Greek "Doh!"

Well due to technical and personal issues I've missed the last few days of the "Greek Candy Review-a-thon".  That's not to say that I'm not going to finish it, in fact I'm continuing it today and thinking I might ad another full week to make up for my error.  What do you think about that?

Click here to read today's Greek treat.

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What Are You Doing This Sunday?

Well if you live in Saratoga you can check out the Rivers of Chocolate festival.  It sounds like a fun filled time that will make your mouth water and fulfill all of your chocolate related needs.

Click here to read more about the festival.

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New Candy Factory In Calgary

Bernard Callebaut has just decided to open a chocolate factory in Calgary.  That's good news on so many fronts.  Sure it's great that people will get work, and that Canada is contributing to the candy world.  But the best news of all is the fact that Calgary is now going to stink of chocolate.

Click here to read more.

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Jello Commercial... A Little Racists?

Anything I write here about this commercial will either make me look like a horrible person, or get the Jello folks really mad at me.  So just watch the commercial and judge for yourself.

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Why Does Your Cheap Chocolate Bar Taste Like Crap?

It's something called "modified palm oil", want to learn more about this abomination?

Click here to learn a little something about modified palm oil.

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Discount Chocolate

The day after any big candy holiday is my favourite time for scooping up some cheap treats.

These foil wrapped chocolate eggs remind me of being a kid and going on the big candy hunt on Easter morning. Without fail  the "easter bunny" would be too good at hiding a few of these eggs, and in the following months everyone in the family would happen upon a few left behind after the initial search. Luckily they taste about the same in July as they do in April, just a little dusty on the outside.

Last Minute Royal Wedding Links

No doubt if you're up reading this then you're watching the royal wedding.  It could be that you're a fan of the royal family, it could be that you're interested in the whole spectacle of the situation, or it could be that you're an insomniac (particularly if you're in North America).  Either way here's a couple of last minute links about some candy related wedding stuff.

Click here to read about the cake Oprah made full of gummies.

Click here to read about some special edition Union Jack candies made by an English candy maker.

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School in Wisconsin

It appears that several candy lobby groups have decided to team up and create the first ever official school of candy.  It appears that the goal is to create a fully accredited university program that focuses on candy and sweets.  Now I just finished my BA a little while ago, and I'm thinking that maybe a Masters Degree in candy is just what I need.

Click here to read more about the plan.

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Fruit Blend Pez Makes Me Happy and Sad

According the post I found on the NCA site, Pez has decided to introduce fruit blend packs in the US.  This is great, I love the idea that some of the great treats from Europe will be available to my US friends.  I am however a little saddened by the statement made by the folks at Pez "we have modified the flavors accordingly for the U.S. market".  Seriously, why do they have to change anything, if they're so successful in Europe, I'm sure Americans will like them too.

Click here to read the post.

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Abandon Candy Factory Photos

My buddy Mike sent me the link to the great looking photo set on flikr.  I think the description says it best:

"Abandoned McCormicks Candy/Cookie factory in London, Ontario. Each room in the basement still smells like a different confection."

Click here to check out the rest of the photos.

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Camouflage Candy

Kimmie Candy has just announced a new camouflage candy.  I'm not sure why one might need this, possibly if you're out playing paint-ball with your friends in the woods and you desperately need a snack?

Click here to read more about it.

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Chalk You Can Eat?

I've decided that for the next little while I'm just going to randomly type candy like words into the Vintage Ad Browser search tool and see what comes up.  Today I chose the word "Chewy" and I found an ad for a candy that I've never heard of, it's called "Chewy Chalk".  It sounds horrible, disgusting, and I really want to try it.

As you can guess, I found this ad on Vintage Ad Browser.

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More Chocolate Wine

I've found yet another article on the subject of chocolate wine.  That's not mixing wine and chocolate together, but wine that tastes like chocolate.  It makes sense since the flavours work so well together.  I see a new food trend in the making here, and a lot of intereting new wines.

Click here to read more about chocolate wine.

