Chocolate Wars: Smarties versus M&Ms

Even after living in Germany for five years, I'd never bothered to try Smarties. M&Ms aren't really on my list of "must-eat" chocolates, but they're nice enough when I'm in the mood. So it took five years before I got in the mood, ok? The chocolate in Germany is that good.

When I was in the US recently, I noticed that my daughter grabbed quickly for a bag of Mini M&Ms. Right next to that I saw a bag of Dark M&Ms and decided to try them. Then, yesterday at the grocery store back here in Germany, I saw this cute hexagonal package of Smarties, I knew it was time to compare the candies.

The Results

M&M Minis
Smell: nothing special
Color: Classic bright M&M colors
Smoothness: smooth with the typically M&M crisp crunch.
Aftertaste: The expected extra-sweet M&Ms chocolate taste.

M&M Dark

Smell: nothing special

Color: Classic bright M&M colors

Smoothness: smooth chocolate with the typically M&M crisp crunch.

Aftertaste: Still the M&Ms chocolate taste, but much tastier than regular M&Ms.

Smarties

Smell: a little fruity

Color: Lighter colors than M&Ms, but made with vegetable colors. Nice to look at, but not as intense as M&M colors.

Smoothness: very smooth chocolate, and the coating is not as crunchy as M&Ms

Aftertaste: The Smarties have a fruity taste on the shell and a smoother milk chocolate than M&Ms

And the winner is: M&Ms Dark! The minis are addictive because of their size, and the Smarties are nicer to crunch, but the dark chocolate wins me over. One other thing I did prefer about the Smarties is that they didn't get hard and bumpy when you suck on them til the candy shell melts. I presume that the M&Ms bumps are just undissolved sugar, and since they also eventually dissolve, I feel safe in eating them.

Lambertz Peanut Mountains

Chocolate is of course common in Germany, and they cover all kinds of nuts with it. It's rare to find chocolate-covered peanuts, though, with the exception of M&Ms. Imagine my luck when I found 2 different types at a nearby PLUS store. They weren't even a special offer, so I'm hoping the next time I crave peanuts, they'll still be in stock.

These chocolate "Peanut Mountains" from Lambertz are great! More free-form than the American equivalent, they are also made with a better chocolate.

Lambertz itself is a company from Aachen, claiming a history back to 1688. One of its more recent claims to fame is that Lambertz's chief executive and chief socialite, Dr. Hermann Bühlbecker, attended Elton John's White Tie and Tiara Ball this year to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Dr. Bühlbecker is locally known as the "Keks-König" or "Cookie King." Photos
of Dr. Bühlbecker with miscellaneous celebrities, including Beckham, Richard Branson, Elle McPherson, Judy Dench, and many others. Plenty of pictures here.

They have a broad product line, and my husband especially loves their Domino-steine, a petit-fours type of cake. These particular candies are a good dark chocolate, with enough sweetness to offset the nutty flavor of the peanut, yet not giving up on a good chocolate flavor. "Mountains" may be a bit of an ambitious term, but they're delicious nonetheless.

Reviewed: Lambertz Erdnuss Berge
Personality: Noisy. They kept calling out to us until they were all gone.
How to enjoy: Go to the store, buy a bag, enjoy it. Don't try to keep them in the house, you'll just keep eating them.

Lambertz also has a factory outlet in Aachen. Check the webpage for more info.

Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: PLUS markets, and you can order some products online
USA: Look for grocery items with the labels "European Cookies" or "German Cookies"