Scotland has great food and drink options, from Irn Bru to the legendary haggis, neeps and tatties, but how well does Scotland make fudge?
A wee shop on the Shetland Islands is making big noise on social media with their traditional fudge and tablet. Although fudge is a sweet known worldwide, Tablet is traditional in Scotland and consists of a hard melt-in-the-mouth sweet made from sugar and condensed milk.
The Island Larder is a traditional chocolate shop in Shetland, Scotland, owned by Shetland natives, Nicola and Magnus. The Shetland Islands are a remote archipelago lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway.
The Island Larder started its TikTok journey in 2020 and has gained 109.2k followers since then. The reach social media has given the small chocolate shop on an even smaller island has gone global. Whilst staying in Scotland myself, it would only be fair to try out the country’s chocolate sensations.
What to order?
I scrolled the Island Larder website to decide what to order; there were many great options, but I decided on a Sweet Shetland Selection Box. This was a mystery box as there were no set items that you would receive.
All that was disclosed about the mystery box was that it would contain seven items. Including Chocolate Fudge, Scottish Tablet, Hot Chocolate, Pirls and even a sweet-scented Shetland Candle.
The box cost £30.00 and a further £5.00 for shipping, which was reasonably priced. However, this box was purchased during the after-Christmas sales, so the box by itself usually costs £38.00. This would be a bit more than I would be willing to spend usually, but for fudge and chocolate lovers, this may be a great present and worth the money.
I placed the order on the 6th of January and arrived ten days later on the 16th. This may seem like a long time to those of you who are used to next-day delivery. Taking into consideration the order was placed right after Christmas and New Year, the area is remote and the business is family-run, the delivery time was more than reasonable. I even expected the order to take longer than it did.
Mystery Box
The box arrived and inside were:
- Dark Belgian Chocolate Fudge
- Hot Drinking Chocolate
- Double Chocolate Fudge
- Traditional Scottish Tablet
- Chili Vodka Fudge
- Sheep’s Pirls
- Marshmallow Shetland Candle
So let’s rate them from best to worst.
1. Double Chocolate Fudge
Without a doubt, this was the favorite of the order.
The double chocolate fudge came in a medium-sized package and contained around 12 small pieces of fudge in it.
The package describes the fudge as “delectable fudge with a creamy layer of white Belgian chocolate truffle fudge over a layer of dark fudge.”
The description of this product was spot on; I could tell from the first bite exactly what the flavors were supposed to be. The fudge was also soft and firm, which was unexpected after the delivery time and transportation.
This product is a must-try for all the fudge lovers out there.
2. Chili Vodka Fudge
The name of this is enough to have people questioning if they are willing to try this fudge or not. I also was unsure about how much I would like this as I hadn’t previously had chili sweets before. It also seemed unusual to me to mix something savory with something so sweet.
However, I was extremely pleased with this fudge, even though I was worried it would burn my mouth.
On the first bite, the taste of chocolate was the first thing I noticed. The chili then came later but it wasn’t overpowering by any means. The two flavors complemented each other well.
I would recommend this product, however, I understand it wouldn’t be to everybody’s taste even if you were a sweet lover.
This product left me excited to try more chili chocolate products in the future.
3. Traditional Scottish Tablet
I thought it would be unfair of me in the beginning to review this product because I am not a great lover of tablet. I bit the bullet and tried the product and was again surprised, not just by the flavor but by the quality.
Taking into consideration the transport of the order, the tablet remained soft and creamy. It was also very sweet but again not overpowering to the point you could only eat half a segment.
I would again recommend this product, the value is there and the quality is much better than those bought out of a supermarket. I was very pleased with this product.
4. Sheep’s Pirls
The Sheeps Pirls come in at number four.
These are a great wee chocolate snack with a very rich and milky aftertaste.
These are simple but effective ways of fixing that chocolate craving.
5. Dark Belgian Chocolate Fudge
This was my least favorite of the fudge that was sent out to me. Only because the other two were unique flavors and this one was less so.
The taste was nice and reminded me of a brownie flavor and they looked like miniature brownies.
Again, I would still recommend this product due to its quality.
6. Hot Drinking Chocolate
This item was really good and chocolatey but received a low ranking due to the other products being so good.
This hot drinking chocolate is better than those that can be bought out of a supermarket. Another note I would like to add about this product is, that once stirred well it doesn’t all gather at the bottom of the mug like other products I have tried in the past.
Again I would recommend but there are other similar products out there. This was a nice touch to add to the mystery box and provided variety.
7. Marshmallow Shetland Candle
This candle is impossible to rate amongst the other products as it is not a food item.
Again the description of this product was spot on and people would be able to tell its scent without knowing beforehand.
The packaging was cute and authentic to the business’s brand, which was an extra added touch.
The candle is on the smaller side but again would recommend it to other customers. This was another item that provided variety in the box and was something I wouldn’t have expected to see from a traditional chocolate shop.
The candle was of good quality, which was surprising considering their niche is traditional chocolate and when brands branch out of this niche it can be a hit or a miss.
Buy Again?
This small traditional chocolate shop on Scotland’s island has blown me away. I am overall impressed with the quality of the products and the delivery time.
The price was again very reasonable but might not be accessible for everyone.
The items from this business would make great gifts for friends and family and even yourself.
I would purchase again as the quality is great and it is important now more than ever to support small Scottish businesses.
