Candy Excursions in the Big Apple: Part I

Yikes! April is nearly over and I realize that I have not posted this month! Even though I haven't written much about candy, it has been a candy-filled month. First Easter, my favorite holiday, and I went on a short vaca to New York City last week. I made it a point to visit some of the major NYC candy haunts that I have read about over the years. I think I did a pretty good job. I visited Dylan's Candy Bar, Economy Candy, and Papabubble. Trust me, by the time we flew home I had to have my boyfriend carry a bag on the plane just filled with candy.

The first place I visited was Dylan's Candy Bar located at 1011 Third Ave. Dylan's looks like a candy paradise. It really is a beautiful store. From the lollipop sculpture (pictured) in the center of the first floor showroom, to the candy-embedded staircase, it looks awesome. The first floor housed bins of all kinds of bulk candy. Lots of gummies and licorice - for $10.99 a pound. Yeah, $10.99 a pound! I know it's NYC, but that still seems like a lot for a pound of gummi bears.

Down the candy-embedded staircase into the basement level, there was more candy, a chocolate boutique, and some really expensive candy-inspired clothing. I looked at a t-shirt with a bedazzled cupcake on it and was nearly floored by the $300 price tag. Maybe it was from some designer I'm not cool enough to know about. I did like the retro candy display (pictured above) that comprised an entire wall. Behold the mountain of candy bars! However, once again I was floored by the prices. I bought a strawberry banana Laffy Taffy and didn't realize until looked at my receipt later that night that I laid down 2 bones...for a Laffy Taffy! I could have bought three for that price at home.

Dylan's also had a special line of Barbie 50th anniversary candy that I loved.


If you can't make it to Dylan's Candy Bar in person, visit them online at http://www.dylanscandybar.com.

My First Candy Podcast! SweeTarts Jelly Beans

Look out honey cause I'm using technology! I recently learned how to create a podcast and thought it would be fun to occasionally incorporate a candy review podcast into the mix here at Sugar Hi. For the first installment I reviewed SweeTarts Jelly Beans. Hopefully I don't sound too much like the "Delicious Dish" ladies from that Saturday Night Live skit. Good times...

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I Just Can't Go There

A friend gave me this garlic candy as a Christmas gift. I'm sure it's intentionally a gag gift (gag, haha...no pun intended) but I just can't bring myself to try it. I like the sleazy looking dude on the package though.

New Whoppers Flavors

I tried two of the Whoppers malted milk ball Easter flavors - vanilla milkshake and blueberry. I hear there is an orange milkshake version out too, but the thought doesn't even entice me so I didn't seek them out. A year ago, I reviewed the awesome Reese's Whoppers. Like the Reese's, these feature a flavored coating in place of the original chocolate.

The vanilla milkshake flavor is okay. It really doesn't taste very vanilla. The flavor is buttery and salty, and has more in common with white chocolate than vanilla. The blueberry flavor makes me happy. When I opened the tiny milk carton and smelled inside I was reminded of Smurf Berry Crunch cereal. Children of the 80s may remember this wonderful cereal inspired by the fictitious Smurf berry. The flavor of Smurf Berry Crunch cereal was not comparable to any natural substance. It was sweet and berry-inspired and when I was 8 years old, it was awesome. It still holds a soft spot in my heart, therefore the blueberry Whoppers are a winner in my book. As an added bonus, they are Smurf colored. Coincidence?

Wonka Tinglerz

Wonka Tinglerz are a fun candy. I've had this bag in my candy stash for a while and finally decided to give them a try. Basically, Tinglerz are tiny nuggets of chocolate popping candy. Think chocolate-covered Pop Rocks. They crackle and pop in your mouth just like Pop Rocks but look like plain old chocolate-covered Rice Krispies, at least that was what I thought until on closer inspection I discovered tiny bits of popping candy mixed in with the rice cereal. While their small size probably won't satisfy a major chocolate craving, they do have a nice caramelly flavor. The shiny purple package is pretty cool too.