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Kraft... You're Doing Too Much

So as we all know, Kraft bought Cadbury.  That's fine, I can accept that.  Did you also know that Kraft owns Milka?  Well they do, and since they want to focus on Cadbury, they've decided to ramp back on Milka.  If you've never tried Milka before than I have to say you're missing out, it's spectacular stuff.  So why can't Kraft push both, the world need more variety, not less.  I love Milka, I love Cadbury, and I even love Kraft, so why can't I have them all?

Click here to read more about Krafts plans.

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Degradable Gum

It appears that a chemical company has developed a degradable gum.  What does this mean to you?  Well it could go two ways.  You could end up with a gum that if spat out on the street (you should never do this) it will dissolve faster and leave little to no mess.  It could also lead to gum that disappears as you chew it, this could be a good or a bad thing.  Best of all it will completely eliminate the old wives tale of gum sitting in your stomach for 10 years.

Click here to read a really science heavy article about it.

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Look What the Easter Bunny Brought Me (part 2)

Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles. Emphasis on Pink.

The box has a fancy gold seal saying "By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen ..."
I'm sure this is what Will & Kate will be eating on their honeymoon.

I served mine in a champagne glass for a touch of class.

They get their flavour from Marc de Champagne and rum. The outer shell is a white chocolate.

Candy Pants

I was walking down the street the other day and I came across a really strange sight.  Not that half manikins aren't disturbing enough, but these ones had the word "candy" stamped into their hips.  The store wasn't called "candy" and upon further inspection I noticed that there where other names stamped into other manikin halves.  Maybe the model that these where based off of was named "Candy".

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Greek Review-a-Thon Now With Citrus

Do you know what a Kumquat is?  Have you ever tried one? If the answer to both of these questions is no, don't worry, I know lots of people that have no idea what a Kumquat is.  Even if you never try one in your entire life you can always have fun saying it.  "Kumquat" is more fun to say than the fruit is to eat, but you can always read today's Greek candy review for proof of that.

Click here to read the Kumquat review.

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Outside Writing Project

I just wanted to announce a little side project that I'm working on right now.  After offering my services to the upcoming Special Olympics happening here in Athens this summer, Team Canada asked me if I would be willing to be the official travel blogger for all of the athletes, families, and fans of Team Canada.  I was thrilled at the opportunity and the first installment of the blog has gone online.  Most of all I look forward to cheering on Team Canada here in Athens at the games this summer.

Click here to check out the Team Canada site and my blog.

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Visiting Chicago?

It would be appropriate that the candy capital of the US has one amazing offer at one of their hotels.  Apparently the Ritz-Carleton hotel in Chicago offers a room service candy store.  With one call you can have the candy man come to your door, and for 5 bucks a pound, you can load up on sweets.

Click here to read more about the candy room service.

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Two More Reasons To Regret What You Ate For Easter

Two articles I've found take a look at food safety and regulation, both of them deal heavily in the candy industry.  So you have to decide, do you want another bite of that bunny?

The first article is all about food colours and what they do to you.

The second is a look at Robert H. Lustig who claims that sugar is a poison.

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Looks Like No Fun At All

I read an article about an Easter marshmallow drop in the US.  What happened is a helicopter flew over a field and dropped a bunch of fluffy treats on a crowd.  The photos make it look like the most miserable time ever, it reminded me of an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

Click here to see the very un-impressive photos.

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Post Easter, Easter Links

I came across these two stories and thought they would be OK to post after Easter.  The first is all about my favorite part of Easter, the discount candy.  The second is about a man that wants a giant Easter Creme Egg, and will stop at nothing to get Cadbury to make him one.

Click here to read about the Easter Sales.

Click here to read about the Big Creme Egg.

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The Sugar Chair

My friend Chance sent me a link to this wonderful piece of candy art.  It's called the "Sugar Chair".  It sounds like a great idea, and looks great too.  The only problems I have with it is the problem of sticking to it, and the strange feeling I'd have licking a chair.

Click here to learn more about the "Sugar Chair".

