10 Of My Favorite Halloween Reviews From The Past

Sometimes when I'm abroad, I find myself in a country that doesn't celebrate Halloween, shocking I know.  But at these times I find it difficult to find an appropriately festive treat to review, or even just to have on this awesome holiday.  Rest assured that more and more countries are getting into the Halloween spirit, and even here (Greece) I do occasionally find fall themed treats at some of higher end candy stores.  So today I found myself looking back at some of the past Halloween treats that I've reviewed.  I found myself remembering not only the treat, but even the Halloween when I reviewed it.  Isn't nostalgia awesome.

The reason I loved the Caramel Apple Pop was because it was so creative.  It's rare that a lollipop would use another kind of candy to accent it's flavour and texture, and even rarer to have it seem so appropriate.  While this may not be a scary treat, it's fairly tasty and really creative.

Click here to read the review.

Blood Bones are tasty, but more importantly they look the part.  It's nice when a candy company is OK with making a fairly realistic blood stain on their candy.  Better yet is the fact that each bone is not equal, so a pile of them look like they came out of an episode of Dexter.

Click here to read the review.

I remember getting these in the mail and being completely blown away at how gruesome they looked.  Most of the time when you have candy teeth, they're brightly coloured without much detail.  These are fine as teeth on their own, but the fact that you can eat them makes them all the better.

Click here to read the review.

I'm one of the few people that I know who really enjoy candy corn, recently my father expanded my love for them with the suggestion of adding peanuts to them.  One of my favorite things about candy corn is seeing all of the candy companies make candy corn versions of their own treats.  These are a perfect example of making it work, the candy corn OREO's are probably a better example of it not working so well.

Click here to read the review.

I'm not sure if this was marketed for Halloween, but it works really well as a Halloween treat.  The chocolate's themselves are fairly harmless looking, but the spicy flavour gives them a little kick.  I can't think of a better thing to have in a Halloween candy than a little fear.

Click here to read the review.

This might be the only time in the history of the candy industry when a classy chocolatier got into the Halloween spirit.  I remember these being fairly expensive, so I doubt many kids would get one of these in their candy bag.  I think they were designed for the trend of more and more adults getting into the Halloween spirit.

Click here to read the review.

If I had to make a list of the worst themed candy ever, this might work, but only if you're just looking at the candy itself.  The rings from this can still be found in my front hall drawer, just in case you need a bad ass skull ring in a pinch.  I think I may have given a few of these away to friends as well.

Click here to read the review.

This is one of the forays that the folks at Just Born took when they wanted to expand their Peeps line of marshmallow chicks into other holidays.  I'm always disappointed in these because they lack the dimensionallity of Peeps chicks.  All they are is a bunch of cut out cats, and the same goes for their Christmas treats as well.  I think it would be really cool for Just Born to think of a few 3D marshmallow treats for other holidays.

Click here to read the review.

My dad describes the Mallow Pumpkins as "pumpkin candy corn".  They're fairly similar in texture, and if you hate candy corn you'll probably hate these too.

Click here to read the review.

I'm not sure if these are Halloween themed, or just autumn themed, but I think they work well enough for Halloween.  They're made by Madeline chocolate, a candy company that suffered a great deal of damage during hurricane Sandy, but they're finally getting back up and running.  They make fantastic chocolates for just about every season.

Click here to read the review.

Bonus:

I'm not sure if this is a Halloween treat exactly, but I think it would make a good costume piece in a pinch.  Best of all, when you're finished walking the streets and collecting your candy, you can always eat it.

Click here to read the review.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

This is just a sample from a great collection of candy advertising found here.  I think it's also one of the cruelest jokes one could play on a human being.  Imagine expecting a horrible molasses Halloween candy and getting pork instead... wait a minute, this might be one of the nicest things anybody has ever done for anybody.

I found this ad here, and I recommend clicking the link to see more cool Halloween adds, including a few candy ones.

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Happy Halloween!!!

I hope you guys are all dressed up and ready to do some trick or treating.  If you have any awesome pictures of the massive amounts of treats you pick up, send them our way.

