Today I kick off ‘Hazelnut Week’ here on ZOMG, Candy! with the Kinder Bueno. Incidentally, ‘Hazelnut Week’ is also Ferrero week, mostly because Ferrero makes lots of hazelnut + chocolate things, including Nutella. Mmmm…
The Kinder Bueno consists of hazelnut creme inside crispy wafers that are enrobed in milk chocolate. It comes in two segmented sticks, so it’s nicely portion controlled and easily shareable. I was pleasantly surprised that the sticks come individually wrapped. Wasteful, yes, but perfect if you want to eat one now and save the other one for later. Or if you want to eat one now, save one for later, have the saved one discovered by a chocolate-loving friend, and find yourself graciously sharing your saved Kinder Bueno.
The hazelnut creme inside the Kinder Bueno is super rich and thick. The hazelnut flavor of the creme is strong, and that nuttiness is enough to keep the creme from being too cloying. It also pairs well with the dry texture of the wafer it’s encased in. My only complaint is that the wafer is a little too dry and a little too bland. Then again, maybe Ferrero knows what they’re doing. It’s possible that a sweeter, more cookie-like wafer could send the Kinder Bueno into too-sweet territory.
I give these guys an OM because they’re on the pricey side. For the price of two Kinder Buenos, I could get a whole jar of Nutella instead (though with the way I adore Nutella, that jar may not last much longer than two Kinder Buenos).
That being said, Bueno means ‘good’ in Spanish, and that is exactly what these are – good, not great!?You can find them all over Europe, but they’ve yet to get big in the US + North America market.
I know I keep leaving comments like, “In Russia blah blah blah,” but I feel the need to mention that over here (and presumably also in whatever country they’re actually from), Kinder chocolates are marketed as good-for-you. That’s why there’s a glass of milk on the wrapper.
And their hazelnut creme might not be cloying, but they do have a super-cloying commercial featuring footage of baby animals and a song sung by a five-year-old that goes, “Ma-maaa, my first word, the most important word in every person’s fate. Ma-maaa, gave me life, gave everything to you and to me.” Of course the implication is that choosy moms choose Kinder, or whatever, but omg soooo ridiculous for a CANDY BAR commercial.
Well. . . I have to say, in the Eurpean countries, for the price of one glass Nutella you can buy 3 1/2 of those Bueno Two-piece packs.