101 Foods: #75 Pocky

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Pocky is a Japanese snack that was created in 1966. It is made of a thing pretzel-like stick that has been dipped in a flavor. The three most common flavors are Chocolate, Strawberry and Almond. So, those are the three that I chose.  Pocky is an onomatopoetic word that is named for the sound that is made when it is bitten.

When compiling my list of 101 Foods to Eat Before You Die, I tried to find a mixture of foods that were considered delicacies, foods that were gross and foods that normal, everyday people eat. Pocky is the latter. Pocky is all over Japan. There are seasonal flavors (honey, kiwi-mango) as well as “Men’s Pocky” (with bittersweet chocolate). These little sticks are readily available at most grocery stores, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. I was just at the store getting some milk when I walked by an isle named “Asian foods” when a pink box caught my eye. Since compiling my list, I have become ultra-aware of anything on my list, whether it is on a shelf at the store, or on the menu at a restaurant. It was especially nice seeing that these little snacks were roughly $1 a box.

When the kids got home, I had shown them the boxes for the treats that they could have after we ate supper. As it was Valentine’s Day, they were already hopped up on sugar and not at all interested in the grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that I had made for them. They were exited to rip open the Pocky boxes and annoyed that I was made them wait until we were all done eating before they could have them. Emery was concerned that there would be enough sticks for her to have more than one. Fortunately, there was more than enough for all of us to try each of the flavors. While Emery’s favorite was strawberry, the rest of us liked almond the best. These were a good buy. They were inexpensive and individually wrapped. I think that they would be a good replacement treat for cookies or even hold your chocolate craving at bay for awhile.