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Next Monday We'll Tell You How To Get Free Candy!

Make sure to check back next Monday because we're going to tell you how you could win a bunch of free candy from the folks at candycrate.com.

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A Cool Candy Thing

What's the first thing you would write with your bubble gum label maker?  I would write out the names of all of my enemies, and then I would stuff their names in my mouth and chew them into a ball of hate.  I'd then put that ball of hate in a tissue and dispose of it properly, because no one likes to step on a ball of hate on the street.  Strangely, most of the people I hate are the people that spit their gum out on the ground.

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Halloween Link-O-Rama Part 5

Unreal candy has made some Halloween treats with no extra ingredients.

So why do you think you might be getting a poison chocolate bar or a razor blade in your apple this year?

Another awesome demon Halloween cake, this one with 100% more horse awesomeness.

I like the idea of candy corn being such a big influence on other foods, I'm a little baffled though because so many people hate candy corn.

USA Today has a list of the most popular Halloween candy in the USA, did your favorite treat make the list?

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Wednesday's Japanese Candy Review

Today I was wondering if a day will come when I run out of Japanese candies to review.  I think Japan might be the country with the largest variety of treats anywhere in the world.  When most candy companies think about new treats, they think about seasons, or holidays, in Japan I think they think as far as that month and next month.  If you visit a sweet shop in Japan every month you're sure to find something brand new that you've never tried before.  When I was in Japan, they were producing a new Kit Kat variety every month.  That's pretty amazing considering most places around the world only have a few varieties of Kit Kat to choose from, if you're lucky.

Click here to read today's new Japanese treat review.

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Sweet Treats Of Turkey

On my recent trip through the Mediterranean I made a stop in Istanbul.  I haven't been to Istanbul since I was a child, and I have only vague recollections of that trip.  The one thing I do remember however is how this trip ruined Turkish delight for me.  When I got back to Canada and sampled other Turkish Delights, they never held up to the stuff I tried in Istanbul.  It wasn't until a recently that I've learned that many Mediterranean and Middle East countries also make a fine "Delight", but for some reason North America gets it all wrong.  So even as a child, this city had a huge impact of my candy taste testing life, it was my first step towards being a candy snob.

The thing that I was most excited about on this return trip was to see if Istanbul still held up as a unique and tasty place to get sweet treats.  As it turns out, it is, in fact I might say that Turkey rivals Japan for unique and tasty treats.  As a Westerner many of the treats, and the way they're delivered are pretty strange, but if you get by your bias you'll discover flavours and textures like nothing you've ever tried before.

Living in Greece and having traveled around this area a lot lately, I found many similar treats in Istanbul, but for some reason there's a bit more authenticity to them.  In many European countries you start to find a great deal of influence from the French, German, and other Western European countries in sweet treats.  In Istanbul it seems like they avoid this, the places I visited didn't offer many Western baked goods at all, they focused almost completely on their own.  Even the grocery stores I visited had very few Western treats, there where several bars available with Pistachios, and other Turkish/Mediterranean ingredients, and very few M& Ms, Twix, or Mars bars.

The treats from the traditional Turkish stores and market stalls were exactly what you might expect.  First of all there where many bulk stores, particularly in the Bazaars, selling candy in bulk.  The candy they sold was nougats, delights, and nut filled baklavas.  There was not a French pastry to be seen anywhere. Even the coffee shops offered some uniquely Turkish drinks (I sampled something called Sahlep that is now favourite hot drink).

I only scratch the surface in my exploration of Turkish treats, so I could be missing something entirely.  I did however find that the treats available truly reflected the Turkish culture, that meant that there was little variety, but it also meant that the local treats where in abundance.  Keep in mind that when I say there's little variety, I don't mean little selection or even evolution in their treats.  I found so many flavours and formats of Turkish delight it would blow your mind.  In particular I came across a really creative way to serve sweet treats, in Donair form (they would shave the candy off a giant hunk of candy on a spit).

