and after you chew you get a soft velvety paste to eat.

The best bit is the sweet, salty, peanutty after-taste.

I can easily see that if you grew up eating these you could find them delicious but I'm pretty sure I would never buy them for myself. The Chef tried them too so it's not just me. Wikipedia tells me the flavour is peanut butter and not peanut at all, but I can't see any evidence of this on the packet - unless it's the small bit in Hebrew in the corner although I suspect not.

Useful info: they are pareve kosher and you never know when that will come in handy. The package tells me Rabbi Jacob Moshe Charlap monitors this for Osem Israel (owned by Swiss conglomerate Nestlé).

Two slightly weird extras: these snacks come with a U certificate as though they were a film, and also I need to protect them from the sun. I wonder why?

Also available in strawberry says Wikipedia. Hmmnn... I'm not sure about that.