Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

Until seeing this cool Eat-More ruler, I'd never given much thought about how strange the name "Eat-More" really is.  Seeing it out of context the name is more like a bad slogan for a buffet than the name of a classic Canadian candy bar.  That's the strange thing about candy and snack promotions that are placed in strange places, it sometimes disconnects from the treat itself and lets you look at the slogan or name of the treat from a new perspective.

I found this ad here.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing

I love ice cream.  Sports I'm not such a fan of, more to the point, I'm not very good at sports.  The idea of having to play a game of catch with someone to get some ice cream seems a little too sporty for me, but the idea that by throwing around a ball full of cream that will magically turn into ice cream is a little more interesting.  While I may not be a jock, I do love science.

CC

It's a Whole Bunch of Candy Posters - Part 2

Gummy Bear Lineup Posters by bewarethecheese
Make a poster from a picture online at Zazzle.

For 10 weeks we're going to be featuring great looking candy themed posters from our sister site bewarethecheese.com.  Beware the Cheese not only created all of these great looking candy shots, but they also shoot all of the candy photos for Candy Critic.  Why not pick up a poster as a gift or for yourself.

CC

Canadian Candy List - Part 1 - What I Miss Most

Over the last few years I've been living away from my home country, Canada.  I've been traveling the world exploring all kinds of snack foods, junk foods, and sweets, but my heart is still in Canada.  I'm going to be back home for an extended period, and I've decided to compile various lists on the theme of Canadian candy and snacks.  Each week, for the next several weeks, I'll be posting a different list of Canadian candies I've reviewed in various categories.  Some of these treats may be available in other parts of the world, some are exclusive to the Great White North, but in my mind all of them are Canadian.

Since I'm still not back yet, this is a list of treats that I most miss from my home and native land.  While away I've pined for some of these treats, and even begged friends and family to mail me these treats on occasion (with mixed results).  Since I'm only visiting when I return, I'll be sure to stock up on all of these snacks to keep me going for a while for my next several year long adventure.

The first treat in this list is a really simple treat, a Kraft Caramel.  From what I understand the origins of this candy come from Kraft making a caramel for baking purposes that kids used to love snacking on.  My entire experience with these has been as a penny candy, rather than a baking supply.  Sure this treat is simple, but it works.

Click here to read the Kraft Caramel review.

 I think the thing that makes me most nostalgic for a Crispy Crunch bar is the memories that come with it.  This was my dad's favorite chocolate bar, and I always remember getting a bite or two of his when I was a kid.  Don't get me wrong, this bar has more than nostalgia going for it, it's a tasty bar in its own right.

Click here to read the Crispy Crunch review.

 Maple sugar candies are another nostalgic treat for me.  I remember going to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto, and finding vendors selling these all over the place.  The CNE was a great memory for me, and these, in particular the smell of them, are a big part of that memory.  Although much like the Crispy Crunch bar, these are pretty tasty as well.

Click here to read the Maple Sugar review.

 When I was a kid, the Oh Henry! bar was my bar of choice.  For those Americans reading this, the Oh Henry! bar is most similar to a Baby Ruth, but I think it's a little better.  It seems slightly less sweet than a Baby Ruth, and it has all kinds of childhood memories attached to it.

Click here to read the Oh Henry review.

When I was a kid growing up in Canada our closest neigbours to the South seemed to have everything I wanted.  They had more ice cream, more chocolate bars, and more fast food places.  The one thing that they did lack was a great range in flavours of potato chips.  Canada has always had hundreds of different flavours of chips to choose from, and the strangest one that really has kept on is dill pickle.

Click here to read the Dill Pickle Chip review.

CC

This Week in Candy

The time has finally come, I'm leaving Greece.  I've been talking about it for weeks now, but I'm finally heading out to a new adventure.  I'll miss Greece a lot, it's been a great place to learn about sweets, and in particular to learn about ingredients.  This country respects ingredients more than any other place I've ever visited or lived.  The food here is simple for a reason, the ingredients speak for themselves.  I've found this in all the food in Greece, and I'll take this knowledge with me forever.

