A Little Review to make your Day.

Well we are apparently officially in the dead of winter. It’s about as cold as it’s going to get and it’s about as dark (depending on where you live) as it’s going to get. That means it’s all good news from here on in. This latest review is also some good news and it reminds me of the warm days of summer watching corn grow. You may wonder how a guy who lives in a city is able to watch corn grow, however to explain it would take more than I am willing to give at this moment. Either way, enjoy the review, it’s a strange treat and worth a try.

Click here to read the review.

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Ernie Keebler Say’s Hi.

Every once in a while I get an e-mail from a guy named Ernie Keebler and I giggle to myself. I say, “That’s funny, that’s the same name as that elf from Keebler cookies”. Then I open the e-mail and it is from that very same elf. If the e-mails came regularly I probably wouldn’t get fooled but because it’s kind of random it gets me most of the time. This week I got an e-mail and not only did it pleasantly surprise me but it also had information about a new cookie that looks spectacular. They call them “Cheesecake Middles” and I’m dying to try one.

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It’s National Corn Chip Day

I’m going to go eat a bag of Corn chips with sour cream and cheese on them.

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The Best Of The Chocolate Industry

I’ve actually been lucky enough to meet a few people in the chocolate industry and man are those people ever dedicated. To many it’s a time honoured tradition that goes back generations, to others it’s an art that has to be mastered. To me great chocolate is one of the best things in the whole world. So congrats to the best in the chocolate industry.

Click here to read about this award.

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You Can “Snicker” at the Superbowl

Snickers has announced that it will be airing a spot during the Superbowl and that is will be staring Betty White and Abe Vigoda. I love the fact that Superbowl commercials make the news now a days and I love the clever pun I wrote for the headline of this blog.

Click here to read more details about the Snickers spot.

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Less Packaging Equals Faster Eating

Apparently in an attempt to help the environment and save a few dollars, Kraft has redesigned many of their packages with less… well package. I can’t complain about this idea because that means I’m that much closer to my treats.

Click here to learn a few more details.

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Godiva Offers Virtual Love

So here’s my problem with Godiva’s new virtual valentine cards, I don’t think I would appreciate someone sending me a message showing me great treats but not actually giving me any… Wait a minute; they have a draw regularly to actually get some treats? I’m in!

Click here to send someone (me) a virtual valentine and a chance to win free chocolate.

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Another Vintage Ad

Other than the cool drawing the thing I like most about this ad is the fact that it promotes the idea of better bubble blowing. With all of the sugarless gum out there in the world no one thinks about bubble quality much anymore. You rarely see it advertised at least.

Thanks to Vintage Ad Browser for the Ad.

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New Candy Store In Brooklyn

I love when the opening of a new store gets a little fanfare. This particular place looks pretty cool too, and lord knows New York needs more candy stores. I’m not being sarcastic either, for a place with like 13 million people you’d think candy stores would be everywhere.

Click here to learn about it, go to New York to check it out.

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5 Candy Spokes Girls

I was backing up some photos from my road trip through Ontario and I came across this great little advertisement from McCormick’s using the Dionne Quintuplets. I took this shot in their home which has been moved to a special site in North Bay, and it’s a great example of how these little girls where used as marketing tools to sell just about anything.

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No Gluten for 2010

According to the Examiner and the Fancy Food Fair 2010 will be the year of gluten free. I’d rather it be the year of free gluten but I get what I can. I’m always a little apprehensive when I come across gluten free food, however I have had a few gluten free treats that taste great. Let us see if a gluten free year is a good one.

Click here to learn about gluten free stuff, including gluten free candy.

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Quick Get To Time Square!

Apparently they’re giving away free Hershey’s Piece’s at Time Square in New York City today. Run!.. Seriously you could get some free treats, I’m even considering booking a flight right now. Oh and some famous person might hand them to you too.

Click here to get the details you need.

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Pie In The Eye

It would appear that some MPs feel that food fights are in fact acts of terrorism. I can see how that can be, except probably not from the same angle. I figure it’s a horrible atrocity to waste a cream pie in order to make a statement about politics. Instead I invite all those interested in throwing pies at people to instead send the pies to me and I’ll eat them. I’ll even wear a t-shirt with your charities name on it if you want. I’ll eat a pie for charity.

Click here to read about it.

