Saturday, October 25, 2008

VeganMoFo: Peppermint Ritter Sport

Update! We have our winners!
I decided to pick 3 winners, since there were so many hopeful entrants!
Congratulations to Ricki, lao80, and Bex!

I remember reading about these vegan peppermint candies years ago on Jess' blog... and being filled with desire. In my pregan days (that's "pre-vegan" folks), Junior Mints and York Peppermint Patties were some of my all-time favorite candies, but their filling is made with egg white. Ritter Sport candy bars aren't too hard to find, and yet - in a cruel twist of fate - the peppermint ones are nearly impossible to track down. For years, every time I found a store carrying Ritter Sports, I'd optimistically inspect the racks, hoping to find peppermint... only to be disappointed.

And then, finally! Imagine my delight when I found some at a funky little store far off the beaten path. I bought a couple, and devoured them with great joy. These Ritter Sports seriously hit the spot for me... after so many years. The dark chocolate is smooth and flavorful, and the filling is creamy but substantive with a wonderful sweet & minty flavor. It's totally wonderful. So, I went rushing back to this funky little store to get more - and they were all gone! Almost 2 months later, they've finally got another shipment in, and I've got a bunch to last me for a long while. My fear of going without has led me toward hoarding behavior!

In this time of abundance, I am feeling generous, so I am going to send one to a lucky vegan out there - chosen at random from the comments for this post. Just leave me a comment expressing your love for all things chocolate & peppermint... and in a few days I'll select a winner & get your address and there will be some Ritter Sport love on its way to your belly!

38 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:46 AM

    I also love the chocolate-peppermint combo! I've never seen this particular Ritter Sport, so I guess it's not all that common over here, either. Glad you found them and got your fill, though :)

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  2. I absolutely love the chocolate-peppermint Ritter Sport bars! Chocolate-mint is my favorite flavor combo. I've bought these on occasion through Vegan Essentials when I've made purchases online, but they always seem to disappear! ;) The Cost Plus in my neighborhood carries every Ritter Sport flavor you could possibly imagine EXCEPT this one. How can that be? I'm happy you found your fix and I will live vicariously through you!

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  3. Oh my goodness!
    I cannot find these gems ANYWHERE!
    I have tried them once (although not the peppermint...) as my German professor brought them to class one morning.

    I have been drooling trying to find them again, to no avail =[

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  4. Anonymous11:42 AM

    Oh can I tell you the reasons I would adore such a sweet scrumptious prize...
    It's been ages since I've found any of these, either, and it would be great to have one. And as others have said, it seems that on my bi-weekly trips to TJ's, they carry all flavors but this one. The beloved Pfefferminz... es ist lange her, seitdem wir uns begegnen haben...

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  5. I've never actually tried these - can you imagine!
    But I wanna!
    Isn't there another flavour they do that's Vegan or did I totally imagine that??!!

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  6. Anonymous12:39 PM

    1. I didn't know these existed!
    2. After reading this post I walked to my health food store which sells quite the collection of Ritter Sport, and they didn't have this either!
    3. Peppermint + Dark Chocolate = pure love

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  7. I didn't know they made these. What heaven. I thought I'd forever be happy with just the marzipan, but peppermint, too? Now I'm on a quest to find these!

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  8. Anonymous1:58 PM

    I have never even heard of those! But I used to LOVE Jr. Mints--they were the candy I always got when I got candy...something about the chocolate and mint...yum! I am glad you found some and stocked up!

    Courtney

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  9. I'm partial to the marzipan ritter sport, but I finally got a chance to try these wily and elusive pfeffermintz (crazy spelling, I know!) ones and they are so good! the whole bar was gone in a couple of days, between Daiku and me!

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  10. Ha! It's always hard hunting down ritter sport. I really like the marzipan.

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  11. i find the marzipan one a lot and eat it a lot. Peppermint, never to be found but if I do find it I'm buying a case

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  12. I'm with you, these are my fav. I'm hopeful the husband will order me a case as a x-mas gift.

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  13. Anonymous6:20 PM

    Wow, I feel so happy just from looking at those delightful chocolates! I love all things peppermint and chocolate, and so want to try those! I remember many years ago when I traveled to Germany with my family and we bought a bunch of Ritter sport chocolates; not the peppermint, though. Happy minty eatings!

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  14. Anonymous6:23 PM

    Pfefferminz, as they say in German! I was first introduced to Ritter Sports in Germany. They are really good, although I've never had the chance to try peppermint, which is actually my favorite flavor. Yum!

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  15. I do adore mint chocolate, and remember my recent disappointment after I paid $4 for 4 bites of awful awful mint chocolate. I was trying to support a local organic maker and got royally ripped off.

    Thanks for offering a giveaway, Amey!

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  16. OH! They are SO good. I brought a few back from Germany, but they were quickly devoured or given as gifts. A few months ago, a friend tried to mail me some & they came completely flattened, melted, & smashed. I also hope every time I see Ritter Sport that there will be Peppermint, but with no luck! *sigh*

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  17. those sound awesome!

    my boyfriend and i are huge fans of the homemade peppermint patty recipe from vegweb. i've also made coconut ones, but the peppermint ones totally rule. they are here.

