So as all of the news has been going nuts about (particularly here in Canada). Obama bought some cookies on his visit here and to my surprise I haven’t made a beeline to the bakery to try one myself. I’m not sure if I will either, it almost seems over hyped.
CC
This just came in, a recall notice for Boston Baked Beans. There are other treats too, so keep an eye out.
I’ve never tried anything from Maxfield Candy Co. but if I did I might think before I bit down because of this recall.
The LA Times asks if you could tell the difference between fake and real vanilla flavouring?
I just finished an interview with the Carleton University newspaper The Charlatan. For those that don’t know I’m a student at this school, so it was kind of strange. I’m pretty sure I made a fool of myself and didn’t answer a single question without rambling about something else. Hopefully Andrea (the nice girl that interviewed me) can make something interesting out of my insane chatter. Apparently they might be taking some pictures of me in the future for the article too. I’ll keep you posted as to when it’s coming out.
CC
I’m not sure if Tim Horton’s has any kind of schedule for releasing their new or special donuts but I decided today to pick up a treat and lo and behold a new donut was out. They call it “Chocolate Blossom” and it looks like their “Strawberry Blossom” donut from last summer.
The main difference is the other Strawberry Blossom donut from the summer was good and this one is not. I think it’s supposed to be cherry in the centre with some sort of cherry and chocolate candy sprinkled on the outside. The problem I had with it is that I tasted mint all the way through. It may have actually been cinnamon but either way it didn’t really work.
So today I brought the Shreded Stick to Dr Tyler Avis. He took a look at them and was somewhat baffled. I asked him if there was any kind of test I could attempt to try and figure them out. He said that maybe boiling them in water might work.
So I went home and boiled up a pot of water ready to cook up these plastic looking anomalies.
I made sure that I stirred them regularly; I’m not sure why it just seemed like the right thing to do.
I pulled a few out after cooking for 5 minutes and bit into one.
Yuck, it was crunchy and kind of slimy. Worst of all it basically had no flavour at all.
I cooked a few more for 5 more minutes (that’s 10 in all) and although slightly floppier it was still kind of crunchy in the middle and still tasted like nothing. More experimentation is needed.
Allison got back from Moscow this weekend and she picked up all kinds of cool stuff for me on her adventures. It’s nice that Allison understands my weaknesses.
Funny Hats
And candy.
So spring break is over, it’s not that anyone would notice with all the snow on the ground here, although maybe your idea of a fun spring break is snowboarding or skiing in which case I guess it’s pretty cool around here. Speaking of travel, this weeks review was picked up all the way in Egypt. So does that make it a sure fire winner?
Recall of Choxie Brand Dark Chocolate Nut Truffle Meltaways, so if you’ve got a bag of them you might not want to give them to your date tonight.
Proof that candy fanatics aren’t all good people; it’s sad but true.
Recession isn’t hitting food industry… yet.
CC
The folks at thechive.com have just posted a few of my candy shots and I couldn’t be happier. For those that have never been to The Chive, it’s basically a blog filled with Internet photos and it’s one of my favourite places to check out daily. Thanks gang at the Chive!
Obama just stopped into my neck of the woods today to say hello to all the Canadian leaders but he was sure to stop by what I’ve already described in this blog as one of the best treat spots in the world. He grabbed one of the great Canadian Beavertails and a few baked goods for the kids. Cool as well because to celebrate his visit the folks at the Beavertail stand made a special Obama tail, so he actually had the chance to try one.Allison’s on a work trip to Russia right now but she’s had a few candy experiences so far:
“I just had a delicious in-flight lunch - Thai chicken curry without fish sauce! But then, the dessert was these chocolate-nut truffles. The white chocolate one was so-so, but the chocolate chocolate one was indescribable! So the flight attendant gave me a box of them for you to review. Not a big box - just the little packet of two. He's looking forward to reading the review.
The flight attendant gave me some airplane-shaped gummies for you.”
CC and CCE
This is why I don’t review soft drinks. It appears that a company in India is going to produce cow urine drinks for all to… well enjoy?
Lots to learn here. Pepsi made bottler of the year. Their trying some cool new stuff to changing things up a bit. And there’s a web site dedicated to beverages. I learn so much.
A cool site all about food excess. I can’t tell if some of this food is wrong or pure genius.
I sure hope you got all your chocolate lovin’ out this week. The only thing better than getting a box of chocolates or any treat from the one you love on Valentines Day is going to the stores the day after and stocking up on left over treats for cheap. I think the reason I’m so hyper right now is because this week’s treat was slightly caffeinated and I don’t do well with caffeination.Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re mind goes completely blank and simple ideas just don’t come through at all? I’m sure you have or you’d be some kind of super human. Well today is national Gumdrop Day and I decided to go out and pick up a little bag of the chewy treats to celebrate.
