Valerie Weingart is a junior English and vocal performance major and writes 'Wein and Dine' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Valerie at vjweingart@bsu.edu.
The “Pumpkin Spice” phenomenon has taken the commercial retail market by storm—supermarkets and coffee shops have capitalized on the fall-flavor trend, with some endeavors more successful than others. This issue of Wein and Dine will feature a variety of fall-flavored items that you can find in supermarkets or Starbucks: some tasty, some downright weird and some tragically unsuccessful.
The following food items are available for purchase at Meijer, Walmart and Starbucks—try them (or avoid them) before the season is over!
Chobani Limited Time Seasonal Flavor: Cinnamon Pear Blended Yogurt
If you read the name of this yogurt and cringed a little bit, you’re not alone—I was hesitant to pick this up at the store. The idea of pear/cinnamon Greek yogurt sounded about as unappetizing as apple/nutmeg mayonnaise. After tasting it, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent balance of flavor: the pear and cinnamon was subtle but pleasant. Greek yogurt tends to be a little tart, but the sweetness of the pear and the slight spice of the cinnamon created a delicious, crisp contrast. The smooth texture was also a nice surprise, since Greek yogurt can sometimes be chunky and unappetizing. Overall, this was my favorite item that I tried, for it was unique and definitely not a typical fall flavor. Bonus: It’s delicious with Pumpkin Spice Oreos.
Pepperidge Farm Caramel Apple Pie Cookie
Who doesn’t love a good apple pie with caramel topping? I had high hopes that the pastry professionals at Pepperidge Farms would deliver. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed in this cookie, for it had neither a caramel nor an apple flavor. It tasted like an oatmeal raisin cookie that tried to get into the Halloween spirit and dress up as a caramel apple cookie. Like a child’s ghost costume, it was a cute attempt, but it wasn’t fooling anyone. I also found the texture too chewy and unappealing, so I followed the directions on the bag and microwaved it. This just made it warm and chewy, and it didn’t do much to enhance the caramel apple flavor. Overall, it was a great idea on the part of Pepperidge Farms, but the execution was unsuccessful.
Kellogg’s Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats
If you’d like to get into the fall spirit by eating something that has the texture of dried leaves and the taste of bad potpourri, make sure to pour yourself a bowl of Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats. Really, they should be named Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Lies, because they don’t taste like pumpkin at all. There’s a hint of allspice, but that’s about it. When you put them in milk, they taste exactly like Original Frosted Mini Wheats, and the milk left over at the end doesn’t taste like pumpkin spice, either. All lies, I tell you.
Ben and Jerry’s Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream
Unlike Kellogg’s, Ben and Jerry weren’t lying when they called their product Pumpkin Cheesecake. This limited-time batch is bursting with sweet pumpkin flavor and spices, slightly mellowed by the creamy richness of cheesecake. You can’t beat Ben and Jerry’s texture, and the graham cracker crust swirl is subtle and delicious. I would have liked there to be actual pieces of cheesecake in the ice cream, but that’s just my taste. It’s quite sweet, which I loved, and the flavors were accurate without tasting artificial. Ben and Jerry’s promised pumpkin cheesecake, and they delivered. Bonus: This also goes very well with the Pumpkin Spice Oreos.
Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha
Salted caramel and mocha are two of my favorite flavors, but this particular Starbucks drink was a bit too heavy-handed with the flavoring. It had an oddly thick, almost hot chocolate texture, and the salted caramel flavor added a bizarre pinch of saltiness to this extremely sweet drink. Much of the coffee flavor was obscured, and due to all of the added flavors/milks/whipped cream, my drink wasn’t even warm. If you love coffee drinks that don’t taste like coffee, the Salted Caramel Mocha is the drink for you—if you can handle the abundance of sweetness.
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