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A Little Info About The New Owners of Cadbury

So the candy (and even marketing) world has been in an uproar about this huge sale. Some think it’s great, some think it’s horrible and some don’t care. I fall somewhere between them all strangely enough. However if you crave more information about Kraft this link is a great place to go.

Click here to learn about Kraft.

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The Feeling of Opening a New Bottle of Pop

It might just be me but I’m so in love with the feeling you get when you open a new bottle of pop. The feeling I’m talking about come from holding the label as the pop bottle contracts (or at least I think that’s what it does) and the label seems to move under your hand. It’s a strange and wonderful feeling. Think about it next time you open a bottle but look out, it’s an addictive feeling.

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Fontastic Cookies

Boing Boing has a great little piece about Helveticookies. Fun little cookie cutters in the shape of some people’s favourite font. If I had my choice I would get the Cookies San.

Click here to read more about these cookies.

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Breaking Up, Have Some Free Chocolate

Apparently a chocolate company has discovered a great way to give out samples by targeting those people that just got dumped. I like this idea, and I think companies should start promoting more candy to those that are unhappy.

Click here to read and if you've been dumped why no get some yourself.

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Some Technical Problems

My poor little Acer 1 laptop seems to be on the fritz. I tried doing stuff, it didn’t work. My friend Mark tried doing stuff, it didn’t work. Allison is doing stuff right now… it’s still not perfect but she might be making progress. It basically means I may be a little late with a few posts over the next week or so. I’ll get them up but maybe not in super fast time. If anybody happens to be an expert on Acer 1s and how to make them stop freezing up please drop me a line.

Thanks

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What Do Dove Chocolates and Tupperware Have In Common?

Apparently a lot more than I thought. I just discovered something called Dove Chocolate Discoveries where people can buy kits to become Dove sales people. The idea is that you can throw parties and sell people on Dove products. Personally I’d rather go to a chocolate party than a plastic container party any day. I’d sign up myself but I really don’t have that many friends, and the ones I do expect me to give them candy for free.

Click here to learn more about it.

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The Lone Cheese Dip

Rob Beschizza of Boing Boing has a short and very strange tale about a jar of cheese dip in a window of an abandon house that will either make you cry, make you laugh, or at the very least make you wonder about what kind of people live in our world.

Click here to read it for yourself.

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Happy Robbie Burns Day!

This weekend I was lucky enough to enjoy a fun Robbie Burns celebration filled with all the Scottish trimmings one could want. The haggis was… well it was haggis that’s all I can say.

The desert on the other hand was this wonderful cookie and ice cream delight. Covered in caramel and chocolate this treat was spectacular. The cookie was so hard we spent more time breaking them apart with our spoons than eating but that was all of the fun. After all nothing make s a fancy dinner fun than jabbing your desert with a spoon like a wild animal.

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Another Review Added

I’ve been so busy lately keeping up with the candy industry that I’ve fallen a little flat on the review front. But don’t fret I’m back on the horse till at the very least next week (when I plan to post my next review). The good news for you however is that this new review is pretty darn strange. Best of all it’s strange because of its context, I mean who would want to eat a tennis ball? Enjoy the review and the last bits of your weekend.

Click here to read the review.

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More Honey Delights

Maybe they’re “delighted” with my review, maybe they wanted me to mention them again on the blog, or maybe I’m just on their mailing list so I keep getting stuff, but the folks at Honibe sent me a new handful of Honey Delights and I couldn’t be happier. You can check out the review I did here, or go out and get some for yourself bellow. That or check into one of the many hotels and business that keep their tea sweetening treats on hand for guests. I like these guys and I like their cool little treat.

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Candy Companies Unite Against Tax in Washington State

The candy industry is in some pretty awesome battles right now. Cadbury VS Kraft, Washington State VS Candy, Candy Critic VS that bag of M&Ms that just won’t open until it finally does but it opens all the way down the side spilling all over the floor. It’s pretty brutal out there.

Click here to read more about Washington State VS Candy.

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Conan Is Kind Of Cheesy

The folks at Just Jared have teamed up with the folks at Cheetos to celebrate Conan O’Brien. They’re offering a great headshot of Conan made completely out of Cheetos. All you have to do to enter is post with an e-mail address. I’m not sure what this site, Conan and Cheetos have in common but who really cares.

Click here to enter.

