Mexico celebrated heartily (much as you would if you refused to pay your bills and then fought off your creditors when they came to your door)! Sure, the victory was short-lived (again, much as yours would be after fighting off your creditors), but Mexico was decidedly the underdog in the battle, and everyone loves to root for the underdog (as countless movies prove).
Now, Mexico has had its share of wins, but thus far none have been over my palate. It is my sincere hope that, in the spirit of the day, today's candy will rectify that situation (I am slightly French, after all), for it is none other than La Corona's Paletón!
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| Either this is going to be fantastic, or that boy is a no-good liar. |
My first thought upon seeing the packaging was "Well, this sure looks easy to tamper with!" But that is not unusual for candy on a stick, and I do welcome the free twist tie. What a bonus! Once I got past that, I was able to appreciate the artwork on the wrapper: an enthusiastic child with what looks like an ice cream bar with a bite taken out of it (but is in reality a Paletón, if I'm not mistaken; I'm hoping it does not come pre-eaten like that). It is all very colorful (and shiny, ooh) and, if I may say so, masterfully done; there's a refreshing lightheartedness to it that grabs the consumer's attention, and I think everyone longs to be like that smiling boy, able to enjoy the simpler things in life. Well done, La Corona!
Despite knowing at least two individuals who have done (or still do) professional Spanish-to-English translating, I decided to trust Google with my translation needs. It suggested that "paletón" means "pin," which is an inexcusably terrible name for a product, particularly when one considers all the horror stories/urban legends regarding maniacal fiends hiding needles in candy. I can only assume Google didn't know the answer and just made something up; either that, or La Corona has a very twisted sense of humor (in which case I wonder if they're hiring).
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| Is this some sort of eye test? |
The "best before" date can be found (if one looks very, very carefully) at the top portion of the wrapper. It would seem La Corona is licensing (or infringing upon) Cloetta's vanishing ink patent, because the day is nearly unreadable. Luckily, there's enough left to assure me my Paletón is still in its prime, though I am once again cutting it close.
Then again, it's always a possibility that they've decided to go against convention and put the year first, meaning I'm about five years too late. I can't imagine that would happen, but then, until this moment, I had never imagined a candy company would release a product entitled "Pin." La Corona is full of surprises!
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| This hardly seems worth all the secrecy. |
Speaking of surprises, the nutritional information is completely obscured until the wrapper is released from its twist tie bondage, so one will not know what one is getting into until the product has been purchased (or one opens it, reads the data, and then reties it; I presume that does happen on occasion).
That is a shame, because the Paletón is a mere 74 Calories (assuming the serving size is an entire bar; I would hate to think the single bite depicted in the package art is meant to portray a suggested serving size), which is not too shabby at all for a sweet of its size. I would think La Corona would want to advertise that fact with all the usual fanfare of a Mexican victory (in this case over high Calorie counts).
Then again, maybe the low Calorie count is at the expense of taste. Just what is the Paletón made of, anyway? A look at the ingredients list (also hidden by the mischievous twist tie) should shed some light on the subject.
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| CAUTION: Reading the entire list may cause blindness! |
Despite being in Spanish (and in really-difficult-to-read gold foil wrapping, which was no treat to photograph, either), I was able to make out some recognizable words, but they produced questions more than answers. Everything about the ingredients list section (and, to be honest, all the other on-package info) leads me to believe its existence is merely a formality rather than a true attempt at providing useful data. It is actually fairly well done in a way, but not readily accessible as it should be (not to mention a tad hard on the eyes).
So, still not entirely sure what this "Paletón" was all about, I had no choice but to forge ahead and examine the candy itself...
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| My Paletón moonlights as a boxer. |
I'm not going to lie, I had my reservations at first (no, not to a restaurant, but that wouldn't have been a bad idea); my specimen was nowhere near as pretty as the little boy's in the graphics (it appeared to have taken quite the beating in transit, and the general shape fell short of my hopes), and the smell was more indicative of dark chocolate than I'd have liked (though I've nothing against dark chocolate, I prefer it tempered with a bit more sweetness; I am, after all, a sweets fiend). And I had been, to put it nicely, let down by a Mexican product before.
Quite frankly, I, like the Mexican Army at the Battle of Puebla, expected a disappointment.
Fortunately, La Corona once again surprised me; it was, believe it or not, quite good! The inside turned out to be delectable marshmallow (I probably should have guessed), the consistency was spot-on, and the chocolate, though indeed bearing a hint of the bitterness that comes with darker chocolates, was balanced well by the filling. It really caught me off guard in the best way. The only thing working against it was the fact that, while I enjoy a tasty chocolate-covered marshmallow treat now and then, it's not the sort of treat I generally seek out.
I struggled with the score on this one; its taste was firmly in the 3 territory, but did it fulfill the "I'd buy it again" qualification, or must it settle for a mere 2? After much deliberation, I decided that, yes, it is within the realm of possibilities (if not too likely) that I would some day purchase another for myself, and so I rate the La Corona Paletón a 3. I definitely wouldn't mind having another sometime.
So, once again, the fifth of May has proven to be a red letter day for Mexico: my tastes buds have waved the white flag of sweet satisfaction!
Let's just hope this victory has a longer shelf life...
Heading off to celebrate appropriately (i.e., with more candy),
The Sweets Fiend
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| Now THAT is a bite! Cartoon boy, take note. |
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