Ferrero Rocher

---Why I Had This---

Like lots of people I think Ferrero Rocher are chocolates you only really get at Christmas or Birthdays, and not something you would buy for yourself. With my Birthday being the other week my sister gave me various treats, and a 16 box of Ferrero Rocher was among them.



---The Brand---

Made by Italian company Ferrero. The company began in the 1940s but surprisingly it was as late as 1982 that Ferrero Rocher came on the market.



---The Product---

The Rocher Chocolates are irregular circular chocolates. In the centre is a whole hazelnut which is surrounded by hazelnut filling (Ferrero also make Nutella!) with a crispy shell and covered in milk chocolate and chopped nuts.
These round balls of chocolate sweet are individually wrapped in matt gold paper, have a 'ferrero Rocher' sticker on the top, are in a brown paper case and then in a hard acrylic box. The box inself is then sealed around with clear tape and then has a clear plastic sleeve which has an image of the chocolates and the brand name, plus the expiry date.
The box of 16 chocolates comes in two layers of 8 - 200 grams.
On the inside of the base is a card which can be read through the clear base - this contains the bar-code and ingredients.
May contain traces of almond.
Suitable for vegetarians.
No added preservatives.
No hydrogenated fats.



---Cost---

£4.29 for the 16 pack box at Tesco.



---Varieties--

The standard Ferrero are with milk chocolate but you can buy other flavours and they do mixed boxes which have dark chocolate and coconut flavours as well.



---Boxes---

The chocolates always come in the clear acrylic boxes but these do vary in shape.
My 16 chocolates came in two layers in an oblong box but you can have larger flatter boxes which come all in one layer.
At Christmas Ferrero often do different shaped boxes - we have had a Christmas tree and a pyramid and I have also seen a large cone, an egg and a star.
For Valentines Day there are also heart shaped boxes.
I have kept the pyramid box to house my air plant just like a mini terrarium and we also used the Christmas tree one with some decorations in it and I have seen someone rig one up with lights.
The small standard boxes such as I have this time are just good for trinkets and my husband keeps some packets of his tablets in one.



---My Opinion---

I am sure most people have eaten a Ferrero at one time or another. These have been something I thought I grew up having on special occasions and I was surprised to find they only began in the 1980s.
I have only ever had the standard milk chocolate versions but they are something that you know will have consistent quality.
These are quite large chocolates so I usually only have one at a time. These chocolates have always been marketed as a luxury item, hence they are all wrapped individually in gold, all have stickers and come in a good presentation box.
The adverts as well reflect this aspirational element and we have all probably seem the TV adverts where the butler carries a large pyramid pile of these chocolates around the 'Ambassador's Reception'.
I like that the chocolates are individually wrapped so you can have one now and again and you knw they are fresh and clean.
The crispy outer is nice and crunchy to bite into and then you have a soft sweet nutty layer which is exactly like Nutella - not surprising as Ferrero also make that!
In the centre is a lovely roasted hazelnut so you get a nice mixture of chocolate, nuts, creamy filling and the crispy wafer.
One is a good mouthful and although sweet not too overpowering - but you could not eat many all in one go.
Being individually wrapped these chocolates are also great if you want to make a 'sweet tree'.



---Star Rating---

5 stars.



---Would I Recommend?---

Yes.



---Websites---

http://www.ferrero.co.uk
http://www.ferrero.com



---Full Ingredients---

Milk chocolate 30% (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, concentrated butter, emulsifier: lecithins (soya); vanillin), hazelnuts (28.5%), sugar, vegetable oil, wheat flour, whey powder, fat-reduced cocoa, emulsifier: lecithins (soya), raising agent (sodium hydrogen carbonate), salt, vanillin.