For anyone that hasn’t stumbled across Universal Yums, it is a monthly subscription box which promises yummy snacks from all around the world. Each month, a country is featured and you can opt in for one of two boxes – Yum Box (6+ snacks) or Yum Yum box (12+ snacks).
Here’s a colourful diagram from them outlining how it works:
I was intrigued after coming across a promotional video on Facebook, in which various tasters tried goodies from Pakistan. I went on their site which can be found here and ordered a box straight away! As I loved my first box, I decided to opt for the larger Yum Yum box to trial it out. A few days after I placed my order, Universal Yums dropped the country name on their Instagram page. Needless to say, I was delighted that it was an around the world special box for Christmas! I received this box pretty quickly as it was shipped before the 15th to avoid the postal backlog – good thinking Universal Yums! This box had the most items, but I would be lying if I said I loved it all 🙁 This was also my last box as I felt it was not worthwhile if I couldn’t eat all the items (give or take a sweet here and there) Here’s what I got:
Garlic Straznicke Bramburky – Czech Republic
To say these were garlicky is an understatement. The burst of garlic flavour erupts in your mouth and caused the most amazing turmoil! I had them as a replacement to garlic bread with pasta once – was epic! Although I had to pace myself as too much garlic was giving me heartburn but I did thoroughly enjoy these!
Golden Flake Dill Pickle Chips – America
As the second packet of crisps in the box, you couldn’t help but compare the two. These were slightly less greasy feeling than the garlic crisps, however, still super pungent in flavour. I couldn’t eat the whole packet so I has to phase it out. I was a little disappointed as there’s plenty more “holiday” food from America I would’ve loved to have sampled.
Handmade Maple Shortbread – Canada
With a subtle underlying taste of maple, these were great with a post-work cup of tea. They were beautifully packaged so would make an amazing gift too.
Piselli Panettone with Chocolate Chips – Italy
This panettone was so well flavoured with a generous sprinkling of chocolate chips and a subtle sweetness to it. My only niggle was that it was tough in texture, problem easily solved by dunking it into my cup of tea, wichh also melted the chocolate so win-win!
Brevas con Arequipe – Colombia
Figs – yum, caramel – yum, mix them together into caramel coated figs – super yum! Although, I do have to warn you that these are incredibly sweet so unless you want a trip to the dentist, have them in moderation! Something I could imagine Pablo Escobar snacking on whilst waiting for his latest intel!
Sol Del Cusco – Peru
This is a weird one! Now, I don’t drink alochol but you know when something has a warm alcoholic smell, this had it. I was convinced that this must’ve had some substance in it, so much so that I actually researched the ingredients to double check. As nice as it was to try something new, I think i’ll stick to my mint or hazelnut hot chocolates. For those suggesting to eat the bar as a chocolate, after a bit of chewing, it becomes a texture that resembles playdough in your mouth.
Xu Fu Ji Black Sesame Candy – China
These weren’t that memorable. They had a slight moreish taste and were gritty in texture. I did enjoy the subtler black sesame seeds though.
El Almendro Turrón – Spain
This was a sweet nutty bar coated in paper-thin white wafer. Again, pleasant enough but I wouldn’t feel the need to rush out and track these down. They were a tad hard in texture so require a strong set of teeth!
Jabri Baklava – Jordan
Having tasted various baklava, this truly lived up to expectations. It had it’s signature syrup without being overly sickly and was beautifully presented, with a plethora of nuts -from cashews to almonds.
Yugwa Candy – South Korea
Imagine soggy cardboard that gets sweet as you chew and feels like zero calories. That is the best way to describe these. They weren’t unpleasant but just a tad pointless.
Mince Pie Candy – England
Having lived in England my entire life, I have never seen these! However, they were meant to carry the taste of our beloved mince pies. Problem – they tasted sweet but you couldn’t taste the fruit and spics that we know and love in our mince pies. I’ll stick to the Werther’s!
Unfortunately the next two items were not suitable for a halal diet so I wasn’t able to sample them 🙁
Hillier’s Mini Christmas Puddings – Australia
Alfajor Bon O Bon Blanco – Argentina