For the next few weeks I'll be going through a moving transition.  This will involve visiting Canada, stocking up on the latest sweet treats there, and catching up with old friends.  For Candy Critic, and this blog, that means that updates might become a little more random and things will be a little different for a little while.  I'll keep trying to post new reviews weekly, but frankly I'm not really sure what day of the week I'm going to have internet access, so they'll come up as a bit of a surprise.  On the blog we're going to stop posting the news on the blog for a little while, however we'll still be posting the news on the Twitter feed as regular.  This is also going to be the last "This Week in Candy" for a little while, but it will be replaced by a weekly look at some of my favorite Canadian candies.  We're probably going to be taking a break from "Snack Facts" as well, or at the very least they'll be more occasional, and not daily.  All of the other regular posts should be the same as usual, but now and again I may post some bonus pieces about what I'm up to on my voyage.

This transition is going to take a few weeks, but I really think things will still be really fun.  I'll be posting regular highlights from my various adventures along the way on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, so stay tuned there.

As I said in my art show a few weeks back.  To Greece I say "so long and thanks for all the fish".

CC

Candy News

I love candy and snacks, but I'm not sure if I love them enough to have them permanently embedded on my skin.

A food tech company has discovered that the best way to take the edge off of cocoa may not be milk or sugar, instead it's mushrooms.

It appears that Mars is going to increase the price of their chocolate, but don't worry, many smaller companies are not following suit.

Summer is here, and that means state fairs and carnivals are happening, and that means food like this is available.

Trendy foods are both good and bad.  They're good because they can promote creativity and innovation, they're bad because you find yourself in line for 30 minutes just to eat a crappy donut.

Last week I mentioned that I wanted to try this new "raw chocolate" trend, well this week I've learned that maybe I don't.

Dark chocolate keeps gaining in popularity, it's no milk chocolate yet,  but some day it might be more popular.

Apparently Chupa Chups are branching out into clothing, I wonder if they have special pockets to hold lollipops?

In the 1900s a German chocolate company decided that they would distribute cards depicting what the year 2000 would be like with their chocolate. The results are awesome.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be traveling a lot, and I'm not really sure how well I'll be able to keep up the weekly Candy News posts.  I will however be updating the Twitter feed as regularly as I can, so you can still keep up with the news there. The news feed should return to normal in about 6 weeks.

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

CC

Friday Candy Video

If I ever had to describe the most memorable commercials of my childhood, this one would certainly be on the list.  I don't know that it's particularly clever, but it remains in my head today, so it must be effective.  At the time when this commercial came out, the Oh Henry bar was most certainly my favorite chocolate bar too.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

I have a soft spot in my heart for minimalist advertising.  When I worked in the advertising industry, I really loved to create this stuff, only I always felt like I was ripping off the client.  It's not that I didn't see the merit in simple art, I just worried that other people didn't.

I found this ad here.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing

I could spend a great deal of time talking about why this is an awesome toy that makes a really fun snack, or I could just let this commercial from my youth do all of the explaining:



CC

It's a Whole Bunch of Candy Posters - Part 1

Gummy Feet Walking Poster by bewarethecheese
Check out other Gummy Posters at zazzle.com

For the next 10 weeks we're going to be featuring great looking candy themed posters from our sister site bewarethecheese.com.  Beware the Cheese not only created all of these great looking candy shots, but they also shoot all of the candy photos for Candy Critic.  Why not pick up a poster as a gift or for yourself.

CC

The New Sucker Review

The older I get, the less I understand lollipops.  When I was a kid the idea of eating a candy on a stick made perfect sense.  Why would you want to keep that candy in your mouth all the time, you need a break.  Now that I'm a bit older, and a lot more paranoid about germs, I find myself not wanting to expose my candy to the outside air.  I find that even when I eat a lollipop, I rarely take it out of my mouth.  At that point the stick just becomes more of a hindrance.  Fortunately today's review also brought back some fond childhood memories, so the stick didn't become an issue.