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Chocolate Shoes and Other Reasons My Chocolate Might Smell Like Feet

I wonder if they make chocolate shoes in a size 13 men’s because I’d wear them… well only if they came in a running shoe or boot. I’m not really into heels and I’m pretty clumsy too. Next I’m looking at picking out a good pair of chocolate pants.

Click here to read more.

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Lots Of Candy Films

And I’m talking about fine films too. I’ve seen, a huge amount of interest in the documentary arena about the topic of candy and… well my phone has not rung once. Sure I’m a little sad but that’s Hollywood for you.

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Spock Cereal The Logical Choice

You know they don’t really make cereal boxes like the one that Corey Doctorow posted on Boing Boing recently. It’s cheesy enough but still cool. I think cereal companies should get away from these overly slick designs and go for something a little rough around the edges but with personality. I might even suggest that a few candy companies think about this in their packaging designs too.

Click here to check out this great find.

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Chocolate Theme Park… It’s in China?

I’ve never thought of China as being the optimal location for a chocolate theme park, Belgium, England, US, Switzerland maybe. However they did it so now I have to figure out how to get there. Apparently they have all kinds of attractions including a Great Wall of Chine made out of chocolate.

Click here to read about it.

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Lindt Sales are OK But Not Great

It appears that the folks at Lindt aren’t really happy with their sales this year. They site the fact that Cocoa prices went up as being a major issue but I’m sure the economy might be an issue too. I figure that more people aren’t going to spend big bucks on chocolate right now. They’ll spend more money on small quick and cheap snacks but not so much on big fancy treats. I have no proof other than the random numbers and ideas that go through my head.

Click here to hear what the folks at Lindt had to say.

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What my Heart Says

Apparently Necco has decided to once again update the messages on their Sweethearts. My question is how fast some of these new expressions will become outdated and which will be even considered inappropriate. If you don’t believe this can happen let’s just say I have photographic evidence of a heart that says, “beep me”.

Click here to learn some of the new expretions on Sweethearts.

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New Type Of Sugar In Chocolate Milk

Apparently some parents complained about the high fructose corn syrup in chocolate milk so the milk producers decided to change the type of sugar used. Now it’s white cane sugar… so how does that improve things?

Click here to read about it.

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Cooking With Pretzels

Snyder’s of Hanover, a company that makes pretzel snacks has an interesting feature on their web site. It’s a recipe section. Sure that might not seem strange until you realise that all of recipes involve pretzels. I’m curious to know how many of these culinary ideas they can collect.

Click here to check out the site and maybe ideas for cooking with pretzels.

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Vintage Ads, A New Thing For Candy Critic

I’ve recently come across the “Vintage Ad Browser” a great tool for searching out cool old advertising. I’ve decided that weekly I’m going to pull a candy ad and post it here.

I started with this one not because of it’s looks but because it appears to be the oldest candy ad available on the browser. Apparently it was circulated in 1850. It’s not that interesting to look at but still makes me want to buy one of their cakes.

Thanks to the folks at Vintage Ad Browser for finding these great Ads.

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A Mochi that I Like

A few years back a friend of mine invited Allison and myself to a Mochi festival here in Ottawa. For those that are unfamiliar with Mochi, it’s basically sticky rice that’s pounded into dough formed into, most often, little balls and consumed.I went to this festival with the best intentions, I left with an appreciation of what it takes to make Mochi but I really didn’t like eating it at all. Since then I’ve continued to sample Mochi whenever I can to try and understand it. In Japan I tried several varieties but still couldn’t get a handle on it at all.The other night I once again tried my hand at Mochi with these sesame covered and filled blobs of rice and finally I’ve discovered one I don’t mind. Now I wonder if the taste is growing on me or if they just need the sesame seeds to be palatable.

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Best Chocolate Bar In Dallas

Apparently the people of Dallas Texas think that they know chocolate better than most. I’ve never been to Dallas beyond a short stint in the airport so I can’t really argue for or against this notion. I’m a little saddened that I wasn’t asked to judge, but having said that since I don’t really have a tolerance for hot food chances are I wouldn’t have agreed with the winner.

Click here to read about the contest.

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Pie A La Carl Sagan

I don’t like to post recipes on this site too often but this one I couldn’t resist. The hard part about baking for me is always the fact that you can’t improvise. This is particularly true with some of the steps of this recipe.

Click here and bake away!

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Ways To Help the World

I always like to hear about companies that do little things in order to help in a big way. The folks at Taza Chocolates have recently announced some changes they plan to make in order to improve their carbon footprint.

