Charms Fluffy Stuff Snow Balls

Perhaps the only snow ball I wouldn't mind getting whacked in the face with, Charms Fluffy Stuff cotton candy Snow Balls are an obvious seasonal take on the plain ol' Charms Fluffy Stuff we can enjoy year-round. Fluffy Stuff is no less than candy magic. Normally, cotton candy is an extremely delicate treat. Made entirely of sugar, it is easily destroyed by moisture and extreme temperatures. However, the folks at Charms developed a process where cotton candy is produced in a "state-of-the-art production facility without being touched by human hands until you open the package and have your first flavorful taste". If doesn't sound magical, show me a unicorn.

The flavor of Snow Balls is listed on the bag as strawberry, however I think they taste more like watermelon. The Snow Balls are all white, whereas the regular Fluffy Stuff features three colors: pink, blue, and yellow (not positive of their corresponding flavors but my guess is strawberry, lemon, and...blue?).

And how does the bagged cotton candy match up to the original circus/street fair variety? It's pretty close. Fluffy Stuff is much denser than fresh cotton candy, and takes a bit longer to melt on your tongue, but in a pinch it will fulfill a cotton candy craving - even in the middle of January.

Missing the warmth of July...

Ahhh, as I freeze in my apartment I like to reminisce about 85 degrees and the Chinese restaurant.

Junior Mints - don't mess with the original

To quote Kramer on Seinfeld, "Who doesn't like Junior Mints? They're chocolate, they're peppermint, they're delicious"! I agree whole heartedly, therefore when I spied a box of Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch at my local Target store, I had to try them. My first thought was "Where's the crunch"? While I could see a slight red, "crunch" texture layered over the traditional shiny surface of the mint, the actual crunch was way too slight to even register in my mouth. Overall, they taste good as far as Junior Mints go, but if you're looking for a new experience, this isn't it.

Candy Cane Pop Rocks

Candy Cane flavored Pop Rocks first made their debut in Christmas 2006. I missed them last year, but snatched up a package when I saw them at Walgreens today. The ones I purchased came sold as a 3 pack, not sure if they're sold separately, but you can always buy the 3 pack and eat them all. As for the taste, not very pepperminty, but not bad. At first I couldn't place it, but then realized that they taste more like a cherry candy cane. To be more precise, they taste like a cherry candy cane chewed up inside a stick of DoubleMint gum. That's actually one of my favorite ways to eat candy canes and other hard candies like root beer barrels - crunched up with a stick of gum, preferably of Wrigley's variety. Don't knock it until you've tried it, trust me it's delicious!

Creme Eggs for Christmas?

As we gradually enter the Christmas season, loads of holiday-themed candies will be hitting store shelves. And what makes us think of Christmas more than the Cadbury Creme Egg ? Nope, that wasn't a typo, the Easter staple is now being marketed for Christmas as the Cadbury Ornament Creme Egg. A co-worker gave me two that she recently purchased at Walgreen's. The Ornament Creme Egg is exactly like the traditional Creme Egg except that it has a red, snowflake-covered foil wrapper.

I personally know some Creme Egg lovers that will be very happy to hear this. As for me, I'm still working on making it through the egg I started 30 minutes ago. I enjoy the flavor in moderation, but sometimes the ultra-sweet fondant is too much for me to handle in large quantities, especially considering I haven't even had lunch yet. I'm a bigger fan of the mini Creme Eggs which come out at Easter. Maybe they'll have mini Ornament Creme Eggs? I'll have to investigate.

Trick or Treat

Hershey has a fun Halloween website which includes tons of extras including Halloween-themed wallpapers, treat recipes, and crafts. Take a look before the day is up!

http://www.hersheys.com/trickortreats

This year's Halloween loot

Here's a picture of my 2007 Halloween candy bowl. It's dangerous setting it out this early because I'll probably be picking at it until Wednesday, but I couldn't wait any longer. I have the some Lemonheads, Reese's Pieces, Reese's Crispy Crunchy Bars, Smarties, the tasty (and beautifully decorated) Frankford Marshmallow Monster pals, and a nice Wonka mix which consists of orange and fruit punch flavored Nerds, Laffy Taffy, and skull and bone-shaped SweetTarts.

Meiji, youji, we all ji

I was recently exploring the candy section at my local World Market store and came across these intriguing packages. Like a kitten drawn to a piece of shiny tinsel, I'm a sucker for colorful or interesting packaging. Both of these products are by a Japanese company called Meiji. The first, what I will call Apollo because cannot read the entire Japanese package, are little space capsule shaped chocolate-strawberry pieces. Perhaps I should call them "chocolate-inspired" pieces because I don't think the chocolate is real, however they do have a nice, fresh strawberry flavor. Let's face it, I'm talking about candy, why should I be a stickler for "all natural", I eat neon green Skittles after all.

The second Meiji product I tried is called YanYan. Technically, it may not be considered candy because there is a cracker involved, but it's still worth mentioning if anything for the funny sayings printed on the cracker sticks including phrases such as "Elephant Jumbo", "Squid Black Ink", and "Sheep Wool Sweaters". Very strange. YanYan is called a "strawberry cream snack". World Market also stocked a chocolate version, but I opted for the strawberry. When you peel back the lid, there are two sections. One side holds the crackers and the other a well of strawberry cream to dip the cracker sticks into. Overall it tastes pretty good. The strawberry flavor is nice and the cream is quite smooth. My only objection is that the crackers are kinda greasy, other than that it's a tasty treat.

