A few of you seem to really like working through Lidl's chocolate aisle, so when I saw the chunky 200g Fin Carré Salted Pretzel Milk Chocolate bar on offer, it was a no-brainer.
While it's not as unusual as milk chocolate and crisps (yes, that's a thing, and yes, it's as wacky as it sounds), milk chocolate and pretzels isn't as common as I'd like, and after trying The Mallow Tailor's Pretzel Slabolate Bar, I knew this Fin Carré bar should hit my sweet and salty cravings simultaneously.
Packaging
This large 200g bar is clad in a blue card box. The red Fin Carré logo sits above the name "Salted Pretzel Milk Chocolate." Beneath this is a graphic of a swoosh of molten milk chocolate, with a couple of segments of the bar studded with pretzel pieces. A pretzel graphic sits behind just to reinforce the flavour. A Fairtrade logo sits to the right hand side.
The rear of the bar lists the ingredients and nutritional information.
Lidl Fin Carré Salted Pretzel Milk Chocolate ingredients:
Sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, pretzel biscuits (9%) (wheat flour, salt, sunflower oil, barley malt flour, yeast, acidity regulator (sodium hydroxide)), skimmed milk powder, sea salt (0.5%), hazelnut paste, emulsifier (sunflower lecithins), natural vanilla flavouring. Cocoa solids: 32% minimum; milk solids: 14% minimum.
Sadly, sugar is listed as the dominant ingredient, and represents just shy of 49% of this bar.
This bar contains milk, barley, wheat, and curiously, hazelnut. It may also contain traces of egg and other nuts. It's suitable for vegetarians. The packaging warns that "small children can choke on pretzels."
The packaging explains that the cocoa required for this product is Fairtrade certified, but it may be mixed with non-certified cocoa.
Lidl Fin Carré Salted Pretzel Milk Chocolate Review
A golden foiled paper wrapper wraps around the large rectangular bar. Where the Way to Go bars remind me of Tony's Chocolonely bars, this pretzel bar reminds me of a super-sized Ritter Sport bar.
Lidl reckons there are five 40g servings (six pieces) in this 200g bar. The mould used creates square segments that are easily snapped into portions. Personally, I'd say four segments (a row) makes a better portion, giving eight servings.
The underside of the bar shows the sheer volume of pretzel pieces in this bar. Lidl certainly hasn't been shy here.
The aroma is very sweet and quite vague, with a general milk chocolate vibe going on, mixed with a mild creaminess.
The snap is muffled, partly thanks to its sugar content and partly due to the heavy-handedness approach to the pretzel piece inclusions (which is no bad thing).
The sweet milk chocolate is the first flavour that comes through, backed up by a slight saltiness. The crunchy pretzel pieces add bursts of flavour together with more pops of saltiness.
While the chocolate lacks nuances, the crunchy pretzel pieces and sea salt together with the sweetness of the milk chocolate results in quite the addictive combination.
Less sugar and a greater cocoa content would make this more enjoyable, but as it stands, it's a family favourite, perfect for sharing in front of the telly. Scatter cubes of it over vanilla ice cream for a teatime treat.
Fin Carré Salted Pretzel Milk Chocolate Review
RRP: £1.49 | Fin Carré | Shop now
Sweet, salty, and good value for money. This chocolate bar ticks all the boxes. While it would be great to see a more flavourful chocolate base with a lower sugar content, the result is a sweet treat that won't hang around for long. Perfect for date night or movie night, either on its own or sprinkled over ice cream.
Where to Buy Online
Fin Carré is a Lidl own-brand, so you'll need to head to your nearest store to find the Fin Carré Salted Pretzel Milk Chocolate bar. You can try eBay but you'll likely pay a premium over in-store prices.
I purchased this bar on an offer for 74p instead of the usual price of £1.49.
Which Lidl chocolate bar is your absolute favourite? Let me know in a comment below.
