Monday, December 30, 2019

Hard Candy Is Real Candy - Butter Scotch Candies

One of the most common complaints I get about candycritic.org is that I review some things that others don't consider to be "candy". I will admit that I think I skirt the line a bit when it comes to things I'll review, chips and cookies are certainly on the border. What I consider candy, and what I'm willing to review on the site can at times be different. The thing is, I believe that there are several different interpretations of the word "candy". Sometimes candy is boiled sugar that is then hardened and often flavoured. However, sometimes candy is just a nice packaged treat that you find at store that makes you happy. It all depends on who you ask and when.

This week I'm off the hook, this week I'm actually reviewing candy by everyone's definition. This week I'm posting a hard candy review-a-thon. So that means every day this week I'll post a new review featuring a candy that is boiled sugar that is then hardened and often flavoured.

Check out our first hard candy review here.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the review-a-thon. You can also check out all our hard candy reviews from the past here.

Be sure to check out our Patreon page as well, for all kinds of extra content.

CC

Friday, December 27, 2019

Monday, December 23, 2019

It's Our Christmas Candy Review - Mint Candy Canes

It's amazing to think that I've been writing candy reviews for so many years, yet I have yet to write a full on review for candy canes. I spent a good part of last week wondering why I don't eat these more over the holidays, and why it's taken me so long to write a review. Then I realized that not very many people actually eat candy canes anymore. I'm not sure if people ate them more in the past, but my experience is that people really don't eat them that often. I think they function more as a decoration than an actually candy treat.

Click here to find out what I think of candy canes, as a candy.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up with all our holiday fun times.

Give the gift of support by following us on Patreon.

CC

Sunday, December 22, 2019

A Christmas Special You Don't Want To Miss - The Candy Cane Shiv


I was eating a candy cane the other day when I poked myself in the back of the throat with the really sharp end that had formed. It got me thinking about life in general, then I thought about all the little kids (and immature adults) that might be injured by these very dangerous candies. So, I decided to investigate the candy cane shiv, and the results are very fascinating.

If you want to keep up with all our silly shenanigans, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can also be really nice and follow us on Patreon as well.

CC

Friday, December 20, 2019

Christmas Candy In The Media - Making Candy Canes At Disneyland


The folks at Disneyland are candy cane making masters. They've been doing it for a long time, and it's apparently a really popular thing.

CC

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Candy Critic Quick List - Top 5 Best Christmas Themed Candies We've Reviewed On Candy Critic

Toffifee - Candy Critic Score 14
This is the one treat that I try to get every year for Christmas. No matter where I am in the world, I seek them out.

Check out the full review here.

Sugar & Spice Collection - Candy Critic Score 12
The flavour of these chocolates just embody everything about Christmas.

Check out the full review here.

Terry's Chocolate Orange "Milk" - Candy Critic Score 12
Even though I'm normally not a fan of orange flavoured chocolate, there's something about these that make me feel all warm and nostalgic.

Check out the full review here.

Big Purple One - Candy Critic Score 11.5
This takes one of the great Christmas chocolate traditions and makes it bigger, what could possibly go wrong?

Check out the full review here.

Caramilk "Choc-o-Men" - Candy Critic Score 11.5
This is a great variation of a classic treat that fits into a great Christmas theme.

Check out the full review here.

Bonus, the worst Christmas candy we've ever reviewed:

Bubbly Santa - Candy Critic Score 4.5
It would take so much to ruin a simple treat like this, but here we are.

Check out the full review here.

CC

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Amazing Candy/Junk Food Things That You Should Buy For Me For Christmas - Pickle Candy Canes

The main reason I want these is so I can put them on my Christmas tree and watch unsuspecting children take their first bite into disappointment.

CC

Monday, December 16, 2019

I'm Feeling A Little Bitter and Old Because Of This Review - Snickers "Adult Bitter"

There's a trend in Japan that kind of makes sense, but is also really weird. The trend is associating dark chocolate with being an adult. According to several  chocolate bars in Japan (this week's review included), only grown ups eat dark chocolate. While I can't deny that many of the people I know who really enjoy dark chocolate are adults, I don't know if there's enough of them to say that all dark chocolate should be for adults. I think there are kids out there that also like dark chocolate, and many dignified adults who don't. It's a weird generalization.

Click here to find out why we feel more adult about this bar.

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Also be sure to check out our Patreon page to help us be less adult.

CC

Friday, December 13, 2019

Christmas Candy In The Media - Best Christmas Commercial Ever?


I think this might be the best Christmas candy commercial ever made. It's very simple, understood in any language, and it's got staying power. All this and it's also really cute.