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Mc Who In The Heck Are They

While visiting a Mac Donald's the other day I noticed some interesting little characters hanging around the base of Mr. Mac Donald.

I remember these two characters from commercials when I was a kid, they never had major rolls in the commercials but since I like puppets I always found them amusing.  Although I don't remember the burger guy having arms, am I wrong?

The one I don't remember is this fry girl.  I remember the "Fry Guys" but I don't remember any "Fry Girls".  It's not that I think it's wrong to have "Fry Girls", in fact I think it's a step in the right direction for equality. I just worry that they only relegated this position because of equality and never let her shine in the spotlight on TV.

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More Royal Wedding Candy

I found two more treats dedicated to the soon to be married royal couple.  The first is a special edition Dunkin' Donut that's shaped like a heart and filled with jam.  The other is a special edition bag of gummies because apparently Ms Kate has at thing for gummies.

Click here to read more about the donut.

Click here to read more about the gummies.

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The Greek Reviews Continue Oooopah!

So many cool Greek treats, some are so different and unique, while others seem to be simple and ordinary.  This bar is a prime example of both, it appears to be just a simple bar of chocolate, but it's a little different than most.

Click here to read this review.

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Got Some Peeps Left Over?

I've seen many a creative use for Peeps in my days, some are even edible.  This particular project, featured on Serious Eats, is not one of them.  Who glues Peeps to flowers?  The day after results are particularly sad.

Click here to read about a really sad Peeps idea.

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Look What the Easter Bunny Brought Me (part 1)

Easter gummy candies!

These ones are extra chewy, but taste tropical like jolly rancher candies.

Isn't that bunny cute? Don't you just want to eat it?

Chocolate Is The Cure

According to an article found on Boing Boing, it appears that one of the best ways to deal with a cold is an ingredient found in chocolate.  What's this you say, tastes great, and cures the common cold?  The way I look at it, the chocolate may help your symptoms as well as keeping up your spirits, it's a win/win.

Click here to read more about the healing power of chocolate.

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How To Ruin The "Post Easter Ate To Much Sugar Guilts"?

The best way to ruin that sugar rush of fun and frolic is to post an article telling you how bad sugar is for you.  As an added bonus if it's all about how "natural sugar" is just as bad for you as regular sugar then you're guaranteed to feel bad.

Click here for the guilt.

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Greek Review-a-Thon Continues

I'm not sure how much you know about Greek candy, but I can tell you honestly that before moving here my knowledge was pretty minimal.  I knew about some of the major treats like loukoumi and baked goods like baklava.  The thing is, there are so many other great snacks and treat that can only be found here.  I imagine that they've been keeping them secret from the outside world in order to hog them for themselves.

Click here to read the latest Greek review.

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Stone Roof Periptero

Here in Greece they have Kiosks (Periptero is Greek for Kiosk) everywhere that sell just about anything one might need on a whim.  They're like compressed convenience stores.  I came across this one on a recent road trip and I love the stone roof.  It really shows how these little Kiosks are built into the environment and can blend into the surrounding buildings.

It's really strange to see a building that appears to be so old and traditional selling modern Japanese animation themed ice cream treats.

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Greek Review-a-Thon!

It's day one of a crazy fun Greek candy review-a-thon.  I figure since I've been here for a little while it's about time I dedicated a special feature to some of the amazing treats I've come across.  Greece is a really great country when it come to culinary prowess, and the candy selection is a great example of it.

Click here to read the first review of this weeks Greek Review-a-Thon!

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Happy Easter!!!

Sure hope the bunny brought you something good.

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Creme Egg Video With Cool Clicky Balls

I've never actually owned a set of those clicky ball things, but I've always wanted to.

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Chocolate Maker Sounds Cool

Once you're described as a "Shock-o-latier" you have my attention.  I love chocolate artists that push the limit and create great works, I love it even more if the quality of their chocolate is very high.  From what I've read in the article below Dominique Persoone is just that kind of man.

Click here to read more about Mr. Dominique Persoone.

