HoHos vs Yodels vs Swiss Rolls
For this taste test I included three items: HoHos, Yodels and Swiss Rolls.
HoHos are made by Hostess and I guess it’s been a while since I’ve eaten this stuff because I didn’t even notice when Hostess bought Drakes. All Drake’s products now include “By Hostess” on the packaging. Since I began buying food for this blog I’ve noticed a lot of things are now owned by someone else, even a past rival sometimes, and I’m convinced someday all snacks will be made by one company: Little Hershkellhostlayisco, Inc. But anyway, on to the evaluation…
First up was HoHos:
Although this was crushed, I did appreciate the softness of the cake. Ethan and I both found the creme to be nice and smooth while the cake was just okay. The texture was good but it lacked any real chocolate flavor, even though it smelled very chocolaty.
Yodels:
The Yodel stood up to whatever smooshed the HoHo (they were in the same grocery bag from the store) and when we tasted it, we knew why.
The cake was pretty dry, we needed to drink plenty of water with this. The creme was a little dense, but has a decent flavor. Any enjoyment of the flavor was overshadowed by the dryness of the cake though. The outer chocolate coating seemed almost plasticy too.
Swiss Roll:
Swiss Roll was the most crumbly of the three. The outer coating of chocolate peels off easily, almost as soon as I picked it up (if not already detached when taken from the package). The cake was very moist and soft with an actual chocolaty taste. Both Ethan and I noted that this was sweeter than the other two and the ratio of creme-to-cake was perfect. I think Ethan described it as “more balanced” than the others. The creme has a nice light texture
Wrap up:
I was disappointed in the Yodel, I remembered liking them a lot when I was a kid. The cake was dry and there was not a good creme-to-cake ratio.
The middle of the road roll would be the HoHo. It was much better than the Yodel but still seemed to lack the satisfaction one would expect consuming these calories.
Our top pick was the Swiss Roll. To me, Little Debbie usually knows what she’s doing. I’ve enjoyed her products through the years, and she does not disappoint with the Swiss Roll. It’s crumbly but that’s because it’s so moist and delicate. The taste makes it the most worthy of the three.
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August 31st, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Nice new site! I’d love to see you taste test some healthy snacks too! Like Chobani Greek yogurt versus Fage Greek yogurt. Or an organic granny smith apple versus a conventionally grown granny smith apple. Of course with the fruit, region and climate also factor into the flavor
September 1st, 2008 at 10:54 am
Hey Scott,
I was actually thinking that wold be a good idea. I’ve been tasting so much junk food, I really have been making much more of an effort to make sure meals I eat are healthy so I think having a taste test with some healthier items will definitely come up. : )
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
What a great new blog! As a fellow blogger of junk food (and other strange eats) I welcome you.
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I haven’t eaten Swiss Rolls in years, but the sight of them brings back so many childhood memories. I remember peeling off the icing and eating it first.
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Ha. That reminds me of how I used to eat Hostess cupcakes when I was young. I’d eat the frosting first, then I’d eat as much of the cake as I could without “damaging” the filling - which I saved for last. It was kind of stupid and very messy, but the filling was the best part to me and I wanted to experience the flavor in its pure form.
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I used to love Hostess Big Wheels. Same ingredients as a Ho Ho only round.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:22 am
I completely agree with that assessment; in fact, if I had to choose between a yodel and a ring ding, I’d go with ding every time… but nothing can touch the Swiss
January 8th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
swiss rolls are the best of the three, but whatever happened to chocodiles? they were my absolute most favorite!
January 14th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I used to make my mother so mad by shoving my little fingers into the swissrolls to dig out the creme and then throwing away the cake part What a little freak I was.
Awesome blog!
xxoo-http://gimmeyummy.wordpress.com/
March 15th, 2009 at 5:59 am
What a shame to see the Yodel do so poorly. I too recall LOVING them when I was a kid. I suspect it may have something to do with being a Hostess product now, considering how the Ho-Ho did in your poll.
p.s. I am eating a Swiss Roll as I type this and it is growing on me. Or I’m growing around it.
September 19th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Like Megan, I would always peel off the swiss cake roll icing and eat it first. Then I would unroll it and eat the creme. I would eat the cake last. But, since I was rather odd as a kid, I would only do this with the first roll. The second roll I would eat whole.
mmm…swiss cake rolls…
December 5th, 2009 at 12:10 am
Interesting that they’d be so different. They all look the same on the packages.