Harry & David

Update Reviews, Holidays 2020-2021

Since I've reviewed Harry & David many times before, I'll leave you to read my previous reviews for general info about the brand.  This year, while I got to try a few good chocolate products, sadly, no signature Moose Munch was delivered alongside, and I missed my favorite Harry & David treat.

Truffles

Milk Chocolate Truffle.

"When it comes to memorable treats, our rich chocolate truffles represent the top tier of sweet decadence. The silky smooth center of each truffle is cloaked in a layer of chocolate that melts in the mouth with a flavor that is timeless and delicious."

Milk Chocolate
Such a rich truffle!!! A delicious truffle, but so very rich. And so very creamy. And a lovely milk chocolate flavor. Really, this was a nice product. It was almost like a soft fudge, or perhaps a slightly more solid center of a chocolate lava cake.

The shell was not what I anticipated - I expected a snappy chocolate shell, this was soft, and not that distinct from the inside. But all so good.

Milk Chocolate Mint
The mint one was even better. Same rich base, creamy, luxurious, fudge like, this time with a lovely mint backdrop. The mint was powerful but not overwhelming, and it was truly just delicious.

Pretzels

"Our premium gourmet pretzels come in an array of flavors including perennial favorites and special, seasonal flavors. Choose from yogurt-covered pretzels, peanut butter pretzels, our own delectable gourmet chocolate pretzels, and more. "

Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzel Twists.

Since these were part of a gift box, I didn't get to pick the variety, so sadly they were the kind I'd probably pick last: milk chocolate.  Not that there is anything *wrong* with milk chocolate, but, with options like peanut butter milk chocolate and even dark chocolate, they seem like last place.

They were fine.  Crispy pretzels, well coated in decent enough milk chocolate.  Nothing particularly notable about them in any way, positive or negative.

I enjoyed them as a little treat, but I'd still like to try the other varieties more.

Update Review: Holiday Season 2018-2019

Another year, more gift boxes from Harry & David (previous reviews here).

This year, along with more and more Moose Munch (yes!), I got to try a few chocolate items, and finally, the signature, famous pears.

The Moose Munch remains my favorite.

Chocolates / Truffles

"Expertly crafted in our own candy kitchen using a proprietary blend of chocolate, our truffles are a chocolate lover’s dream."

Milk Chocolate / Coffee / Cherry Truffles (front row)
Raspberry (back row). 

"There's nothing quite like biting into the creamy center of a premium quality gourmet chocolate truffle. We've been using our signature truffle recipe for over 30 years, and it hasn't changed for a reason. Made in our candy kitchen in Southern Oregon using a proprietary blend of chocolate, these exquisite treats come in an array of flavors, like milk chocolate, white coffee, and dark chocolate cherry. Timeless and delicious, these silky truffles are a chocolate lover's dream."

This box is their Signature Assortment, with one each of milk chocolate, white chocolate coffee, dark chocolate cherry, all dark chocolate, dark chocolate raspberry, and milk chocolate almond.

I tried the "Cherry" first, hoping it was going to have a juicy cherry inside, but alas, it was just a dark chocolate shell, drizzled with red white chocolate, with a mildly cherry flavored dark chocolate ganache inside.

The ganache was smooth, the entire thing was fine, but the cherry flavor wasn't that pronounced, and the dark chocolate shell didn't seem particularly high quality.

Milk Chocolate Almond.

The milk chocolate almond was a lovely piece.

The exterior shell was thick, soft, creamy milk chocolate, with a few bits of almond stuck on.  This was good, but it was the filling that was great.  Such smooth rich ganache, with a slight subtle flavor to it (was it almond accented?) that I found really pleasing.

I really quite enjoyed, and savored, this piece.

Peppermint Bark: Top View.

"Dark chocolate, white chocolate, and candy canes collide in this legendary peppermint treat."

The peppermint in the peppermint bark comes solely in the form of crushed candy canes, covering the entire top of the confection.  I did not detect any peppermint flavor in either of the chocolate layers, only the topping.

The mint was intense though, but the flavor not any more interesting than your standard candy cane.

Peppermint Bark: Side View.

"Creamy white chocolate layered over rich dark chocolate and topped with crushed peppermint candy is a delightful old-fashioned sweet indulgence. This will quickly become a favorite among candy gifts."