This city, and this country, offers unique flavours and a glimpse into the tradition that comes from their culinary history.  It gives you a great example of a culture that hasn't had a Western influence into its sweet treats, and how this sweet treat culture has evolved.  I'm sure I could spend a whole year learning about the many varieties of sweets available, and I'm sure I'll be back to sample again.

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Sad Robot T-Shirt

Sad Robots Tee Shirts by candycritic
Use Zazzle's online t shirt designer.

Most people assume that robots cannot feel happiness because technology has yet to perfect a machine that can feel emotion.  I think that the reason robots can't be happy is because we don't give them any ability to sample the wonderful things in life the way we do.  Why not pick up this T-shirt and tell the world that it's about time we share the finer things in life with our metal friends.  Make the world a better place for robots and people alike!

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Stuff I Want To Try

Vegetable chowder popsicles - Garigari-kun - I think the world needs more savory frozen treats. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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This Week In Candy

Have you ever heard of KAS soda? On my cruise a few weeks ago I came across a drink called KAS, it was available in both lemon and orange.  I'm assuming, since we were on a Spanish cruise ship, that this drink was also Spanish.  All I can say is it was one of the nicest orange and lemon sodas I've ever sampled before.  It was sweet enough, but it has a nice tartness as well.  It's most similar to Fanta, but a little more flavourful.  As of writing this I don't feel the need to drink any more right now, but that's because I made sure to drink as much as possible on my cruise.  I'm sure in a month or so I'll start craving it, and I may have to consider a trip to Spain to deal with my addiction.

Last week I wrote a piece about the various desserts I came across on my trip, this week I'll be posting a piece about some treats I found in one particular port on this trip, Istanbul.  Most people only know Turkey for their namesake treat, Turkish delight, but that's really just scratching the surface of what this country, and in particular the city of Istanbul, has to offer.

Also, I can officially announce that we'll be starting a contest this week. The fine folks at candycrate.com have not only provided us with some treats to sample, but they're also interested in making sure on of our readers gets some candy too.  I'll have more about this contest later this week.

All this and I almost forgot, it's Halloween this week!  Make sure to dress up right and fill those pillow cases to the rim with candy.  Let me know if you discover anything particularly tasty this year.

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It's a Turkish Review Today

I could go on and on about how much I really like authentic Turkish delight. Trust me, you have to make sure you get yourself some high quality stuff before you write it off as just a super sweet ball of gel.  The good stuff is smooth, almost creamy, and for some reason doesn't come off as that sweet.  I'm sure the amazing flavours used is a big part of the fact that high quality Turkish delight doesn't seem so sweet.  Today's review is a shining example of flavouring Turkish delight in a way to really dull the overly sweet parts. It was also a textural experience like no other.

Click here to read today's new Turkish delight review.

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Candy News

Our friends at Madelaine's Chocolate have opened up and are running again after being destroyed by Sandy, good job guys!

While I was away on vacation, sadly, the creator of the gummy bear Hans Riegel died.  Mental Floss commemorated with a great list of gummy bear facts as well.

It was a sad week in the candy world as Mr Goldenberg, also passed away.

According to science, OREO's are just as fun as heroine or cocaine, personally I'd rather be a cookie junkie.

Christmas Pringles are coming, who would want to miss Pecan Pie chips? (As a bonus, here's what you can do with your can once you finished your holiday potato snack.)

Apparently I've been opening potato chip bags the wrong way for my whole life.

It appears that cocoa husks can be used to package candy... It's like meta chocolate.

Speaking of cocoa, that whole trend of single bean to a bar, well it's not cool anymore.

Cocoa prices are rising, but candy companies are going to do their best to keep chocolate prices as low as they can.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Cruisin' For Dessert

Wow, what they say about cruise ships and the amount of food on offer is not an exaggeration.  If you've never been on a cruise before, it's hard to imagine having food on offer almost all of the time.  It's not just available in one place either; cruises give you options and offer food at several places all the time.  Sure on off hours (like midnight) they may only offer you one buffet, but during peak hours on a cruise you may have a multitude of places you can stuff you face.  It's also almost guaranteed that at least one of the places on offer is a buffet.

