This year, it’s a combination of Carolina Reaper and Scorpion Pepper. Last year, it was Carolina Reaper and Sichuan Heat. Maybe next year it’ll be Carolina Reaper and molten lava? Or maybe Carolina Reaper and a box of matches? (Spotted by Robbie at QuikTrip.)
Here are some new seasonal products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)
(Spotted by Robbie at Sam’s Club.)
(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)
(Spotted by Robbie at Target.)
(Spotted by Robbie at Target.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)
(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)
While pumpkin is the unmatched king of fall food, this year we’re seeing a push to bring an old favorite fall flavor back in the spotlight: apple. Dunkin’s Apple Cranberry Refresher is a very unique offering for those who seek a fall themed beverage, but don’t necessarily want coffee or pumpkin flavor.
The Dunkin’ Refreshers all start off with a green tea base mixed with a fruit concentrate and served over ice. While it has experimented with different Refresher flavors, this is the first seasonal/holiday version we’ve gotten.
When ordering the Apple Cranberry Refresher, you are given the option to add coconut milk. Normally, I aim to try everything “plain” first, but I had a suspicion the flavors would be strong and need the coconut milk to mellow them a bit. I am very glad I did this as I think the drink would have been nearly undrinkable for me without it. As the name would suggest, the predominant flavors should be apple (Honeycrisp according to Dunkin’) and cranberry with “notes of fall spices.”
The drink comes with a purple-ish tone when you opt for the coconut milk, but mine wasn’t nearly as purple as the advertised products. I noticed the bottom of the cup had almost a pulp-like look, and I guessed it was just the concentrate settling from its journey home. After a good stir, I took the first sip. The layers of flavors that I tasted were a little overwhelming at first. The apple and cranberry were very present but quickly overshadowed by the “fall spices.”
I am not sure if the recipe has those fall spices (cinnamon, nutmeg were the flavors I mostly tasted) as a separate part from the apple cranberry concentrate, but they were borderline overpowering. Especially so towards the end of the drink where the bottom seemed to be almost entirely made of those dang spices. Despite my best attempts to keep swirling, the cinnamon flavor took over about halfway through and wouldn’t relent.
The coconut milk added no perceivable flavor but helped to dull the very sharp spices. The green tea was undetectable. What was frustrating was that every few sips the drink would be palatable and then I’d hit this pocket of cinnamon that tasted what those horrible cinnamon brooms smell like. I also got a large (remember: I bought a 12pk of a mystery flavor soda, so I am kind of a risk-taker), and I almost tossed the last 1/4th. As the ice melted, however, it mellowed the drink to a point where I could finish it.
While it was a noble effort to try and offer a fall item not pumpkin-centric, the unevenly strong cinnamon flavor made it hard to love from beginning to end. If the fall spices are a separate thing, I would absolutely order it again with WAY less of whatever the recipe asks for. Otherwise, this drink treads too close to tasting like what an apple cinnamon candle smells like.
Purchased Price: $3.59
Size: Large
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 230 calories, 6 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 40 grams of sugar, and 1 grams of protein.
Nestle Toll House could’ve also done this with pumpkin spice morsels and/or espresso morsels. (Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)
Do you like cheese? No, I mean, do you really like cheese? I’m not talking to those of you who have been known to daintily nibble on a wedge of brie at a party or put a single slice of cheddar on your backyard burger. I’m speaking directly to those of you who are so mad at your arteries that you want to punish them at every possible turn. Do you dip your pizza’s cheese-stuffed crust into a tub of cheese sauce? Have you ever made a sandwich using grilled cheese sandwiches in place of sliced bread? Well then, you might be interested in Wendy’s new offering.
Wendy’s new Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger is “a quarter pound of fresh, never frozen beef, covered in creamy cheddar cheese and bacon jam, topped with applewood smoked bacon, crispy onions, and a slice of American cheese, all on a pillow soft, toasted cheddar bun.” I mean… cheese, am I right? According to my calculations, you’ve got three entry points for cheese on this thing: in the “creamy cheddar cheese” sauce, as a rogue American slice on top of the meat, and melted into or on top of the bun.
My first thought before getting this burger was, “Will I ruin my shirt, my pants, or both when I eat this thing?” But here’s the shocking part — it was extremely tidy. Oh sure, when I first unwrapped it, I was confronted with a few stray fried onion strands and some crisped cheddar cheese that’d melted off of the bun and turned into a crunchy cheese pond, but overall, nothing else squirted or fell out. This was a one napkin affair.
And, truth be told, the neatness of the BBCC probably foreshadowed this burger’s biggest pitfall: it was dryyyyyy. Like a camelback-trek-across-the-Sahara dry. Like, kissing-your-grandmother’s-cheek dry. The creamy cheddar cheese and bacon jam components were both there, maybe? But the cheese wasn’t creamy (all I noticed were random shreds of damp, unmelted cheddar), and a tiny dollop of the jam was totally lost in the mix. The patty itself was dry. The fried onions? Same. The whole thing was very one-note. Okay, two-note. 1) Dry 2) Salty.
There was no flavor here of which to speak, only an arid mass of chewiness that felt more like a chore than a meal. For something being sold on its cheesiness, it was interesting to find that the cheese seemed to add nothing; this burger would have been no different without it.
The most unusual part of this burger (bacon jam isn’t exactly common, but Wendy’s has done it before, and so has Sonic) was probably the cheddar bun. Here are list of other things that are unusual:
And like this bulleted list, I’m not sure I need the cheddar bun in my life. It too was — wait for it — very dry, and the cheese was barely noticeable beyond giving the bun a strange, slightly chewy texture.
All in all, this was a largely forgettable burger.
Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: Single patty
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 810 calories, 54 grams of fat, 21 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of trans fat, 105 milligrams of cholesterol, 1370 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 3 gram of fiber, 5 gram of sugar, 39 grams of protein.
