Peace Corps Volunteer Scott McKenzie writes: candy bars and other sweets that are found here in Morocco



"As I have mentioned before, people in Morocco are no different than those in the United States in their gustatory appetite for sugary goodness. Be it in the bar, or a cookie, any small town store will have a few different selections on hand. In my town, any of 3 different small stores can help fill your sweet tooth and contribute to dental decay. Even I, once a champion of "savory" am often scanning shelves looking for my favorites. Also, I kinda like checking out everything they have to offer here...When in Rome and all that."

Peace Corps Volunteer Scott McKenzie writes: candy bars and other sweets that are found here in Morocco

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Caption: Nuts and candy for sale in the medina in Tangier, Morocco's gateway to Spain and the north. Photo: Declan McCullagh

I think this is a post you are going to want to bookmark and return to, as it will hopefully be contentiously updated during my service. It is, as the name suggests, a review of the candy bars and other sweets that are found here in Morocco. As I have mentioned before, people in Morocco are no different than those in the United States in their gustatory appetite for sugary goodness. Be it in the bar, or a cookie, any small town store will have a few different selections on hand. In my town, any of 3 different small stores can help fill your sweet tooth and contribute to dental decay. Even I, once a champion of "savory" am often scanning shelves looking for my favorites. Also, I kinda like checking out everything they have to offer here...When in Rome and all that.

MegaChok: We start with my current reigning favorite. The MegaChok are the largest chocolate cookies I have ever seen for general sale. The filling has a dark quality that reminds one of a dove bar, while the cookie itself is bursting with partially hydronginated soybean oil. Not only is each cookie large, but they come in a long corrugated cardboard tube of about 15 cookies. MegaChok indeed! The average price is 15dH or slightly less. The cleverly designed tube does a great job protecting the MC from undesired crumbling when packed away on long trips. It also means that the MCs can be passed around easily, they make a welcome accompaniment to any social gathering. As a bonus, with 10 proofs of purchase, you can send in for a free Burt and Ernie Tshirt. Because they are produced by X your tshirt will be en Espanole! The only major drawbacks are that if you want just one MC you will be carrying around the rest of tube for some time. Also, limited availability can lead to wondering city streets in vain.

Marko: Like its far-traveling namesake, this candybar brings with it a certain worldliness; it is a copycat of the 3 musketeer candy bar. Otherwise it is unremarkable. The nougat layer is slightly dry (could have been the desert heat). This is topped by not a bad caramel layer. One bonus is that unlike regular milk chocolate with its rather low melting temperature, the "chocolate coating" does not melt on fingers as quickly on hot sunny days. This coating is also a little darker in flavor than that of its americium counterpart. The wrapper warns that "OCCASIONALLY THIS PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS" which is good news, unless you are allergic to our friend the groundnut. Wide availability and a low price of 1-1.5dH means the Marko comes in handy in a pinch. Do not tell Mars candy company about this low priced treat, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Rialto- Madison "Arome Frise": Trying something different with this one. A "live" tasting, I am sampling this one as I write. To be honest, Im not sure if the name is Rialto or Madison. Both have prominent space on the package. But, Madison is stamped into the strawberry flavored cracker, that has been "enrobed" in chocolate product. I will assume that this is a tribute to the early American President, and not to the capitol of Wisconson. A quick note, frise is Arabic for Strawberry, a flavor that is very popular here. For around 1.5 dH it is not a bad snack, and goes well with an afternoon coffee. In each package you get 3 of these enrobed crackers, which is a nice plus. However, where these really "robed" they would be mooning the eater, because the backside is left bare. Not enough chocolate. Also, they are putting to the test the "fake chocolate doesn't melt in your hands, or anywhere else" theory. The strawberry flavoring is very good, shockingly so. Overall, not a terrible choice is the time is right. Ill be looking for other Arome's as I rome.

posted by Scott McKenzie @ 2:57 AM

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2006; Peace Corps Morocco; Directory of Morocco RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Morocco RPCVs; Blogs - Morocco; Food

When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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