CC

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Tom's Look At The Visual Side Of Christmas Snacks And Candy - Christmas Haul Part 3

Here is an interesting variation on Kit Kat using a “traditional” old-school depiction of Santa Claus with some modern touches. At first glance, Santa appears to be the jolly old elf as depicted in, perhaps the classic “Night Before Christmas” tale. On closer inspection, the middle Santa wears googles and has a funkily-decorated snowboard under one arm. Beside that Santa is another Santa wearing headphones with the cord disappearing into his red outfit. One assumes he’s streaming some music that is suitably hip and now. Maybe it’s a tastefully selected playlist of festive tunes? Or a podcast? Whatever is playing through the headphones, Santa has eyes closed in blissful rapture.
The third Santa has me baffled. There appears to be a small, dark object near his waist. I don’t know what it is. Anyone else have that sorted out?

Finally, I noticed that Santa’s outfit is different from typical depictions. It looks like a robe with a hood. The garment has festive motifs at the cuffs and surrounding his face. Maybe this suggests how Santa looks in his leisure time before heading out on his Christmas Eve travels?
The second sighting is a delight since I’ve seen very few uses of the Yeti in a holiday treat context. As a kid, an advent calendar was a staple at the holidays in my family. Each day, it was exciting to open each numbered cardboard door to see what would be there! Indeed, it was a major effort of restraint to keep from opening the whole thing up on day one.

I might have to buy this advent calendar to see if each treat has a Yeti shape. I was ‘addicted’ to Cookies’N’Creme bars for a brief time back in my college days. The bar seems to have staying power and it’s good to see an entire advent calendar devoted to it. It may prove to be too much of a good thing but that’s a slim possibility.
By the way, Hershey’s lets potential buyers know up front that the final door has an entire chocolate bar behind it. Not sure what I think about this spoiler versus marketing conundrum. The final door was always a special reward after 23 days of anticipation. A small quibble in an otherwise fun product to be sure!

Tom

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Wednesday, December 11, 2019

It's Time To Eat Something Stupid - Extreme Chili Lay's Potato Chips


Once again we're here with another episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!, and once again I'm eating something spicy. I'm not sure why I'm drawn in by spicy foods, I certainly don't enjoy eating them.

Make sure to check us out on YouTube to see any of our past silly ideas. Follow us if you want to keep up with our newer silly ideas.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with our day to day silliness.

CC

Monday, December 09, 2019

Chips That Eat Like A Meal - Lay's Thai Taste "Basil Chicken Flavour"

Flavour wise, chips are one of the most diverse snacks in the world. In my life, I can only remember one flavour of potato chips that didn't work (and I'm fairly sure will never work). In general it seems like you can flavour chips with just about any kind of flavouring. From chocolate, to vinegar, to shrimp, there are so many chip flavours out there, and so many of them have such great possibilities. The only downfall I've discovered is in the quality of the toppings and the chips themselves.

Just because potato chips have so much potential, doesn't mean that flavouring them is easy. This new review is a pretty good example of a great idea for a flavour, that just didn't hold up. It's not that these are bad chips, they're just not up to the level that they could have been.

Click here to find out why these potato chips didn't hold up.

Also be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to find out what other weird things we're eating.

CC

Friday, December 06, 2019

Christmas Candy In The Media - Making Ribbon Candy


I've always had mixed feelings about Christmas ribbon candy. I like the way it looks, and obviously it's fun to watch people make it, but I never really considered it a great candy to eat.

CC

Thursday, December 05, 2019

Tom's Look At The Visual Side Of Christmas Snacks And Candy - Christmas Haul Part 2

As I walked home from work Monday night, the display window at Paisley’s Wee British Shop had one of the below tin boxes of Kit Kat shaped and decorated like a British double-decker bus.
Also in the shop were several large containers that resembles a Jaffa Cake with a bite out of it. For those unfamiliar with this British treat, the Jaffa Cake was introduced by McVitie & Price in 1927. The name comes from the Jaffa orange. The treat is made from a Genoise sponge cake base topped by an orange flavoured jam with the whole thing coated in chocolate.

Based on the ample size of the container, this must contain quite a few of the delicious treats!

Tom

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You can also check out one of Tom's awesome exclusive Candy Critic t-shirts.

Tuesday, December 03, 2019

Monday, December 02, 2019

We're Starting Another Review-a-Thon All About Dairy Milk - Dairy Milk "Caramello"

I've gone on record on candycritic.org countless times saying that I believe that Cadbury is one of (if not the) best mass produced chocolate bar manufacturer in the world. The star chocolate bar in their selection is their Dairy Milk chocolate bars. This bar started as just a simple milk chocolate bar, but has now changed into something much bigger. Even when I was a kid there weren't too many versions of this bar, however today you'll find Dairy Milk chocolate with so many flavours and fillings, all over the world. In some ways this has improved this chocolate bar line, but sometimes they don't really get everything right.

All this week we're going to look at some of the variations we've discovered lately. We've already reviews so many versions  of this bar (check out our full list here), but there seems to be many more to try. We're also going to do something a little different this week, and we're going to include a bar that isn't made by Cadbury, but still claims to be a Dairy Milk.

Click here to check out our first entry in the Dairy Milk review-a-thon.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to keep up with all the new entries in this review-a-thon.

You can also follow us on Patreon to get even more fun stuff.

CC