Candy News

Here's an interesting suggestion for a new sweetener, it makes sense when you think about it.

I always tried to convince my family to make me cake for breakfast, apparently I was in the right.

Mental Floss has been randomly doling out facts, including what's the most shoplifted thing, and the scientific term for ice cream headaches.

So apparently gum sales are down. Hershey's has decided that to combat this by creating a mint flavoured "chew". In other words, gum that disintegrates in your mouth really fast.

Speaking of chewy candy, apparently the next trend coming is to make your chewy candy really small.

Here's a trend I could get into, apparently the next trend in snacking foods is meat flavours.

Have you ever wanted to make your favorite fast food meal at home, well here's a few recipes to get you started (tray not included).

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

Sexagintuple Vanilla Bean Mocha Frappuccino - Starbucks - This might be even too much for me. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Friday Candy Video

JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME IN "LICKS OF JUSTICE" (NSFW) from Ben Luce on Vimeo.

This is what happens when you cross a classic candy commercial, and a famous action star.  It's either way over the top, or the greatest thing ever made, you decide.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

If anybody knows what the text on this advertisement says, I'd be very interested to know.  Is it something about being extra manly, or does it have something to do with Snickers being distracting?  While I do enjoy a Snickers bar, I can't say that it's ever made me feel brave enough to take a soccer ball to the groin.

I found this ad here.

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A Cool Candy Thing

I have a love hate relationship with food themed erasers.  I love them because they look so cool, and they even make me a little hungry.  However I hate them because I'm always too afraid to use them, and they make me hungry.

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Art Show From Our Friends at Beware The Cheese

Here's a quick message from our friends, and the people who photograph all of our candy, bewarethecheese.com:

Come see our final art show in Athens entitled "Αντίο κι ευχαριστώ για τα ψάρια" opening on June 4th from 7:30 to 9:30.  On display will be several fine art mixed media pieces, as well as beautiful photographic prints.  The show continues till Wednesday June 11th.  You can learn more about the show here: http://www.bewarethecheese.com/solong/

Come one down and meet the Candy Critic!  You'll know it's me because I'm both the artist, and I'll have treats.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Chirps - Six Foods - If you haven't guessed by the clever name, it's chips made of crickets. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Candy Shirt For My Ego

Candy Critic Guy Tee Shirts by candycritic
Put your favorite photo on t shirt designs at Zazzle

I was looking at some of the older shirts from our t-shirt line at Candy Critic, and I came across this one.  It's the little guy from the top of the Candy Critic website/blog.  I've been using this drawing for a few years now, and I think it works fairly well.  The thing is, it's a caricature of me, so by me suggesting you buy this shirt, I'm saying that I want people to have a picture of me on their clothing.  While the idea seems neat, I would probably be really creeped out if I saw anybody actually wearing this shirt in public.

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This Week In Candy

One thing I'll miss about Greek, is name day treats.  For those unfamiliar with the Greek traditions, in Greece name days are more important than birthdays.  Most Greek people are named after saints, and each saint has a day associated with them.  Churches are also named after saints and during their name day their is a big celebration.  The great thing is, on your name day instead of getting gifts, you bring treats for your co-worker.  This means that at your average Greek workplace, there are several days of the year where there will be free treats awaiting you.  Some saints are very popular names for children as well, so on some name days you'll get a whole mess of treats.

I'm running a little late this week with the updates, I was on a photo shoot all weekend and I'm just back trying to get all my ducks in a row.  Snack facts will be back up and running tomorrow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  We posted the new candy review a little late, but it's up and pretty fascinating if you ask me.

You might also see a few posts in the next week or so about our sister site bewarethecheese.com's art show coming up.  It's not only a chance to see some great art, but I'll be at the opening, and I will have candy.

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Cartoon Themed Candy Review

Cartoon themed candy is kind of hit or miss in my opinion.  Sometimes the candy doesn't really mesh with the theme from the cartoon, and all you get is a package with a picture of a character and a bag of candy.  Sometimes they make the candy into the shapes of cartoon characters, like today's review, and you find yourself eating the main characters from your favorite show.  On rare occasions you'll find that a certain food or candy is represented in the cartoon, and then they make a real version (or candy version) of this food.  This is truly the finest crossover you can find.