So what does that have to do with candy fanatics?  These meals aren't just snacks, these are full meals, and full meals always include dessert.  I'm told that a sign of a good cruise is that there are a wide variety of foods, and since dessert is the most important part of any meal for me, a variety of desserts peaks my interest.  I just returned from a cruise, and I was lucky enough to sample a few desserts:

Sugar free strawberry shortcake
Vanilla custard with poached orange
Sugar free cake roll
Chocolate dome ball
Dueto chocolate mousse in philo and a chocolate custard cake
Chocolate soufflé
Chocolate brownie
Berry flan
Praline cake
Lemon Meringue pie
Vanilla custard with apricot

Now this may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that the cruise was only 6 days, and I had a few meals off the boat.

For this cruise the desserts were handled very well, most importantly they were small.  While being small, you could pretty much take as many of them as you wanted.  So if you wanted to try more than one sweet treat, that was fine.  If you wanted to have a whole lot of one particular dessert, that was also fine.  The quality of the desserts did vary, but on the whole they were all pretty good.

When you think about quality, you also have to imagine the quantity that was on offer.  Not once did I have to choose another dessert because they were out, and seconds, and even thirds, was always an option.  So this cruise of almost 2000 guests was making some pretty large quantities of dessert.  Because of this, some desserts seemed to work better than others.  I found that the custard and cream desserts did the best.  They would sit well in the cold, and they had a bit of a shelf life.  Cakes were hit and miss, sometimes dry, but other times nice and moist.  I imagine that's because of when I ate them compared to when they were baked.

The absolute highlight and lowest points were a bit of a surprise for me.  There was a tie for the best between the vanilla custard with poached orange, and sugar free (yes sugar free) strawberry short cake.  I'm not sure if it was a coincidence that those two desserts came out on the first night.  The big surprise was that the shortcake was sugar free, it didn't taste it at all.  The other surprise was how much I loved the slight orange flavour in the custard.  The low point was the praline cake, dry and fairly uninspired.  I also wasn't a big fan of the mousse filled with philo cup, it was so hard to eat and not enough mousse.

None of the desserts would ever go down as being the best I've ever tried, but all were tasty.  I can't imagine making so many desserts for so many people every day.  You would also have to keep in mind that these desserts would often sit out on a cool table for hours at a time.  I'm sure that some cruises deal with food better than others, but it appears that always having food is an important part of any boat trip.  Have you been on a cruise, what were the sweet treats like?

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Friday Candy Video

This is an interesting play on words, but frankly it took me till the end of the commercial to really figure out what was going on.  It also makes less sense if you're not familiar with the ad campaign that Snickers has put on over the last few years in the USA.  Having said all of that, the kid in the robot costume is my hero.

As a bonus this week, I wanted to share Mental Flosses collections of 38 facts about candy:

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Halloween Link-O-Rama Part 4

Are you a mother with children going out for Halloween?  Are you a child going out for Halloween?  You might want to read this first.

I've posted links in the past with instructions on how to make boozy drinks that taste like candy, now here's a link with instructions on making boozy drinks with candy.

For those of you that don't like to eat candy corn, there are other things you can do to make this treat work for the holidays.

Another interesting entry for the grossest looking cake of the year.

If you own a candy store, or are a candy maker, and you're doing something for Halloween, let us know and we'll be glad to include you in a future Halloween Link-O-Rama.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

When did it become un-cool to dress up as a bunny?  It seems like the perfect costume.  I'm sure it keeps you warm, it's got a great deal mobility, and girls would be more than happy to give you a scratch now and then.  Sure it's not as cool as the current trendy costume, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thick twerking (oh man), but it's timeless and you could use it as pajamas afterwards.

I found this ad here.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups - Nestlé - I like the idea of a little toffee texture in my peanut butter cup - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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A Cool Candy Thing

I have to admit, I've never tried the geyser tube experiment with Mentos before.  Every time I have the opportunity to try it, in other words I have a pack of Mentos and a bottle of Coke, I don't really want to spend my time spewing cola all over the room.  Instead I'm much happier to sit back, sip my coke, and finish it off with a minty treat.  Maybe if I invested in this contraption it might help inspire me.