Click here to read more.

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Let the Chocolate Battle Begin!

The folks at the Candy Dish Blog (NCA) apparently don’t agree with much of the press and speculation dealing with the Kraft purchase of Cadbury. Several articles (including the one linked below) talk about the differences between US and British chocolates. The argument is generally that US chocolate isn’t as high a quality as that in the UK (or I’d argue in Canada). While I don’t agree that all chocolate in the US is bad, I do think that for the most part it isn’t as nice as the stuff in Europe (or to a lesser extent Canada). I can’t speculate on the science behind why there might be a difference however I can say that I have eaten an American, European, and Canadian Kit Kat bar one after another and the European one went down much better. I invite any debate on the subject and more importantly I invite any candy company to send me proof that I’m wrong.

Click here to read the article saying that US chocolate isn't as good.

Click here to read the Candy Dish Blog's response.

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Don’t Eat So Fast

Apparently there’s a dinner plate that keeps track of how fast you’re eating. It gives you a warning to let you know that you’re stuffing your face too quickly. Seems like a good idea particularly at my house on Taco night.

Click here to read more about it.

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Bear Made Out of Big League Chew

The Succeed blog posted a great picture of a bear sculpture apparently made out of Big League Chew Gum. It looks great and probably smells great too.

Click here to check out the bear.

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It’s A Good Time to be in The Candy Business

Apparently Thortons, one of the UK’s biggest chocolate sellers had a great Christmas season this year. It’s just proving even more the idea that when financial crisis hits people buy candy.

Click here to read more.

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Less Fat In UK Bars

Mars is apparently cutting the fat in some of their candy bars by as much as 15%. I’m totally fine with that on one condition, if the taste, texture, or novelty of these treats is lost by even 1% I say it’s a total failure.

Click here to read more about the cuts.

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Cupcakes For Play and To Eat

The only thing I like more than seeing well decorated cupcakes is eating them afterwards. This 100 Games Cupcake Game makes my mouth water and my inner nerd shine. My score for guessing was 26 wrong out of 100, not bad if you ask me.

Click here to try it for yourself.

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Bacon and Popcorn Together at Last

As an addition to enjoying a bag of Smartfood today (National Popcorn Day) I also found this awesome link for a popcorn discovery that will blow your mind. Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn, this is what gods eat when they go to movies.

Click here to read more about it.

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Honey Jelly Bellies

I’ve recently become slightly obsessed with Jelly Belly Flavours so when I came across this article about the introduction of Honey Jelly Bellies I was seriously interested. The news is also sad that apparently they’re getting rid of a few of the sour flavours, but I guess that’s progress.

Click here to read more about the Honey Jelly Belly.

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It’s National Popcorn Day

Or at least that’s what my calendar says. I haven’t heard any news coverage yet but I’m sure it’s coming. To celebrate I’ve decided to munch on a bag of Smartfood, one of my favourite ways to enjoy this great snack.

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Cadbury and Kraft Are One

So I get up this morning with messages and e-mails telling me the news. Kraft bought Cadbury. I’m happy, sad, and hopeful about the whole ordeal. I’m sad because this was the closest thing to a soap opera that I’ve ever had to report here on Candy Critic and now it’s over. Happy because… well I’m not really sure why I’m happy, I guess happy for Kraft. I’m hopeful, that it doesn’t mean the demise of Cadbury and hopeful that all the other negative stuff I’ve heard about the details of this deal aren’t true.

Click here to read more.

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I Just Heard the Sad News

I’m up a little late reading some papers and I just heard the news. Apparently the founder of Taco Bell has just passed away. The one thing I never knew before was how Taco Bell got its name, now I have a better idea. RIP Glen W Bell.

Click here to read more.

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Pac-Man Cakes

Man, this makes me wish I was back in Tokyo. Apparently to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the video game Pac-Man a special desert treat has been released in Japan that looks just like the cute little guy. The folks at technabob have some pictures and a little write up all about it.

Click here to read more.

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Websites Seem Pretty Important

I get a lot of notices (such as the one below) about updates to candy websites and all of the marketing additions they feel candy fanatics will love. I’ve decided that I’m going to start posting links and reviews to candy web sites and tell you guys what they offer. If you happen to know any good candy sites worth mentioning let me know. Even better if you happen to manufacture a candy and want me to review your site (and candy too) let me know.

