A Dessert Hack I'll Never Tell You About

 I have a pretty amazing dessert hack, but because of the actions of one company I will never tell you about it. On this blog and on candycritic.org I'm pretty open about any recipes or food hacks that I discover (both ones that work and ones that don't). I'm also okay when large food corporations take my ideas and turn them in to regular things or even create foods. I've had ideas for hundreds of treats and desserts, and I welcome any food company to take them and make them for free. The thing I love most of all is to make cool new treat ideas a reality that everyone can enjoy.

This hack however will remain my own, because one company decided that people should be charged a great deal to do it. I wrote about this hack in my social media in a particular country a few years back. Then, a few months later Allison and I noticed that this company started encouraging this very hack. We thought it was great, and frankly and obvious choice. The problem is that once they made the change, they also upped their price a great deal. We had managed to make this hack work for practically nothing, but the company decided that it was worth jacking up the price.

This company is a global company, but they only made the change in one country. We then traveled somewhere else and noticed that they hadn't incorporated our food hack or the huge price increase. Allison and I managed to pull out our hack with no problems and with wonderful results. I suggested posting about it, but Allison reminded me what happened last time. The good news is there only seems to be one country in the world that has monetized my food hack, the bad news is you'll have to go through my social media feed to try and figure out exactly what I'm talking about.

Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! - Cheese Filled Chocolate Cookies

 If you love cheese and you love chocolate cookies with cream in them, then you might be a little disappointed.

10 Second Kitchen - Street Tandoori Oven Yangon, Myanmar

 Watching hand made naan being made on the streets of  Yangon in Myanmar. 

Doritos?

I've recently been going through my list of all the candies I have (and will) review on candycritic.org. I've realised something that's made me think. I used to have a rule that once a brand had more than 10 reviews, it would be a featured brand on the site. I also had the same rule for treats that had more than 10 varieties or flavours. It's been a few years since I've updated my lists, and I've realized that I haven't been keeping up with this policy. I now have several other brands, varieties and flavours that are not featured on the site. I'm wondering if 10 should continue to be the number, or if I should start adding many more treats to my featured lists.

Check out the latest review of a new Doritos flavour, which would qualify it for the list technically.

The Best Fudge In The World, According to Me

 

One of the most common questions I get about candycritic.org is "what inspired me to write about candy". People often talk about people having a "sweet tooth" and that's probably true, but I feel like sometimes foods can go a little deeper than just a love of sweets, salty or any flavour. A true passion for food often comes from memories, growing up and remembering positive parts of your life that may have been associated with that flavour or smell. There's been a ton of research on the subject and more often than not smell and flavours have been been proven as the most powerful triggers for memories.

This brings me to Maple Leaf Fudge in Niagara on the Lake (just near Niagara Falls). I'm pretty certain that this place is the first place I'd ever tasted handmade fudge. It's actually possible (maybe not likely) that Maple Leaf Fudge might have been the first sweet thing I'd ever eaten. I say this because both of my parents were born near Niagara on the Lake, and both of my grandparents lived fairly close. I've been going to this area of Canada pretty much my entire life.

When I  describe the origins of my sweet tooth it involves family trips to this area and if we were anywhere near Maple Leaf Fudge it would involve getting a slab or two. This fudge shop is in my DNA, and to this day I don't like to pass it by if I'm in the area.

The truly hard question for me to answer however is, objectively how is the fudge. I say this because I've never had a bad slice of fudge from this shop, at least that I can remember. The problem is that there's a very good chance that my memory has chopped out any bad parts from this part of my life. It's also true that visiting this part of Canada has always meant fun family gatherings and small adventures. This means that even if the fudge was bad, it was surrounded with a fun time.

On a recent trip to Niagara I decided to pick up a slab, because I really couldn't think of missing out. I tried to taste the fudge objectively and it seemed pretty good. It had a slight crust on the outside but the centre was soft and even a little gooey. The flavour was really nice and filled my head with maple and chocolate. Unfortunately anything after that is tainted with the fact that it was a wonderful day with my wonderful wife. We visited an fantastic bookstore, had an amazing lunch and walked down the beautiful streets of Niagara on the Lake. It was a perfect day, so I'm not sure if this also affected my love of this fudge.

I'll probably never review anything out of this shop. If you ask me what to do in Niagara on the Lake, I'm always going to suggest getting some fudge. I'm always going to tell you it's the best fudge in the world. Sure you might have your own opinion, and you might even have your own den of nostalgia that's better, and frankly I'm not mad. If you have a place that can and always has brought you this much joy, I'm truly happy for you.

Quick List - My Favourite Characters On Candy Packages

 A quick list of my favourite characters featured on #candy and snack packages. At least out of the all the treats I've reviewed on  candycritic.org.

Lots of Blue Orchid For You

 I've made a comic, it's called Blue Orchid and it's awesome.

You can get your very own copy of my comic book right now at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon (or just search "blue orchid comics").