Click here to read today's new sucker review.

CC

This Week in Candy

It's a hectic week here at Candy Critic, we're gearing up for a big change, and the transition for this change is going to take a while to sort out.  That doesn't mean we'll stop posting things, it just means that things are going to get a little funky.  But don't worry, the change is not coming this week, we've got lots to post this week, including a review of a classic treat that frankly should have been reviewed a long time ago.

This week I'm seeking out some suggestions for snacks I should sample in North America.  I haven't been back home in years, I'm heading there soon, and I need some good suggestions for treats that I should try.  I'm interested in both classic snacks that I may have forgotten, as well as new snacks that have come along in the last 4 years.  So if you can think of anything that I "must" try while I'm back home, let me know.

Finally, don't forget to check out this weeks Snack Facts all about fast food.  You can check out Snack Facts on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds.  Just follow us on any of those social media sites and get a new Snack Fact delivered to you every day.

CC

Candy News

Take the (mostly) snack mascot quiz, find out how well you know the characters that sell you food.

One day I'd like to travel across the USA and sample all of their "iconic soft drinks".

If you want to make ice cream just like Thomas Jefferson, here's a little help.  If you want to make ice cream just like the ice cream man, here's a little help with that too. Finally, if you just want to know where ice cream came from, we can help you there too.

Japanese company makes an iPhone case that looks like someone accidentally left a Popsicle on your iPhone.

As it turns out there are really only 10 companies that make almost all of the processed food you eat.

Cadbury has invented a machine that will tell you what kind of chocolate you like, based on your Facebook profile.

Annabel de Vetten made an awesome wedding cake that looks normal from one side, but the other side shows you the biology of this creepy cake.

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

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

The Pizza Cookie - Pizza Hut/Hershey's - If I order this, I'll probably have to skip the pizza. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Friday Candy Video

Of all the candies in the world, who would have thought you could make art out of cotton candy.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

If a horror movie ever depicted the "inner child", this would be it.

I found this ad here.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Caramel Crème Pretzel and Vanilla Frosting Pretzel - Combos Baked Snacks - It's about time they went the salty sweet rout. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing - Movie Edition Part 4

When I asked people to suggest movie's about candy, I can't tell you how many people suggested movies that had candy themes in the title, but the story itself had nothing to do with candy.  That's not to say that these aren't fine movies, they just mislead a little bit in the title, particularly for those of us that really like candy themed movies.

Gumball Rally

This is not so much a movie about gumballs as it is a movie about racing cars. If you're familiar with the Cannon Ball Run series than you pretty much know what this movie is all about.


Candyman

This is a movie about a serial killer that come to life when you say his name 5 times.  I'm not sure why they named him "Candyman", but I'm sure it's not because of his love of gummy bears.


Better Than Chocolate

This movie title plays on the theme of chocolate VS sex, which one is better.  It looks like a fun movie about a lesbian girl dealing with telling her parents about her lifestyle.

CC

Gummy Bear Shirts - Gummy Bear Weight Loss

Gummy Bear Weight Loss T-shirts by candycritic
Shop for another shirt at zazzle.com

For the next few weeks every Tuesday we're going to feature one of our many cartoon themed gummy bear t-shirts.  The irony of this shirt is that if you help gummy bears lose weight, then you yourself might have to lose weight.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Chocodile - Hostess - This is some kind of retro Twinkie thing that I've never tried. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

The Last Greek Review... For A While At Least

Some of the candy you find in Greece can trace its linage to some of the oldest candies in the world.  These candies are often hand made, depend greatly on the ingredients rather than the process, and require simple cooking techniques.  Greece also has some modern candy too, but it's still a little behind when it comes to the hip new trendy candy we see in other places around the world.  I'm not sure that their lack of modern candy is a bad thing though, while chocolate bars are just starting to really hit their stride here, their baked goods are better than most places anywhere else in the world.

Click here to read the last in our Greek candy review fest.

