Saturday, April 09, 2005
Stop & Shop Mints
Stop & Shop is one of the supermarkets where I buy my groceries. I was doing my shopping this morning, getting all my normal crap. Juices, fruits, etc. I walked by the candy aisle to see if Altoids were on sale. They never are over there. Usually priced about $3.48 for a pack of two tins. The price hadn't changed, but peppermint was all out. They had a couple of the other flavors, the gums, and the sours, but I don't like any of those. The other mints and the gums use either artificial flavors or an unspecified "natural flavor". The Sours are just candy.
Initially, I attributed the lack of Altoid Peppermints to their popularity, but then wondered if maybe a bunch were being moved to some area where they'd be placed on sale. Tomorrow's Sunday and any new sales would begin then. I resolved to stop by tomorrow and check just in case, but changed my mind. If they went on sale, the price would likely go down to $2.99, the same price you can find at Pathmark, near my job.
After finishing, I headed to the cashier. As I unloaded the groceries on to the conveyor, I glanced at the candy/gum rack and spotted a blue and white tin the size and shape of an Altoids box, marked "Mints". I gave it a look over, couldn't find the price since it was placed in a spot for something else and because of it, resisted the urge to get more than one. The price was $1.49.
I have to say these mints are pretty good, and very, very close to Altoids in taste, maybe a little less in intensity. Not as "curiously strong" as the original, but I may be desensitized to them as I consumed quite a bit of Altoids this week.
It occured to me also, that the Altoid Peppermints were removed to intice folks to try out their own brand, but who knows?
Like Altoids, these mints are wrapped in a light paper within the tin. The type on the wrapper indicates that it's made by a 50 year old family confectioner, but won't name them. I'm guessing it's not Callard & Bowser. They're over a hundred years old. The originators, Smith & Co. are over two hundred years old and have been swallowed up by C&B. It's my understanding that some name brand companies will market their products under generic packaging, but that appears not to be the case, here. Still, I wonder.
The ingredients listed for Altoids are as follows: Sugar, Oil Of Peppermint, Gum Arabic, Gelatin, Corn Syrup
The ingredients of Stop & Shop Mints: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Natural Peppermint Flavor, Gum Arabic, Kosher Gelatin
Just what the hell is "natural peppermint flavor"? I just don't get that. I can't help but feel that companies who list natural flavor as an ingredient are hiding something. Kosher gelatin doesn't tell me a whole lot either. I bought some chocolate covered marshmallows from the Passover section last week, which contained fish gelatin. I thought that was cool. I don't eat as much marshmallows as I'd like because gelatin mostly comes from cow bones. I make the exception for Altoids cuz they're so damn good. As mentioned before, I generally don't buy the other Altoid flavors because they don't put real mints in 'em. I suspect that, if they could getaway with it, Callard & Bowser would do away with the oil of peppermint and use similar ingredients used in most of their newer products.
Anyway, the new Stop & Shop Mints are very good, but not quite great, and I don't know what natural peppermint flavor is. If it actually had peppermint in it, why not just say so? The price is cheaper per tin ($1.49), than Altoids ($1.99 at most places, if bought individually), but if I buy Altoids in two-packs at Pathmark, then they're just about the same. If multiple packaging is introduced with more substantial savings, then I'll probably buy a lot more of these. As it is, when I'm feeling cheap, I'll go for Canada Mints, and occasionally pick up one of these. Altoids are still worth the extra 48 cents (though I'd still like to avoid spending so much on them).
Initially, I attributed the lack of Altoid Peppermints to their popularity, but then wondered if maybe a bunch were being moved to some area where they'd be placed on sale. Tomorrow's Sunday and any new sales would begin then. I resolved to stop by tomorrow and check just in case, but changed my mind. If they went on sale, the price would likely go down to $2.99, the same price you can find at Pathmark, near my job.
After finishing, I headed to the cashier. As I unloaded the groceries on to the conveyor, I glanced at the candy/gum rack and spotted a blue and white tin the size and shape of an Altoids box, marked "Mints". I gave it a look over, couldn't find the price since it was placed in a spot for something else and because of it, resisted the urge to get more than one. The price was $1.49.
I have to say these mints are pretty good, and very, very close to Altoids in taste, maybe a little less in intensity. Not as "curiously strong" as the original, but I may be desensitized to them as I consumed quite a bit of Altoids this week.
It occured to me also, that the Altoid Peppermints were removed to intice folks to try out their own brand, but who knows?
Like Altoids, these mints are wrapped in a light paper within the tin. The type on the wrapper indicates that it's made by a 50 year old family confectioner, but won't name them. I'm guessing it's not Callard & Bowser. They're over a hundred years old. The originators, Smith & Co. are over two hundred years old and have been swallowed up by C&B. It's my understanding that some name brand companies will market their products under generic packaging, but that appears not to be the case, here. Still, I wonder.
The ingredients listed for Altoids are as follows: Sugar, Oil Of Peppermint, Gum Arabic, Gelatin, Corn Syrup
The ingredients of Stop & Shop Mints: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Natural Peppermint Flavor, Gum Arabic, Kosher Gelatin
Just what the hell is "natural peppermint flavor"? I just don't get that. I can't help but feel that companies who list natural flavor as an ingredient are hiding something. Kosher gelatin doesn't tell me a whole lot either. I bought some chocolate covered marshmallows from the Passover section last week, which contained fish gelatin. I thought that was cool. I don't eat as much marshmallows as I'd like because gelatin mostly comes from cow bones. I make the exception for Altoids cuz they're so damn good. As mentioned before, I generally don't buy the other Altoid flavors because they don't put real mints in 'em. I suspect that, if they could getaway with it, Callard & Bowser would do away with the oil of peppermint and use similar ingredients used in most of their newer products.
Anyway, the new Stop & Shop Mints are very good, but not quite great, and I don't know what natural peppermint flavor is. If it actually had peppermint in it, why not just say so? The price is cheaper per tin ($1.49), than Altoids ($1.99 at most places, if bought individually), but if I buy Altoids in two-packs at Pathmark, then they're just about the same. If multiple packaging is introduced with more substantial savings, then I'll probably buy a lot more of these. As it is, when I'm feeling cheap, I'll go for Canada Mints, and occasionally pick up one of these. Altoids are still worth the extra 48 cents (though I'd still like to avoid spending so much on them).
Labels: Altoids, candy, peppermints
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