Click here to read today's cartoon themed candy review.

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Candy News

Serious Eats examines sugar, and it's a pretty sweet article.

Here's an interview with Gene Wilder where he mentions his stipulations for playing Willy Wonka.

According to a new study, men's brains crave coffee, and women's brains crave chocolate... I'm not sure I agree.

The BBC looks at why Nutella went from small time spread, to a major global player.

Hershey has decided to spread the love that is Peanut Butter Cups to Brazil.

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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Friday Candy Video

I don't think I have to remind you not to try this experiment at home.  First of all there's a lot of fire, and explosions, secondly because wasting a giant gummy bear is just a sad thing to do.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

Fujiya, a popular candy in Japan, has this strange little girl as their mascot.  While the design of this little girl isn't that odd, the fact that she always has her tong out is what makes her kind of creepy.  They also cover everything in their store with this little girl.  All of their packages, posters, and they even have little statues of this girl in front of their stores.  What do you think, could you stare at this girl and not be a little freaked out?  What's she hiding?

I found this toy photo here.

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A Cool Candy Thing

While I love the idea of making your own gummy candy, I think this toy would be greatly improved if it came with molds to make shapes of gummies that weren't so common.  It would be even cooler if they offered the opportunity to customize molds.  Having said that, making your own colours of gummies might be really fun too, particularly since I've always wanted to taste a brown gummy bear.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Sasso Bar - Sasso Candy - Finally a candy bar for grownups, now I can feel more mature... right? - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Just Red

Pixelated Red Gummy Bear T-shirt by candycritic
Browse other Gummy T-Shirts

Today I'm kind of craving a red gummy bear.  It's strange, while you can buy single coloured gummy bears in bulk on the Internet, you can't really buy them anywhere else.  Sometimes a bag of just red gummy bears, or maybe yellow gummy bears would hit the spot, but I have to sort through a mixed bag of gummy bears discarding all the other colours.

You can find more candy themed t-shirts here.

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This Week In Candy

My friend Leba got this strange looking rock in a bag of M&M's the other day.  Now some people might be disappointed to get something strange in their candy bag, but not Leba.  She bit right into it, and it turns out, it was a tasty bonus.  Do you ever get strange things in your candy?  Would you eat them?

I was looking up candy related board games last night and I was horribly disappointed.  I've discovered that there really aren't any great candy themed games, particularly for adults.  The only game that came up again and again was Candy Land.  While I love the aesthetics of the artwork and design of Candy Land, frankly it's a pretty dull game.  I've decided that I may have to design my own candy themed game, for big kids and adults.

As for what I'm doing this week, lots of writing on my super secret big project.  A few fun blogs about candy things I've discovered, and I may be recording a new episode of the "Junk Fud" Podcast this week.  This week on our "Snack Facts" feed, we'll be featuring Japanese treats and snacks.  If you want to connect with our Snack Facts feeds you can follow it on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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Can Cereal be Candy and Can Candy be Cereal?

Today's review is a grey area for me.  Many times I've bought a bag of random (often foreign) candy, only to discover that it's more like cereal than candy.  The problem is I never have a bowl, spoon, and carton of milk around to test the theory as to if this candy actually tastes better in milk.  The same can be said about some cereals as well, frankly I prefer Froot Loops without milk, and the same can be said about Luck Charms.

Click here to read today's cereal like review.

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Candy News

The animation fan, and sweet cereal fan in me shed a tear this week when I heard about the passing of Lee Marshall, voice of Tony the Tiger.

If you want to get some cookies, and you find yourself in the UK, you want to be sure you use the word biscuit. And if you want a biscuit, in the UK, make sure you ask for a scone.

Have you ever tried "Hagelslag" or "Stroopwafel"?  Then you don't really know you're Dutch snacks do you.

Trying to eat healthy, figure a granola bar is a much better choice than a Krispy Kreme doughnut?  Think again.

Someone has invented a chocolate flavoured film that lets you get all the satisfaction of filling your chocolate craving, without any of the sugar or fat. Why would you want to do that?

