There were quite a few things in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that I wanted to experience for myself when I was a kid. Not the chocolate waterfall (that chocolate looked extremely thin and watery – not how I picture milk chocolate, mixed or not… and the fact that a nasty little boy fell in it with his shoes on made the idea of eating any of it repellant). Certainly not the Psychedelic Nightmare Tunnel (a chicken got its head cut off! ITS HEAD!!). Nope, I wanted to try Wonka’s experimental sweets… and one of the samples provided to the unsuspecting boys and girls on the factory tour was that magical stick of gum, the one that mimicked a three-course dinner. I was always really jealous of Violet when she selfishly stuffed the three-course meal gum in her maw and described each course in detail… that is, I was jealous until she changed into a giant blueberry. Not for me, thanks.

My point is that I no longer have to feel jealous, for Extra Dessert Delights has introduced their latest sugar-free addition, “Apple Pie” – and it tastes like apple pie. It’s been mentioned before on this site that these new dessert- and cocktail-flavored chewing gums are creeping ever closer to Willy Wonka territory with their magical simulations of actual food. It’s pretty neat.

But that isn’t to say it’s not eerie. Like Wonka himself, the idea is a bit… off.

When a couple of office pals and I sampled the gum, the consensus was that Dessert Delights Apple Pie was simultaneously gross and tasty; real-tasting and unnatural. I liked the gum a little better than they did, but we all agreed that cramming the intense flavor of apple pie into a stick of gum was bizarre. Did someone really think that it would be an adequate substitute for real apple pie? On the go, sure it’s fine… but I certainly wouldn’t want to find myself at a friend’s picnic, longing for dessert, only to be handed a stick of sugar-free gum. I’d kick my friend in the ass for pulling a stunt like that. But I digress.

The gum is light green, which would make you think of mint-flavored gum if it weren’t for the overpowering aroma of cinnamon and (…dare I say it? Yes, I dare…) buttery crust. I could smell that long before I could smell the slight scent of apples. Once I started chewing, the flavor exploded into a complex combination of Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, and sugar. It was definitely apple pie.

Unfortunately, the Apple Pie gum began to lose its softness and flavor rather quickly. I’m talking within seconds. It became tacky and stiff the longer I chewed, and the taste of apples and spices soon dissolved into a generic, artificial-apple-tinged sweetness that was just “blah.” I was disappointed that the flavor pretty much vanished altogether after just a few minutes of chewing.

Despite this, I guess it’s nice to have a pack around for a quick chew if you’re in the mood for something sweet at work or school and don’t want to visit the vending machine for one of those trans-fat-tastic packaged apple fritter pastry thingies — you know, the ones with the waxy glaze that makes the plastic all shiny and oily. Why eat something like that and have it clog your arteries when you can get a similar flavor in a stick of gum that you can spit out after? Choices, people.

Like nearly every one of these flavored dessert gums, Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie had a strong start and a weak finish. Though I held out much longer than my coworkers, I definitely reached the end of the line on that flavor train. At least I didn’t turn into a giant green apple. Sure, I’d be able to leave work early, but I don’t think I could fit in my car.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 stick – 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 2 grams of sugar alcohol and 0 grams of protein.)

Other Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie Gum reviews:
Gum Alert
TV & Gum Are Awesome
The Smart Cookie Cook

Item: Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie Gum
Price: $0.99
Size: 15 sticks per pack
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: A fun new addition to Extra Dessert Delights variety. Approximates the flavor of apples, cinnamon and buttery crust rather well for a stick of gum. Nice alternative to greasy apple pie fritters in the vending machine. Leaving work early because you turned into a giant piece of fruit.
Cons: Flavor doesn’t last very long. Watching chickens get their heads chopped off. Cramming the flavor of apple pie into a stick of gum is bizarre. Suffering a total body transformation on an all-expenses-paid factory tour as punishment for your selfishness and greed.

If snowboarder/skateboarder/redhead Shaun White ever forgets his name, I hope he’s carrying around a pack of his Whitemint Stride Gum because it’ll help him remember his name quickly since it’s printed ALL OVER the gum’s packaging.

His name is on the front of the pack. It’s on the top and bottom of the pack. His signature is on the back of the pack. Oh, but that’s not all. The wrapper that surrounds each piece of Whitemint Stride Gum also has his name on it…many times. I estimate Shaun White’s name is printed more than a hundred times on and in each pack of his gum.

I’ve seen his name so many times now that I’m beginning to think my name is Shaun White.

Personally, I’m surprised Stride didn’t go that extra mile and engrave his name on the back and front of each piece of gum. Although, maybe if I look at the packaging through a powerful microscope, I’ll see that all the graphics are made using microscopic printings of Shaun White’s name.

That would blow my mind.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a microscope, or access to one of the labs at the nearby university that have microscopes because I’m not allowed on campus for one year due to “complaints” from female students, so I can’t find out.

But I hope the graphic designer who came up with the packaging designed it with tiny printing, because, if so, Whitemint Stride Gum would have something exciting about it, since its flavor isn’t completely compelling.

I swear Whitemint Stride Gum tastes like another Stride Gum flavor, but I’m not sure which one since Stride seems to develop a new mint flavor every six months or so. It has a mild sweet mint flavor, so it could be Sweet Peppermint Stride Gum. Or it could be the sweet and minty Nonstop Mint Stride Gum.

Whitemint Stride Gum is available for a limited time, so don’t expect to see it forever in the checkout line with all the gum, candy, and tabloids you could impulsively buy. While its flavor didn’t blow my mind, like watching Shaun White shred in a half-pipe, I did enjoy having it in my mouth for 15-30 minutes and I also liked the fact that I can chew on it during that time without having to worry about it getting hard in my mouth.