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Some Cocoa Information

So you're sitting at home right now anticipating the great delivery from that bunny who likes to bring chocolate.  The tension can be pretty thick, I mean who wouldn't want to bite into a giant chocolate bunny?  The question I have for you is, how much do you really know about that chocolate bunny?  Doesn't seem right to munch on a bunny you know virtually nothing about, does it?  Well the folks at Papa's candy have you covered with a quick list of chocolate facts that should help deal with the guilt.

Click here to read the list.

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For All The H.P. Lovecraft Fans

Boing Boing has an interesting link to a chocolate CThulhu (and it's not a joke).

Click here to check it out.

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Last Minute Easter Link Roundup.

First of all TCHO has released some pretty fantastic packages for their fantastic chocolate.  If the bunny brings you one of these you must have been good.

Click here for last minute purchases... maybe.

If you happen to find that the Easter Bunny has brought you a Kinder Egg, then call the authorities.  After so many years the Kinder Egg is still illegal in the United States.  Now I don't want to say that it's a jab at "American freedom", but according to this article bellow, there are a bunch of them out there that want to buy these.

Click here to read about Kinder Eggs in the US.

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It's National Jelly Bean Day

I'm not sure why beans and candy merged to make such a great treat, but they did, and that's all that matters.

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Eerie Jelly Belly

It appears the the karmic gods are also in on the idea that Kate Middleton (the future wife of the future king of England) is really into candy.  According to this "news" report a Jelly Bean has been found with her likeness on it.  If this isn't I sign, I don't know what is.

Click here to check out the Jelly Bean.

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Creme Egg Video, Remember Health Class?

I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be, but I get the feeling that they're trying to promote high sexual activity with adolescent Easter Creme Eggs.

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Marshmallow Royal Cake

Two cake makers have decided to build a monstrous marshmallow cake dedicated to the Kate and William wedding.  I'm pretty sure this cake is not official, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to be served at the wedding, but it should.  It's gigantic, pink, and fluffy, and if that doesn't say "royal" I don't know what does.

Click here to read more about it.

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Some Easter Stuff In Athens

While walking around yesterday Allison and I came across a whole bunch of cool Easter stuff, here in Athens.  If you want the ultimate in Easter egg, I think I've found it.  This shop (and I think a few other shops as well) have these giant two foot tall Easter eggs that have little Easter scenes in each one.  It's like an Easter doll house that you can eat.

We also saw a bunch of baby chicks and ducks.  Now I know it's not cool to buy this kind of thing, because they grow up into adult ducks and chickens that generally hate you.  But they're just so cute.

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Some Last Minute Easter Links

Here are a few last minute stories about Easter that I've discovered on the Internets:

Politically correct Easter = Spring Spheres... wait a minute, are eggs offensive?

Click here to read more about "Spring Spheres".

How do you feel about Peeps Marshmallows?  Some people find that the marshmallow portion really lacks in any kind of flavour, frankly I feel that about most marshmallows, but I'm inclined to agree with this theory about Peeps.  So a DIYer decided to make her own Peeps like creatures with handmade, super tasty, marshmallows.

Click here to read more about this DIY Peeps experience.

Many years ago I did a test to see how many Peeps I could stick in my mouth at once, I manged 6.  Well in Buffalo they have an annual Peeps eating contest, thinking I should sign up one year.

Click here to see the results of the 3rd annual Peeps eating contest.

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Easter Sunday

I never really understand the science behind what day Easter falls on.  Why does it keep moving around the way it does.  For the most part I have no idea which weekend it's going to fall on until the first round of advertising starts.

This ad found on Vintage Ad Browser

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Another Cadbury Creme Egg Video

This one is kind of sad.  I hate it when candy comercials make me sad, then I don't want to eat the candy.

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Chocolate is a Super Fruit

Well that's according to researchers at Hershey at least.  According to them chocolate has so many good things for you that it might even be more nutritious than some fruits.  I'm not saying that the research isn't true, I'm just thinking it might need a second opinion to be taken seriously.

