Reports around the United Kingdom say that we are in for a 6 week heatwave. Depending on how you look at this it’s either welcomed news or concerning news. If reports are true, we are all set to make the most of the weather. At the American Grocery Store we believe nothing says ‘relaxation’ quite like a chilled Fanta straight from the fridge.

Is This Real Life Or Is It Just FANTAsy…

Fanta is a drink which has its roots buried deep into German soil. What became one of the most in demand drinks of our time, began it’s life during World War 2. World War 2 triggered the parent company, Coca-Cola, into not being able to supply its syrup to German factories. As a result of this, to keep the Coca-Cola name alive in Germany, the only option they had left was to create their own soft drink. Fanta was born.

Derived from the German word Fantasie, the factories were in need of hope and imagination to carry on producing a drink that the public would love. To this day, Orange – the original flavour, is still the most popular flavour sold and is available in over 180 countries.

Fanta’s growth kept on and on and more and more flavours were slowly introduced to the public. We are very fortunate now-a-days as there are 70 flavours available. Now if you live in the United Kingdom, Fanta don’t have a whole load of flavours to try.

Step in The American Grocery Store…We have many flavours available for you to purchase and be delivered to your doorstep. You needn’t look any further. We have devised a list of our top sellers, there’s no need to shop around for which is the most popular flavour. It’s here, under your nose!

Here are our best selling Fanta flavours…

We understand that this may have left you feeling quite excited, thirsty for more. Stay calm, follow this link to view our full Fanta range.

Not a fan of Fanta? Why not check out some of our other sodas we have available…

A fan of Dr Pepper? Of course you are! Follow here please.

Ever tried Root Beer? No? You’re missing out…follow here.

Oh, you’re more of a Iced Tea guy…Take a sneak peak at our Arizona’s…

A Friday night dinner of Fish and Chips may be a stereotype of the UK, but it’s not false. Up and down the country, for most people, Friday is a day where fish is most certainly eaten and more often than not, accompanied by a hearty portion of chips (or fries for our American readers).

 

So with today being a Thursday, and Friday calling our names! Naturally we began thinking and talking about this tradition we hold dear. We thought, what modern day twist can we apply using what we have available?

You see, as much as we love things like Swedish Fish Gummies, we need to some what keep in line with tradition and try to please both Americans and Britains. So we’ve settled on our ingredients. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and Andy Capp’s Fries.

 

Below we are going to list what we believe are the best options available for both brands and give our verdict on the flavours that make the cut!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we get down to discussing which Goldfish we are going to go with, and which of Andy Capp’s Fries are our favourite, we thought you best understand a bit about each brand!

 

1. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish began there life in Switzerland. Margaret Rudkin was visiting Switzerland, and fell in love with them. So she bought them outright as a sort of entrepreneurial souvenir, not knowing they’d become what they are today!
2. Pepperidge Farm makes close to 150 billion individual Goldfish every year. See, there really are plenty more fish in the sea!
3. In 1988, Goldfish crackers traveled into space. They were part of the mission to make the trip less boring for the crew. Those Goldfish traveled 1.7 million miles…

1. Andy Capp’s is based off of English comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, seen in The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Mirror newspapers since 5 August 1957.
2. They’re similar to Chipsticks in texture and size.
3. Although consumers began crunching on Andy Capp’s fries back in 1971, the introduction of Hot Fries in 1973 is what really ignited the brand.

 

Here’s how we rank Pepperidge Farm Goldfish for our dinner:

 

1st place: Pepperidge Farm Xtra Cheddar

 

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish have produced many wonderful flavours, both sweet and savoury. They have even have variants of the same flavour so this was never going to be an easy task!

We decided on Xtra Cheddar as our favourite – a variant of ‘Cheddar’ Goldfish. We are absolutely crackers for cheese and so too are our customers. If you’re out for a meal and are offered extra cheese, do you say no? We hope not!

We love the way the extra ‘blasted flavour’ adds a new touch, taking it up a notch. Dehydrated flakes dust the entire Goldfish from head to tail. Very similar to the dusting of a dorito.

 

Check them out here!

 

 

 

2nd place: Goldfish Parmesan

 

You may be skeptical about this flavour of Goldfish. We were to begin with too. Many brands have tried incorporating such a flavour into their product and time after time have fallen short.

As the saying goes, there is a first time for everything. And let us tell you, these Parmesan Goldfish are terrific! Somehow, they have absolutely captured the parmesan flavour to a very authentic taste.

To be able to make any cheese tasting item an authentic taste is difficult. But to be able to not only be authentic but be easyily recognisable as a cheese that isn’t cheddar, is a great triumph!

 

We think you’ll love them. Shop here!

 

 

 

3rd goes to: Smores

 

A lot of our readers and regulars are known to have quite the sweet tooth! So this one is for you. Smores. The perfect treat for around the campfire. This bag is the perfect mix of Graham Cracker Goldfish, Marshmallow and Chocolate.

An absolute must try and a stand out from the rest.

 

We urge you. Do yourself a favour.