Click here to read about one particular site.

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The Box Said It Was Good For Me

The folks at Kellogg’s are apparently in a little hot water. It has something to do with the fact that they made some claims on their boxes that don’t really reflect the truth. Now I’m not an expert or anything but I’m thinking if you’re buying “Honey Smacks” for your kids and you think that it’s health food you might want to do a little more research into your daily activities.

Click here to read more about it.

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National Confectioners Association is Against Candy Tax

I can’t say I’m surprised. I’m also not saying that I agree with it, but I have to be honest many candy fans have a bit of a bias in this regard. I’ve attempted to put on my critical thinking hat and read through the arguments but when it comes down to it if you raise the price of a Kit Kat bar you’re pretty much not taking my side.

Click here to read the NCA's side of the matter.

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Flavours of the Future

McCormick and a bunch of other food writers have compiled a list of food combinations they feel will be the next big thing in the culinary world. Judging by many of the responses I’d say that very few of these people are involved with candy. I think the only people that might try a few of these combinations in the candy world might be Jelly Belly.

Click here to see if Garlic and Rosemary made the list.

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Super Bowl and Snacks

According to this article the Super Bowl is one of the biggest selling days for snack products. My favourite day for snack products is a little day I like to call Tuesday.

Click here to read more about Super Bowl snack habbits.

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Math and Food Are Awesome

I hate math and love food so when they meet it pretty much balances things out. This video featuring the math of pizza making is cool and perplexing all at the same time. Cool because it makes me hungry and makes me want to eat pizza. Perplexing because I don’t know why anybody would want to think about pizza this much and not just eat it.

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Brazilian Candy Show

My dream job would be simple. I want to continue to do Candy Critic, write about candy, however I also want a big enough budget that I could attend every single candy trade show in the world. I’d travel around trying out treats and seeing cool sites all at the same time. If anybody wants to sponsor me I’m more than happy to pack my bags tomorrow. If anybody wants one of the greatest candy fanatics to speak at your show and are willing to pay for the travel and accommodations I’m all ears.

Click here to learn more about this show in Brazil.

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Some Information That Changes My Opinion

I just got an e-mail from “Candy Cruncher” that sheds a little light on one of the Russian treats I reviews a while back. The information is terrifying and I ask you all to be sure to send this kind of information after I do reviews as to not scare the crap out of me.

“I am just here to say that that Russian Fematozen stuff you reviewedand did not like is actually called Hematogen (as in hemata + genus -'giving blood' in Greek or something like that). It is actually amedicine, or rather a dietary supplement for kids who have lowhaemoglobin, and is made in Russia. I personally was born in USSR andlooove this thing. It has real cow blood in it and made sweet so thatkids would eat it willingly.”

Click here to check out my review.

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25 Foods That Are Great For You

And you better believe chocolate is on that list. The world would be a better place if chocolate was currency in my mind. In fact I think chocolate should be the international currency. Gold is over rated and just looks good, diamonds are way too gaudy, and oil is only good for salads and cars. Chocolate on the other hand can look fantastic, (according to this article) is good for you, and it tastes great.

Click here to read about the health benefits of these foods.

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I’m Going To Make the Greatest Chocolate Bar Ever!

Hershey world in Pennsylvania has just announced it’s building a new feature to “Hershey World”. In this new addition people can create their own chocolate bars and watch them being made. I’m thinking this is the real deal and at the end one can eat their creations. I’m also hoping this might lead to the folks at Hershey taking some of the popular ideas and actually making some new treats based off the ones created at this factory. Maybe some kind of contest or something.

Click here to read more about this magical place.

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Lots-O-Food

My opinion about eating a lot of food at one sitting can vary. Sometimes I feel like I could eat for hours and I do. Other times the small salad will do just fine. I can’t really control this hunger and it can hit me at any time. Unfortunately most of the places listed on this site about restaurants with giant portions require some kind of notification when you’re going to take on the challenge. This just won’t work for me.

Click here to check out these giant meals.

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Sugar Is Not Addictive… It’s Official

At least according to the folks at “Clinical Nutrition”. They say that scientific testing has proven that there is no real physical addiction to sugar in humans. This is yet another study that although is interesting really doesn’t answer any questions about why people eat a lot of candy and get fat. I’m not saying that the candy is responsible either; it’s just this common problem that people always complain to me about. My solution to most people is to look at quality and proportions, in other words eat treats that satisfy the mental cravings but don’t eat a lot of them.