From the side you can see the other components, the dark and white chocolate.  Both were fine, smooth, creamy.  I wanted to taste more dark chocolate however, I found the amount at the base fairly minimal, and not as ... chocolatey as I wished.

So overall, a fairly boring peppermint bark for me really, the mint just candy canes, the chocolate didn't quite deliver either.  But non-offensive.

Fruit

Royal Riviera™ Pears.

"The pears that started it all. Our founders, Harry and David, called these pears "so big and juicy, you eat them with a spoon®." That was 80 years ago, when the brothers started selling Southern Oregon-grown Royal Riviera® Pears as gourmet gifts. Royal Riviera® Pears are delicate and require warm days and cool nights to grow, making Southern Oregon ideal for cultivating this famous fruit. The sweet flavor, buttery texture, and extreme juiciness of these pears are what make them so delicious. Every one is handpicked and packed to arrive at your door in perfect condition.

It's a time-honored tradition for families to decide who gets to enjoy the gold-wrapped pear when they receive a box of our famous fruit."

I finally got a chance to try the very famous pears, even though, um, pears were not exciting to me in any way.

Every box of Harry & David pears comes with a single pear wrapped in gold foil.  It is their signature thing.  It creates an element of uniqueness of that one pear.  Who gets it?  Of course I did.

Magical Gold Pear?

"Expertly grown and handpicked, these premium pears have a soft, buttery flesh that's so sweet, you might want to save them for dessert."

I unwrapped my gold fruit.  It ... looked like a pear.  It looked just like any other pear.

It tasted ... like a pear.  Like any old pear.  It was a bit beat up, which certainly didn't help make it seem special.  It was a bit mushy.

Sorry, this pear was not magical to me in any way.  I'll stick with the Moose Munch.

Moose Munch

Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - Milk Chocolate (January 2019).

A year later, it was time for another gift basket from Harry & David, and this time, I knew I wanted to snatch up the Moose Munch.  Again we had the same milk chocolate variety as the year before.

I'll just warn you now.  This stuff is dangerous.  While the caramel bits are just *too* sweet to eat by more than one handful at a time, I found it way too easy (as in, oops, it happened) to eat every single piece of chocolate coated popcorn and every single candied nut in a single sitting.  Note that this bag was listed as 7 servings, each fairly indulgent.  Ooops.

But I really love the milk chocolate coated pieces.  The milk chocolate is creamy and smooth, a really good quality chocolate.  And the nuts, while not many in the bag, just kept me hunting for more.  I appreciated that there were almonds and cashews in here, not just standard peanuts.  Some of the nuts were caramelized, some chocolate coated, some on their own, others attached in clusters.  I sought them all out, just like when eating a bag of Chex mix, when you decide you want all of one particular item.  That was me and these nuts, and, the chocolate coated pieces.

The caramel pieces were good to sneak a few of in alongside my coveted items, but, once the other things were gone, I was left with a bag of seriously rich, seriously sweet, seriously indulgent popcorn that was just a bit too much to handle. 

Original Review, Holidays 2017-2018

Harry & David is a "gourmet gift" producer, whose products are generally sold via mail order or online, although they also have a handful of retail stores.  They mostly sell gift baskets, fruits, and chocolates.  Not exactly things I'm generally in the market for, yet sometime show up on my doorstep.

Their signature item is "Moose Munch" popcorn.  

"Moose Munch® Popcorn is not your average caramel popcorn. We pay attention to every single detail of our secret recipe. Right down to the way the popcorn looks and sticks together. We make over five million pounds a year. "

Now, 5 million pounds of anything is a lot, but particularly of a lightweight item!  Moose Munch® comes in a zillion flavors, like simple milk or dark chocolate, exotic banana coconut and apricot mango, and even some sugar free versions.  A flavor for everyone.

Harry & David leads the gift basket industry, so every year, I get to try various products when others bring in their gift basket discards to the office (one man's trash is ... my treasure!).  I often fail to write them up usually, as the products are usually already open, or I just grab a snack as I run between meetings.

But I finally got to try the coveted "Mouse Munch", thus, a proper review is in order.

Moose Munch

"Inspired by the Pacific Northwest, Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn is the anytime snack that’s almost too good to share. Carefully made in small batches in our own candy kitchen using real butter, creamy caramel, and crunchy nuts, it took over 160 tries to perfect our special recipe. Add our proprietary blend of chocolate to the mix and you have a snack made in heaven. Enjoy handful after handful during an evening in, or take along for an on-the-go boost of energy when you’re out on your next adventure. 