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  18. MMM, I love chocolate peppermint, peppermint patties were my fave in my pregan days.

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  19. Anonymous12:53 AM

    OK, if there are THIS many people who crave an item made by a major manufacturer (Ritter) whose other products are carried by major national stores (Cost Plus, Trader Joes), it would be worth trying a little focused organizing and lobbying effort. Find out the name of the buyer and/or headquarters for these stores. Start writing letters and ask for a response. Believe me, if they got 100 letters it would seem like a tidal wave.

    You could also do this with a few friends at the local level. The bottom line for stores is that they want to move merchandise. If they think there's a significant demand, they're likely to at least test it. The trick is to make it more than one isolated request. And of course suffering in silence doesn't get on their radar screen at all.

    I don't need to enter the contest, but I can't resist offering some free and rather simple advice that may actually pay off. Good luck!

    From Mom, the community organizer

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  20. I love these so much! We need to get someone to carry them regularly in the US!!!

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  21. MInt and Chocolate? that is a favourite combo in our house. I make cookies and muffins with that combination to feed to the children as they absolutely love it! If I shared something like this with them it would make their day. Note I did say "if"!!

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  22. While I am most emphatically NOT a vegan, I too love the RitterSport peppermint. Several years ago I emailed RitterSport asking them why they are almost impossible to find in the US. They replied that they do not sell the peppermint in the US. They didn't say why. I suppose the few stores that we find every now and then are getting their supplies from a non-US importer.
    For people in the East, here is where I've found them:
    1) In New York CIty (downtown) at Economy Candy, 108 Rivington St. (near the Delancey St. - Essex St. subway station).
    2) in Atlantic City, in the Tropicana Casino, there's a shopping/entertainment complex called The Quarter. There's a shop there selling pastry, cookies, deli items, etc, Unfortunately I don't know the name, but they USUALLY have RitterSport peppermint.

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  23. Wait, they taste like Jr. Mints?!? Oh wow. I'm going to have to keep my eye peeled for these from now on!

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  24. Saying that Ritter Sport Peppermint tastes like Junior Mints is like saying a fine meal at a 5-star restaurant tastes like McDonalds.

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  25. Anonymous9:39 PM

    I must try this! I've recently been on a peppermint hot chocolate kick. Having those flavors in a chocolate-bar form sounds divine!

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  26. Delish! My biggest vegan complaint is lack of candy. I counter that complaint with the fact that I shouldn't be eating that much candy anyway. This sounds super tasty, are there other vegan Ritter bars? Do you have a recommendation for any other good candies?

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  27. I want one! I haven't been able to find them yet.

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  28. I know exactly what you mean about the mint Ritter Sport bars being IMPOSSIBLE to find! Since I have yet to find it, I've fallen in love with the marzipan-filled bar- yummy!

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  29. Would you mind telling me where you found them? I am in the Santa Cruz area and would love to support what ever store is carrying vegan goodness!!

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  30. I've had their marzipan before, didn't know about peppermint. thanks for the tip, I'll keep an eye out for them. I miss Jr. Mints, probably because they are so mini and cute - and tasty.

    I've seen people come up w/ 2 vegan peppermint patty recipes: veggie boards and squirrel's. Haven't tried them yet, but they look fabulous.

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  31. Pick me! Please?!?

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  32. Hey Kelsey,
    I know what you mean about vegan candy. I ate a lot of candy before being vegan, and so when I first became vegan, I had to look for some new favorites. I used the PETA list:
    http://www.petakids.com/candy.html
    I carried it in my purse with me for a long time. These days my candy consumption is mostly just dark chocolate. :)
    Amey

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  33. Anonymous12:02 PM

    I was at the store today and found these! I bought one and when I got home I read the ingredients and it says "butterfat" and has >5mg of cholesterol, so these aren't vegan. Are there two versions?

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  34. Hey Anonymous,
    There must be two versions, because the ones I bought are all in german, and are vegan. I had my German friend read it and confirm it. It does say the same thing that many American candies (and food products say) along the lines of "Processed on equipment that also processes nuts and dairy, may contain trace amounts" or whatever. Bummer about your butterfat one!

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  35. For those of us who LOVE butterfat, could you please share the name and location of the store? Thanks.'

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  36. Anonymous2:05 AM

    Ritter Sport Mint WAS vegan, but it is NOT anymore. I know because I have asked Ritter 2 days ago.

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  37. Anonymous8:24 AM

    yeah.. i am addicted to the marzipan... i have checked through all of the other different flavours.. and only the marzipan and dark choc appear to be vegan.. the lecitihin is what i sometimes question, but it does say soy lecithn, whch is ok.
    the only thing you have to think of.. if it's made in the same factory, with same products going through the machine.. i don't mind this much, but it makes me think a lot.. yet, it's just like using a fork and life at a general restuarant aye,.. watch out for the dirty forks with beef gravy dried on them!

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