Click here to read all about sugar addictions.

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Seriously What’s Going On With Kraft and Cadbury?

It appears that this merger is really a hot business item. Unfortunately my knowledge of business is pretty low and all I know about these two companies is one makes great chocolate and the other makes great caramel. In my mind that’s the perfect mix, however I’m sure there’s more to it than that.

Click here to learn about the employees of Cadbury.

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Cold Winters Review

I think I picked this treat for review because it’s pretty much as un-tropical as possible outside my window right now. Just by peering between my curtains I see about a foot of snow and trees with no leaves. The idea of a mango or a guy singing calypso music seems pretty nice right now. For those of you that might happen to live somewhere warm, at this very moment I envy you. Don’t get too excited about it though, because all it takes for me to switch my tune is a cup of hot chocolate and a toboggan.

Click here to read the review.

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New Advertisers for Extra Gum

It would appear Mars is looking for a new advertising firm to handle their Extra Gum campaign. It’s all well and good since I don’t really remember a particularly excellent Extra Gum add as of late. If you happen to read this article, check out the sources, if only I could quote “people familiar with the matter” in my school papers.

Click here to read more.

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Animals Advertising Eating Animals

I’ve just discovered a great blog called Suicide Food that features disturbing advertising. In particular it features food ads that star the item being eaten. For the most part BBQ places seem to be the most common but there are a few others as well. Apparently the folks from this blog have many of the same questions I had when I was a kid.

Click here to check it out.

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Makes Me Think About a Cool Drink

Apparently a study in Virginia has discovered large amounts of contamination in fountain drinks. The worst part about this contamination is most of it contains fecal bacteria and that makes me wonder if certain people are confused about how to use soda machines.

Click here to read more.

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Chocolate Artillery

Boing Boing has a great article about a company that makes chocolate guns and ammunition. What I want to know is if there are any companies that make chocolate kitchen utensils, because I love cooking and I love chocolate.

Click here to read more.

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S'mores Pie

It seems like something that should already exist. It seems like an idea that I should have already had for several birthdays with several candles sticking out of it. It seems like something McDonalds should have thought of many years ago.
Well they didn’t, I didn’t, and I’ve never had one as a birthday cake. However it’s never to late for innovation and McDonalds has done just that. They’ve just introduced the S’mores Pie and it’s about time. It only makes sense to have a pie filled with melted marshmallow and chocolate, with a crispy piecrust. It only saddens me a little that they never came up with this when they used to deep-fry their pies because that would have been awesome.My only complaint about this pie is the quality of the filling. The chocolate isn’t real chocolate as much as it’s that chocolate sauce they use in their sundaes. The marshmallow isn’t really marshmallow like but instead more of a cream sauce. It tastes fine and all but it still doesn’t seem really s'moresy.

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Sometimes You Can Read a Treat by the Package

The evolution of packaging isn’t just about the look or the marketing of a treat. New technologies are always coming out to improve the way treats are packaging giving them a longer shelf life and allowing for different ingredients to be used that would normally spoil too quickly. This article talks about a new package that uses oxygen absorbers that will help chocolate bars taste great for longer.

Click here to read more.

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How To Eat Your Food

The Chive has a fun post with an example of how they eat a 3 Musketeers Bar. This inspired me to think of strange ways I eat bars and I invite anybody to submit their own photos or written instructions on how they manage certain treats.

Click here to check out the Chive's post.

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What Brand Do You Buy

Apparently brand loyalty is down in the candy world. Most people look at price over brand name and I have mixed feelings about this. I can’t argue with the idea that getting treats cheaper is better on the wallet. I’ve shelled out a few times for treats that are way over priced in my lifetime. However there are a few problems with this as well. First of all some generic treats claim to be the same as a name brand version (or at the very least imply it) and then really fall short. This can be bad because if these become the norm then name brands find they have to lower quality as well and we as consumers are basically stuck with crappy candy. Also many of these generic candy companies will make plenty of imitation treats but rarely go out and create new treats. Name brand companies are more likely to create new treats and if we take money away from these companies our choice of treats will go down dramatically.

Click here to read more.

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What The Heck’s a “Ginkgo Nut”?

If you read this post from Boing Boing you’ll soon know.

Click here to read more.

