An American Eats Twiglets.

On Chatty Man, Canadian singer Justin Bieber spits his Twiglets out into Alan's hand. No need to watch the entire video; it happens very early on.




On Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Simon has a brilliant moment and I say that as a Courtney Love fan. And I'm a big Simon Amstell fan. And a huge Noel Fielding fan. And yeah, that's David Cross there. I like him a lot too. Ha! That's Jemaine Jackson on Phil Jupitus' team. And Katy Brand! Oh, I forgot how much I loved this episode. Noted Twiglets reference.



And finally, Spaced. I could not find video, here's the dialogue...

Tim: So what happened last night then? 

Daisy: Well, we went to see an interesting piece of contemporary theatre, drank an enormous amount of free wine, ate our body-weight in Twiglets and you punched an artist in the face.  

Tim: Shit, I'm not supposed to eat Twiglets. 

Daisy: Why not? 

Tim: They make me violent.

So, Twiglets. What are they? Look it up on the internet and they are described ad nauseum as "wheat-based snacks with the distinctive knobbly shape." The italicized bit is part of their slogan. This weekend I had a chance to see for myself. When Arrested Development made reference to a "Wee Britain" part of Orange County, I'd been interested in finding if such an enclave exists. Because, well, I like enclaves. Also, having lived next to Orange County almost my entire life and never hearing about a British community in the OC, I would have been excited to make such a discovery in my then-20s. What I did find out is that there are numerous expat/Anglophile businesses scattered around the County, but if an enclave exists, it seems it would be on the Westside of Los Angeles.

On my exploration of Fullerton this past Saturday, I made it a point to drop in on The British Grocer, hoping to give Jaffa Cakes another try. You might remember, I didn't like them much then, but my tastes have changed a lot since 2008. She didn't seem to have any, but I did find a package of Twiglets. Finally...



I was feeling like doing some light snacking last night and remembered my purchase. I opened the package, sure enough, very twig-like.

 

The aroma? Bizarre. Powerful.

The flavor? Yikes! What is it? I was expecting it to be bland as it says "wholegrain" all over the labeling. It's bitter as hell. Is that the yeast? I heard it was supposed to be yeasty. Quick scan of the ingredients list... Yes, celery seed(?!), I can taste you.

I feel like Justin Bieber did in the first video I showed you today. Only I didn't spit it out. I kept eating them. I went back to the internet immediately. A quick search reveals many youngish people who claim "addiction" to this snack item. Really? The coating on this product leaves behind a strange (foul) taste on your lips that won't go away and a sticky film on your fingers. Apparently, it's similar to the yeasty flavor and texture of Marmite. And what the hell is Marmite? Well, our first clue is that their slogan is "Love it or Hate it." I think I know which way I'm leaning already.

I started thinking it might be good with a dip. Maybe something creamy and/or cheesy. Then I realized I was thinking of ways to mask its intended flavor. That's not a great sign. Still, as I write this, I'm snacking away. I'm confused. And clearly, I'm too American to appreciate this food. Oh well. What's next? More photos from the market and candy reviews to come.