While you’ll want to keep it all for yourself, Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn is a great snack to share with a buddy, and it makes a delicious gift for fans of chocolate-covered popcorn and caramel popcorn alike. And with a wide array of flavors to choose from, there’s plenty to go around. Chocolate-lovers will rejoice over the many milk, dark, and white chocolate-covered varieties, while other snackers will love inventive flavors like peanut butter, orange crème, cherry vanilla, and more. There are even a fat-free and sugar-free versions."

Moose Munch is not just a popcorn.  Harry & David have build an entire product range around it.  Yes, you can get the popcorn in a variety of flavors, you can get it as part of many different gift packs, etc, but they have also turned it into cheesecake, and even flavored coffee, along with assorted Moose Munch branded gear, featuring the signature moose head (his name is Jasper, apparently). 

Interesting ...

Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - Milk Chocolate. (December 2017)

"Our milk chocolate Moose Munch® Gourmet Popcorn is the perfect mix of sweet milk chocolate, buttery caramel, and crunchy nuts."

"Popcorn, almonds, and cashews covered in caramel and milk chocolate."

Given my love for popcorn, and caramel corn in particular, it is no surprise that I was excited to try Harry & David's signature "Moose Munch".  The standard Moose Munch is just caramel corn with candied nuts, but I tried the milk chocolate version, with milk chocolate covered pieces in the mix as well.

It was certainly decadent caramel corn.  No piece was left uncoated, no piece even moderately coated, each and every piece was intensely sweet.  I can't imagine eating just a bag of this caramel corn actually, it was just too much.  Good, but, wow, it needed some less coated pieces in order to temper it.

The milk chocolate pieces were great though.  Good quality chocolate, and again, really well coated.  The chocolate did help counter the sweet caramel pieces.

I found myself seeking out more and more of the chocolate pieces, but there were substantially fewer of them than the caramel ones.

The candied nuts were good for a bit of crunch now and then, but, again, there weren't many of them.

Overall, I enjoyed it along side a cup of bitter coffee, but, I think it would be better with some more plain pieces in the mix.

Moose Munch® Milk Chocolate Bar (August 2014).

"Moose Munch bars are crafted from a rich, smooth fudgy center, plus their signature snake - fluffy white popcorn, buttery caramel and crisp nuts all dipped in decadent milk chocolate."

"Signature snake"?  I do not know this term, but it is on all of their marketing, so I don't think it is a typo.

Cross section.

This one deserves a peak inside.

Every bite was loaded up with goodies: popcorn, nuts, caramel.  The caramel was sweet and very creamy, it almost tasted like really smooth peanut butter at times.  The nuts added a great crunch, and the popcorn ... was, well, popcorn inside my chocolate, a bit strange, but, it worked better than I expected.  It was much better than popcorn inside of other items, like inside the Circus Cookie from Goody Goodie, although it was still a bit strange to have a soft bite inside the bar.  The milk chocolate was smooth and creamy.

Overall, pretty tasty, a bunch of ingredients you don't necessarily expect together, but, I liked it.  The tasting club didn't get to try this one!

Other Treats

While Moose Munch is Harry & David's signature item, they carry a vast array of products, ranging from fresh fruit, to cheesecakes, and everything in-between.

Peppermint Tree Shaped Yogurt Pretzels  (January 2019).

"The festive meter instantly rises when this pretzel-packed bounty shows up. Premium, yogurt-covered pretzels in the shapes of Christmas trees abound. Crushed peppermint pieces have been sprinkled on the trees for added effect—and amazing flavor."

I tried these at a time when I was really on a yogurt (or white chocolate) pretzel kick.  I was randomly really loving nearly every coated pretzel I put in my mouth.  Crunchy, salty, creamy, sweet ... just loving them.  I'll admit they were often a morning indulgence alongside a cup of coffee.

So I was eager to try these minty trees when a co-worker gave up their Harry & David bounty.  First thing I grabbed.

However they were ... boring?

The coating was flavorless, slightly sweet, but mostly just waxy.  The pretzels themselves not particularly compelling either - slightly stale tasting, even though this was a fresh bag of snacks, opened right then, not old in any way.  The crushed peppermint was basically the only interesting part.

Sad, I thought I was not discriminating in my coated pretzel love at the time, but, it turns out, these were just too mediocre to be excited about.