3 Korochki, Russian snacks

My co-workers have been signing up for monthly snack food subscription boxes, some of which come with treats from around the world.  This is a unique way to try treats from places we don't normally visit.  It has opened up a world (heh, literally) of possibilities to me of new snack foods to try.  Which, for me is a great thing, as I love snacks.

And thus, we found ourselves with products from 3 Korochki, a snack company from Russia.

"Freshly baked bread is used for "3 Crusts" croutons."

3 Korochki, or "3 Crusts", makes three different product lines, all types of snack croutons, either "with sauce", wheat, or rye based.  To say the flavors are interesting is an understatement.  Bacon & Heinz ketchup, or perhaps Chicken Teriyaki, are the most tame.  I wished we were sent options like "quick pickled cucumbers flavour + tartar sauce", because those sounded pretty ridiculous, but we did not pick our flavors.

They were ... fascinating, at least.  Very ... unique.

Salmon & Cheese Packaging.

"Rye croutons with salmon and cheese flavour."

First up, salmon & cheese croutons, from the rye product line.  This variety also comes in the "with sauce" line, a salmon and cheese flavour with tartar sauce baked in.

From the packaging, I was already a bit confused.  I saw smoked salmon, cubes of holey swiss cheese, and sticks.  Uh, what?

Salmon & Cheese Croutons.

Inside the bag though ... that really is what they were.

"Croutons", or, rye rusks, with, yes, salmon and cheese flavor.  The rusks were crunchy, like baked croutons.  Good heartiness from the rye.  I don't really want rye croutons, but, you could taste the rye, and they were pleasantly crispy.

The flavor though ... salmon and cheese don't really go together in my head.  A bit worse to imagine is salmon and fake snack food cheese.  And even worse?  Powdered salmon and powdered cheese flavor.  Yet that is what these were.

Hearty rye croutons covered in strange fishy cheesy powder?  Uh ...  uh ... fascinating, but not really something I want.  They left my stomach feeling a bit confused.

Aspic and Horseradish Packaging.

If you think the salmon and cheese were adventurous, um, next was even more crazy.

Aspic, as in, yes, meat jelly.  With horseradish.  Even the image on the package was a bit scary here.

I had no idea what to expect.

Aspic and Horseradish Croutons.

"Rye croutons with aspic and horseradish flavour."

These looked much like the salmon and cheese variety.  Crunchy, hard, rye croutons.  Ok, sure.

But the flavor.  OMG the flavor.  This is not a good OMG.

These were fairly awful.  Such a strong flavor.  A ... zesty one.  A very, very strong zesty flavor, with strangeness to it that wasn't identifiable.  My immediate reaction was to spit this out.

I did not spit it out, I forced myself to taste it more, to try to understand it, but, wow, it was not a good experience.  I did not eat another.