So I went to my local store and stood in front of all of the candy wondering exactly what a gumdrop is. I completely forgot. In fact as I write this I’m still not 100% sure what I got is in fact a “Gumdrop”. Not a single package said the words gumdrop on it but maybe that’s a copyright issue or something.
I even considered asking one of the people working there which one of these was gumdrops but my ego (being the Candy Critic) took over and I just took my best guess. So happy “National Gumdrop Day” I sure hope I’m eating gumdrops.
CC
Enjoy the day filled with candy and love. Fortunately for me I love candy, so I’m guaranteed to be happy.
Also National Confectioner’s Association snagged some special Valentine’s Day recipes straight from renowned chocolatiers Jacques Torres and his wife Hasty!
Click here to check out the recipies
CC
Boing Boing posted a great article about how we’re affected by the names of the ingredients on the packaging of our food. Well worth checking out.
The fine folks at Kohler’s chocolates just sent me a box of what might be the best looking chocolates I’ve ever seen in my life.
It’s not that they’re more appetizing than any other chocolate, although they are appetizing; it’s just that they look so cool with those stripy things on them.
I could give these away to a special someone on Valentines day and make good on all of the things I may have done wrong over the year… or I could pig out on them myself.
“Chocolate lovers rejoice! Just in time for National Chocolate Month and Heart Healthy Month in February, Hershey®’s Extra Dark Chocolate has become the first chocolate bar to earn the respected Best Life Treat Seal of Approval. Designed by renowned health and fitness expert Bob Greene, the Best Life Treat Seal is awarded to products that have a nutrition edge over products in their class and are available in portion sizes of 150 calories or fewer. The Treat Seal appears on select grocery products and is intended to help consumers make healthier food and lifestyle decisions. Starting in February, Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate will feature the Best Life Treat Seal. Bob Greene recommends the chocolate in his Best Life Diet books, and the companion Web site, http://www.thebestlife.com/.
Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate can be enjoyed in moderation as part of the Best Life Diet and is available wherever candy is sold. Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate features several indulgent flavors including Hershey’s Extra Dark with Cranberries, Blueberries, and Almonds and Hershey’s Extra Dark infused with Raspberry flavor. For more information on Hershey’s Extra Dark and the Best Life Diet visit www.hersheys.com/thebestlife and http://www.thebestlife.com/.”
I’m always sceptical about healthy chocolate myself. I’m sceptical because sometimes it tastes fine and other times it tastes horrible. I also don’t know if people should start downing any kind of candy in hopes of being healthier. My opinion is eat candy because it’s fun, eat your meats, vegetables and grains because they’re healthy.
CC
It would appear in the fictional world of candy characters a soap opera type scenario is starting to unfold. Apparently M&Ms have segregated themselves to separates packages because of some kind of… well I’m not really sure why these fun loving characters would fight. Either way it appears that they’re not getting along. If you happen to find a mixed bag you could be eligible for prize but you’ll also be promoting love among the candy world as well. This whole thing seems a little strange, I never really think of my treats as having a race.
This week once again we have an awesome new treat up for review, and we also have a new photo to show you guys. This weeks review is really neat for me because not only did I get to put up a cute little Valentines Day treat but it’s also a classic treat that I’ve never reviewed before. 
The photo this week is pretty neat too. And I guess because it’s all red too, you could always give it to someone for Valentines Day. This couldn’t get any better for all you guys trying to impress a lady.
Apparently a huge truck filled with cocoa flipped over. It’s both tragic and beautiful all at the same time.
More old chocolate discovered. They haven’t however yet searched under the shelves at my local Walmart.Click here to check out this site.
Men’s Health Magazine posts their worst foods for you list. Number one is making me hungry.
Click here to check out this site.
CC
I’m not sure if any of you remember but about a year ago I went to San Francisco and for a fun little trip. I came home with all kinds of treats including a bag of something called “Shreded Stick”. I had no idea what they where so I had no idea how to make them.
Well fast-forward to a year later and I happen to be enrolled in a Food Science class. My professor Dr. Tyler Avis is a pro when it comes to food science. So I decided to ask him what he thought they might be. Here’s what he came up with:
Basically he’s still not sure how one eats it, but he’s pretty sure that they’re eatable and that they’re pretty strange. I’ll keep you posted if I find out more.
I found this shot of a pack of Doritos on the Chive. I’m wondering if I could manage to eat something that came in such a strange package. What does it mean?
On the site I list a few of the upcoming reviews on Candy Critic, all you have to do is click on the review button on the site. Well last week I forgot about Valentines Day. I forgot to post my special Valentines Day treat in the upcoming reviews. So this week I had to do a little re-arranging. It’s all better now and the only loss is that you have to wait a little longer to read about the “Twix Java”. This weeks review however should make up for something… I hope.