In a modern attempt at alchemy, Nestlé this week announced the first product using its much-vaunted technology which it says reduces the amount of sugar used in chocolate while retaining the sweetness.
This is achieved, the company says, by spraying milk, water and sugar into warm air and then drying the mixture. The idea is that the milk stops the spray-dried sugar becoming too sticky and the sugar dissolves faster – like candyfloss – giving a sweeter taste.
“Healthy” versions of much-loved classics are, as a rule, disappointing, as McVitie’s found when they slashed the fat content of their digestives, but given the Milkybar is the sweetest thing in the known universe, I’m keeping an open mind about Nestlé’s new reduced-sugar Wowsomes range, which come in at 18g and 95 calories apiece.
My first guinea pig is my diabetic friend Stephen, who agrees it might be a helpful innovation for what he dubs “sugar counters – but if I want a chocolate bar, I’ll have one”. Having done just that, however, he’s pretty impressed with the Wowsome’s “biscuity flavour” and says he might even consider making it his “chocolate bar of choice”. High praise indeed.
A friend’s three-year-old proves a similar pushover, but then, he’s not allowed sugar very often, which calls his judgment into question. I tuck into the last one, and find that it tastes exactly like the bottom of a mug of Horlicks: very sweet, slightly malty, and actually quite enjoyable, in moderation. And moderation shouldn’t be a problem given the largest Wowsome weighs the same as fun-size Mars Bar (and is actually very slightly more calorific).
Would I buy it again? Yes, if I wanted a modest sugar hit. But, to be honest, I’d rather eat two-thirds of an ordinary Milkybar.