Edible rainbowy chocolate holograms, welcome to the future of candy.

Apparently all it takes is the Premier of China to endorse your candy to have a sales bonanza, well Mr Premier, what about a little endorsement for candycritic.org?

Looks like Dylan's Candy Bar might be coming to my hometown, my Mom has another argument for me to visit more often.

The mysteries of why Magic Shell hardens on your ice cream uncovered.

Finnish artist makes some really impressive art with pins and candy.

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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Friday Candy Video

I find it really sad that American's can't enjoy Kinder Eggs.  As you may know, Kinder Eggs are illegal in the US because they're a candy with a toy inside.  The US Food and Drug Administration believes that these eggs are choking hazards, and there's a pretty stiff fine if you're caught importing them into the US.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Twix Bites - Mars - I like to eat miniature versions of chocolate bars and pretend I'm a giant. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

As I've mentioned before, I'll be leaving Greece in the near future, off for new adventures.  I've decided that before I leave I must make sure I explore (review) every single Greek treat that I may have overlooked.  The one brand that I've really overlooked is ION.  It's a chocolate bar company here in Greece that produces some really great bars.  So I've been cleaning up the candy shelves, and before I go, I'm going to review several of ION's tasty treats.

I found this ad here.

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A Cool Candy Thing

As I'm sure you know, I'm a Lego fanatic.  I love building with the stuff, and checking out what other people have built.  This in particularly interested me, because I've discovered that my Lego Minifigs don't really have any place to purchase candy.

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Gummy Bears Don't Play Nice

Gummy Bear Tug-of-War Tees by candycritic
Make unique customizable tee shirts online at Zazzle.

This is one of the first gummy bear themed t-shirts that I'd ever designed, and since then I've designed several more.  But while looking back at these two bears playing tug-or-war, it got me thinking.  Maybe I should design a series of t-shirts featuring gummy bears playing various sports.

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This Week In Candy

My friend Randi posted a photo of what I can only describe as either the best, or worst name ever for a doughnut shop.  If you don't get the joke, chances are you may not want to. If you're too young or conservative to get it, then the first thing I can tell you is don't Google the name of this place (without the word doughnut).  While the name of this place is a little... edgy? The donuts look fantastic, and I think I may have to stop in this summer when I'm back in Toronto.

Make sure to check out our Instagram feed this week, also known as the "Snack Facts" feed, because we're looking at famous snacks that taste like oranges.  It's amazing how many famous treats taste like orange, and how many of these treats have some interesting histories.  If you're not on Instagram, we also publish our Snack Facts onto our Facebook page, Twitter feed, and our Tumblr feed.

The time for my triumphant return to Canada (for a little while) is near.  While I'm all excited about trying some classic treats from my past while I'm there, I'm also interested in trying some new things as well.  The problem is, I haven't really been keeping track with what's new in Canada.  If you happen to know of a new fun snack, candy, or junk food that I can't miss, make sure to let me know.

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I think of all the categories of fruits that people make into candies, berries really are the best.  They really lend themselves well to the candy world, they're bright colours, sweet and sometimes sour, and they're already candy sized.  People often call fruit "nature's candy", but I think this goes doubly true for berries.  I love berries so much, that I can honestly say if presented with candy, or a bowl of fresh raspberries, I would have a hard time making the choice.

Click here to read today's berry filled review.

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Candy News

Do you like at home science projects?  How do you feel about tasty treats?  Well you might want to check this out.

The trend in food is "big, bold flavours", but according to this article, it might be ruining our ability to enjoy the more subtle ones.

Have you ever wondered why carbonated drinks taste better?

I'm generally OK with food science, and even OK with many "Fankenfoods", but I'm not sure how I feel about berries that taste like bubblegum.

The guy that created the Cronut is at it again, and this time it involves coffee and waffles.

If you're into old school weaponry and marshmallows, have I got the perfect Christmas gift for you.

