If you recall, I’ve reviewed a Clif Mojo bar before- the peanut butter pretzel flavor. You may also recall that while I didn’t hate it, I definitely didn’t think I’d purchase one again. Well lo and behold I went and did just that when I stumbled upon this delightful looking white chocolate macadamia flavor.
I love white chocolate, and macadamia nuts. What could go wrong?
Let’s start with the stats. 190 calories with 11 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein. All well and good here.
The ingredient list is mostly organic with very few funky ingredients to complain about.
Appearance: Chunky with puffed rice, pretzel bits, macadamia pieces, and white chocolate chunks all held together by a shiny colorless glaze. One side of the bar has more pretzel pieces while the other seems to have all the white chocolate chunks.
Texture: Everything has a very satisfying crunch to it from the crackling puffed rice to the crisp pretzel bits. The nuts and chocolate pieces have a similar oily smoothness and density that feels good as they give way under the strength of your bite.
Taste: There is a very surprising saltiness right from the start. It’s not like individual salt crystals dissolving on your tongue either, but more of an all over saltiness as if the bar was painted with saltwater. It’s jarring at first, the acrid iodine flavor washed over everything makes your jaw tingle just under the ears like you’ve bitten into a lemon.
It’s great when you bite into a white chocolate chip and the saltiness combines with the sweet to make one cohesive flavor, but since the distribution of ingredients isn’t homogenous, some bites are a mouthful of sweet chocolate while others are just an unpleasant saltlick.
As for the macadamias, they’re barely noticeable. There is a faint nuttiness in the back of your throat if you’re looking for it, but really it’s not a huge part of the overall flavor of the bar.
Overall, while I didn’t hate it I didn’t really “get it” either. The pretzel bits seemed out of place entirely and the saltwater flavor was just impossible to get past. I would have liked this better if the nuts were salted rather than the binder and if the whole thing were better distributed so that most bites will have a bit of everything in them.
I’m really just not feeling this whole “put pretzels in everything” business that Clif Mojo has going on, so this product line as a whole is probably just not for me. And I can’t for the life of me figure out what is giving the entire bar that bathed in saltwater taste when there doesn’t seem to be a colossal amount of sodium in it.
Also….where my macadamias at!?!? What a tease.
What is your favorite nut? (I’m a cashew and hazelnut fan myself.)
I think that Clif Mojo bars are too salty in general, but I’m not a fan of the sweet/salty combination.
Lee recently posted..WIAW – The Unemployed Edition
That sucks you didn’t like this one. =/ I have a very high salt tolerance (i.e. I LOVE salt, probably too much), so with the white choc + macnuts (a favorite flavor/ingredient combo of mine), this is probably one of my favorite bars I’ve ever tried. But hey, proof positive that “to each is own” is the way to go!
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan recently posted..Chocolate apricot kernel butter cookies (raw)
You know, I think my salt tolerance has just plummeted in general. Probably because I’ve made a big effort over the last year or two to cut back on the stuff since I used to be a total salt addict. I can still get down with a giant soft pretzel studded all over with giant salt crystals though!
I’ve never tried the Mojo bars, but the saltiness doesn’t sound very appealing. It’s so disappointing to have an over powering flavor. I’m a huge fan of the Kind bars, the have just the right amount of nut distribution.
I love Kind bars! Especially the apricot and macadamia flavor but I can only find them in one place. Definitely intend on reviewing a few of those.
Your macadamias are waiting for you down here in Australia, their native home. COME! If you bring a crate of these, I’ll swap you? I’ve liked other Clif Mojo bars and miss them a teensy bit, so I might just be enough of a deer to enjoy this saltlick.
Hannah recently posted..Raspberry Pineapple Smoothie, The Calm Before The Storm
You can be sure that if I ever end up in Canberra I’ll be toting a bunch of snacks specifically for a certain little chocoholic I know.
Pretzels in your bar does seem very strange to me too – wierd! I actually haven’t been buying pre-made bars recently anyway, I realized they are way too easy to make and you can add whatever you want to the mix that way.
Heather @ Better With Veggies recently posted..What I Ate Wednesday – Birthday Edition!
You know, I used to make my own granola bars all the time but kind of fell out of the habit. I have a whole unopened jar of brown rice syrup in my pantry too that is just begging to be used in a new bar recipe.
Sounds like a promising flavor combo, but disappointing that it was more salty than anything.
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