CC

This Week In Candy

Now that I'm wrapping up my adventure here in Greece, I'm finding myself desperately trying to taste every Greek sweet that I can lay my hands on.  In doing so I'm discovering some new treats, re-tasting some of my favorites, and even discovering some new versions of old favorites.  The photo above features an old favorite, Trigona, but this particular one was purchased in a bakery that's been making them since the start (or so they claim).  While I can't tell you for sure that their story is true, I can tell you that they make them better than any place I've ever tried before.

Speaking of my departure, this week was the last week for our Greek candy review fest.  For the last few months we've been posting exclusively Greek sweets every Monday for our new review.  This week we finished off with a classic Greek chocolate bar that's pretty common here, but for some reason no one else in the world has ever heard of it.  You can check out the review here.

Finally, this week week we're talking Twinkies on Snack Facts.  If you check out our Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook feeds this week, every day you'll learn something new about the best (or worst) cake treat ever made.

CC

Candy News

According to the latest information the cocoa crops on the Ivory Coast are looking good, that means we might see some cheaper chocolate next year.

Later this summer I'm heading home to Toronto for a little while, fortunately my friend Peter found this awesome list of places to get ice cream there.

This video of Hostess snacks being made makes my mouth water.

If you thought that banning peanuts from schools and workplaces was a silly idea, you'd be wrong.

Here's 20 interesting facts about chocolate, for example, did you know that Napoleon loved chocolate?

If you lick the spoon when you're making a cake, can you get salmonella poisoning?

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

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Raw Chocolate - Various Companies - This is the way chocolate can become a health food. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Friday Candy Video

This is both beautiful and sad.  Beautiful because the ice cream melts into pieces of moving art, sad because I'm not eating that ice cream.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Hot Tamales Tropical Heat - Just Born - I'm more enthusiastic about the sweet, but a little heat might be nice. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

What happened to Batman's legs, and why is there candy falling out of him?

I found this ad here.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing - Movie Edition Part 3

This week on our Cool Candy Thing - Movie Edition, we're looking at movies for adults.  While I don't suggest anybody search "adult movies candy" on Google, since you'll likely come up with very adult themes.  It is interesting to note that even the non-XXX rated adult movies about candy seem to really focus on the relationship between sex and candy.  It seems that as you grow older candy is supposed to represent passion instead of wholesome fun.  I've always seen candy as a way to stay young and child like, but it appears that many filmmakers see it as a bridge to sex.

Chocolat

I have to admit that I haven't seen either film that I'm mentioning today.  However, of the two, this is the one I'd most like to see.  I enjoy the work of Johnny Depp, and the basic concept of this movie seems fairly entertaining.


Consuming Passion

From what I've read, this movie was written by some of the members of Monty Python and that's a plus in my book.  While the idea of a man that accidentally puts people into their chocolates sounds interesting, I'm not sure if I really want to see this movie, as it looks a little cheesy to me.

CC

Gummy Bear Shirts - Swiming Bear

Swiming Bear T Shirt by candycritic
Browse more Gummy T-Shirts at Zazzle

For the next few weeks every Tuesday we're going to feature one of our many cartoon themed gummy bear t-shirts.  This shirt was inspired by my attempt to make gummy bear Popsicle.  I never thought much about the water solubility of gummy bears until I was watching them dissolve in my Popsicle molds.

CC

Oops. The Latest Greek Candy Review Is A Little Late Today

Normally I get up in the morning with all the good intentions in the world.  I have a calendar, and every Monday it has on the top "update candy critic".  I read it today, and never even gave the idea of actually updating the site a second thought.  Then, after watching a little internet television this afternoon, I thought I would see what was happening on the internets.  This Week in Candy posted well, but why no new review... oh yeah, I actually have to post it.  Well here it is, a little later than usual.

Click here to read this slightly late Greek candy review.

CC

This Week In Candy

Photo by Morgan Goodfellow

My friend David made these amazing Dr Who gummies and I thought I would share his photo.  I love it when art, candy, and my love of all things nerdy can come together.  Apparently they're not too hard to make, but I imagine that they're really hard to eat.  I would have such a hard time eating these because I'd want to play with them first, and they they'd get all dirty and I'd have to clean them up and then eat them.  Although the idea of biting the head off a Dalek is pretty tempting.