With this gum being able to last as long as it does, I could chew on it while counting all the times Shaun White’s name appears on and in each Whitemint Stride Gum pack and then compare it to the number of times the word “yeah” is said in Usher’s song “Yeah!”

(Nutrition Facts – 1 piece – less than 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 1 gram of sugar alcohol, and 0 grams of protein.)

Other Whitemint Stride Gum reviews:
Gum Alert
TV & Gum Are Awesome

Item: Whitemint Stride Gum
Price: $1.24
Size: 14 pieces
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Decent sweet mint flavor. Pleasant texture. It’s ridiculously long lasting. Watching Shaun White shred on a halfpipe.
Cons: Tastes like another Stride Gum flavor. Flavor isn’t totally exciting. Shaun White’s name is printed way too many times. Wondering whether the word “shred” is still cool.

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we follow.

Hmm. First, it was Pepsi Blue Hawaii. And now Pepsi Japan has released Pepsi Caribbean Gold. What tropical islands and color will they do next? I don’t know, but my money is on Fiji Fuchsia. (via Japanese Snack Reviews)

This bologna has a first name it’s B-U-B-B-L-E-G-U-M. This bologna has a second name it’s the sound of vomiting into a toilet. (via Clearance Cuisine)

One. Two. Three. Four. Four BK Minis reviews. (thunder and lightning) AH AH AH AH AH! (via An Immovable Feast, Grub Grade, Foodette Reviews, and Fat Guy Food Blog)

Thin ‘n Trim Garden Vegetable Chicken Sausage? I believe there are six words in the previous sentence that should never be in the same sentence as “sausage.” (via Dave’s Cupboard)

Update: Click here to read our Whitemint Stride Gum review

You know how some folks have the perfect name for what they do.

Now I’m not talking about porn stars because most of them make up their names. I’m talking about people like Winter Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, who has an appropriate last name for a snowboarder.

He also has a last name that can easily become part of a made up compound word, which Stride Gum has compounded to name their new Shaun White-inspired gum, Whitemint.

White helped select Stride Whitemint’s flavor which is described as “a long lasting intense mint.” He also helped create the look of the gum’s packaging which consists of “a simple, cool design with unique and exclusive graphics that bring White’s personality to life.” The packaging also includes five random comedic scenarios of White with the Stride Ram (you know, the one that forces Stride gum chewers to spit out their gum).

Stride Whitemint will be available from now until September 2011 and the 14-piece packs have a suggested retail price of $1.49.

Source: Candy & Snack Today

Update: Click here to read our Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie Gum review

Update 2: Click here to read our Wrigley’s 5 Swerve review

Sometimes I wonder if Wrigley’s 5 Gum should change its name to I Thought I Told You That We Won’t Stop because the chewing gum line, which is marketed to teens, keeps expanding like my waistline has over the past seven years The Impulsive Buy has been around.

If you don’t know the 5 Gum flavors, let me fill your grey matter with a useless list that may write over some of your precious childhood memories: Cobalt, Flare, Rain, Elixir, Lush, Solstice, Zing, React Fruit, React Mint, Prism, Vortex, React 2 Fruit, and React 2 Mint. Oh wait, let me write over your memory of your first kiss with the next 5 Gum flavor, a tropical one called Swerve.

When Swerve becomes available later this year, it will be the second tropical flavor in the 5 Gum line, following Lush.

Also later this year, Wrigley will be adding Apple Pie to its portfolio of Extra Dessert Delights sugarfree gum. The flavor follows Strawberry Shortcake, Mint Chocolate Chip, Key Lime Pie, and Orange Creme Pop.

Come on, Wrigley! Stop ruining desserts for me! If I want to eat poor representations of desserts I’ll go to McDonald’s or make the desserts myself.

Both sugarfree gum flavors will come in the usual 15-piece slim pack.

Update: Click here to read our Mentos UP2U Gum (Sweet Mint/Bubble Fresh and Daylight Mint/Mintnight Mint) review

Each pack of Mentos’ new UP2U Gum contains two flavors and according to the packaging it’s up to you to decide which flavor you’re going to choose to chew.

It sounds like a simple decision to make, but let me make it complex for you. Mentos UP2U Gum comes in four varieties: Daylight Mint/Mintnight Mint, Sweet Mint/Bubble Fresh, Berry Watermelon/Fresh Mint, and Mandarin Strawberry/Spearmint.

So you’re going to have to choose between those four varieties, but before that you have to choose which checkout line you’re going to wait in. Do you go with unfriendly male cashier who scans items quickly, but sucks at bagging goods? Or do you go with the talkative female cashier who asks you how you’re doing, but stops scanning in order to do so?

Once you pick a checkout line, which is where you’ll most likely find the Mentos UP2U Gum, you’ll then have to choose between the four varieties and you have to do it before the cashier rings up the people in front of you. Depending on what the shoppers in front of you are purchasing and whether or not you have a slow cashier, you have somewhere between 30 seconds to 4 minute to decide. You could buy all of them, but do you really chew that much gum?

Once you’ve chosen your pack, you’ve narrowed it down to two flavors, but I prefer to not think of them as flavors. Instead, I think of them as what your breath is going to smell like. What your breath smells like as you chew Mentos UP2U Gum could determine whether or not you get that first kiss, or whether or not your co-workers feel comfortable working closely with you, or it’ll determine if your grandma will kiss you on the cheek or mouth.

Good luck with choosing which flavor to chew.

Each pack of sugarfree Mentos UP2U Gum contains 14 pieces and will retail for $1.49. But, if you visit the Mentos UP2U Facebook page and Like the page for the gum you haven’t tried yet, you can get a $1 off coupon.

Update: Click here to read our Mentos UP2U Gum (Sweet Mint/Bubble Fresh and Daylight Mint/Mintnight Mint) review