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This Is Turning Into a Soap Opera

The battle for the domination of candy companies is turning into a great battle for supremacy. Seriously how much do you think the movie rights to this attempted buyouts are worth. I’d call it “Holy Kraft, Cadbury is great!”

Click here to read about it.

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Chocolate Sales May Be Doing Well, But The Price Of Sugar Is Going Up Too.

As I mentioned on an earlier post chocolate sales are going up but it’s not all good news. Apparently the price of sugar has gone up as well and that can lead to problems. This could lead to an increase in prices for things such as candy, soda, and many other sugar filled fun treats. Think I’m going to go hoard me some candy.

Click here to read more about the price increase.

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Holy Cow is Valentines Day Coming?

I just got the first of what will probably be many e-mail advertising Valentines day treats. As always I was greatly entertained by the cute picture attached. I’m also in a state of panic now because I have to figure out what to get Allison for this most stressful of all holidays.

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Global Lollypop Manufacturing News

This article really doesn’t have much relevance to anything Candy Critic related. It’s more about the business of candy manufacturing than anything else. The only reason I’m posting it on the blog is because it uses the words “lollipop depositors” and that makes me smile.

Click here to read the article and check out paragraph 2.

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More News About Chocolate Sales

As I’ve always thought and I’ll continue to argue, when times are tough candy sales go up. This article highlights some of the increases in sales for chocolate and as long as people have less money candy will do well.

Click here to read more.

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Allison Inspires

Allison uttered the classic words from this commercial and it reminded me how cool this spot was. It’s funny and it actually makes me want to eat an Oh Henry bar.

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What Do You Order

New York Restaurants has an interesting article about how menus are set up in order to sell just the right thing to customers. I’m thinking of actually trying something over the next year and just order cheeseburgers at every restaurant I step into. The idea is to find the best cheeseburger ever as well as save a few bucks because it’s often the cheapest thing on the menu.

Click here to learn more.

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Getting Old and Forgetful? Eat Some Chocolate

According to some science types if you eat things like chocolate and drink things like wine or tea when you’re old you’ll remember more. Since I consume so much chocolate now I figure I should have no fears of forgetting anything in my old age.

Click here to read more about it.

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A Slight Change to Some Posts

I used to try and post a picture of some kind with each post in the past but since I’ve started to post more news items I’ve realised that often the pictures are not that relevant. I’ve decided that in the case of some posts (mainly news) that I will not post a snapshot of the page on this site anymore. I’ve been doing it for the last few days and I think it’s improved the look and quality of the blog. In some cases I will continue to post screenshots of sites I like but only when it’s really relevant.

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Bubble Mint

I went to the dentist yesterday for my regular check up. All is good except for one cavity, but being the Candy Critic has its risks. On this trip my Dental Hygienist offered me an interesting choice in flavours for my polish. Rather than mint, cinnamon, or bubble gum she thought that my clever palette might prefer a little concoction of her own. She called it Bubble Mint and it’s a blend off Mint and Bubble gum flavoured polish. My opinion is that it’s a brilliant idea; the mint flavour cuts down the sickly sweetness of the bubblegum flavour and the bubblegum cuts down the harshness of the mint. I told her that she should paten this flavour and sell it to the world but she was way too humble. Either way Stephanie you get the Candy Critic seal of approval and that’s saying a lot considering you work at a dentists office.

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More Old Chocolate

I don’t think this is the first time I’ve read about old chocolate being discovered but it could be the oldest chocolate discovered in North America so that’s got to count for something.

Click here to read more.

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Chewing Gum Helps You Heal

Apparently after having certain kinds of abdominal surgery a study says that if you chew gum it might actually help you recover better and faster. At this point I’m convinced candy can cure any problems.

Click here to read more about it.

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Gummy Bears Used For Science

Back when I was a kid my mom used to squish our medicine into a spoon full of jam so we would eat it. We had a dog that used to get his pills wrapped up in cheese. Today modern science has taken this idea and started to use gummy bears as a way to feed kids drugs, vitamins and anything else that might be good for them.

Click here to read an example.

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Don’t Bring Your Honey To The Airport

Apparently someone forgetting about a jar of honey that they brought into an airport security area caused officials to close it down completely. Now I’m sure it was a accident and I’m sure it wasn’t worth shutting down an airport.

Check out more here on Boing Boing.