 

 

As mentioned, no Friday night dinner is done without a generous serving of chips (or fries)… Let’s take a look at our two choices of fries to compliment our fish!

 

 

We ran into a small issue when trying to decide which of the Andy Capp’s Fries we were going to use. Both of the flavours shown above are really quite good. Both flavours certainly deliver the crunch and punch of flavour.

A smokey bbq tang on one side vs tongue tingling heat. So we’ve decided, you can decide. Decide and let us know what are your favourites!

Of course, no dinner would be complete without some sauce and seasoning, right? Below we have compiled a list of some different additions you can make!

 

1. Bull’s Eye BBQ Sauce – Original
2. Vlasic Kosher Dill Spears
3. Rotel Chilli Tomatoes
4. Kernel Seasoning – Buffalo Wing

However you have you fish and chips, there’s always a way to spice things up!

 

Reese’s – A brief History

You know the name, it’s been making waves all over Britain for a good while now. But do you know the lucrative history behind Reese’s success? Our guess is probably not! So we’re here to shed light on what is arguably America’s favourite candy.

 

It starts where all American Candy stories seemingly begin, a small brand called Hershey. Harry Burnett Reese needed a job in 1916, he ended up landing a spot at one of the Hershey Chocolate Company’s dairy farms. He rose from a gig milking cows to managing the part of the Hershey milk operation known as the Round Barn. While he was working at this job, Reese realized the financial rewards the candy industry could offer—but when the experimental Round Barn facility closed in 1919, he found himself unemployed.

 

After many failed attempts , Harry Reese’s found his break through in 1928 with the breakthrough of a now classic, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Since the death of Harry Reese in 1963, the Reese’s empire has gone full circle and has ended up where everything started…Hershey’s. After the inventors death, Hershey’s acquired the company, a move which ended up being definitely worth the investment!

 

Since the original Peanut Butter Cup, there has been over 20 variations of the famous chocolate coated cups for occasions such as Christmas, Halloween and even Valentines day!

Here’s some further interesting facts about Reese’s which you may not know.

1. The largest Peanut Butter Cup weighs 80z, coming in a pack of 2, and is sold on the official Reese’s website for anyone to buy!
2. 40,000 fans joined an online campaign in 2011 to make an ‘I love Reese’s day’ an official holiday for the candy.
3. This has become a holiday and is celebrated on May 18th….
4. They produce enough Peanut Butter Cups per year to feed one cup per person in the USA, Japan, Europe, China, Australia, Africa and India….Thats a lot of people!
5. Reese’s big breakthrough came from their product placement in a certain film you may just have heard of…E.T? The contract was originally offered to Mars, to use their M&M’s. They declined and Reese’s said yes…The sales from the movie released soared by at least 60%.

In honour of Reese’s best selling product, we have decided to rank our top 5 favourite Peanut Butter Cups which are still available today.

 

Our Winner: The O.G Peanut Butter Cup!

Not all heroes wear capes, some are wrapped in a bright orange packaging and are peanut butter covered in Chocolate. A true modern day classic. We guarantee this is the one product that will come to mind when you here the brands name. Deliciously smooth chocolate that begins to melt upon touch covering the creamiest peanut butter you ever tried. Not a bad word to say about this Reese’s product and we challenge anyone who says otherwise.

 

Taking home Silver: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with Reese’s Pieces

Is there such a thing as too much peanut butter? We’ve been testing this theory for a while now. You see, the thing is, we’re not sure there is…Peanuts and peanut butter has become the partner in crime for a chocolate treat in recent times. You can almost be certain that the two, in any situation, will work together. This Peanut Butter Cup with Reese’s Pieces is no exception to that rule. The original peanut butter can’t be topped in our eyes, but this comes pretty close. The crunch and extra nuttyness are making a very strong case!

 

 

In Third, White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups!

This is one for all of you with a real sweet tooth! The problem, as we soon discovered when reviewing Reese’s candy, is that no matter the combination, no matter what type of chocolate they coat the peanut butter in, it is never going to be a ‘bad’ product. They just know what they’re doing and they do it better than anyone else. This products silky white chocolate coating is a great compliment to the peanut filling. Try it for yourself!

 

 

 

4th place goes to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – Big Cup!

 

Is bigger always better? We’re not so convinced. Exactly the same taste and consistency as our winner, however, just a lot bigger! We don’t have the capacity to get through both cups! As much as these are still delicious, we have to take the loss on this one. Definitely a winner for the younger audiences, although Mum and Dad may disagree!

 

 

 

Last but not least is Peanut Butter Cups with Crunch Cookie

We love this product from Reese’s and the only reason for it not being higher is that we love the smooth texture of the originals! This cup contains small crushed cookie chunks throughout the smooth peanut butter layer. We’re sure everyone who is a fan of peanut butter is going to love every one of the products on this list. We strongly recommend you try them all!

 

 

If you enjoyed reading this post why not share the link on social media and give us a follow! We’re constantly getting new and exciting products for our customers to try! We also deliver all over the UK. So if you’re interested in any of your products, place an order today, they go quick!!

 

Here are the links for the sources used to gather our information:

The Fact Site

Mental Floss