Click here to read about the research.

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Pringles Flavour Creator

I stumbled upon this interesting new promotion from Pringles chips.  With all of the flavours they offer they've decided to create a web site dedicated to mixing the flavours to make other flavours.  It kind of reminds me of the Jelly Belly recipe book, only for chips.  I think the most interesting recipe they have would be the "pulled pork", but that's just because I like the stuff.

Click here to try out the Flavour Creator for yourself.

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Metsovo Greece

Allison and I took a day trip to the town of Metsovo in Greece.  It's really a nice place, beautiful mountains, great looking houses, and cool streets.  Best of all was the selection of candy available in many of the stores.  Almost all of it is hand made in small quantities.  It give you the feeling of care, and also the feeling that you're getting a really good quality treat.  I picked up a long bar of home made nougat that apparently is very popular in this region.  I'll have the review for it up next week during our special "Greek Treat Review-a-thon".

On a side note, during lunch we came across what I can only describe as not my cup of tea.  The things rotating on these spits is pork (or lamb), but that's not all.  The pork (or lamb) is then covered with intestines and slow cooked.  I can never understand why people want to eat things like intestines since they don't really give off a good flavour or texture.

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Done Your Easter Shopping Yet?

If you haven't you can always take my dads tactics and wait till the day after Easter and loot all of the drug stores for discounted Easter treats.  I mean you don't have to worry about the kids... the Easter bunny will.  But just in case you're looking, here's a few articles about some candy places that might still have some stock leftover... maybe not.

Click here to read a little more about Bridge Street Chocolates in Phoenixville.

And here's a little article about some Pennsylvania stores getting ready for this holiday.

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Cocoa Not Cooked

I think I see a new trend in the making.  Apparently it's not just about Fair Trade, or Bean to Bar anymore.  It's now been notched up to "raw cocoa" bars.  That's uncooked cocoa beans in a bar, rather than the toasted ones.  I'm sure it's pretty good, in fact I wouldn't mind trying it, and it saves energy from the lack of toasting so it's kind of environmentally friendly too.

Click here to read about "raw cocoa" chocolate.

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Today's Strange Cadbury Creme Egg Commercial

Here's today's strange and somewhat erotic Cadbury Creme egg video from You Tube.  I would most certainly say that this is not really appropriate for children.

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Milky Cow

I love this display for Milka Chocolate that I saw in an airport a little while back.  For some reason I don't find it at all disgusting to buy my chocolate from inside a cow.

The best part about this display is the head, it's actually fuzzy. So when you pet him you get the feeling that your petting a real purple cow filled with chocolate.

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Chocolate Seder

I'm not too familiar with the tradition of Seder, but I do know that it's an important part of the Jewish holiday that comes right before passover.  I also know that many of my Jewish friends get tired of watching gentiles enjoy huge amounts of gifts on Christmas, and loads of chocolate bunnies on Easter.  One group has decided to deal with this on their own, while still attempting to hold on to tradition.

Click here to read more about the Chocolate Seder.

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The Wall Street Journal and Candy

It appears that the Wall Street Journal has developed a new hatred for candy at the office.  They seem to argue, in two separate article I might ad, that candy at the office creates problems with moral and health.  I'm wondering if the long hours, lack of exercise, and cruddy food available near most offices, has something to do with this too.

Click here to read about the problems of office candy.

Click here to read about the problems of office candy bowls.

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Wanda's Sugar Shack

I'm just telling you about this place... you know... if you're ever in Connecticut.  It looks like a nice place, and apparently they make some of their own treats.

Click here to read about Wanda's.

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A Collection of Disturbing Easter Commercials

As a lead up to Easter I've decided that every day this week I will present a disturbing Cadbury Creme Egg video that I've found on You Tube.  Strangely there is a very large collection to choose from, each stranger than the next.  I'm not sure if any of them are "official" but some might not be appropriate for young children.

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The Science Of Flavours

Creating artificial flavours is a science that is constantly changing and evolving.  Every day science comes out with a new flavour or improvements on an already existing ones.  My only problem with this industry is the complete lack of decent synthetic apple or watermelon flavours.  You'd think by now someone would get it right.

