Think Cheetos ice cream with caramel and you’re halfway to what it tastes like.
Tohato Caramel Corn is a cult Japanese snack that has been present on the market since 1971. Although the name may lead foreign visitors to mistake the snack for caramelized popcorn, there is no popcorn here – instead a corn-based snack similar in appearance and taste to Cheetos.
▼ Caramel Corn Snack (Left), New Ice Cream (Right)
This snack is loved by all age groups in Japan, so when word got out that it would be available as ice cream starting today, fans rushed out to buy it, and we were lucky to be able to pick it up at the nearest convenience store.
The ice cream comes in three different packaging designs, all of which have a familiar face used on snacks, and the one we chose gave us a cheeky look.
It looked much slimmer than we expected, but inside the slim package was a very decent ice cream bar.
▼ It had a yellow tint, just like the corn chips themselves.
The package boasted that the ice cream “contains roasted peanuts,” so we cut the ice cream in half to see if we could find anything.
▼ Yes – they are!
Peanuts were generously scattered in the ice cream, creating a satisfying crunch with every bite. Taste wise, there was plenty of caramel, with a rich bittersweet flavor singing on the palate and pushing the puffed corn aside, building a crescendo that almost had us exclaiming “too much caramel!” At this point, however, a slight saltiness entered, which distracted from the sweetness, complementing itself with a delicious finish.
The caramel corn snack has proven to be a great partner for a creamy ice cream like this one, and we’ll be sure to ask for an encore while it’s still on sale. It is currently available in convenience stores and will be released in other stores nationwide from January 9.
Pictures © SoraNews24
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