I didn’t know how much I liked candied nuts until I tried Aldi’s praline pecans during the holiday season last year. Those might just be one of the best things I’ve ever had from the store, and I immediately took to the addicting mix of nuts and sweetness. So when I saw Aldi was carrying sugar roasted almonds under their German Deutsche Kuche label, I was more than intrigued and I knew that I had to give them a shot.
It comes in rather typical triangle packaging for this type of thing. Why do candy nuts always seem to come in cone-shaped packaging? It’s interesting because it doesn’t really improve or suit the product any better than, say, a normal bag would; it’s just one of those things that I guess is become a staple within the sweetened nut industry, just like how bear-shaped bottles dominate the honey industry.I didn’t know how much I liked candied nuts until I tried Aldi’s praline pecans during the holiday season last year. Those might just be one of the best things I’ve ever had from the store, and I immediately took to the addicting mix of nuts and sweetness. So when I saw Aldi was carrying sugar roasted almonds under their German Deutsche Kuche label, I was more than intrigued and I knew that I had to give them a shot.
Oh no. No, no, NOOOOO…these are not at all what I signed up for. I don’t know if it’s my inexperience that lead me to assume that these would either be similar to candied pecans, or honey roasted peanuts, but these are much different. Maybe I was just spoiled by the praline pecans and their deliciously inviting melt-away texture, but the sugary exterior here is a hard shell that you almost have to fight through to earn the sweetness within. It’s almost like chocolate candy coating, only thicker.
That’s fine in principal, because the best things in life must be worked for. But when the fruits of your hard-earned labor taste like this…that’s where there’s a problem: mixed in with the sugar is a taste that reminds me of maple, but that isn’t quite maple (NOTE: according to the ingredients, it’s apparently caramel). While caramel is a flavor that I typically enjoy, it’s not one that I would have expected on sugar roasted almonds, especially when there’s no mention of it on the outer packaging. But the main problem I have with it is that it just doesn’t really fit.
Maybe sugar roasted almonds always taste like this, and I’m just a big doofus; at any rate, I don’t much care for them. I have a sneaking suspicion that the caramel might be a German addition (these are, after all, under Aldi’s German brand of foods), and while I enjoy a fair bit of their products (hazelnut Doppelino’s might be the most addicting sandwich cookie of all time), this one just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
Despite the affordable $1.99 price tag.
Overall: 4.5/10. My enthusiasm for candied nuts takes a bit of a hit with this product from Aldi’s “German” line, Deutsche Kuche, which adds caramel flavoring to a typical sugared nut and in the process derails the flavor experience. The hard shell also doesn’t do it any favors as I was expecting a more melt-in-your-mouth texture, instead of one you have to fight for. And when the result of your fighting leads only to disappointment, well…where I come from, that’s a battle worth avoiding.
SIDE NOTE: I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about it – or maybe I’ve already mentioned it in another post – but “Deutsche Kuche” translates to “German Kitchen.” Kinda fascinating, I guess.
Be careful when eating these sugar roasted almonds. The coating gets as hard as a rock. Yes, a rock!! I bit into one and After three hard bites I cracked what definitely was not an almond!!! I let Aldi know and gave them photos of the hard-as-a-rock prices. I got a whopping $6 (Twice as Nice return policy). They obviously didn’t care about my teeth or whether or not there was damage; They just gave me the refund and went about their business. I care about my teeth and so does my dentist. No more of these nuts for me. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. If you do try them. Be careful! Six dollars won’t cover the cost of a cracked tooth!!
I noticed that, too! We get sugar roasted almonds from a couple local places and they’re soft and delicious. These were so hard I was afraid they’d do the same to my teeth! Plus, they were awful. Your story is much worse than mine, though…hope you got it all fixed!