Sweethearts Forbidden Fruits - aka the Twilight Candies

I mentioned these candies a few weeks ago, Necco Sweethearts inspired by the movie Twilight. I found them at a FYE store in the mall. The display housing the candy was huge, at least 5 feet tall, making it nearly impossible to miss. The boxes are comparable to the large, movie theater size candies and come in three different designs. Box 1 features the Twilight cast, Box 2 features Edward (as shown above), and Box 3 features Bella. The candies are officially called Sweethearts Forbidden Fruit, playing off of the verboten love between Edward the vampire, and Bella, a human chick.

You would have to live under a rock not to be familiar with Necco Sweethearts, the tiny candy hearts with clever little messages such as "Be Mine" stamped on them in red ink. The Twilight hearts differ from the original in three ways. First, there are four "exotic" flavors - Orange Obsession, Tempting Apple, Secret Strawberry, and Passion Fruit. I'm really digging the strawberry and apple flavors. The strawberry reminds me Strawberry Bubbilicious. I'm not the biggest orange fan, but Orange Obsession is okay. I've had some pieces that taste like a Creamsicle and others that have a nice tang like orange Tic-Tacs. The purple Passion Fruit flavor is just plain awful, almost to the point of being inedible. Seriously, it tastes like bubble bath or a stinky candle that would be sold at the dollar store. The tagline on the box reads, "The Forbidden Fruit Tastes the Sweetest", but in the case of the Passion Fruit, I can't help but think that some things are forbidden for a reason.

The messages imprinted on the Twilight hearts also reflect themes from the story. A few examples are "Bite Me" (vampire...get it?), "I [heart] EC", "Lamb", and "Dazzle." In the story, Edward's skin sparkles like diamonds when he's exposed to the sun. The "dazzle" theme is also played upon by the candies' having a shimmering glitter dusted on the tops of them. The effect is very slight and hardly noticeable on most of the pieces. You may be able to make it out on the purple and orange hearts pictured in my photo above.

I imagine fans of the Twilight books and movie will collect these boxes for their novelty. From a candy standpoint, the strawberry and apple heart flavors are winners; orange and passion fruit need some more work in the test lab.

Good & Fiery

Imagine my surprise when I happened upon this box of Good & Fiery while candy shopping this afternoon. "Good & Fiery", I thought to myself, "I didn't even know these were coming out!" Naturally I laid down my $1.65 and bought a box. It's obvious from the name, font, and box design that the Fierys' are a member of the Hershey Company's "Good & Plenty" family. This same company caused quite a stir in the candy world about a year ago when they reintroduced Good & Fruity as a thick-shelled jelly bean, instead of the awesome candy coated red licorce bits they used to be in the 1980s. While I personally don't despise the new Good & Fruity, I don't think they are comparable to version I remember from my youth. I was curious where in the jelly bean/licorce world the Good & Fiery would fall.

The box describes this candy as "sweet & spicy chewy candy." There are four flavors in the box - lemon, orange, apple, and cinnamon. The inclusion of fruit flavors is a little strange. I would have been satisfied if the entire box was just plain ol' cinnamon bits. The cinnamon pieces have a deep red shell that cracks easily to reveal a clear jelly bean-like center. Just like the box promises, it is both sweet and spicy. It packs more heat than a Hot Tamale and I enjoy the size of the pieces. They're small enough that I can eat a bunch without getting a stomachache. I was not as keen on the other flavors. The lemon tastes like lemon and cinnamon. It reminds me of tea that I would drink when I have a cold. The orange tastes like orange and cinnamon, see a pattern here? Orange is always my least favorite candy flavor. This one does nothing for me, I even find it kind of bitter. The apple bits remind me of a crisp autumn day, because they taste like spiced apple cider...or a bowl of potpourri, take your pick.

I do like this mix and will probably continue to pick from the box. The cinnamon pieces are quite tasty. Really, the only one I will avoid is the unfortunate orange.

