Bartons old fashioned peppermint bark ???

[stirling lad]

I've just had my first taste of a thing called Bartons old fashioned peppermint bark,,, where has this stuff been all my life?
Its a taste sensation,,I don't think there is anything like this in Britain,,, I tried to see I could buy some on Ebay and Amazon but nothing,,, A couple of sites claimed to have it but its not in stock and they don't know when it will be... what a wind up...
I'm now curious as to what other little gems you Americans Are hiding.... ... my  other half works looking after the elderly in their own homes  so see's a lot of people every day, and she can't remember who it was who gave her this bar of chocolate...

Ah well,,, better to have loved and lost ,, I suppose....

...Mike...
 ps ,, why is it called Bark ?

[vtsteam]

Well I've never heard of it before, but looked it up after your rave review. It looks like white chocolate with peppermint candy canes broken up into it. I noticed some people reviewing on Amazon mentioned that they hadn't had time to make it this year, so bought Barton's. If so, I bet there's a recipe online somewhere, if you can't get it in the UK.

I remember bark of the dark chocolate kind being sold in candy stores and dime stores. It usually had nuts in it and was rough in texture like tree bark, and came in big sheets of broken pieces, which they could break smaller to fit any weight you wanted to buy -- it looked like bark, so that's what I always assumed the name came from. There was almond bark, and pecan bark, etc.  Candy cane pieces stuck in white chocolate doesn't look like bark, so I can see why it would be hard to figure out from that. Must be a new development (like in the last 50 years or so!)

[Manxmodder]

Well,I had a look at it and as you say it isn't currently available so I got persuaded to buy some Quiggin's brown Kendal mint cake.

I love the stuff so I've bought a whole box containing 24 packs for £15 including delivery.
That should last a wee while.......OZ.
(Amazing,I'm on an engineering forum and another poster manages to lead me into buying bulk confectionery  )

[awemawson]

Ah ..... Kendal mint cake ... The stuff of Everest expeditions and Sir Edmund Hilary 

[Stilldrillin]

Oh..... My! 

Kendal mint cake.......... 

Discovered, while camping near Ingleton, 1958.

Eaten, over the next 10years, of caving, potholing, climbing.

Supplies are still obtained, occasionally. During outings to Bakewell.

It's a sentimental memory thing, I think......   

Bartons old fashioned peppermint bark? Hmmmm...... 

             

David D

[stirling lad]

Its not a cake its a bar of chocolate but its vanilla rather than white chocolate, with a smaller strip of dark chocolate and just a small amount of the crushed candy canes so as not to over power the vanilla with the peppermint,,,I think the genius in it is getting the proportions just right so you can taste every flavour equally ..as i was trying to find it i came across reviews of other types which were too strong on this or that flavour,,but saying that,, one guy was moaning that there was'nt enough mint candy in the Barnton's one so you can't please everyone...I think its very much a seasonal thing in the states,,otherwise it would be easier to get, i'd have thought,,

here's the wee beastie here,,


mmmmmm,yum yum,

...M.

[vtsteam]

Here ya go,  DIY:

(sounds like she's from Chicago, except for the "aboot" -- which is Tidewater Virginia accent.... )

[stirling lad]

Nice one VT,  I'll have a go at that recipe,,seems easy enough, just have to find a decent quality white chocolate,, n some candy canes...it should be a doddle ,

  ...Mike.. 

[vtsteam]

Mike the only thing I wonder about is they say "vanilla" on your wrapper -- I wonder if Bartons adds vanilla to the white chocolate, or is that just advertising copy? You could tell if they list vanilla in an ingredient list....

[vtsteam]

Now I gotta figure out what a Kendal Mint Cake is.....

[Manxmodder]

Steve, Kendal mint cake is a confectionery made from sugar,glucose,water and peppermint oil.

Some is made with white sugar and some with raw cane sugar. The Quiggin's brand is the oldest traditional product and it originated from the Quiggin family on the Isle of Man (where I live)

Here is a link to wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendal_Mint_Cake
OZ.

[vtsteam]

Ahhah, thanks Oz! Now when I saw the Wikipedia article -- the top pcture showed it covered with chocolate, so it looked sort of like a "York Peppermint Pattie" here. But on reading further down, it wasn't chocolate coated mostly, -- looks unique!

[Brass_Machine]

Looks like Bart's is available here at Amazon:

Barton's

Eric

[stirling lad]

Thanks for finding that Eric,, different wrapper but it reads the same on the label ,,
Steve, the thing that got me was the vanilla,, I'm not big on white chocolate but this stuff was,nt like the kiddies sweet stuff..
Vanilla is a subtle flavour so getting it right when combining with such strong flavours as peppermint and dark chocolate was a nice surprise .. I was expecting it to be all one flavour or the other,, And I can't say I remember ever knowingly  having tried a vanilla chocolate before..

thanks for all the feedback guys , its good to know I'm not the only one who has retained a sweet tooth for good quality confectionery ...

meanwhile back at the engineering,,,,
...Mike...

[tom osselton]

Well you could always use some Blackpool rock as a substitute.