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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Friday Candy Video

I think candy companies should be required to make their ingredient lists rhyme.  That way I could sing fun little songs about all the stuff in my junk food.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

I've never really thought of Almond Joy or Mounds as a Hawaiian candy. Although Peter Paul, the company that makes Almond Joy and Mounds started in Connecticut, I can see that the flavours they produce have a Hawaiian feel to them.  With coconuts and almonds being flavours one associates with the Hawaiian islands, it makes sense to sell them as tropical/exotic treats.

I found this ad here.

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A Cool Candy Thing

Few people think about what they serve their candies in.  It's amazing that a nice candy jar can really class up even the most "tacky" of candies.  If you were to take any of these jars, and fill it up with gumballs, gummy bears, or any basic candy, you'd have something that could be presented at even the most formal occasion.  Any chef will tell you that food presentation is very important, and I believe the same applies for candy as well.

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Spring Time Gummy Bear

Yellow Gummy Bear Posters by bewarethecheese
Look at other Gummy Posters at zazzle.com

Whenever I see this image, all I can imagine is that this yellow gummy bear has just woken up after a solid winter of hibernation.  What could be more appetizing than chowing down on a slightly groggy gummy bear?

Click here to check out more candy themed posters and greeting cards.

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This Week In Candy

This week I have two missions.  First of all, as you may or may not know, I'm moving this summer.  I'm leaving Greece behind for a new adventure that I hope leads me to lots of lots of sweet surprises.  I'll miss living in this wonderful country, and I'll miss all of the sweet treats.  What that means for me is, I have to make sure I've reviewed every classic Greek candy I can think of.  I'm going to spend the week scanning store shelves, collecting chocolate bars, candies, and other sweet treats to write up as reviews.  I'll probably leave many in my review bullpen to be posted later on, but I want to make sure I don't miss out on them entirely.

This week I'm also going to continue working on my larger writing project.  While I don't want to give too much away, I can tell you that last week I hit a bit of a snag.  I was doing research on one particular aspect of the project when I suddenly found myself spending a great deal of time trying to figure out every detail about a part of the project that won't be more than a sentence or two.  Fortunately I had a couple of friends dig me out of the this hole and get me back on the right path.  Hopefully this week I'll get over it and start back up on the right foot.

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Gummy Crossover Review

It's amazing that some candies have become so popular, that other candy companies licence them to make other candies.  It happens a lot, but we don't really think about it all the time.  I'm sure you've sampled a couple of ice creams featuring popular chocolate bars.  These ice creams aren't made by the chocolate bar company, instead the ice cream maker pays the chocolate bar company to use their logos and branding.  In a perfect world you would imagine that the original candy company would check to make sure that their product is being represented well, but frankly I see so many bad representations, that I seriously doubt much thought is given.  That's why I often find these offshoots don't hold up well to the classic treat they're trying to represent.

Click here to read this week's review of a disappointing offshoot.

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Candy News

Could this be the new internet snacking sensation that's taking over the world?  Unicorn Barf???

Making gum that can actually make people's life better is truly one of the greatest candy inventions ever.

Beautiful blown glass art, oh yeah, it's also made of sugar and completely edible.

The candy business is a really serious place, fortunately it can also be kind of fun too.  Here's a look at the business side of Bazooka Gum.

I'm sure I don't have to explain to you again why cocoa and some chocolates are good for you, but you can always send this link to any skeptical friends.

Have you ever wondered what it means when a package says "natural" or "artificial" flavours?

I've always known why they put the M's on the M&M's, but I'd never thought about how they do it.

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

Cracker Jack'D - Frito-Lay - It would be the perfect snack with a can of Red Bull. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Friday Candy Video

In my lifetime I've endured several scrapes from trying to get the last chip out of a can of Pringles.  It's a fairly well known hazard.  In the past the people at Pringles have just made fun of this, but it seems they're finally doing some work to try and help us with this problem.  Sure this first idea might be a little grandiose, but it's a start.

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Stuff I Want To Try

M&M's Mega - Mars - I liked these when they came out as a promotion for the movie Shrek, so I'll probably like them now as well. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

There's something about a really tall slice of cake that makes my mouth water.  For some reason, even a really wide slice of cake isn't as appealing as a really tall slice of cake.

I found this ad here.

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