Skittles Crazy Cores

Around the same time last year, I wrote about Chocolate Mix Skittles. This year, Skittles adds the new Crazy Cores to their collection. Crazy Cores Skittles boast two flavors in each piece. There are five different colors in the bag for a total of 10 flavors. From what I can tell, the chewy center and the candy shell are two independent flavors that blend together when chewed up. Here's how they pan out:

Blue Raspberry & Lemon: This one has a blue raspberry shell and lemon yellow core. I'm usually stay away from blue raspberry stuff, if only to avoid the blue mouth of death look, but this flavor turned out to be one of my favorites. I think the raspberry and the lemon work well together. Off to a good start.

Melon Berry: With a purplish shell and light green center, its obvious that the berry provides the outer layer of flavor, but melon (probably honeydew) pretty much overpowers this one.

Mango Peach: The mango center is quite tasty. It's fruity and a little creamy. Artificial peach flavor usually reminds me of Glade air freshener, but here with the mango it's not unbearable.

Strawberry Watermelon: I had the least amount of this flavor in my bag which was a shame because it's pretty good. The watermelon candy shell is reminiscent of watermelon Bubblicious, while the strawberry core is nice and tangy without being too sweet.

Cherry Lemonade: I think this flavor is my favorite in the bag. It's not overly cherry and the lemonade center tastes like Country Time lemonade drink mix powder.

I found Skittles Crazy Cores near the register at Walgreen's for $0.89.

Candy Land at the Movies

You may no longer have to imagine what it's like to trek through the Gumdrop Mountains, soon you'll be able to experience it live on the big screen. Variety reports that Universal Pictures will be putting out a live-action movie based on the popular board game. Read more about it here.

Chocolate-flavored Smarties, Peanut Butter Sixlets - That's What I'm Talking About!

After a little candy investigating, I discovered there are some excellent sounding "new" versions of my old favorites coming out soon. I have yet to spot any of them on the store shelves, but they are available from online candy wholesalers. I'll update as I find and taste them.

Chocolate-flavored Mega Smarties
http://www.candyfavorites.com/Mega-Smarties-Chocolate-pr-3573.html#buynow

Peanut Butter flavored P-NOT Butter Sixlets - Quite the tongue twister. These contain no real peanut butter, hence the P-NOT.
http://www.blaircandy.com/sipebu14ct.html

Sour Patch Jelly Beans - It seems like at least 20 different varieties of jelly beans debut each Easter season. I recall last year when we were blessed with Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans. I love Sour Patch Kids and hope these are just as good.

Stop the Press! Twilight-Themed Necco Conversation Hearts

According to the Boston Herald, NECCO (the New England Confectionery Company), creator of the Valentine classic Sweetheart Conversation Hearts, will be releasing a Twilight-inspired version of the candy. The Twilight hearts are set to debut in March and coincide with the release of the film on dvd.

More details from the article:

"NECCO will release softer, sparkling versions of the pastel sugar hearts in March, when the film is released on DVD. The printed messages will include “Bite Me,” “Secret” and “Soul Mate,” and flavors such as “orange obsession” and “tempting apple.” More Sweethearts will hit stores for the November release of the “New Moon” sequel."

I am curious to see how they are going to make the candies sparkle. However, I can't help but be a little disturbed by the additional news of the Twilight-themed Sky Bar "customed molded shapes". Sky Bar tastes like feet. If Edward could eat, he wouldn't eat Sky Bar foot candy! I hope this doesn't backfire on them.

Happy Happy Hippos

It's been way too long since I've posted. It's time to get back on the horse, or in this case the hippo. Let me introduce you to Kinder's Happy Hippo. While not as known or available in the USA, Kinder candies are wildly popular in other parts of the world like Europe and Australia. The Happy Hippo is just one of their many treats; the toy-filled Kinder Surprise Egg is a must buy if you ever visit Canada.