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Salmonella in Candy

This slightly academic and a little hard to read article looks at a study dealing with dry conditions and Salmonella. Most people assume that when food is no longer wet most food spoilage issues are done but it’s not true at all. In some cases Salmonella can survive for 30 days on dry products.

Click here to read for yourself, but be warned there are lots of big words.

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Making Faces

Found this cool link (via Boing Boing) for a site that’s all about making faces out of food. Some cool examples of art and food and I’m starting to think of doing a self-portrait out of candy.

Click here to check it out.

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Candy Coated, Chocolate Covered, Corn Nuts?

The folks at Kimmie Candy are the kind of candy people I like. I don’t necessarily like every single treat they put out but I do want to try them all. Most of their snacks have two things in common, Chocolate and a Candy Shell, after that pretty much the skies the limit.
This new snack for example, sure its candy coated and chocolate covered, but corn nuts? It’s never crossed my mind that corn nuts should be covered in chocolate, and that’s the kind of creativity I love. I’m glad the folks at Kimmie Candy sent me a few samples of this unique snack and I look forward to more in the future from these guys.

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Do You Look Like Little Debbie?

Little Debbie’s Cakes is turning 50 and they’re looking for a little Debbie look-a-like. I’m thinking I may enter however I feel I’ll need to shave first.

Click here to read more.

Click here to enter.

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Kraft Really Wants Cadbury

It would appear that Kraft has upped the anti in it’s attempt to purchase Cadbury. They’ve not only raised the dollar amount, but they’ve also added deals such as selling the pizza division to Nestle. My only concern comes from how well they treat the products and what kind of changes they’ll make to the way they manufacture.

Click here to learn more about the details.

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Stolen Coke Machine

Well worth checking out the video of this man who decided he would try and get away from police while dragging a coke machine he was trying to steal. I’m assuming he wanted the money out of the machine or maybe just the caffeine fix.

Click here to read more.

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Chocolate Sales Are Up

Apparently money problems don’t stop people from buying chocolate at all. In fact some might say a bad economy improves chocolate sales.

Click here to find out more.

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PETA Award for Food

I didn’t even know PETA gave out awards in the food category. It’s good news for the folks at Harbour Candy that won the award but now it makes me wonder who else has food related awards, Green Peace, The Academy of Motion Pictures?

Click here to read more.

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Special Spa Treatments or Confused Spa Employees

I think the folks at the Ritz Carlton Spa might have a slight misunderstanding about where chocolate, sugar and other treats might be best used. They’re offering all kinds of weird and wacky treatments including a chocolate mouse facial and a champagne and sugar treatment. I guess I’m ok with decadence but why would someone want to waste all of these fine quality treats?

Click here to read more about it.

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Candyman An Indy Film

The only thing more entertaining than watching a movie while munching on some snacks is when the movie is about the snacks that you’re munching on.

Click here to read more.

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Making Sure New Candies Are Created

I’ve never heard of the PMCA before but they seem to be running an interesting conference on creating new confections. I’m happy that they’re doing something like this however I’m a little nervous because it looks like they’re covering trends as opposed to creativity. There are far too few candy companies in the world that are making large profits and not using the profits to be creative. Often I find that the most creative groundbreaking treats today are made by small companies and not the larger companies with the budget to do it. I hope that a few large candy companies attend this and I hope the topic of creative candy making comes up and the focus isn’t on making trendy treats.

Click here to read more about the PMCA conference.

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Dutchie Donut Poetry

Kind of square and stick sweet
The kind of donut I want to eat
Really tasty and filled raisins
Fixes up my donut cravin’sWhat I don’t get is where you’re from
From which land did you come
I looked up online, in books, and such
Hey there donut, are you Dutch?

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A New Review

Just posted a great review about these Perlas De Spana, which I assume means Pearls of Spain. Makes me wonder about what kind of oysters they have in Spain, they’re pretty cool if they can produce chocolate covered almonds. It also makes me think of warm Spanish days at a café eating some kind of yummy sandwich. I say this probably because it’s freezing here in Canada and I want a break from the snow.

Click here to read the review.

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Chewing and Memory

I’ve actually heard a few things in the past about Chewing and memory. The theory is that if you chew something while studying or preparing for a test then during the test chew the same thing your memory will be better. I’ve also heard the same thing about flavours as well. I’m thinking a Candy Critic experiment might be in the works with this idea.

Click here to read more and check back to see my experiment.

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