Click here to read more about the science of flavours.

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Special Greek Halva

Allison and I where traveling through Greece in the town of Ioannina and we discovered a really strange form of halva.  Apparently it's only available in this region, and it's only made by a few people.  Most forms of halva are opaque and brown, but this one is kind of transparent and "Jello" looking.  The texture when you bite into it is really unique too.  You'd think it would be gelatinous, but it's not, instead it's really smooth and it almost has a creamy consistency.  I'm not sure if I'd call it halva, having said that I'm not sure what the definition of halva really is, but I can say that this was a really tasty surprise.

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Easter Links Keep a Comin'.

If you happen to be out of creative ideas of things you can do with your Peeps, I have a couple of solutions.

If you plan on eating them, Serious Eats has a great collection of ideas to better enjoy your Peeps.  However I don't think putting them on a pizza could really be called a great idea.

Click here to check out the Serious Eats idea list.

If you plan on making art with your Peeps instead, here's a collection of beautiful dioramas all made up of those cute little marshmallow friends to inspire you.

Click here to see the art.

Now if you happen to not be a big fan of Peeps, that's OK too.  Mental Floss has some fun facts all about chocolate bunnies.  And who doesn't like chocolate bunnies.

Click here to learn about chocolate rodents.

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New Food Show... The Chew

I always thought this whole "foodie" trend was something a lot smaller than it actually is.  My first clue was the day my father used the word "chiffonade", my second clue was just recently announced.  ABC has canceled two very long running soap operas and replaced them with a food show called "The Chew".  I can't say I'm upset at this since I'm not a big soap opera fan, but I am kind of shocked.

Click here to read  more.

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New Candy Calendar

Check it out and pick one up from our friends at bewarethecheese.com.

Two Sweet Trips

If you're planning a vacation in the United States this year and you need a few ideas for places to visit, I suggest you consider Los Angeles or Boston.  I suggest these places only because I've recently come across two sweet article about some great sweet related sites in both of these cities.

The first is a list of the best Donut Shops in Los Angeles.

The Second is an article about a chocolate tour in Boston.

So why wouldn't you want to get out and see the USA?

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How Much Did You Pay For That Chocolate?

If you ever felt bad about dropping 5, 10, or even 15 bucks for a single chocolate or candy treat, don't feel bad. You could have dropped 250 bucks for a single truffle, or thousands for a banana split.  Mental Floss has a list of 10 very expensive treats that will break the bank.

Click here to check out the list.

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It's Time For The 2011 Easter Review

I can't believe Easter is already on it's way, it seems like Christmas was only yesterday.  I've got big plans this Easter, and most of them have something to do with large cuddly animals made out of chocolate.  The thing about Easter is I'm a huge fan of the buildup, but always disappointed with the aftermath.  Christmas is a little better because I have New Years, and in Canada, Boxing Day to look forward to afterwards.  But after Easter all I have is a tummy ache to comfort me.

Click here to read the Easter Review.

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The Newest Internet GIF Sensation...

Hey everybody, it's "Pop Tarts Cat".  I give less than a week until this gif has been merged with a very annoying song.

Click here to learn more about "Pop Tarts Cat".

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I Think the Onion and Doritos are in Cahoots

I think I may have stumbled on a product placement in the Onion (the satire newspaper).  Just before the Super Bowl this year, the Onion posted a really funny fake news piece about Doritos asking that the Super Bowl be delayed in order to give them more time to make an awsome comercial.

Onion SportsDome

Now I come across another article from the Onion dealing with Doritos celebrating their "One Millionth Ingredient".  Both pieces are really funny but I started to sense a theme, and I wonder if Doritos is paying the Onion to make fun of them.

Click here to read article about the "One Millionth Ingredient".

The straw that broke the camels back for me was a real news item I found in the New York times about Doritos celebrating how they create new flavours.  It seems awfully similar to the Onion article only a little less silly.  Now this could either be a complete coincidence or there might also be some shenanigans a foot.