Even before biting into the Happy Hippo I was impressed by the attention to detail on its surface. Each hippo has nostrils, eyebrows, and two eyes made of white milk creme dots with cocoa pupils. The bottom of the hippo is covered in milk creme and dipped in tiny chocolate and white candy pieces which gives the appearance that the hippo is skimming above the surface of a chocolate pond. The hippo body is made of a wafer which tastes a lot like a cake cup ice cream cone. The body is filled with two thick layers of flavored creme. Milk creme on the bottom and cocoa creme on the top. The cremes are soft and rich, very much like the consistency of Nutella. In fact, Ferrero, the maker of Nutella, produces the Kinder products. The Happy Hippos I had were cocoa flavored, but I understand there is also a hazelnut flavor which fits in well with the Kinder/Ferrero brand.

Overall, the Happy Hippo is a cute and tasty treat. Try one if you ever are lucky enough to come across one.

PS: Thanks to Susie P. for the hippos!

"Atsa Chewy Meatball"

Archie McPhee is a company after my heart. They always seem to find the weirdest, greatest, wackiest, and tackiest items on the market. Basically, they are a lot of fun, as evidenced by the sale of Accoutrements Meatball Bubble Gum . Gumballs made to look like meatballs - genius. Thankfully, they are not meatball flavored, because then it would be kinda gross.

Buy some for spaghetti night: http://www.mcphee.com/items/11898.html
(Image taken from www.mcphee.com)

Grody to the Max - Part II

A little late for Halloween, but still plenty grody, the candy slime filled Nose Hose from Kandy Kastle. The nose piece, sweetly named "Sniffles", is intended to hook over your actual nose with the aid of bands on each end that loop around each ear. When on, the Nose Hose makes you look like a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Humpty of "The Humpty Dance" fame, which was kind of unsettling in itself.

Once the Nose Hose is properly harnessed on your face, the idea is to unscrew the little cap located at the tip of the nose so the slimey candy boogers can ooze out for you to catch on your tongue. When I tried it, the booger slime was a little slow moving and I had to squeeze the bridge of the "nose" to help move it along. As the snot was pouring out, I tried to catch it on my tongue, but it is quite a stretch, and most of the snot landed on my shirt. The snot slime itself was dark greenish, very sticky, and tasted more like the plastic nose than green apple, or whatever mystery flavor candy snot is.

I imagine little kids may enjoy the gross-out factor of the Nose Hose, but to me it just seems like a lot of work for a candy that doesn't even taste good. Read more about it on the Kandy Kastle website. Hey, when you spell candy with a "k" it's bound to be good.

Grody to the Max - Part I

Just in time for Halloween I bring you the (intentionally) grossest candy I could find. First I have one of my Walgreen's Halloween aisle finds - Confectionery Lane's Blood Bag. Actually the full name is the Liquid Cherry Candy Blood Bag. I consider myself an open-minded person, but even this was a little bizarre to me because it just looks so real. I don't think I caught it on the photo, but there is even a little clip at the end of the tube to stop the flow of "blood".

Appearances aside, the blood bag didn't taste that bad. The first taste of blood was an intense shot of sweet/sour. Once I got accustomed to the tartness, it's taste brought back a childhood memory. When I was little, my grandma cooked dinner for me and my sisters every day after school. Sometimes for dessert she would serve us canned plums, maybe it's a Polish thing. The candy blood tastes almost exactly like the syrup from the canned plums. Oh, that's a picture of me convalescing above.

Surprising to me, I ended up liking the Blood Bag. I could never finish a whole pint, but a few sips weren't that bad. It would make a nice gag gift for the nurse, doctor, or vampire in your life.

Oh, Tainted Chocolate....

First, Chinese-produced toys are poisoned. Then, tainted Chinese milk poisons thousands of children. And now as a result of the very same milk scare, Cadbury is recalling Chinese-made chocolates. They really need to get it together over there!

Read the story on MSNBC.com

Marshmallow Strawberries

From a candy perspective, one of the best things about living in the Detroit area is the close proximity it provides to Canadian sweets. Ever since I was little I have loved these Marshmallow Strawberries that my mom would buy for me when we went to Windsor, Ontario. I was reunited with them on my recent visit to Toronto. For some reason I cannot find them in the United States! Seriously, why can't someone import these babies in bulk?