All this week on our Snack Facts feed we're going to be featuring facts about Cadbury.  Most Cadbury treats are a sure thing for me.  I can't think of any Cadbury treats that I completely hate.  The quality of Cadbury's chocolate is often fantastic, and the flavour combinations are both creative and functional.  It's only been a few years since Cadbury has broken out of the British colonies and started to go truly global.  Now the whole world is starting to experience the awesome treats this brand has to offer.  Make sure to check out our Snack Facts on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds.

Finally, we're getting ready for a big move here at Candy Critic.  We're leaving Greece and heading on a new adventure.  With this change comes a few changes to the Candy Critic blog.  While we're in transition, we're going to have a few special blog posts going online, we'll also be stopping a few of our regular posts as well.  When we get back we're going to re-think a few things here at Candy Critic to better streamline our system.  We're always interested in what you think of this blog, and candycritic.org.  So let us know how you think we can improve things.

CC

Candy News

Mother Nature is a pretty awesome gal, particularly when she creates animals that smell like gourmet jelly beans.

According to a study, dark chocolate is helps people with artery disease.

It's great to know that the technology of 3D Chocolate printing is advancing, because things made out of chocolate are awesome.

Did you know that if you serve artichokes before dessert, your dessert will be even sweeter?

Here are some great ideas to decorate your 4th of July treats this year.

I love it when artists are inspired by candy, I myself am inspired on a daily basis.

A fast, clean, and safe way to take your Pringles out of the can, it's about time.

What's the strangest flavour of ice cream you've ever tried, did it involve a goose's liver?

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

CC

It's The 4th of July!!!

To all of my American friends it's a big deal, to me it's an excuse to eat a giant American cookie.

CC

Friday Candy Video

On these warm summer days I'm sure you're the sound of the ice cream man coming cools you down.  Ice cream is a pretty amazing treat we all enjoy, but I'm not sure how many of us really understand the science of what's going on.  Well this video is a great teaching tool so you can appreciate all that goes into the perfect summer snack.

CC

Cypriot Snacks

I love traveling... wait a minute, I don't love traveling all the time, I actually hate "traveling" particularly when it's airplane travel.  But I love to go to new places, and I particularly love trying new snacks.  It's just that whole airport, airplane, and even the taxi ride to the airport really is no fun at all.  I do however try and make the best of it, and before any trip I like to check out all of the crazy, and overpriced treats available in the airport.

The folks at Mars never let me down with the huge assortment of M&Ms related products.  If you've never been to an airport then you've probably only seen about 2% of the stuff Mars makes to support M&Ms.

I also love to check out the "local" products available in airports.  These are here as last minute purchases and are always over priced.  I particularly got a kick out of this jar of olives I found in the Athens airport, although I'm not sure I qualify to eat them.

The other thing one always finds at every airport is vending machines.  Much like the stores they're very expensive.  I'm assuming that this kind of thing is geared towards the business traveler that has a per diem that accounts for spending 5 euros for a cup of coffee out of a machine.

I also noticed something strange about this particular machine, it had a wire hanging out the side.  I'm not sure what one plugs into a coffee machine, but I think it would be really cool if it was a charging station for gadgets.  That way both you and your cell phone could get a charge in the morning.

Finally on the plane (after an hour or so delay), I noticed something strange on my box of food.  What language is the first one on this box.  I only ask because I've never heard anybody say "Bon appetite" in my life.  Most English speaking people I know use the French "Bon appetit", and if we did translate it we would probably say "Good appetite".  I always thought it was just a French expression that English speakers use.

Finally in Cyprus, I was sure to check out as much as I could on the snacking front.  In Nicosia I made a beeline across the border to see what kind of Turkish delight they had on offer.  I discovered a new version that I'd never seen before, it was a marshmallow based Turkish delight, and I hope to have a review up very soon.