Click here to read the New York Times article.

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Pop Tarts Pop Art

The folks at Pop Tarts had a really fun contest a little while ago, they asked people what they would do with one million Pop Tarts.  It appears that a fun artist suggested that he would make some cool looking art with them.  As it turns out the folks at Pop Tarts thought this was a great idea.  So they sent him the Pop Tarts, and he made the art.

Click here to check out the gallery shots.

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Fun Facts About Creme Eggs

The folks at Cadbury Canada sent me some pretty amazing facts about Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs.

"Introduced to Canada in 1973, you can find a Cadbury Creme Egg being enjoyed somewhere in Canada every 15 seconds between January and Easter and now they are made in Canada at the Cadbury Gladstone Chocolate Factory in Toronto!

Here are some more egg-cellent facts:

In Canada, Cadbury makes around 100 million Cadbury Creme Eggs each year – but remember they are only sold between January and Easter!
In Canada, Cadbury makes 8 million Cadbury Creme Eggs in one week – that’s equal to 280 tonnes of eggs!
In Canada, Cadbury uses more than 3,000 tonnes of goo and 2,300 tonnes of chocolate to make Cadbury Creme Eggs
In Canada, Cadbury makes 150,000 Cadbury Mini Eggs in an hour and almost 1 billion Cadbury Mini Eggs a year.
In Canada, Cadbury uses 200,000 pounds of chocolate per day to make Cadbury Mini Eggs"

Also if you haven't tried their Cad-apult yet, you're missing out.

Click here to try out the Cad-apult.

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Sugar Shack Epic Meal Time

If you've never seen Epic Meal Time, you're not eating epic.

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Grape is Back

Do you remember eating grape Pop Rocks when you where a kid?  As it turns out they discontinued them a while back, but don't worry.  They're bringing them back to help celebrate their 35th anniversary.  A better gift I could not imagine.

Click here to read more about it.

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Stephen Colbert Makes Fun Of Air Bars

The idea of injecting air into chocolate bars to make them better seems like a ridiculous idea to me.  Sure it helps the chocolate melt a little bit more, but that's because there's less chocolate to melt through.  That's like saying your candles would burn faster if there just wasn't so much wax.  Apparently even Stephen Colbert agrees with the silliness of this idea and has decided to introduce his own candy bar, containing 100% air.

Click here to read more about it.

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Wrigley's Puts Calcium In Their Gum

I'm not really a big fan of fortifying any treat with healthy stuff, and I'll tell you why.  First of all it often gives off a misleading perception that some candy is healthy for you.  This is not a good thing because then diet fanatics have a good argument about the misleading ways of the candy industry.  Secondly I often, but not always, find that treats fortified with anything never taste that great, or at the very least as good as their unhealthy counterparts.  So the best solution is to have a glass of milk or a vitamin if you want calcium and a stick of gum if you want to chew something.

Click here to read more about the new gum.

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More Easter Links

Here's more Easter fun articles to read.

Here's a quick look at how Peeps, one of the most popular Easter treats, are made.  More importantly how many are made and thus how many we as people eat.

Click here to read about Peeps.

Speaking of "how many we eat", do you have any ideas as to how many Cadbury Creme Eggs we consume every year.  It's a pretty high number.

Click here to find out.

It's not just big companies that do well on Easter, here's a link about Harry's, a small candy maker doing really well this year.

Click here to read about Harry's.

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If You Buy a Gold Bunny This Year

It better say Lindt on it.  According to a recent court case Lindt has won the exclusive rights to it's gold bunny.

Click here to read more about the case.

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Canadian Food Is Awesome

Serious Eats has posted an article about shopping north of the border for awesome Canadian treats.  Being Canadian myself I often forget about some of the great treats that are exclusive to the north.  Things like Ketchup Chips, Presidents Choice Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Oh Henry Bars.  So feast your eyes on some great treats that I love, then get in your car (or airplane if it's too far) and come visit my homeland.