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Wednesday's Japanese Candy Review

As you may imagine, the hardest part about reviewing a Japanese treat (or a treat from any place where I can't read the language) is trying to decipher the package.  In the case of today's new review I'm not even sure if it's actually a candy or not.  You would be amazed at how hard it can be to taste a treat that you have no idea how to eat.  Candy in particularly is challenging because often eating it is a bit of a game, and part of the experience. Understanding how you're supposed to eat it can be challenging, and can change the way it tastes.  Don't believe me, try giving Lik-M-Aid to someone whose never tried it and can't read the package.

Click here to read today's Japanese candy review.

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Feets

Foot 02 Poster by candycritic
Browse anotherPoster template design online at Zazzle

Over the last few weeks we've been showing off some of the T-shirts that we sell, but that's not all we have to offer.  We've teamed up with our sister site bewarethecheese.com to offer some good looking posters and greeting cards as well.  I think this particular selection would look pretty nice in a kitchen or bathroom.

Buying one of these posters helps support this site, and helps us buy more gummy feet.

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Yesterday I Was Too Tired, So Today I Post a New Review

It took me a while to write this review.  When it comes to treats with multiple components, I often find myself trying to eat the treat in as many ways as possible.  In this case I started with a random handful, then I tasted each ingredient individually, finally I started making up combinations that I thought would be appropriate.  That takes a lot of time, and a lot of thought between each handful.  I sometimes wish that candy companies who make these sorts of mixed bag treats would put recommended combinations on their package.  While it would take the creativity out of eating this treat, it would make my life a little easier.

Today's treat was provided to us from our friends at sarsaparillas.co.uk, a fun candy store in the UK that can supply you with all kinds of treats from all over the world.

Click here to read today's review... well it's actually supposed to be yesterday's review, but I couldn't manage it.

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This Week In Candy

Technically I should be back by the time you're reading this, however I may still be unpacking and generally recovering from my trip.  My hope this week is to get things back in order, and maybe post a few pictures from my adventure.  After that, it's back to reading and writing all about candy, as well as working on a few art/candy projects I hope to have out soon.

Since Halloween is coming, I'm still interested in seeing what you may be doing.  If you're a candy company, candy store, or just an artistic type that like to use candy.  Why not show me what you're doing for Halloween.  I'd love to share it on the site.

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Friday Candy Video

Halloween is coming, and what can be scarier than a monster writing a love letter to a cookie that he really wants to eat... OK, so it's not really scary, but out of context it's appropriate for this season.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

I don't like to judge candy on Halloween.  I think that you should be gracious about any kind of treat you get, after all it's free candy.  Even if it's not something to your liking, there's no reason to egg a house... Well I might consider it if someone threw granola bars in my bag.  I know that Quaker wants to get into the Halloween game, and promoting "healthy" alternatives is fine, but I just don't think many kids would appreciate these.

I found this ad here.

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A Cool Candy Thing

I guess this isn't really a "candy thing" but it comes in the coolest box ever.  I think there is one obvious problem with this candy though, where the heck are the fruit and ghosts?  The game revolves around Pac-Man eating ghosts and fruit, and they only give you Pac-Men to eat.  Maybe in this particular scenario you're playing the role of the ghosts, and your job is to eat the Pac-Men.  In that case I recommend wearing a sheet with eye holes cute out while you eat these, just so you can be in character.

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Wednesday's Japanese Candy Review

I think I've mentioned this before on this blog, but I can't understand what the obsession is with Japan and fish.  I know that they're on an island, and for generations (thousands of years) their diet has been mainly seafood, but I think you can go too far.  Why would you make cakes, cookies, and other sweet treats fish shaped?  I would understand if they had some kind of fish flavour, but when the treat has nothing to do with fish, why market it with a fish?  I'm pretty sure this is just a cultural difference that I don't understand, but I'm sure most people in the Western world probably don't understand it either.

Click here to read our latest Japanese fish shaped, but not fish flavoured, review.