Candy Carousal

If you are interested in patronizing a small westside candy business I would suggest the Candy Carousal located at 26300 Michigan Ave in Inkster, MI. The Candy Carousal is a small chocolate shop which sells Corden's Chocolate. They keep strange hours, I've only seen it open around the major holidays, but it is well worth the trip especially for the chocolates made in vintage chocolate molds (my favs include the spaceman and bunny face). The coconut clusters are worth a taste too.

Read!

I feel bad for neglecting Sugar Hi. In case there is not enough to read here, here's a list of a few candy books which are worth checking out.

Candy: The Sweet History, by Beth Kimmerle, 2003

I love this book. It has a nice hardcover and is packed with beautiful vintage candy graphics and advertisements. The author highlights candy companies (and not just the biggies), the histories of different types of candies, and even provides a few recipes. I think Kimmerle also has a Chocolate: The Sweet History book out, but I haven't seen it yet.

Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America, by Steve Almond, 2004

Candyfreak is an interesting book, if you can get past the author whining about his failed relationships and pathetic life. I want to read a book about candy, not some dude's problems with the ladies. If I was given the opportunity to tour candy factories across the country, I sure would have been in a better mood.

Candy and Me (A Love Story) ,by Hilary Lifton, 2003

Candy and Me chronicles Ms. Lifton's lifelong obsession with candy. It's a cute story. And Lifton is obsessed with Bottle Caps - I can totally relate.

Healthy chocolate?

Recently a ton of information has been in the press about the health benefits of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate which contains a high amount of flavanols. Flavanols are antioxidants which have shown to help thin blood and lower blood pressure. Now, Mars Inc. is planning to distribute CocoaVia, a chocolate candy bar health food product. Do we really need to trick ourselves into eating a candy bar? My advice, just eat your Snickers and enjoy it.

Yumm...Skittles gum

Just when you thought Skittles couldn't get any better, along comes Skittles gum, truly one of the tastiest new candies on the shelves. Each gum piece is slightly larger than a regular Skittle, but maintains the exact same flavor. About 30 pieces come in each super-cute little box. I've just discovered that in addition to the regular Skittle flavors, there is a new Xtreme Fruit Skittles gum with the flavors wild cherry, tangerine, blue raspberry, watermelon, and green apple. I haven't tried them yet, but I will keep my eyes peeled.

How well do you know your candy bar?

Remember that Seinfeld episode where the mechanic guy eats George's Twix out of the vending machine so George creates a little candy quiz to trap the thief? Well, in this quiz you don't get a taste test (unfortunately), but you can test your visual skills. I got 11 out of 12 on the first page, the second page is a bit tougher. Check it out here.

Sister Alice and Sour Straws

I attended grade school at Our Lady Queen of Angels. It was a somewhat strict Catholic grade school, there weren't even mirrors in the bathrooms I guess out of fear that we would comb our hair or engage in other morally destructive activities. Our principal was Sister Alice, a usually sweet nun who possessed the ability to strike fear into the hearts of children at a moments notice. In the 8th grade I was given the responsibility of setting up the "candy shop" for the morning and lunch recess. What better way to start out the day than feeding 1st graders candy at 10am? I can't think of one.

The "candy shop" consisted of a card table set up in a small vestibule off the side entrance. Sister Alice stood and sold candy on the left, I sold little bags of Better Made chips out of a box on the right. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Sister Alice never let me actually "sell" the candy, I was only allowed to set it up on the card table and peddle chips, she had all the fun. I guess that is where part of my desire to surround myself with candy stems from - to avenge Sister Alice's denial. Yeah, that and it tastes really good.

Eat your heart out

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the crazy kids at Archie McPhee are selling these tasty little treats. What better way to tell your secret crush you have the hots for them than a tasty, jiggly replica of your own pumper?

Me and candy go way back...

This may sound weird, but I believe my destiny lies in candy. When I think back to when I was younger, some of the best times have involved candy - buying, eating, selling, hoarding. Candy just makes me happy, simple as that. The taste, the colors, the packaging - I love it all.

When I was growing up on Larkins there was a corner store around the block which me and my sisters would frequently visit when we had some spare change, or our mom sent us to buy her a pack of Winstons (obviously this was way before they required people to be 18 with an ID in order to buy cigarettes). The store didn't have a name, we just called it "the corner store" and the man who worked there we called "Butcher", because he was also a butcher. It was a tiny place with a meat counter in back and old wooden floors that creaked, but the main attraction for me was right in the front of the store - the candy counter. All the candy was behind glass and we'd give our orders to Butcher which he'd put in a little brown bag. It was at Butcher's candy counter that I discovered Mary Janes, Lemonheads, Alexander the Grape, Wacky Wafers (so good, but no longer made), Chik-O-Stik, Sixlets, Hubba Bubba, Bottle Caps, Lik-M-Aid (now known as Fun Dip), and what may have been the start of my obsession.