Click here to read the article and check out the gallery.

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120 Years, That's Pretty Old For a Candy Shop

More impressive is the fact that Schimpff's has remained in the same family for all 120 years of it's existence.  I love a good story of a small candy shop doing well, I particularly like it when it appears to have been doing well for over a decade.  Good job guys!

Click here to read more about the celebration.

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This Might Be The Most Disturbing Food Ingredient Ever

Who would have thought that a quick banter of words between Jamie Oliver and Davie Lettermen would result in me questioning the idea of ever eating strawberry sauce or ice cream ever again.  In this conversation Jamie Oliver brought to light a particular ingredient in those treats called castoreum.  It's very common (apparently) and apparently is derived from the rectum of beavers.  I'm sure the French and Greeks have known this for years (since "castor" is the French coming from the Greek for beaver) and I'm sure they're laughing they're heads off about it.

Click here to read more about castoreum.

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Food Addiction

According to science, food addictions may be very similar to drug addictions and drinking problems.  The study found that similar brain functions affect all of these groups.  My question then is, are Internet addictions the same, because I don't drink, I don't do drugs, and I don't over eat, but I love the Internet.

Click here to read more.

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What Going Green Gets You

People often don't look at some of the benefits of going green in the candy industry.  In some cases you might gain a customer or two, in all cases you can feel good about yourself (although that's not profitable and let's face it business is business).  There is one great thing to being green, that will help promote you for free, that comes in the form of a presidential visit in support of your initiatives.  That's what Obama did recently when he paid a visit to the new green Frito-Lay electric fleet.  And look, I'm posting about it, and I'm not even American.

Click here to read more about the visit.

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Politics and Chocolate

If you pay attention to the news you've probably been overwhelmed with the news about the political situation in the Ivory Coast.  What you may not know is how this is going to affect your candy eating habits.  Well, with the tensions easing in this part of the world, and a ban on exports being lifted, cocoa prices are going to start to fall.  This is because the Ivory Coast is one of the largest growers of the cocoa beans in the whole world.  Now you may notice that Easter prices are a little high this year, but trust me, things should settle down.

Click here to read more about it.

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App Tells You How Healthy It Is

According to this article a new phone app has the ability to tell you everything you need to know about what you're eating.  I'd love to take this app out for a spin to my local candy store and see what kind of millage it racks up.

Click here to read more.

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Prince Likes Dunk-a-roos

According to a new blog segment on Heavy Table called "What's in your fridge", Prince has a liking for Dunk-a-roos.  It makes me wonder what would be in my fridge if I had a huge amount of fame and money.  Probably a chocolate cake with a nice greeting on top, a few bottles of cola, and lots of ice cream.

Click here to read about Prince's fridge.

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New Package and a Good Idea

I always get news articles about what kind of new packaging is coming out.  Most often the news is about how much fresher the treat will stay, or how much cooler it will look.  This article however brings up a very good point, what about a package that reseals your treat.  I feel that the reseal side of candy wrapping is a subject not dealt with enough.  Most often when you open a treat, you'd better finish it, and when it does have a "reseal" option it's often difficult and sometimes doesn't work at all.  I'm certain candy companies don't focus on this because it really doesn't help them sell more candy.

Click here to read more about resealable packages.

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Fanta Rumour

For years and years I could never figure out why Fanta (the drink) never took off in Canada.  I thought maybe it had something to do with distribution, or maybe the folks that made Fanta just didn't want to compete with C-plus, or Orange Crush.  Then someone told me a story that Fanta was created in Germany during the Second World War, and that it had it's roots in Nazi Germany.

This seemed a little far fetched, but it did give an interesting explanation as to why North Americans don't really drink that much Fanta.  I did a little research on the Internet and it was created around that time in Germany, but it's very unclear as whether or not it had ties with the Nazi's.  I'm thinking probably not, but I wouldn't mind a little more, unbiased, information.  On another note, according to the Internet, the only Orange Fanta that still contains real orange juice is the stuff sold here in Greece.

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