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Halloween Link-O-Rama Part 3

My respect for dentists went up a notch today, apparently most of them don't hate Halloween.

Disney is making some of the best Snow White themed caramel apples ever.

Looking to make some fun snacks/meals on Halloween?  Here's a little inspiration to get you started.

If you own a candy store, or are a candy maker, and you're doing something for Halloween, let us know and we'll be glad to include you in a future Halloween Link-O-Rama.

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Gorilla Gum

Gorilla Gum T-Shirt by candycritic
Find other Gorilla T-Shirts at zazzle.com

Do you know why I like this shirt.  It's not because it's a gorilla chewing bubble gum, it's because of his shiny butt.  It looks just like the bubble, only blue.

Buying one of these T-shirts helps support this site, and helps us buy more bubble gum (and we share our gum with the local gorilla population).

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Stuff I Want To Try

Brownie Brittle Snacks -  Brownie Brittle LLC - Because three of my favorite words are "brownie, brittle, and snack". - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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This Week In Candy

I'm once again off on an adventure, however I'm not sure how much of this adventure will be a candy adventure.  Having said that I rarely go anywhere without running into some kind of interesting sweet treat.  Honestly this adventure is about relaxing a little, and focusing on my latest writing project, which will stay a bit of a secret until it's more advanced.  As always, I'm not really sure how much internet I'll have access to on this adventure, so I may not be posting as much as usual.  I still have a few posts ready to go, but I'm not sure if I'll check in that often.  The only post I know wont be posted this week is our link/news roundup.

So I'm off to get away from home, relax, and maybe focus on some big writing projects.  I'll be back in about a week, so until then, go eat some candy.

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Sweet Fruity Review

I wonder why certain fruits are more prevalent than other fruits when it comes to candy.  Stranger still is I often find that local fruits are more common in candy than foreign fruits.  I think this is strange because candies are a great way to export fruity flavours without worrying about spoilage.  So why don't more candy companies use this to their advantage and produce strange and exotic flavours that people can't find in their grocery store?

Click here to read today's newest fruity review.

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Candy News

"The price of chocolate to triple" in price... This means your chocolate bars will either get expensive or lower in quality.

Why do chocolate prices soar?  Sometimes it's because of a bad crop, sometimes times it's because of high demand.

China isn't the only place eating more chocolate, as it turns out North American's are eating more dark chocolate too.

It's good thing people are eating more dark chocolate, because there's even more evidence that it's good for you.

There's eating retro candy, and then there's this.

If you're a visual artist and a fan of potato chips, you should watch this video.

Last week I wrote a short piece about popcorn being the most popular snack in the world, the Smithsonian wrote a more detailed piece about the history of popcorn at the movie theater.

Why you might like junk food, personally I can take it or leave it... Nope I can't leave it at all.

My friend Jonathan's two favorite things are beer and dessert, now he can know how to pair them perfectly.

You may not want to banter around words like "vanilla" anymore.

Do you like bananas?  How do you feel about ice cream?  What if you could have the best of both worlds?

To think my mother wanted me to stop playing with my food, who would have thought there would be a career in it.

Do you eat too much junk food?  I'm not sure if I do or not, either way here's a way to cut down a little.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Lancaster Soft Crèmes - Hershey’s - This is the first new candy Hershey's has released in 30 years, I want to see if they still got it. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Friday Candy Video

While I'm all for playing with your food, or even just encouraging others to play with their food, I'm not sure that this is really the right message.  While I think this commercial is weird, as it's supposed to be, I also find it kind of sad.  Most importantly when the older kid (spoilers) rips the dogs head off, I really didn't find myself wanting to eat gummy worms.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

I love the idea that the un-dead can be used to sell candy bars.  Any other time of the year (or if Halloween didn't exist) than this would just be the worst idea ever.  However, come October, it's perfectly acceptable for a damned soul from beyond the grave to ask you to consider eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

I found this ad here.

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A Cool Candy Thing

I've made my own milk chocolate from cocoa and cocoa butter, but I can't say that I've ever tried making my own gum before. It sounds like an impossible task, but the kit seems fairly simple to use.  Maybe if I bought this kit I could learn how to make my own gum all of the time, then I wouldn't have to buy it ever again, and I could make any flavours I wanted, like bacon.