The marshmallow strawberry is a beautiful thing. Each small, dome-shaped piece is roughly half the size of a real strawberry. A fine, sparkling red sugar covers each pink, strawberry-flavored marshmallow. The flavor of the marshmallow is perfectly artificial strawberry, kind of like strawberry Nesquik - fragrant, but not too sweet. The texture of the marshmallow is perfect. They are not too soft and fluffy, almost like semi-stale Peeps, and we all know Peeps are best when stale.

I think marshmallow strawberries are also readily available in parts of Europe by Haribo, but the Haribo ones are smaller.  There is a Canadian retailer that sells them online, Bonbon's Connexion Candy, but I have no personal experience buying from them. If you're ever in Canada try these! 

My Dream Home

I just returned from a few days of visiting the lovely city of Toronto. While it may be a hassle to pick up and move my entire life to another country, I think I have found the home to make it worth my while. I was walking down trendy Queen Street West when I spotted it, my dream home - The Candy Factory Lofts. Yes my friends, a real former candy factory converted into lofts. Sigh.


I did some research when I got home and discovered that the building which now houses The Candy Factory Lofts was once home to the Ce De Candy Inc. Ce De Candy Inc. is the creator of, and how perfect is it that it's one of my favorite candies, Smarties! And by Smarties, I mean American Smarties, which are sold in Canada under the name Rockets in order to avoid confusion with the "Smarties" sold in Canada that are the British ones and more like M&Ms. During my research I also discovered that there are more candy factory lofts right here in the US-of-A in San Antonio and Chicago. Is it time for me to relocate?

The Candy Factory Lofts
Smarties

Vote for your Dream Bean

Oh my, August is nearly over and this is only my second post of the month! It's not for lack of candy, that's for sure, I've just been preoccupied. I wanted to let you know that you don't have to wait until November to rock the vote. Right now, Jelly Belly is letting the public vote for their next jelly bean flavor. Your choices are: Mojito, Honey, Sublime Chili Lime, Thai Iced Tea, and Acai Berry. Go to www.dreambeancontest.com to cast your vote.

Frankly, I think my suggestion of a jelly donut flavored Jelly Belly should have made the top 5, but that's just my humble opinion. Maybe I'm a little biased (and bitter).

U-NO this is gross, right?

How fitting that last night I happened to catch a Friends re-run of the "mockolate" episode since I just had a mockolate experience of my very own. Usually I am not a chocolate snob. I don't know what the substance is inside of a Sixlet, nor do I know the chemical compound of the brown coating covering a Charleston Chew, but they taste good to me so I don't really care. My feelings changed once I encountered the U-NO candy bar.

U-NO candy bars have been a predominately West Coast treat since the 1920's. In 1970, the Annabelle Candy Company, which also manufactures the awesome Abba-Zaba, acquired the rights to the U-NO and has been producing them ever since. At first glance, the U-NO looks intriguing with it's shiny silver wrapper and bold font claiming, "Rich Creamy Chocolate". I knew going in that this bar was just going to be a big bite of all chocolate, but I thought I could handle it. Unwrapped, U-NO is a long brown rectangle, maybe a little bigger than a Giant Kit Kat, with slight ripples of "chocolate" along it's surface. The description on the Annabelle Candy Company website describes it as "smooth, rich milk chocolate truffle-like center, covered in milk chocolate and ground almonds". Ground almonds? Well, if they're in there they must be pulverized into dust, because I sure couldn't see them (or taste them for that matter).


The best way I can think of how to describe the experience of eating a U-NO bar is this: imagine eating a spoonful of Crisco shortening mixed with not-completely-dissolved powdered Nesquik drink mix. That's it in a nutshell. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if that is the actual recipe. There was an unexplainable greasiness to the bar that left a film on the back of my teeth and roof of my mouth. It didn't melt in my mouth like normal chocolate, rather it kind of vaporized. And there was a bit of saltiness to it too. Overall, this substance called the U-NO bar is a mystery to me. A mystery I don't want to solve. Dare I say, it even gives mockolate a bad name.

Annabelle Candy Company Inc.