I love venturing to the shops in Northern Cyprus, I particularly like the name of this place.

On the south side of the city I visited the local Tiger shop (really it's one of the best new chain stores in Europe), and I found these pretzels.  While the pretzels themselves were nothing impressive, I think they have one of the greatest names ever given to a salty snack.  They're called "These Pretzels are Making me Thirsty", a great homage to Seinfeld.

On this trip I learned about a love the Cypriot people have with carob.  Most people think of carob as being something to make fake chocolate out of, but here in Cyprus they love the stuff.  They make a carob syrup that they put on everything, and I picked up a bottle to sample later on.  I'm sure I'll post something about it in the future.

I'd also heard stories of a place called Platres Chocolate Workshop, in the Troodos mountains.  It is said to be the best place in the whole country to get chocolate, and to be a very uniquely Cypriot chocolate shop.  One doesn't normally associate Cyprus with chocolate, but really the island has so many flavours in their desserts that work so well with chocolate.

Platres Chocolate Workshop not only has a great selection of fine chocolates, but it has John, the chocolatier.  If you ever plan on visiting Platres Chocolate Workshop, make sure to book some time in your schedule.  John is a talker, and he describes his chocolate shop not as a place to buy chocolates, but a place to learn about chocolate.  The fact that you walk out of the shop with a box full of chocolates is an added bonus.  John will explain each and every chocolate he has in his case with a great amount of detail.  He explains where he's been to show off his skills, and what he's learned in his years making chocolate.  As you might expect, he even teaches classes on the subject of chocolate.  If you're in Cyprus and you love snacks and sweet treats, a visit to Platres Chocolate Workshop is an experience you must have.  As far as the chocolates go, well that's a review I'm writing right now.

My final night in Cyprus I felt it was important to sample a treat that I had on my last visit.  Strangely enough it comes from McDonald's, but I assure you it's very unique.

I've only ever seen them in Cypriot McDonald's, but the strawberry custard pie is one of the greatest desserts any fast food chain has ever produced.  The custard balances the sweet strawberry perfectly, and the crunchy deep fried crust adds the perfect texture.  If you re-shaped these and served them on a fine plate, even the finest gourmet would love them.  The perfect way to end my fun Cypriot adventure.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

Since we're right between the 4th of July and Canada day, I thought I would mention the most controversial difference between Americans and Canadians when it comes to candy.  That would be the availability of Kinder Eggs.  A simple chocolate egg with a little toy inside is a great example of how laws differ on either side of the border.  In the US, they're illegal, in Canada, they're a staple.  As far as I know the law in the US that bans them says that you cannot have a candy with a toy inside it.  Americans are afraid that kids will choke on the toys, Canadians aren't so worried.  What do you think is right?

Words

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Limeade Oreos - Mr Christie's - I'll try a limeade flavoured Oreo, but I can't promise that I'll like it. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing - Movie Edition Part 2

This week on the Cool Candy Thing Movie Edition we're going to look at the most candy related film ever made, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... or is it called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It seems there's a bit of a title discrepancy here.  There's also a great debate in the candy world (and probably the film world) as to which of these films is best.  Many people put down the Tim Burton film as being too weird and mean, but if you watch the original version, it's pretty strange and mean too.  Frankly I like them both, but for very different reasons.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory


This movie is great because it looks like a musical.  The sets look like something you could really walk into.


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


This movie is great because it takes the basic story and enhances it.  The factory was always supposed to be unreal, and this movie makes it bigger than life.


CC

Happy Canada Day!!!

Today is the perfect day to eat red and white candies.  Also acceptable are candies flavoured with maple, and anything covered with gravy and cheese curds.

Happy Canada Day!!!

CC

Gummy Bear Shirts - Irony

Irony T Shirts by candycritic
Browse Candy T-Shirts

For the next few weeks, every Tuesday we're going to feature one of our many cartoon themed gummy bear t-shirts.  It's a gummy bear stepping in gum... Now I get it.

CC