That is Highly Recommend, a column devoted to what we’re consuming, consuming, and shopping for proper now. Right here, Ali Francis writes about Gigantic sweet bars.
My love affair with these completely chewy, chocolate-covered vegan sweet bars began within the common means: an Instagram doomscroll stopped in its tracks, adopted by an impulsive cargo of all 4 flavors, and the fluttery suspense earlier than assembly in individual.
Not like web courting, Gigantic candy bars didn’t disappoint in actual life: the Salted Peanut—crammed with coconut milk caramel, studded with toasty nuts, and dipped in fair-trade darkish chocolate—tastes very similar to a Snickers. The Banana Pecan is ripe and wealthy like contemporary banana bread, the Almond Horchata is unimaginably cinnamony, and the Hazelnut Cafe, as one reviewer put it, is “a wholesome various to consuming a jar filled with Nutella.”
I’d be mendacity if I mentioned that Gigantic’s enticing retro packaging wasn’t a part of the enchantment. The bars are paying homage to old-school sweet, quite than one thing you’d discover within the well being meals aisle. However with solely 7 grams per serving, Gigantic’s “sorta candy” bars are extremely low in sugar—for comparability, a Mars bar clocks in at 60 g. The sweetness comes from small quantities of brown and cane sugars as an alternative of counting on gross-tasting synthetic sweeteners. As a result of the sugar isn’t as heady, the opposite flavors are extra pronounced. Extra peanut. Extra hazelnut. Extra banana. No video games, simply the true deal.
This text was initially revealed in 2021 and was up to date in 2023.