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Wednesday's Japanese Candy Review

Sweet potato is one of those flavours that I think one day could become mainstream in the Western candy world.  After all, North Americans have been making sweet potato dishes with marshmallows and brown sugar for years now.  The sweet potato (as the name says) is a welcome addition to the sweets family.  I just think we have to open these doors a little wider, and see what kind of sweet treats they're making in Asia. I also think this tuber would offer us some great versions of classic treats.  How about sweet potato Pez, or sweet potato Jolly Ranchers, I even think that a sweet potato gummy bear would be fantastic.  So open your heart, and sweet tooth, to this awesome little vegetable.

Click here to read our latest sweet potato review.

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Halloween Link-O-Rama Part 2

Blooms Candy and Soda Pop Shop featured some scary themed soft drinks (pictured above) recently, I've never thought about scary drinks, but it makes sense.

Speaking of drinks for Halloween, for all of you adults that want to skip the candy and go straight for the booze, this might be a good game plan.

Glow in the dark Cheetos packages are OK, glow in the dark Cheetos would be awesome.

If you're planning a trip to Disneyland for Halloween, you can pick up some pretty sweet looking treats as the park.

As always, M&M's are offering some unique custom candy designs for Halloween, I wonder if I could put a severed head on my M&M's?

Hershey's has got some pretty good looking treats for this Halloween season, I'm particularly interested in the Jolly Rancher Caramel Apple Flavor Lollipops.

If you own a candy store, or are a candy maker, and you're doing something for Halloween, let us know and we'll be glad to include you in a future Halloween Link-O-Rama.

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Gummy Bear Tug-A-War

Gummy Bear Tug-of-War Tees by candycritic
View Gummy T-Shirts online at zazzle

When gummy bears play games, it's often fun to watch and a good time for all.  That is unless the game happens to be tug-of-war, because that always ends badly.

Buying one of these T-shirts helps support this site, and helps us buy more gummy bears to torture.

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This Week In Candy

Halloween is hitting us like a storm, I mean only a little while ago I was craving Popsicles, and now I'm craving a gumball that bleeds when I bite into it.  As some of you may or may not know, I'm actually not a big fan of Halloween itself.  I rarely go out, I don't really like wearing costumes, but I do give out candy when I can (so I'm not that big a Scrooge).  Even though I don't really care for Halloween itself, I do really like the candy that comes along with it.  The month leading up to Halloween is so much fun, new treats come out, and most are stranger than the next.  I also like the few days after Halloween when the candy goes on sale too.

So until Halloween comes and goes, I'm going to focus on showing off some Halloween stuff.  I'm combing the internet for videos and old candy advertisements all about Halloween.  And I'm calling upon everybody that has something cool (candy related) to share about this holiday to come forward.  If you have a cool Halloween candy thing to share, let me know.  I'll post as many of them as I can on our Twitter feed, and on this blog.  If you own a candy store, or are a candy maker, and you have a cool Halloween trick or treat to share, I'd love to hear about it.  Even if you aren't in the candy business and you just know a great trick (or treat) let me know.

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Should Candy Be Healthy?

This is a debate that has been going on for years in the candy industry, and I don't think it will ever be over.  Candy companies want you to eat their candy, if you decide that you want to eat only healthy foods, then they will either change their candy, or market their candy, to appear more healthy.  Sometimes, like in the case of this week's new review, health food companies will try to make their healthier item, seem more like candy.  In these cases you get vitamin infused treats, and snacks that are built around getting you to eat something that may not be in your diet.  Personally I don't really care how "healthy" my candy is, I want it to be tasty and that's all.  Don't get me wrong, I think you should eat right, but when you lessen the quality of a candy for the sake of making it healthier, you're giving up the whole point.  You should be eating candy because you want an indulgence, if you take away the quality of that indulgence, you wont be satisfied.  If you increase the quality of that indulgence you'll be satisfied quicker.

Click here to read today's health food crossover candy.

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